Nokia faces challenges - Microsoft, Lumia and the developing world

Nokia are embarking on a brave new challenge to become a dominant force in the international smartphone market.  Despite Nokia's apparent demise in the eyes of many phone owners they are not actually doing too bad.  Nokia actually still make the biggest selling mobile phone in the world, it just happens to not be a smart phone and is aimed more at developing countries.  They also have a huge market share in some of the countries that are coming to the forefront of technology, such as India.  This is apparent not just by sales figures but also that roughly a third of all readers to this site are based in India.  However even with those sales behind them Nokia have struggled to succeed in the smartphone sector.

Nokia have tried several models to compete with the other big guns.  The C series tried to do what a Blackberry did but failed to dominate.  The N and X series were beaten by the iPhones and Samsung Galaxies.  They were all good phones, but they were always a step behind.  Their Ovi store couldn't compete with Apples App Store and their own operating system barely made it onto any handsets before it was scrapped.

Nokia needed something big, they needed a way of dominating a section of the smartphone market.  This section is in the provision of a leading company's OS.  Apple has the iOS and the Android market is dominated by HTC and Samsung.  The other big fish is Microsoft.  Windows mobile phones are available on some handsets such as HTC but there were no brands really pushing it.  Nokia has now made a deal with Microsoft to ship all of its new smartphones with the Windows 7.5 operating system.

If Microsoft have finally made a decent mobile OS and Nokia finally have made some handsets that compete at the top end of the market then there could be a huge shift in power.  Especially as Samsung and HTC are under huge pressure from Apple and the same the other way around.  Apple seem slightly lost and new hardware seems to have slowed.  Maybe just maybe Nokia can bridge the gap and come out fighting.

Lumia the Light at the end of the Tunnel

Nokia has announced the release of new smartphones that will feature the Microsoft Windows 7 OS for mobiles.  This is the beginning of Nokias comeback against Apple and the Android handsets.  The names of these new phones are the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710.

Nokia is fast tracking these new phones, this might be due to the fact that sales of phones with their own operating system are very low considering people know that the end is near for that OS.  The new handsets are due to hit the shelves in Europe sometime this month (November).

Nokia were able to get the Lumia models up to speed relatively quickly as they were originally going to be N series models for the Nokia MeeGo operating system until Nokia pulled the plug, at least that was the case for the Lumia 800.  Does this mean that they are a botched together set of phones and not made to get the best out of the new Microsoft 7.5 OS.  Only time will tell.

The manufacturers are pulling out all the stops to make a competitive phone.  The camera features Carl Zeiss lenses which one of the leading names in lense technology.

Nokia's Hopes still lie with Developing World

Nokia has announced that it will produce four new phones that are basic models.  These phones will be aimed mainly at developing countries where Nokia has a huge stronghold.  There is so much technological growth in the developing world that Nokia can get a whole new generation of people using their brand at low level models and then grow with Nokia as the technology and money becomes more affluent.

The new phones will be labelled Asha which is the Hindi word for "Hope".  India and Pakistan are huge markets for Nokia, so having a name that may relate to their intended market is obviously not just a coincidence.

Nokia has mainly aimed very basic phones at these countries.  However the knew Asha models will feature aspects such as touch screens, cameras and up to 32GB hard drives.  Whether there is a demand for this at the current time is yet to be seen.

Nokia is running a fine line by providing this level of technology on budget phones as the profit margin is slim.  It is simply a numbers game, increasing the world wide usage of the Nokia brand in the hope of getting loyal followers to buy the phones that line the pockets of Nokia's directors.

Nokia gets one up on Apple

I say Nokia get one up on Apple, they actually got more up there.  Nokia had sued Apple for patent infringement which Apple had denied and it went to the courts.  It has now been announced that Nokia have won this dispute and Apple have paid a settlement and are now registered licensees of Nokia technology.  This is a big step for Nokia who many see as behind the game on the technology front whereas this legal dispute proves that the technological advances were Nokia's to begin with.  The technologies that were covered in this patent row include:  touch interfaces, caller ID, display illumination, and 3G and wi-fi technology.  Apple have apparently also counter sued Nokia over infringements of their own, Nokia deny their claims.

Nokia behind the game in messaging

Nokia are already behind in the smartphone market and hoped to get up to speed with the new alliance with Microsoft. However the problem is they need to get ahead of the game and like Nokia Microsoft are already behind it.  The biggest Networks in the UK are O2 and Vodafone, but the new Windows phones partner with Orange, so that for one is a step in the wrong direction.  The other issue that is arrising is instant messaging.

Blackberry has been ahead of everyone else in the instant messaging field with their BBM (Blackberry Messenger).  This allows instant free messaging between Blackberry devices.  You can see when someone is typing and it is much quicker then the traditional SMS service.  Some people literally just buy Blackberrys for this feature.  So why is this a big issue?

