Overview of UMTS / GSM-phone Philips W626

Scope of supply:

    Phone
    AC adapter and USB-cable
    Removable panel
    The film on the screen
    User's GuidePositioningIn April 2012, Philips announced its first  two sim cards smartphone Android 2.3, called W626. The device is available immediately, and now the price is about 6000 rubles. It is equipped with 3.5-inch display, MTK6573 chipset clocked at 650 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 3-megapixel camera without autofocus. In the presence of 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

As I see it, the device was in not the best time with not the most successful features. The fact that now is the overabundance of "android" in the lower price segment. It took a strong position brands such as Highscreen, Fly, teXet and others. In fact, Philips offers all the same thing in smartphones from these companies, but for a little more money. Therefore, W626, is likely to be of interest to those who used to trust a major concern and or merely skeptical "Hayskrinam", "Flayam" and their ilk.

The design, size, controlsOn the computer rendering and even photos of the device looks nice, but unfortunately, in real life is not so. Despite the traditional strict design for Philips, the appearance of W626 does not differ from the majority of Chinese smartphones. The top and bottom is slightly sloping to the right and left body takes the form of grooves, the back side of the hipped hipped (if you speak the language of the builders) with smoothed corners.
Case plastic. Part of the front panel - glossy black bezel - semi-gloss, dark gray. The back cover is also made of plastic, and its cover - a nice touch soft touch. Comes with an additional socket. It is painted in bright red, and semi-gloss surface. The impression is that the different colors of caps tried to please both men and women.With the assembly, there are some problems: the rear panel has a small gap in all directions, with pressure on the central region of caves to the battery, while squeezing the very crispy. Otherwise, everything is fine. There is a chance that I came across not a good test sample.In general, housing non-marking, but the screen is covered with fingerprints quickly, they are relatively easy to erase. The screen is not protected by a durable glass, so in order to prevent scratches suggest stick tape. However, a month of testing or scratches on the display, or abrasions on the body did not appear.Dimensions of the device are small - 116h62h14.3 mm, weight - 102 grams. In my opinion, Philips W626 somewhat thickish by today's standards. For example, direct competitors Fly Blackbird - 12 mm, and the Fly Firebird at all thickness of 11 mm. In his hand is good because of the streamlined body shape and light weight.On the front side the front camera, lighting and proximity sensors, as well as the earpiece. Its volume is average (strange, but almost all devices from Philips, it is the same level), mainly tapped mid and high frequencies, the interlocutor can hear clearly and legibly, wheezing or congestion are absent. Below the display are the traditional touch-sensitive buttons Android: «Search", "Home", "Menu" and "Back." Their white backlight, not very bright.The microphone is located under the "Search" button. At the bottom end - 3.5 mm audio jack and a microUSB under a plastic flap. The power button, recessed into the case - at the top end. On the right are the key thin-volume rocker (feels easy) and a flat camera activation button. Big eye of the camera, flash, and speakerphone are on the back side.To open the lid, it should be gently pull the recess microUSB-socket on the bottom. Slot SIM1 - left and under the SIM2 is above the battery from the bottom, a slot for microSD - the right of the SIM1.
DisplayThe manufacturer has established a matrix is ​​the same as in the Fly IQ240 and IQ245: the screen has a diagonal of 3.5 inches, the resolution in this case is 320x480 pixels, ie the minimal standard for Android-devices. The physical size of the matrix - 49h73 mm, density - 164 pixels per inch. Type of screen made of technology TFT-LCD, supports the display 262 thousand color shades. Type of sensor - capacitive, with working up to 5 simultaneous touches (in the "Flayah" - only up to two). Sensitivity is good.Viewing angles are small: the screen at an angle away from you falls contrast, over - the image is inverted, inclined at an angle to the left or right, the brightness is lost. In short, the usual budget matrix.In the present device, proximity and light (CM3623). They had no problems, as reacting quickly. There is a triaxial accelerometer (MT6516) and magnetometer (MT6516). In the "Settings screen" exhibited auto-shutdown and auto-rotation screen animation. The brightness is adjusted either manually or automatically. Its maximum value enough to make the information on the sun was relatively readable.
