It's a Sad Day For Former Giant

Nokia's mobile phone operations have finally been officially transferred to Microsoft, ending a legacy for the mobile phone giant that saw it go from market leader to market obscurity. 

At Nokia’s former headquarters outside Helsinki, a crane was on standby to remove the Nokia sign, under which a large blue and white banner read “Nokia moving on”.

Nokia’s former chief executive Stephen Elop will transfer BACK to Microsoft where he will oversee Microsoft’s hardware business ranging from mobile devices to Xbox video game consoles. Microsoft will continue to honour all existing Nokia customer warranties.

In addition to Mr. Elop, some 25,000 former Nokia employees will join Microsoft. Microsoft will use this acquisition to improve its chances in the mobile-phone business, to have one more roll of the dice against Apple, Google and Samsung.

So what's left of Nokia? A mobile network arm and a digital mapping platform, one of the mobile industry’s largest portfolios of patents and a large pile of cash. Nokia is expected to announce its new strategic direction, plans for its cash management and name its next CEO next week in conjunction with its earnings report due on Tuesday.

Whatsapp Nokia - Going from Last to First

Nokia has turned an achilles heel into a stepping stone as they embrace an app that contributed to their downfall in the last few years. Whatsapp was one of the reasons why I finally changed my phone over for the first time to Android as there no plans for the app to be supported by the Nokia N9 that I was using at the time.

The Nokia Asha 210 has just been announced by Nokia which will look a lot like the old school Nokia E72 and Nokia E63 with a similar physical keypad layout but there will be one interesting addition. One of the keys will be dedicated to take you straight to Whatsapp, making it the first device in the world to feature a dedicated physical button for Whatsapp

The other new features in the Asha 210 are not really worth raging on about. I just thought it was interesting to see how one little app can receive such an endorsement as Whatsapp has achieved in the Asha 210.

Lumia 920 - Why it's different

Stephen Elop has recently took the stage to announce to the world that Nokia is here to cause "future disruptions" in the mobile phone market. Nokia's final swing in their fight for survival has been announced. The Lumia 920 will have a PureView camera with PureMotion HD+ and the ability to recharge the phone wirelessly. PureMotion HD+ will enhance the clear black display technology with sensors that adjust screen brightness and tone in response to the sun glare.

Location services and apps such as the augmented reality City Lens, will be part of the Nokia innovation that hopes to make some inroad on what is increasingly becoming the Android / iPhone duopoly. The battery will be a 2000mAh battery and a processor that will use the battery more efficiently. The battery has the ability to recharge wirelessly which is a first in the mobile phone technology race. Nokia is also working with various establishments to provide wireless charging stations for users in what may be a sign of things to come in the future.

The Windows 8 operating system will enable the live tiles to be resized, so that you can know more of what is going on in one glance. As the world starts to adopt Windows 8 on their computers, the natural decision would be to switch to the same operating system for their phones.

The ability to take a screenshot was demonstrated by Microsoft's Joe Belfiore and posted to twitter during the live webcast. There  you have the first ever tweeted screenshot from a Windows Phone 8 device.

The camera will also enable you to take a photo and then from the click of the camera shutter, upload the photo to the Skydrive and modify the photo whilst the photo is taken. The various "lenses" will help users do more with the camera then ever before.

From the design perspective, the Lumia 920 will showcase the latest in their polycarbonate casing, a stronger glass and the fastest and brightest LCD screen on a mobile phone with a WXGA display. The phone also has "super sensitive touch" which will help you to use the phone even whilst using your phone with gloves or mits! There's something you can't do with other phones on the market!

The technology built in the Lumia 920 camera is simply scary! The optical image stabilisation technology as well as a sensor that brings in more light than ever before in a camera phone. Something we can't really show you here because it probably has to be experienced to believe. There was just so much in the announcement that we can't cover here but suffice to say, the Nokia Lumia 920 has me very interested! It is something I haven't said about a Nokia phone for quite a while. Truth be told I am now using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7 tablet after using Nokia phones all my life.

After such a short time away, is it time to change back?

Nokia to Announce WP8 phones

We are only days away from an announcement from Nokia about their new Windows Phone 8 devices. There is great anticipation and Samsung has noticed this. Fresh out of having their pants sued off by Apple, Samsung has beaten Nokia to the starting line, announcing that the ATIV S will be their first Windows Phone 8 device. Keep an eye out... Nokia is set to make a comeback behind Windows Phone 8.