Big changes are in store for Nokia, the struggling handset maker that's decided to take some drastic steps in an attempt to return the Finnish company to profitable growth. Nokia is focused on "significantly" reducing its operating expenses, and it starts with the elimination of 10,000 jobs around the globe by 2013, a process that's already begun in earnest by engaging with employee representatives.
Competition's a pain in the backside, especially when your competitors are launching products people actually want as opposed to stinking up the joint with promises of something better on the horizon. That pretty much sums up Nokia's business strategy, as the handset maker found itself in a smartphone holding pattern during its shift to Microsoft's Windows Phone platform and the launch of the Lumia 900. As a result, Nokia posted a $1.2 billion loss during the first quarter of 2012 and blamed it on "competitive challenges and seasonality."
If you own a cellphone, there's a good chance you've encountered phantom vibrations; you know, when you could've sworn you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket when it really wasn't. Nokia's poised to either eliminate phantom vibrations completely or take them to new (and possibly somewhat creepy) heights with a new patent application for haptic tattoos that vibrate when your phone rings.
Over the last two week, the Windows 8 Consumer Preview has been dissected from virtually every angle. In stark contrast, things have been very quiet on the Windows on ARM (WOA) front. But the fine folks at Digitimes seem to have broken the almost sepulchral silence surrounding WOA. Hit the jump for more.
The Windows Phone team has been keeping the Champaign on ice for months now waiting for a reason to celebrate, and that moment may have finally arrived. According to market research firm 
Finnish phone maker Nokia today outlined plans to shed roughly 4,000 workers combined from three separate smartphone production plants in Komarom, Hungary, Reynosa, Mexico, and Salo, Finland. What remains of the three factories will focus on smartphone product customization for customers mainly in Europe and the Americas, while smartphone production at large will be diverted to Asia where the majority of component suppliers hang their hats, Nokia said.
If you’re got a hankering for a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone and don’t want to wait for the Lumia 900 to drop on AT&T, Microsoft might have you covered very shortly. Microsoft will reportedly be selling Lumia 800 bundles in its retail stores on February 14th for a whopping $899. While that’s a big number, users get more than the phone in the deal.
Nokia may have just announced a massive quarterly loss due to a precipitous decline in handset sales, but it remains confident of “establishing a beachhead in this war of ecosystems.” The Finnish company is now banking on its Windows Phone lineup to turn things around. But are its plans only limited to the smartphone market, or is it also considering venturing into the increasingly crowded media tablet market?
If Nokia's upcoming Lumia 900 device proves all that a bag of chocolate covered popcorn, perhaps it will give the Finnish phone maker some much needed momentum going into 2012. Nokia needs the Lumia 900 and subsequent smartphones to be successful. Sales were down 21 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter at Nokia, and its operating profit tipped into the negative side to the tune of 1.07 billion euros, or $1.4 billion.
It's not unusual for a high-end smartphone to command $300 on a subsidized contract, and there are certainly a great number of powerful devices priced at $200. Word on the Web is that Nokia's upcoming Lumia 900 smartphone will run just $100 at AT&T with a two-year service agreement, and if that's true, kudos are in order for both Nokia and AT&T for such an aggressive launch.
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