BatteryIn the Philips W626 uses a removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) Battery 1530 mAh, 3.7V, 5.7 Wh. Model AB1530SWMC. The manufacturer shall report on battery life: talk mode will last up to 9 hours and standby time - up to 437 hours.Frankly, the numbers are too high double. Do not rule out that encounter such a sample, but I got some data: if you use the phone for about eight - nine hours, the battery is fully discharged if: 15-20 minutes a day, three hours of Wi-Fi-Internet (Twitter, E-mail, downloading applications and installing them), about three hours of mobile internet, a couple of hours listening to music. When playing music, the battery of the village after 16 hours, video - 5.5 hours. Approximately the same figures, and went on smartphones Fly Whizz / Wizard. In any case, good energy efficiency.W626 can be recharged from the USB 3 hours or on a network adapter for a little less time.The smartphone works over cellular networks, 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz, both simkarty) and 3G (2100 MHz, only the slot SIM1). The main body is a signature. The speed HSDPA - up to 7.2 Mbit / s, HSUPA - 5.76 Mb / s, GPRS class 12.Instead of names simkart «SIM1» / «SIM2» You can specify any other name, as well as the background color of the indicator network.In the presence of Bluetooth version 2.0 (A2DP) to transfer files and speech. There is a wireless Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g. The device can be used as a access point (Wi-Fi Hotspot). In the "Settings" there is a special item "Tethering" which contains: «USB-Modem" and "access point" and setting the access point.Interestingly, the budget model was a place for Wi-Fi-Direct.For "transportation" files and synchronize data using USB 2.0 (HighSpeed).For all time of operation was seen disappearing Network, Wi-Fi worked steadily, using Bluetooth-headset too, everything was in order.By today's standards, the machine is set a little memory, only 256 MB. However, oddly enough (average was free up to 70 MB - about the same as in the Fly IQ240/245), it was enough for most tasks.For data storage is allocated 150 MB, but not more than 100 free MB. Unfortunately, the card is not supplied, have to buy separately. The maximum amount it can be 32 GB.
CameraThe device uses a 3.2-megapiselny camera without autofocus. There is a small one-section LED flash. Shines up to 20-30 cm (first lights to estimate the exposure, then there is a flash). The average quality of photos: low detail, high intensity and very narrow dynamic range, ie virtually no smooth transition from white to black. The best pictures are obtained at a distance of 1-1.5 meters from the subject. Photographed on a sheet of A4 text is quite possible to recognize. Video shoots well, at least 720x480 pixel displays at 20 frames per second.Runs through the camera menu, with shortcut keys, or long-term retention of the camera. The interface and setup will not describe - everything is standard for Android version 2.3.Characteristics of the video:
    Format: 3GP
    Video codec: MPEG-4 Visual, 9000 kbit / s
    Resolution: 720 x 480 resolution, 20 k / s
    Audio Codec: AAC, 128 kbit / s
    Channels: 1 channel, 16 kHzExamples of photos:Sample video (3GP, 13 MB)
The device operates on a "beloved" and is well acquainted with the chipset from the Taiwanese manufacturer MediaTek - MT6573. It seems that the "library" gives out chips almost free, since almost any budget, "android" is running on the MTK. Processor - ARM 11 (ARMv6) with a frequency of 650 MHz. As a graphics accelerator performs PowerVR SGX 531. It supports: OpenGL 2.0, Microsoft Shader Model 3.The speed of exactly the same as on the Fly IQ240/245/260/270, Highscreen Yummy and many others. Not sure if this is good, at least for Philips: already the biggest company could not afford the processor poshustree.The smartphone has GPS-navigator. In the settings you may turn on the EPO (Extended Prediction Orbit) - one of the innovative proprietary technology A-GPS MediaTek based standalone server. It supports the prediction of satellite orbits for up to 30 days, they can be used to reduce the time positioning GPS. "Cold" start - about 5-6 minutes, "hot" - up to 10 seconds. To work with the cards in the device installed software, "Maps" and "Navigator".
Software platform and shellThe device runs on Google Android operating system version 2.3.5. In the test apparatus is present version of the communication module MAUI.11AMD.W11.37.SP.V3 on 2011.10.18, version of the kernel - 2.6.35.7.In general, the design of an interface standard for Android with some reservations: the bottom of the plate is always attached with the launch of the dialer, contacts, messages and menus. Above the bar notification icons are activated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, data transfer mode "airplane" and so on.There is a range of branded widgets Philips:
    SIM-info
    Alarm clock
    Photo Album
    Contacts
    Data counter
    Power Management
    Lantern
    Watch
"Dvuhsimochnost" and the phone bookIn standby mode, calls are received on both simkarty same time, but you can only talk to one, the second will be available as a radio. The same is true for the Internet, if a SIM card to the network, the second - is not available.The dialer is small. When dialing from top to shed light on the phone numbers that begin with these numbers. To call SIM1, please click on the "tube" and select "sim card".In the "Challenge" there are four tabs - "All Calls", "Outbox", "Inbox" and "Missing." They displayed the caller's name, number and time. If you click on a contact opens a menu with more information. In the "Contacts" shows the caller's name and avatar. On the right - a quick search on the letter above - search and add a new contact.When you call displays an avatar to a quarter of the screen and the panel, "Contacts", "+ Calling", "Hold", "Mute", "Handsfree" and "Buttons."Everything else is common for Android-devices.
MessagesThis section does not appear anything new. To enter text, use TouchPal-keyboard. You can install any other. Due to the fact that the phone has an accelerometer, when
ApplicationsThere is a standard set and a few programs installed by the manufacturer:
    Dolphin Browser
    ES Explorer
    Gismeteo
    The task managerWeb BrowserThe device installed two applications to work with Internet pages - standard and Dolphin browsers. It is better to use the latter, it is a little faster, more convenient to display the tab, and functionally richer Dolphin Browser. Since Philips W626 is based on the ARMv6 processor, Flash-animation is missing.
