All About Symbian - News Headlines

News Headlines - Editorial Thoughts

1.5 billion Series 40 phones, plus half a billion Symbian too

The news that Nokia just handed over its one and a half billionth Series 40 phone was interesting - and impressive - and got me thinking and fact-checking. Just how many Symbian-powered smartphones have been sold, in total, i.e. in the last decade? Turns out it's now well over 500 million, i.e. over half a billion Symbian smartphones have already been sold and are... out there in the world somewhere. Some thoughts below.

# Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 9:05 UTC, Jan 28th || Comments

Nokia Q4 2011 - in the heart of transition

Nokia has released its Q4 2011 results, reporting an operating loss of €954 million, with net sales of €10.0 billion (down 21% YoY). Nokia's Devices and Services division's profits were €203 million. Margins in devices and services were 3.4% (down from 12.7 % on Q4 2010 and up from 3.1% in Q3 2011). Total smartphone device sales were 19.6 million, compared with 28.6 million units in Q4 2010 (down 31% YoY) and 16.8 million units in Q3 2011 (up 17%, QoQ).

# Posted by Rafe in Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 12:55 UTC, Jan 26th || Comments

A snapshot of the UK High Street - Symbian almost non existent

Feeling a little like a TV undercover 'mystery shopper', I picked a UK provincial town and worked my way through their High Street phone outlets. I wanted to get a snapshot of how Symbian was (or wasn't) being represented in the place from which most people acquire phones in this nation. In the process, I was somewhat shocked. However much as some geeks like to attribute failing Symbian sales per quarter to 'technical deficiencies' or 'lack of apps' (both of which are somewhat over-exaggerated), there's a far simpler explanation...

# Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 7:13 UTC, Jan 9th || Comments

361 Degrees S02 E02 - Live at Nokia World

Part two of the first 'live' recording of the 361 Degrees podcast, which took place just after the close of Nokia World, is now available. Rafe Blandford (All About), Ewan MacLeod (Mobile Industry Review) and Ben Smith (Wireless Worker) take questions on the current state of the mobile ecosystem from an invited audience of bloggers and mobile gurus.

# Posted by Rafe in Links of Interest, Editorial Thoughts at 22:56 UTC, Nov 8th || Comments

Launching All About Windows Phone - but not forgetting All About Symbian!

You might have noticed that the team behind All About Symbian launched a new web site today. All About Windows Phone is now live and already stocked with content, covering Nokia's other smartphone platform going forwards. We did think a few words of reassurance appropriate for the AAS audience, however - we're not going anywhere!

# Posted by Steve in Links of Interest, Editorial Thoughts at 11:23 UTC, Oct 24th || Comments

Nokia Q3 2011 - on the road to recovery?

Nokia has released its Q3 2011 results, reporting an operating loss of -€71 million, with net sales of €8.980 billion (down 13% YoY). Nokia's Devices and Services division's profits were €132 million. Margins in devices and services were 2.4% (down from 11.3 % in Q3 2010 and up from -4.2% in Q2 2011). Total smartphone device sales were 16.8 million, compared with 27.2 million units in Q3 2010 (down 34% YoY) and 16.7 million units in Q2 2011 (up 1%, QoQ). The results were ahead of expectations and suggest the company has started on the road to recovery.

# Posted by Rafe in Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 11:10 UTC, Oct 20th || Comments

Steve Jobs dies, his legacy lives on - even in the world of Symbian

As every other news outlet is reporting this morning, we awoke with the announcement that Steve Jobs had passed away after a long battle with cancer. Although not a Symbian story per-se, there's a lot about Jobs which affected the way the industry and even the world of Symbian in recent years. Here are a few short thoughts.

# Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 7:55 UTC, Oct 6th || Comments

Symbian Anna roll out has started for the Nokia N8, C7, E7 and C6-01

The roll out of the Symbian Anna software update for the Nokia N8, C7, E7 and C6-01 has now started (the editorial N8 now has it, over the air). It is now available in key European and Asian markets including the UK, France, Russia, Indonesia, China and India, with additional markets to follow shortly. Key features of Symbian Anna include virtual QWERTY keypad in portrait mode, split-screen text input, an updated web browser, stronger security, an updated icon set and improved Maps functionality. Plus the Nokia C7 gains activation of its NFC chip. Changelog below.

# Posted by Rafe, Steve in Software, Editorial Thoughts at 5:37 UTC, Aug 18th || Comments

Nokia Q2 2011 - smartphone sales fall to 16.7m

Nokia has released its Q2 2011 results, reporting an operating loss of -€487 million, with net sales of €9.275 billion (down 7% YoY). Nokia's Devices and Services division's losses were -€247 million. Margins in devices and services were -4.5% (down 14% YoY and down 14.2% QoQ). However, non-IFRS operating profit was €391 million (down 41% YoY and down 44% QoQ), with Devices and Services non-IFRS profit at €369 million, and margins at 6.7%. Total smartphone device sales were 16.7 million, compared with 24 million units in Q2 2010 (down 34% YoY) and 25.2 million units in Q1 2011 (down 31%, QoQ).

