nokia

Prizefight: Nokia Lumia 920 vs. HTC Windows Phone 8X

It's the first time for Windows Phone 8 to step into the Prizefight ring, and we're comparing the top two competitors with Nokia's Lumia 920 and HTC's Windows Phone 8X.

The Nokia Lumia 920 brings wireless charging and a modern pop art-style design with its big bold screen. The HTC Windows Phone 8X brings a sleeker design with built-in Beats audio technology.

Who takes Windows Phone 8 to the next level? It's a face-off between Nokia and HTC for Prizefight supremacy. Which phone is your Prizefight champion? Cast your vote!

The next LG Optimus leaks

The next LG Optimus may have leaked!

This week Fortune debuted a list of the 100 best companies to work for. Google took the No. 1 spot while Microsoft checked in at No. 75. Wireless tech company Qualcomm took the 11 spot while chip manufacturer Intel showed up at 68.

Details of a high-powered version of LG's Optimus G have apparently leaked online. A slide sent to Engadget teases a new LG phone with a 5-inch 1080p display, a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, 13-megapixel rear camera, and 32 GB of on-board storage. There's no word yet on which … Read more

Nokia lets customers build custom Lumia 820 cases

Nokia Lumia 820 owners will be able to create their own cases for the handset.

Nokia today announced that it's now releasing 3D templates, case specs, and recommended material guidance to help Lumia 820 owners produce their own shell to replace the removable case on the back of the handset. Nokia has offered several cases for customers to choose from, but didn't allow owners to develop their own.

In order to actually create the cases, however, users will need to have access to a 3D printer. With 3D printing, users can input material and churn out their creation.… Read more

What gear would you take on a 5-year, 9,000-mile walk?

OK, let's just say you decide to walk the length of Europe and Asia and bring all your social-media peeps along for the journey. What devices would you bring with you to keep in touch and document your epic stroll?

These aren't questions most of us will ever be faced with, but Michael Lee Johnson is thinking very hard about the answers right now as he prepares to embark on a half-decade long sojourn by foot from Beijing to London later this year.

A developer from England who has also worked in social media (he had a moment of notoriety when Facebook nixed the 1-cent ad he purchased to promote his Google+ account), marketing and a few startups, Johnson tells me he's treating his trip as a sort of startup of its own.

In fact, the idea for a major overland trip was originally conceived as a marketing stunt for a startup. The startup is no more, but Johnson's dream of sharing the near-entirety of an epic personal journey lives on.… Read more

Nokia to slash over 1,100 IT jobs

Nokia today announced that it was cutting over 1,100 IT jobs from its workforce.

The company says that it will lay off 300 employees currently working in an IT function. Nokia will also transfer up to 820 employees to IT services firms, HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services.

Nokia announced in June that it would make broad cuts -- about 10,000 layoffs -- across its business to save money and make its operation more agile. According to the company, the IT cuts will be the last part of that plan.

Nokia will offer employees affected by the layoffs &… Read more

The 404 1,189: Where we rubber band your chopsticks (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- What it's like to experience new technology after 25 years in jail.

- Ante up that $100 if you want to message Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

- Why the next big DJ will be an algorithm.

- Enough with the social-media "gurus," "ninjas," "masters," and "mavens."Read more

Nokia to go big with smartphone cameras in 2013

LAS VEGAS--Seated in a luxurious bus on the edge of the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot, Nokia executive VP of sales and marketing Chris Weber talks around the company's plan to differentiate its phones in 2013.

It will surprise Nokia followers little to learn that this year, the Windows Phone-maker will be all about photos.

Two main categories define how good pictures will be: hardware choices, like using higher-end lenses that let in more light, and software algorithms that render clear, bright images with pop.

Nokia has talked up its PureView technology, first found in the Nokia 808 … Read more

5 unanswered questions from CES

LAS VEGAS--It all goes by so quickly.

One minute, you're wondering what was going through the minds of those who prepared the Qualcomm keynote of crazy, the next you're watching crazily hungover people pile into cabs and head back to places they call home.

Here are the five things that have stayed in my head, long after the gossip, the rumor and the wine had flowed away.

1. WHERE HAD THIS LADY BEEN? WHAT WAS SHE WEARING? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

This was around 10 o'clock on Thursday morning at the Renaissance Hotel, right at the Convention … Read more

Surprise, surprise: Nokia's Q4 rides high on Lumia sales

Nokia is so excited about its fourth-quarter performance that today it announced preliminary financial information to let shareholders know how well it performed.

During the fourth quarter, Nokia's Devices & Services operation not only exceeded expectations, but delivered "underlying profitability." The struggling company said that the division's mobile phones unit delivered better-than-expected results, with 86.3 million total unit sales. Nokia's Windows Phone-friendly Lumia line generated 4.4 million unit sales, and the company's Asha line of handsets for emerging markets tallied 9.3 million units sold.

"We are pleased that Q4 2012 … Read more

India tax officials raid Nokia facility

A Nokia facility in Chennai, India, was raided earlier today by country tax authorities.

According to Reuters, which was first to report on the incident, Nokia confirmed to the news service that a raid was conducted on an office in the southern India city and that the company is cooperating with the probe, but declined to provide further details. An Indian tax official told Reuters that the raid relates to allegations of possible tax evasion against the smartphone maker.

The tax default is believed to be around 30 billion rupees ($543 million), the official told Reuters.

Technology companies commonly find … Read more