Multimedia
The usual music player, familiar to all Android-devices. In the setting: the entrance to the library, the creation of the mix, adding to playlist, set ringtones for incoming calls, delete, and sound effects (Bass Boost, virtualizer, reverb and EQ, presented several presets).The speaker volume a little above average. If you close the hole, then the volume drops to 10%. When an overload is not wheezing.The sound quality through headphones is customary for such devices to "android." The volume is sufficient for listening to music on the street or the subway. In general, all parameters of sound no different from the sound Highscreen Yummy, teXet TM-5200, Fly IQ270 and so on.FM-radioThe receiver operates at frequencies of 87.5 - 107.8 MHz. To listen to the need to connect a headset or headphones - they act as an antenna. Supported by the RDS. The memory retains all found the station, and each of them can give a name. Sensitivity is good, volume is slightly higher than the player.Video playerThe standard Player understands 3GP and MP4 formats in the resolution of 720x480 pixels at most and the bit rate is not above 4000 kbit / s. The following quote the technical parameters of video files that are just going without any problems:
    Format: AVI, MP4, 3GP, MKV
    Video codec: DivX, XViD, AVC, up to 4000 kbit / s
    Resolution: Up to 854 x 675, 30 k / s
    Audio Codec: AAC, MP3, AMR, 320 kbit / s
    Channels: 6 channels, 48 ​​kHzAfter installing any third-party video player, a list of supported formats and codecs increases. They play all the videos at resolutions up to 720p (1280x720 pixels).
ImpressionsThe quality of communication not satisfactory: the level of signal reception confident, and at the time of testing there was no connection breaks. Vibrate is weak, barely perceptible in the pockets of coats: he'll hear more than feel it :).Unfortunately, the impression that Philips does not try too hard to create this smartphone: they took the platform MTK, found exactly the same elements that are used in, or Fly Highscreen, and hastily made the case. It so happened that on the "filipka" nothing left, even the battery capacity is not strengthened. I'm not saying that the device went bad, just from a major manufacturer was expecting something more original than a copy of Chinese "dialers".As said at the beginning of the review, W626 would be interesting to those who do not trust the gadgets from not such well-known companies such as Philips.Pros:
    Two slots for SIM-card
    The high volume in headphones
    Automatic camera activation button
    WeightCons:
    Luft and the crunch of the rear panel
    Weak camera
    Skype version does not work above Features:
    Class: smartphone
    Form Factor: candy bar
    Materials: plastic
    Operating system: Google Android 2.3.5
    Network: 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz, both simkarty) and 3G (2100 MHz, only the slot SIM1)
    CPU: Single Core, 650 MHz, MTK6573
    Memory: 256 MB
    Data Memory: 150 MB
    Connectivity: Wi-Fi (b / g), Bluetooth 2.0, connector microUSB (USB 2.0) for charging / sync, 3.5mm headset jack
    Screen: capacitive, TFT-LCD 3.5'' resolution of 320x480 pixels
    Camera: 3.2 megapixel without autofocus + VGA front, the flash
    Navigation: GPS
    Optional: accelerometer, sensors and lighting approximation, FM-radio
    Battery: removable, Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) 1500 mAh
    Dimensions: 116x62x14, 3 mm
    Weight: 102 grams

Overview of the tablet Sony Tablet P

Scope of supply:

    The tablet
    Charger
    Hand strap
    DocumentationIn February this year at the site had the first part of the review Sony Tablet P authored by Sergey Kuzmin. Several months passed, and the second part, I've been writing. Is it good or bad - to you, dear readers. Anyway, I used the Tablet P for several weeks in the "hard" mode (in the article I'll explain why), updated to the latest incarnation of OS Android - in short, once again lived in the shoes "soniboya."

Overview of the tablet Sony Tablet P. Part OneI can not recall a series of similar Sergei wonderful laptop Sony VAIO P, now forgotten. I remember he used a couple of versions, advised to take familiar, but inside - Atom, time - 2-4 hours, offset by a luxurious keyboard and a small mass (about 700 grams) - that is to get great typewriter.
