iThinQware » Microsoft

Forecast: Mobile Phone Shipments’ Growth Slows In 2012, But Nokia/Microsoft May Survive

Sarah Perez — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Analysts at Credit Suisse are forecasting slower growth in mobile phone shipments worldwide for this year, at a growth rate of 2%. The increase is higher than previous forecasts but is down from the 12% growth it had projected for 2011, according to this Reuters report. According to the firm, they're expecting to see 1.85 billion handset sales in 2012, up from the 2011 forecast of 1.82 billion. They're also surprisingly bullish on Nokia's fate in the new year.

The Not-So-Crazy Rumors About Microsoft Taking Over Nokia’s Smartphone Division Resurface

Robin Wauters — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:38:43 +0000

Mobile industry watcher Eldar Murtazin took to Twitter today, claiming that Microsoft and Nokia executives will be meeting each other shortly to discuss the possibility and terms of a deal involving the sale of the Finnish phone maker's smartphone division (including "one or two" manufacturing plants). Such an agreement between the two tech giants, which Murtazin says could be finalized in the second half of 2012, would leave Nokia with nothing but its 'dumbphone' or feature phone business, mapping services subsidiary Navteq and Nokia Siemens Networks, the flailing networking and telecom equipment company (a joint-venture with Siemens). Murtazin also asserts that current Nokia head honcho Stephen Elop will resign from his chief executive role in the course of this year (possibly to return to Microsoft, where he used to run the Business Division?). Furthermore, Windows smartphones would no longer be branded 'Nokia'.

Microsoft’s Newest Flight Simulator Goes Freemium

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:46:22 +0000

In the gaming world, there are gamers, there are hardcore gamers... and then there are flight sim players. These guys exist on a plane of dedication that they reside on almost exclusively, with a degree of commitment matched only by their spiritual brothers: the train sim players. Alas, no level of dedication can pay to keep the lights on if the fan base simply isn't big enough... hence the layoff of Microsoft's entire Flight Simulator team back in 2009. Looking to start afresh and bring new blood (and new wallets) into the fan base, Microsoft's taking a different approach with their latest game, Flight: it's going freemium.

Microsoft, OEMs Pledging $200 Million For Windows Phone Marketing Push

Chris Velazco — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:50:31 +0000

If you're not a Windows fan, then these next few months may not be too pleasant for you. WinSupersite's Paul Thurrott reports that Microsoft and OEM friends like Nokia and Samsung will be spending around $200 million in order give Windows Phone a big marketing push in early 2012.

Microsoft Celebrates The Demise Of IE6 In The US

Jason Kincaid — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:53:22 +0000

Internet Explorer 6 — long a thorn in the side of many web developers because of its quirks, limited feature support, and cockroach-like resistance to extinction —is finally on its last legs in the United States. And Microsoft is celebrating. In a post on the Windows Team blog, Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Marketing, writes that Internet Explorer 6 is now down to less than 1% market share in the United States according to the most recent data from Net Applications. It's far from the first country to reach that milestone — Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway have done it already — but it also had far more Internet users to convert. Alongside the US, Microsoft also notes that the Czech Republic, Mexico, Ukraine, Portugal and the Philippines have all dipped below the 1% mark as well. And while it might sound a bit odd to hear about Microsoft celebrating the demise of software it built long ago, this isn't a change of heart for the tech giant — the company has been doing its part to help IE6 die for quite a while.

iPhone 4S Beats Out Lumia 800 In Benchmark Testing (Video)

Jordan Crook — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:17:56 +0000

Have you been wondering which mobile browser is the fastest of late? It would be an understandable thing to pontificate, seeing that Android takes the cake when it comes to LTE support, iOS has the class-leading dual-core A5 chip on its side, and Windows Phone's IE mobile browser is basically a beast. It's a worthwhile question, to say the least. Luckily MyNokiablog noticed a YouTube video uploaded by user 359gsm, in which the iPhone 4S, the Lumia 800, and an iPhone 4 (running iOS 4.3) are put through the ringer. The specific definition of ringer: Browsermark, Speed Reading, Sunspider, Acid3, and HTML5 tests.

MSN Direct goes dark, SPOT watches to suffer no more

Tim Stevens — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:02:00 +0000

When the noble SPOT watch was discontinued back in 2008, Microsoft promised the FM service that kept them informed would soldier on. A year later that service too had its days numbered, and now, today, the counter clicks over to zero. MSN Direct, which...

Security in 2011 by the numbers

Pingdom — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:33:03 +0000

As 2011 draws to a close we wanted to take a look at computer and information security in the twelve months that have passed. What will probably stick in most people’s minds is the Sony PlayStation Network and Qriocity hack, which resulted in an outage lasting 23 days. In other developments, hacktivist groups like Anonymous and LulzSec took to social media to further their causes, and mobile malware got more attention than ever before. All in all, there’s no doubt that 2011 was a very busy year for IT security professionals.

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