Nokia + Microsoft are more then just 2 turkeys

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Finally I have found some time to put my thoughts on the biggest development of this year in the Mobile Industry. This development will change the way mobile industry is structured and specifically its direct impact the future of 4 of the biggest mobile players – Apple, Nokia, Google & Microsoft.

It started with a memo (only in public domain but I guess Nokia and Microsoft must be working behind the scene from some time – NokiaWP7 like product cannot be conceptualized overnight), someone at the top of Nokia noticed that the market share leader is in serious trouble.

As Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop (an Ex Microsoft) has his memo leaked that speaks of Nokia standing on a ‘burning platform’, everyone started speculating on what this will mean for Nokia.

Finishing his memo with: “Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved? This is what I have been trying to understand” highlights the fact that finding a solution isn’t going to be as simple as opting to ditch MeeGo (although there are rumours circulating that this is exactly what is going to happen), moving Nokia’s offices away from Finland, firing all of the management or cosying up with Microsoft or Google.

(It requires fundamental changes on how Nokia operates and keeps ahead of the competition from now on. After all, Nokia had a huge head start over the competition when it launched its first Symbian Smartphone over ten years ago. Nokia even launched its first tablet way back in 2006, which had the potential to be as big as the iPad but…. it failed to capitalize on this head start.)

As soon as the memo leaked Google’s VP, Vic Gundotra, started adding oil to the fire with saying “two turkeys do not make an eagle.”

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It was clearly meaning – Nokia hardware with Microsoft Windows Phone 7 OS won’t make a good smartphone. And Vic was pretty much correct in the sense that Nokia is late to the party and Microsoft is in no better position. Google is in a much better spot with its Android OS. But it would be wrong to declare this partnership already failed especially post the news of NokiaWP7.

imageSoon after the partnership initiative between the software giant Microsoft and Nokia got going, the web is flourishing with the leaks regarding the outcome of the giant’s alliance. Among them, one of the leaks claims to have exposed some of the Nokia Windows Phone 7 concepts developed as a part of the partnership.

Well, even if the images are just conceptual ones, the real outcome of the Nokia Microsoft partnership may be somewhere closer to it. In the partnership, Nokia will be contributing its expertise on developing user friendly hardware while Microsoft will be putting its efforts on the software front.

image Also, counting Microsoft out makes no sense. With Steve Ballmer firing all the guns and with the fastest selling new product in the history – a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console Kinect is a huge consumer success.  So, with a new, flattened Nokia and a new partnership with Microsoft, these turkeys might develop enough arsenals to take on Google and Apple.

This smartphone market with its new dynamics will heat up the mobile technology war and it would be interesting to see how these companies take on each other in near future.

Happy reading

M


New Evernote for Android released

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Evernote, has launched a new version of Evernote for Android (version 2.6). The new version comes with a number of fantastic new features and behind-the-scenes enhancements. The latest version can be availed from the Android Market »

With this update, Evernote introduces a Snippet note list view. The Snippet View is designed to be more dynamic, giving users the most useful information about their note in the smallest amount of space.

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If a note contains an image, then Evernote will show the note title, some text and a thumbnail. If the note is text-only, then instead of having a thumbnail, Evernote will use the full width to display as much of the text as it can fit. It’s all meant to give users maximum at-a-glance information. In many cases, users won’t even need to open the note – they will get all they need from the snippet. [There are other views available; users can switch to them from the view options menu.]

Notebook Stacks

Recently, Evernote for Windows and Mac added Notebook Stacks, a feature which lets users visually group their notebooks. Now, users can see stacks that they created on the desktop from Evernote for Android. If there are specific notebooks that are most useful when accessed from the users phone–trip itineraries or shopping lists – users could consider creating a stack called Mobile for those notebooks. This will make it easier to find what users are looking for, while on-the-go.

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Edit styled notes from your Android device

Now, users can edit any note in their account, whether a text notes, web clip, snapshot, or audio note. Users won’t see that pesky “Append or Copy” popup ever again. This feature works by maintaining the styling of whatever element they decide to edit. For example, if a user edits a bulleted list, the next line they create will also be a bullet; if they edit a section of bold text, then the content they add will also have bold text; and so on. They can also now edit web clips, notes with images, and any other note that’s already in their account.

A note on this feature: Evernote for Android now supports editing existing styled text, but it does not yet allow users to create new styled text or re-style existing text. Evernote is still working on that; also to bring these features to other mobile versions of Evernote.

And there’s more…
  • Improved sync performance: Notes sync around 6 times faster than in previous versions
  • Edit Saved Searches before running them by tapping and holding the search name
  • Improved image scaling
  • Faster note loading and application performance
  • Many additional bug fixes throughout

There’s more great stuff for Android on the way. Users will also start to see some of the features in this update appear in other versions of Evernote soon.

Evernote allows users to easily capture information in any environment, using the computers and phones they find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Evernote is available for download for most major desktop and mobile platforms. For more information, please visit: www.evernote.com

Happy reading

M