Once upon a time (three years ago) I have been here a bunch of devices for printing:
Now, Microsoft is promoting a similar direction with its tablet Surface on ARM and x86 (will be on sale later this year).But today, talking about the Sony Tablet P. Let me remind dimensions of this device (and pulls to write a "toy", but I will try to hold back): 15.8x1.4x8 cm, weight 372 grams.In fact, in the pocket of jeans to wear this miracle is definitely uncomfortable, but in the pocket of the jacket (winter, jackets, sportswear - no difference) carry P-shku quite possible. You can also throw in a little bag - the place is almost no device.Strap on a hand I did not get - well, thank God, be a miracle-monster on the wrist is not very good, in addition to weight and size characteristics, there are also such factors as the quality of the materials for them now and we'll talk.With regard to the case, unfortunately, Sony uses a plastic, and the photos you can see what is happening with the appearance of the device under constant use. Scratches, abrasions - what it cost to use aluminum? Probably wanted to avoid the analogy with the MacBook and aypadami - that's what happened.The assembly is not bad, but for the operation of the upper lid just blabbed. In itself it does not fall off, but it seems to me to this point will be quite some time.I would like to make this point for separate consideration. If you do not take the infamous plastic, it remains a folding design, it looks like both, and futuristic, but it seems to me, only in black.In silver color Tablet P looks like something very toy. Showed it to friends and acquaintances - in the end the poor tablet received such negative characteristics as "ochechnik overgrown" and "powder-box." Well, here's a design. On the other hand, it is unclear how one could have done better (except for the color of plastic materials).It is not clear where in general the idea of ​​separation of the two screens of the tablet, because the main problem - it is an application that does not always (let's face it - not always, and even harder - almost never) know that instead of one screen they have access to two. As a result, only work properly in the Sony brand and several programs under Sony Select (useful applications can be counted on the fingers of one hand, mostly toys) could be, there are some third-party developers, but I have not found such happiness. So we can get as a "combined" diagonal screen is about 7 inches, and a separate 5.5-inch.Simply put - the standard zagonchik programs more or less equipped for two screen tablet, in other cases, either one of the screens is empty or occupied by the on-screen keyboard. Plus, the two screens are slightly different color, you can get used to it, but the fact is surprising - is it really so hard to pick up a pair of identical matrices?After - another minus. After opening the two halves of the plate thinking 1-2 seconds before the light illumination. In my opinion, too long - it would be nicer if the activation of the operating system took place immediately, ie at the time of disclosure, rather than after it.Except for color, high-quality screens, covering more or less steadily to the appearance of fingerprints.Upgrade to Android 4.0Update to the latest version of OSes with "robot" for Tablet P waited long enough, but in June it finally happened. In addition to the release, not much has changed - the application are the same speed (and time stand-alone) - also unchanged. So it's not clear what was coming. One important change - had disappeared somewhere near the clock icon, which allows you to switch some applications of the operation on the two screens in the normal, where the second screen is assigned a keyboard or auxiliary elements. Plus - the device refused to communicate with the computer via USB. Well, not a great loss, in general.In general, the rate of work (on any OS) is to say: not a fountain. In some places there are weird freezes in the browser (in the same Web application, Sony Select), although the interface as a whole runs smoothly, is that applications run slower than desired, retarding the gallery. The level of some of the first (in some cases - the second) Apple iPad, it has never been a breakthrough.The implementation of 3G.It's simple - remove the socket, insert the SIM-card, start to work. Connect a stable, everything is fine. Of course, with constant wear with them is an essential feature - look-mail, surf, update the application. What this leads - see the next section.
HoursStated 7 hours on one battery - myth and fiction. Clearly, in the standby mode, the tablet can live a day (even when checking mail), but if you start to crawl over the Internet, listening to music, play games - get 3-4 hours at best - 5. That is to say, Tablet P - is a complement to your phone / laptop is dead - not a problem, carry it home (with a charger is not particularly shabby). What can I say - Android.CameraIn the tablet has two cameras, one for photos and video (5 MP) and one for video (0.3 MP).The quality of both cameras is low, in my opinion, could have been done better. In any case, the application for capturing content easy enough, there's even a panorama stitch function.Anyway, I'm shooting a feature quickly forgotten - I think the examples of photos explain to you why.A few months from the time of writing the first part of the review of the tablet price has not changed - it was 24 000, was 20 for the regular version, and 22 with a memory card to 16GB. In general, for the money you can buy almost any tablet on the market - and the competition is to write something tiny, but the trick is that the models with 5-6 inches screen is no longer on sale, will have to play the hypocrite and compare Tablet P with Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 7.7. Yes, the "Samsung" a screen, and not two - but as you know, this is largely a plus, not minus. In size - it is clear that the Galaxy Tab not fit in every pocket, but otherwise - about the same filling, high-quality screens and Galaxy, and Sony.Formally, the P has no competitors, the aggregate characteristics of the folding plate is unique to Sony. That's just why such a unique (no applications)? It is not clear.The problem is that the uniqueness of device pay a high price - the lack of applications. That is what you can use the "full"? Browser. E-mail client. Built-in reader. And, in general, everything.Thus, I have formed the main usage scenario - constant checking email (very pleased indicator light that signals the letters come), some crawl on the Internet. I tried reading books, and not very pleasant - like a book Tablet P is seen with great difficulty.Use P-shku as a player you can. How to play audio and video. But then I personally have an iPhone 4, there are special players. That is, in a couple of P must be the phone easier, but whether it is convenient to switch the track to get a tablet, lay him? No, just too inconvenient. Video player - on one screen 5.5 inches? Funny enough.So, to give a more than 20 thousand for the tablet? Yes, if you like the fancy stuff and gadgets. Even after a review of the failed BlackBerry Playbook letter came to me I'm wrong and it's a great device, a worthy purchase and adoration.Well, the same can be said about the Tablet P. Only once it is necessary to understand that this is the first (and probably last) like tablet applications for it will not be building his flimsy. And this purchase, you will make "forever" - it can be sold only with nonweak discount (14-15 thousand rubles for nearly new tablet - these prices are now on the secondary market).If all this does not bother - take the money and buy. But the charm of the folding disappears after a couple of days, its cool to carry around, and no more. Then begins Tablet P incorporation into your personal ecosystem, and then think better, which features pull plate, and what - not.