# Posted by Rafe in Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 12:07 UTC, Jul 21st || Comments

The E6 gets my video review treatment in Phones Show 144

Phones Show 144 is out this morning - and I mention it only because the main feature is my hands-on video review of the Nokia E6. Rolling in all my thoughts on this device into one easily-digested nine minute chunk of your time. Summary: it's the best built phone I've ever handled - yet I still can't recommend it to everybody. See below for the embedded video and salient links.

# Posted by Steve in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Editorial Thoughts at 7:45 UTC, Jul 20th || Comments

Nokia Live View - augmented reality browser beta

Nokia Live View, an augmented reality browser, has been released by Nokia Beta Labs for Symbian^3 devices. It works as an add-on for Ovi Maps, giving a new way to search for and explore Places around you. Place icons, drawn from the Ovi Maps database, are overlaid on a 'live view' (from the camera) to represent their physical location, providing a connection between the digital and physical world. As you pan the phone around, the live view changes and new places appear.

# Posted by Rafe in Software, Editorial Thoughts at 10:43 UTC, Jul 12th || Comments

Symbian Design Guidelines show Belle UI future

An updated version of the the Symbian Design Guidelines, recently published on Nokia Developer, shows the future look and style of the Symbian UI, which is scheduled to be delivered as part of the next Symbian update. The update, which is likely to be called Symbian Belle, offers one of the biggest visual changes in Symbian's history (for AVKON UI at least), although, in UI terms, it is more of an evolution than a revolution.

# Posted by Rafe in Software, Editorial Thoughts at 12:48 UTC, Jul 11th || Comments

361 Degrees podcast episode #10 - bothersome things

Following on from last week's episode, which focused on Nokia, here is the ninth episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This week episodes focuses on bothersome things; we talk, grumpy old men style, about some of the (many) things that annoy us about mobile phones. 361 Degrees is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian.

# Posted by Rafe in Links of Interest, Editorial Thoughts at 15:11 UTC, Jul 1st || Comments

361 Degrees podcast episode #9 - What next for Nokia?

Following on from last week's episode, which focused on roaming, here is the ninth episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This week episodes focuses on Nokia; we look at its current situation and consider what next for Nokia? 361 Degrees is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian.

# Posted by Rafe in Links of Interest, Developer, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 12:01 UTC, Jun 25th || Comments

361 Degrees podcast episode #7 - Nostalgia

Following on from last week's episode, which focused on Windows Phone Mango, here is the seventh episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This week it's a nostalgia fest as we remember devices we've owned and that we think have helped shaped the industry. 361 Degrees is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian.

# Posted by Rafe in Links of Interest, Editorial Thoughts at 0:06 UTC, Jun 10th || Comments

Nokia quashes rumours of acquisition by Microsoft

Yesterday at the D9 conference Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO, quashed recent rumours that Nokia was set to be acquired by Microsoft. In response to a question about whether Microsoft was interested in buying Nokia's hardware division Elop said that, "the rumours are baseless", reinforcing an interview had had given to CNBC earlier in the day and statements that Nokia had released to the media.

# Posted by Rafe in Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 15:14 UTC, Jun 2nd || Comments

361 Degrees podcast episode #6 - Windows Phone Mango

Following on from last week's episode, which focused on Blackberry, here is the sixth episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This week episodes focuses on the Windows Phone Mango update, following Microsoft's recent media event. 361 Degrees is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian.

# Posted by Rafe in Editorial Thoughts, Events at 10:36 UTC, Jun 2nd || Comments

361 Degrees podcast episode #4 - NFC

Following on from the first, second and third episodes, here is the fourth episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian. The fourth episode features discussion on NFC - what is it, what does it do and what are some of the issues surrounding its deployment.

# Posted by Rafe in Developer, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 14:59 UTC, May 19th || Comments

Goodbye Ovi Services, Hello Nokia Services

Nokia announced today that it will change its service branding from Ovi to Nokia. This will see the services change from Ovi Service to Nokia Service. For example, Ovi Maps to Nokia Maps. The transition will begin in July and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and Nokia says that the rebrand will have no impact on planned updates and improvements to the services.

# Posted by Rafe in Miscellaneous, Industry, Editorial Thoughts at 12:59 UTC, May 16th || Comments

361 Degrees podcast #3 - The App Store debate

Following on from the first two episodes, here is the third episode of the 361 Degrees podcast. This is a podcast all about mobile technology, created by Ben Smith of Wireless Worker and co-hosted by Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review and Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian. The third episode features a debate about app stores - are they the best thing since sliced bread or a break on the pace of innovation?