It was not until Apple got on the band wagon.  Apple have announced the launch of iMessage, this will look and feel like SMS work the same as BBM.  So you have cross platform integration via SMS but then it will beam into action with instant free messaging with other iOS users.  This feature shows when the other person is typing and you can be notified of delivery and if you so desire a read receipt.  This will further increase the lure of Apple to the collective sheep.

Whatever Apple do, Android tries to assimilate, replicate and improve.  So it wont be long until the Android machine come out with their own version, which leaves Nokia and the Microsoft Mobile OS behind unless they can do something fast.  Can it be done? Judging by Microsoft past mobile history, I would guess, no.

Check out the article and more at 6300 Phones.

Feed Me Oil and Updates

We have reviewed another App, the fantabulous Feed Me Oil that is out for the iPhone, iPods and an HD version for the iPads.  Move objects around to navigate oil from a pipe to a gaping mouth.  Sounds easy but this highly addictive puzzler will keep you going for ages.

Read the review:
Here for the 6300Phones Review
Here for the Squidoo Guide

Or if you want to just jump straight in and get it from the app store click the jump below:

The 6300 Phones back catalogue of Nokia models is filling up with links to the Nokia 1100, 1110 and 1112 getting their entries included:
http://www.6300phones.com/nokia_1100_mobile_phone_review.php
http://www.6300phones.com/nokia_1110_mobile_phone_review.php
http://www.6300phones.com/nokia_1112_mobile_phone_review.php
You can see the full list of all Nokia models ever made on our Squidoo list here:
http://www.squidoo.com/every-nokia-phone-there-has-ever-been

Also our other Squidoo articles have been updated to include Twitter reports from Nokia and also some general updates.
Ed - Our Squidoo Nokia C3 page has now been removed.
http://www.squidoo.com/nokia-mobile-phones-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

As always you got something to say, then let us know.

6300 Phones Squidoo and web site updates

6300 Phones has received a major overhaul in the last few months.  You may have noticed the differences.  The overall template has been updated to make it more fluid, dynamic and stable.  Unfortunately this work has reduced the amount of time spent adding new content.  As the changes have now been completed, more and more articles have been added.

The sponsorship of the site has now been modernised with some new affiliates joining the site.  We have been accepted by Nokia, Tesco and Apple to show their adverts and products on our pages.  As since the start of the site we still have Google Adsense ads displaying.  Please do use sponsorship because the web site is free and that is the only way we will make our server costs back.  If you do use them, then thanks for that.

We have also branched out to use Squidoo more regularly and hope to have a good relationship with them in the future.  Current pages include a review of the Nokia C3, an article feature Good, Bad and Ugly Nokia phones and a massive article attempted to list every Nokia phone ever made.  View them here:
Ed - Our Nokia C3 page no longer exists on Squidoo
http://www.squidoo.com/nokia-mobile-phones-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly
Ed - Out list of all Nokia phones no longer exists on Squidoo.

The main site is has seen some articles getting revamped and updated.  We are trying to make them more relevant and media intensive. More images and videos will be included for your enjoyment.  Also articles from the back catalog of Nokia phones are being added.  Take a look at our new stuff here:
http://www.6300phones.com/

As always, if you want something added to the site or have any questions then drop us a message.

6300 Phones goes social

There have been a few updates to our website 6300 Phones this week.  We have gone social with access to the social networks.  You will now see a bar on the right hand of our site where you can add the site to your favourites and also show the world you like our site by sharing it with your social networks.

We have a Facebook page set up now if your interested.  The page can be accessed here.  This will help keep us in touch with millions of people around the world and hopefully help us to improve our site.  Will also mean we get greater access to what you people want and need to know.

We have also signed up to Squidoo.  This lets us create lenses, so we can get articles out there, show them off and attract new people to the 6300 Phones site.  Our first lense is called Nokia Phones, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly and you can access it by clicking that link.  It takes a look at some of the best, worst and ugliest Nokia phones in recent years.

Way2SMS and site update

Most of the mobile phone contracts these days have free unlimited sms bundles.  These aren't available in some countries so people look at other ways of getting free texts.  India has one of the fastest growing economies on the planet and the adoption of new technology is accelerating at a phenomonel rate.  The desire for free texting has resulted in the creation of several free texting services that use advertising to pay for costs and generate profit.  Such as way2sms and MySmsIndia.

Here is a glimpse of the guide:

"Can you really get free texts to mobile phones in India, Way2SMS offer this service.  See the guide to decide if it is as good as they make out.

The website Way2SMS.com was founded in December 2006 with the idea of bringing totally free SMS texting service to mobile users.  They were planing to use advertising on the mobile phones and internet to cover the costs and generate profit."

You can see the full guide about way2sms service here http://www.6300phones.com/guide_to_way2sms_free_text_to_mobiles.php.

The 6300 Phones web site has grown quite a bit in the last few months so it is receiving a spring clean.  New phone reviews have been added, new games and articles.  The site will become more media rich in the coming weeks.  Hopefully we will soon be able to integrate with Facebook and offer ways for you to communicate with the creators of the site.  The site currently focuses on Nokia model phones but we will hopefully be branching out into iPhones and Blackberries in the near future.