MWC 2012: mobile news and exploring attractions in Barcelona at the same time

Mobile World Congress (MWC) - is the largest exhibition of mobile technology, with the participation of mobile operators in the world. Traditionally, the event takes place in Barcelona, ​​where every year a hurry as the mobile industry experts and media representatives. Before the 2006 exhibition held in Cannes. Tourists, who at the time of MWC particularly large, welcoming Spain offers a great selection of hotels and hotels, including banquets, catering and other services to suit every taste.
The very MWC 2012 will take place from February 27 and March 1. The majority of tourists arriving in Barcelona, ​​tend to occupy a place in the Gothic Quarter of the city, which lies between La Rambla boulevard and avenue Via Laietana. But this is not the only place that can conquer their beauty. Also, the Internet can view articles about the organization of tours and hotels to choose.The most colorful areas in Barcelona are the Born (located just behind Via Laietana), Barceloneta and the Gothic Quarter. And the shoppers will produce an unbeatable impression boutiques Passeig de Gràcia. The most expensive area of ​​the city is the Eixample, because here you can rent a luxury apartment in a modern style, as well as visit to the Passeig de Gràcia Chanel and Burberry boutiques.What is worth seeing in the capital? Spain does have a lot of beautiful places, not to mention its center. One of them is the Picasso Museum, the church of Santa Maria del Mar, the Palace of Catalan Music, Santa Caterina Market and others.In general, Barcelona is the most visited city in the Iberian Peninsula. Big difference in price related to reservation of rooms in ordinary areas there, but at the same time to find a room for 50-60 euro, too, is not easy. The situation was rescued or more "advanced" Tourists do not often happened in these places, or tour operators, providing the necessary information.What do we expect from the exhibition itself? This year it promises to be even more interesting, because it alone will not be limited gadgets. His best work will present the world-famous company LG, HTC, Nokia, Sony, Huawei, Samsung, Acer, Microsoft and many others. All applicants have already formalized the application form and specify the name represented models. Details will appear soon after the start of Mobile World Congress 2012.

Once More Into the Abyss: Stephen Elop and NokiaThe CEO of Nokia is an outstanding man: he managed to sink a major company, a world leader on its market, in a record short time. Truly, an exploit worth of Herostratus. Some become great through creating something and some are just great at destroying. Upon his arrival in Nokia Stephen Elop surrounded himself with top-managers who assisted him in sinking the company and it is time for Elop to get rid of some of them. He used an old CEO trick: first he made a promise, then he repeated it sometime later and when the time came to answer

 

 for his words he shrugged his shoulders and said that the situation had changed. Since September 2010 Nokia has fired 35,000 employees. That is only those who worked inside Nokia proper and we can only guess how many lost their jobs inside Nokia partners. Unfortunately, the official Nokia figures do not tell all the truth. Several thousands of Symbian developers have been officially employed by Accenture with the single purpose to relive Nokia of its social obligations towards the thousands of people who built Nokia's success over decades.
The latest news that sent Nokia stock down again came from Elop who announced that by the end of 2013 Nokia is going to lay off 10,000 more employees around the world but mostly in Finland, Nokia's homeland causing the stock to plummet by another 10% last Thursday. The lay-off is estimated to cost Nokia around one billion euro in compensation payments. Let's have a look at how many people Nokia has already laid off:Month announced Number of laid offApril 2011 7 000September 2011 3 500February 2012 4 000June 2012 10 000Total 24 500I feel bad for all those falling the victims of Nokia's CEO but let's now see the history of lay-offs. Any company having hard times it is of utmost importance to develop new technologies to regain what it has lost. It is quite obvious that if no one is buying your products you should make new ones. Nokia before Elop was developing several product lines. Firstly, they had Maemo later renamed into MeeGo when Intel joined in the development. MeeGo was supposed to compete with the iPhone but it became the first victim of Elop who said that disregarding how well MeeGo sells it will be discontinued. Moreover, Nokia did everything to fail the first and only MeeGo product so that it could not turn into a rival of Windows Phone 7.The Elop's Victim: Nokia N9 - the First and the Last MeeGo.The Symbian became Elop's second victim although some believe that it was actually the first but it was harder for Elop to announce it officially as Symbian accounted for 100% of Nokia's smartphone sales. So after a while Nokia announced that Symbian will be steadily replace by Windows Phone 7.It didn't go very well and as soon as.Elop announced these plans in February 2011 the sales of Symbian began to diminish rapidly swiftly turning into a catastrophe no one at Nokia expected.In March already Nokia attempted to remedy the situation but failed.In 2012 Symbian sales were melting like snow in July despite Nokia's dumping prices / Nokia's products could not compete anyway and the situation was getting worse by the week. According to IDC in Q1 2012 Nokia shipped 2.2 million handsets which is just pathetic. Besides, Nokia is also dumping its WP7 smartphones selling them for less than the production costs.
So what is the fat Nokia trimmed in 2011 and is going to trim in 2012? The top managers of the company have answered that: it seems like they value the marketing and the PR departments the most and the lay-off will hardly touch them. I am no expert in big business management but it seems like a mad decision for me and like Nokia is doing everything possible to rid itself of any chance of survival.I am fascinated by how Stephen Elop talks on the behalf of Microsoft, he mentions the goals of MS as if he were on the board and seems to forget about the goals of Nokia. The former Elop's employer is concerned about Android rivalry as they have managed to destroy two of their other rivals Symbian and MeeGo. Stephen Elop said it out loud during one of his Q & A sessions over the phone that Android is a threat to WP7. I will talk about it a bit later but now let's think whether Android is a threat to Nokia? Should Nokia has adapted Android instead of WP7 it would have had bigger sales than Samsung today and preserved its leadership on the market. So all the attempts of the current Nokia management to make Android look like an enemy of Nokia means only that they are not really working for Nokia.In his speeches Elop often proves me right like when he mentioned that Microsoft has assisted Nokia greatly in development of new products. Frankly I was offended by these words because just a couple of years ago Nokia was the best on the market and did not need any 'assistance'. But after all the lay-offs Nokia is not feeling too well and does indeed need help. It is obvious from the quality of their latest products: the ratio of faulty products has grown considerably and Nokia's Windows Phone 7 smartphones undergo very little testing before released causing a trail of firmware updates for users. This is a definite sign of a company decline.Nokia has very little if any space to maneuver and Stephen Elop's mission has been a success: he removed anyone from Nokia who could be any help in saving Nokia. Now he will have fire those who would be able to shed some light to what has been going on inside Nokia in 2011-2012.
Why Meltemi Was MurderedThe CEO of Nokia is a master of lies: a year ago he was giving a speech at Nokia House and said how important the Meltemi project is. It was from Stephen Elop that the world learned about Meltemi, a Linux based OS. Meltemi was meant for budget but functional phones in the $ 100-300 price range. The Nokia strategy adopted in 2009 placed Meltemi as a one of the cornerstones of the company's future with the main goal to replace S40 which was getting too old and depleting its update potential.It was the right idea and the whole 2009 strategy made perfect sense: there was supposed to be one or two Maemo (MeeGo) smartphones at the top of the product range leading to five in 2012. Just imagine that there could be Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple iPhone 4S / 5 rivals with the Nokia brand on them by now. The purchase of Qt and creation of a unified development tool was the right move Nokia needed for porting apps at minimal costs. Nokia would have a number of platforms with little costs to maintain them - an infinitely more profitable solution than relying on someone else's technologies.Nokia had the right ideas but they had many problems in execution and they were often behind the schedule. But most importantly, back then they were moving in the right direction even though there were some losses in sales. I think that without that dramatic change Stephen Elop brought upon Nokia the company would be doing fine right now and would have successfully launched MeeGo and Meltemi a bit later. Those were not meant to be a breakthrough but merely to be evolutionary and logical next step. When I started criticizing MeeGo I had already known that Meltemi would be discontinued as Stephen Elop could not let Nokia be any threat to Windows Phone 7. So Elop has been steadfastly destroying everything what could have saved Nokia which was, after all, his only purpose as the CEO of Nokia.Last Thursday Stephen Elop was asked during a conference whether the Meltemi project had been shut down for good to which Elop replied that he did not remember ever mentioning this project in public but confirmed that the development had been discontinued. Seem like Mr. Elop had forgotten about his speech a year ago (there were no leaks about Meltemi before Elop but under him leaks have become quite regular). I think it is extremely hypocritical of him to think that we might have forgotten about his previous statements.You want to know when Meltemi was scheduled to be released? The answer is July 2012. Nokia had everything ready for this release and not just the platform - Nokia had plans for a few very affordable and competable phones on it. Even after he had ruined Nokia's ecosystem, refused Qt, fired the developers inside Nokia and ditched the outsourced works, claimed that Lumia was the only way he was still afraid of Meltemi. And I think he had reasons for that.Right now Windows Phone only has the Tango version for budget smartphones but they cost the same as the previous gen WP7 smartphones eg Lumia 610 costs about the same as Lumia 710 and the latter is the clear choice. Tango was a planned move for Microsoft but really budget smartphones will only be released in 2013 together with Windows Phone 8 which might have a say on the market while Windows Phone 7 is just a half-measure. Until then Microsoft has nothing to put against cheap Androids. What does Nokia has to do about Microsoft's problems you might ask?Every time Nokia releases a product that might be successful Nokia makes everything possible for it to fail. Like they did to Nokia N9: at first glance it could seem like Nokia was doing a lot to promote it but all the ads went to waste because the release was delayed. It is like lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills.Meltemi release would mean that Microsoft would have no sales at all in 2013 in the budget smartphone range. Look for yourself at a probable Meltemi phone: 800x480 3.5 "-4" screen, 5MPix camera, a good chassis, high performance and for just 120-130 euro. It would be a bombshell on the market that could mean that Nokia is coming back. I am pretty sure Meltemi would have been successful and would would be happening this summer.According to Nokia's PR coming back with anything but a Lumia Windows Phone is unthinkable. But in terms of business it look the other way around. But the CEO said it: Nokia is either making it with WP7 or is not making it at all.For the last year I have been to Germany many times and have visited the town of Ulm twice. That is where the Meltemi project is based. The people who work there say they feel betrayed by Stephen Elop. The R7D department in Ulm is scheduled for closure now. The rumors about this first came around in April when Nokia decided not to send Meltemi prototypes to partners and discontinued their tests. Back then the official reason was to preserve the secrecy of the project. The management was deaf to their employees reminding them that without the prototypes the partners would not be able to assess the future sales. By May it became clear that Meltemi would not leave Ulm under any circumstances as it would be too successful.Some idea used in Meltemi have been adopted in S40 in the Asha series which is nothing as compared to what Meltemi itself is capable of.Now about another dirty aspect of this story. Stephen Elop discontinued all the projects Nokia has invested billions into and now the company is selling off bits of itself just to survive. It went so far that today Nokia is not printing its brand on memory cards and hologram stickers on batteries. Firstly, Elop refused Nokia any profit it could make and then adopts a number of austerity measures.After it became public that Nokia is discontinuing MeeGo a number of companies including Samsung offered to buy this division and all the respectful intellectual property. Some bids were billions of dollars but guess what Nokia did? Instead of selling it they ruined it completely. It reminds me of the scorched earth tactics when the retreating party leaves nothing to the attacking opponent. A hostile acquisition looked impossible in 2011 but in 2012 it is very plausible. Then why didn't Nokia sell a dying asset and preferred to destroy it completely?I think the answer is treason. It is not business, it is betrayal of the company's interests. In terms of the law Nokia can do whatever it wants with its assets including burying them. It is all up to the management and they chose ruin Nokia.I think that Nokia will put a lot of efforts in H2 2012 removing all traces of Meltemi from history so that no rival could ever use it. Meanwhile, many of those Nokia is laying off today will go to work for Samsung and other companies to create something new instead.I might be wrong with my analysis but what I think is I am witnessing right now inside Nokia is the betrayal of the staff by Nokia management. An economically successful treason and a massive backstabbing.The End of S40.The current Nokia's CEO is very consistent: first he got rid of Symbian, then MeeGo, then Meltemi. All those platforms were meant for production of smartphones. It would seem that S40 should not have bothered him as it was no competition to Windows Phone 7 and was making profit he could use to boost WP7 sales. But as you could have understood by now regular business models do not apply to Nokia's management. Stephen Elop's main objective is to make Windows Phone popular whatever it takes even if it means sacrificing all other Nokia markets.Elop has proven that he is ready to give up the profit for WP7 sales and sell one WP7 smartphone instead of selling ten on Symbian and MeeGo. But as of now he has already depleted the potential of Lumia sales through those sources so the next thing he is going to do is to sacrifice S40 for the sake of WP7 sales. I understand it sounds completely mad but that is what Nokia is doing right now.It won't happen right away and S40 is going to be ruined steadily until probably in 2013 Elop announces that S40 should be discontinued due to its ineffectiveness.Imagine you have two products in your range: number one is has sizable and regular sales and you make 20% profit off of it, number two only has 5% of number one sales and you only make 7% profit on it. So which one is more profitable? You don't have to be a PhD. To understand that number one product should by your priority. The thing is, Nokia thinks differently and preserve the worst products in the model range and get rid of the most successful ones. They are playing anti chess to ruin S40.This plan also caused the changes in the management staff: Mary McDowell used to be Nokia's phone division executive vice-president. One of her responsibilities was development of Meltemi. Today this post is occupied by Timo Toikkanen who used to be in charge of special apps and Nokia business development. It is very illustrative that the current phone division head is not an engineer but a lawyer. It is, of course, a technical replacement as the main Timo's job will be to lay off employees and shut down S40, not develop it.Stephen Elop is cleaning up the top management to conceal the proof of what was actually going on inside Nokia in 2011-2012. the destruction of Nokia is nearing its last act.The Sale of VertuNokia is selling off all assets that cannot make their rivals stronger. Vertu has become a major burden on Nokia as last six months Vertu sales have been going down rapidly. Without a strong Nokia Vertu phones becoming less and less popular. 90% of Vertu was sold to a private investment group called EQT VI. Nokia has not announced the sum but some sources close to the deal mention € 200 million. It is a puny sum and back in 2000 Vertu cost $ 10 billion but then in 2000 Nokia was valued at $ 300 billion.I wonder what platform will next gen Vertu use. Since Nokia still owns 10% of the company the logical answer is Windows Phone 8 but I guess Android is also possible.However, I think that without Nokia Vertu has no chances of survival. It is a lot more important to have a proper platform than to be able to make expensive chassis.Elop's Strategy.During a conference call Nokia's CEO shared his views on the development strategy. It is clear that he sets the Lumia series as the the top priority product and pay little attention to all others. Elop thinks that the release of Windows Phone 8 will boost Nokia sales. He said the same thing about Windows Phone 7. But as IDC report tell us that never happened. In Q1 2012 Nokia sold 2.2 million Lumia smartphones. 980 thousand of them in Western Europe as compared to 15.5 million Android devices, 7 million Apple iPhone and 2.5 million Blackberries. The figures speak for themselves.All this does not seem to bother Elop. As the main problem on the way to respectable sales he names the retail and the way Lumia phones are presented in stores. I have talked about this many times and said that Nokia is already spending billions motivating sales associates to sell Lumia phones but they cannot do it for a number of other reasons. Nonetheless, Nokia blames the retail for all sales failures and not problems inside the company.I remind you that while laying off the developers Nokia is still retaining the same number of sales and marketing staff. The company is repeating all the steps other companies that are now gone from the mobile market made. Nokia reps never say that they are leaving certain markets instead they say that Nokia is going to focus on this or that market. Then they enumerate the biggest and most important markets mainly the US, China and some other European and Asian markets. I guess the full list includes: India, Indonesia, Russia, Finland; then the second tier: Germany, France, Austria. The reason of leaving all other markets is obvious - Nokia does not have the money to keep all regional divisions. This is what Elop wanted only he did not expect the sales to go down that fast. For the first time in decades Nokia's market share in Finland is below 50% (IDC data). In Nokia's homeland Samsung is now the leader. The same is happening to other markets: a year ago Nokia's market share in Indonesia was 52% in Q1 2012 it is down to only 24%. In Russia Nokia's share is down to 20% and will continue to diminish.This story is a copy of what happened to Motorola. Moto 'focused' on principal markets but soon had to leave them too because it did not have the money to stay. Elop's plan presupposed that in 2011-2012 Nokia will come back with the Lumia series so giant sums were spent for promoting Lumia. But WP7 failed and in 2011 its share fell to 2.2% from 2.6% a year before. And it was only Nokia with its giant spendings that stopped WP7 from falling any lower.Elop said that he is happy with Lumia 900 AT & T sales. According to my sources the sales are very poor and nothing near the rivals. But we will learn the truth soon enough when the AT & T report is released.The new Nokia strategy is forced by the circumstances should Elop have more money to promote Windows Phone then he would undoubtedly do so. But Nokia ran out of cash so now Elop literally is selling off Nokia bit by bit to keep Windows Phone afloat.Nokia is working on the behalf of Microsoft doing everything to make WP better and sell it. As you understand ditching own platforms means that Nokia will only have WP7 left to work with. Nokia gave their maps to Bing but got nothing out of it. Now Nokia announced the purchase of intellectual property of a company called Scalado. Scalado has developed a few interesting technologies for digital photography. Nokia is buying some of their patents and staff. I am sure that in the future Microsoft will be the one using these technologies. Right now Blackberry devices use the same tech but the question I want to ask is why doesn't Nokia use PureView or any of the other their own technologies?Besides, why Lumia phones are not produced at Nokia factories but rather Nokia outsources it to Compal. I think the answer is to keep Lumia production separate so that when Nokia collapses any other company like let's say Microsoft can pick up Lumia and continue like nothing ever happened. Today Elop is carefully collecting everything Microsoft might need for Windows Phone and destroying all that that Nokia itself or any of MS rivals could have used against WP. The summer of 2012 is the point of no return, from this moment on there is no survival for Nokia. So everything Elop has to do right now is to ensure that when Microsoft takes over what is left of Nokia it has everything it needs. Elop is leeching on Nokia transfusing its precious blood to Microsoft. Nokia stock holders don't seem to mind.Elop will be leaving Nokia this year but when he does there is nothing left to restore the company. No matter how talented and honest the next CEO is he won't be able to change what is inevitable. Nokia was way too big to die in a moment but it is already dead and is making its last steps. Thanks to Elop Nokia died a lot faster than any other former mobile market player.

Seems like I made it a habit to write a separate Spillikins issue to cover news from Nokia since there is so much going on around this company. Below you will find links to the previous Nokia related articles. As for today, we are going to talk about Stephen Elop's lies and his treason of Nokia. I will not be guessing who he is working for but it is pretty obvious who benefits from it. This person managed to single-handedly destroy a giant company from the inside. I no longer have the heart to watch how Nokia is going down thanks to Elop and those who collaborated with him.The two other Nokia dedicated articles were posted once every ten weeks and it seems like the destruction of the company has its own pace.