24 September 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

$4.7 Billion Buyout Offer for BlackBerry?

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:51 PM PDT

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TheVerge reports that BlackBerry has received a $4.7 billion buy out offer from a Canadian Investment company. This means that BlackBerry could return to private ownership.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/23/4762666/blackberry-receives-buyout-offer

Things aren’t looking so good for BB. They halted trading of their shares, just as they did before announcing some major lay-offs (to which led to many thinking BB were going to way of Palm) to focus on enterprise (as the likes of Android and even WP have eaten BB’s consumer market).

BB may still receive other offers. November 4th is when an agreement is expected.

It’s all a bit sad that once big smartphone companies are heading this way. More so for Nokia of course, not simply because we’re Nokia fans, but because based on the news, it looked like Nokia and Lumia were on the up, and up! (You could not read the same excitement or success about BB, could you?). Some reckon BB could be broken up and parts sold off (services, patents, hardware).

There are still more Nokia smartphones to come, as evident by those leaks, all the way up until the Devices and Services division goes to MS. The same devices then, possibly under a different name (Lumia or something new) will be released. The main chunk of Nokia (the ‘profitable’ side), NSN, Here Maps, Patents/Intellectual Property, New Technologies/R&D will remain all Nokia.

PS, some very good comments by our readers in the know about how all of this works (The Nokia-MS deal/Transaction).

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

FossPatents: Nokia wins preliminary ITC ruling against HTC’s Android devices over two hardware patents

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:38 PM PDT

nokia logoFossPatents notes that Nokia has won preliminary ITC ruling against HTC’s Android devices (supposedly Nokia’s first ITC complaint against HTC). This may lead to a US import ban. Fosspatents also reminds us of another Nokia/HTC fight over a USB configuration patent which Nokia is said to appear to be winning. HTC’s own claims that Nokia’s infringing their video patents via subsidiary S3 graphics, was quashed.

Nokia’s statement:

Nokia is pleased that the initial determination of the ITC confirmed that HTC has infringed two of our patents. Local counterparts of one of these are also already in litigation against HTC in London, UK; Dusseldorf, Germany and Rome, Italy. We will reserve further comment until we have had the chance to study the judgment in detail.

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

Medical Students unbox the Yellow Nokia Lumia 1020

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:38 PM PDT

 

Screen Shot 2013-09-23 at 21.03.12

If you want to check out the Nokia Lumia 1020 unboxing, here’s Ali’s. Here’s a very strange unboxing of the Yellow Nokia Lumia 1020. Due to being pressed for time, we recorded the unboxing just minutes before our weekly meeting.

The package had arrived on Friday to my Uni House in Preston (one of the four base Hospitals for Manchester Med School. Kinda like the four houses in Harry Potter.) Anyway, this semester, I’m not even in Preston but in Blackburn/Burnley, making things slightly awkward regarding deliveries. I’m usually back in Preston on weekends (Blackburn weekdays) but this weekend, I had plans to visit the Midlands (The possibility of the 1020 coming in was not known at the time of planning).

This afternoon was when I first saw the DHL package. My housemate gave it to another friend of mine to bring from Preston. I brought the package with me to the PBL meeting, as I knew Monday would have been intensely busy again (with an added doctor appointment time for myself this evening due to a sports injury on my foot).

Since I couldn’t guarantee any time to be free today, I thought I’d unbox it just before our weekly meeting (otherwise I’d never use the 1020 until it’s unboxed).

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Shot in the library.

 

Contents were all the same except the charger.

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The charger looked new to me. Shot by the 1020

Note that I had a UK version, hence no wrist strap. I’ve ordered a few from eBay which I should be able to pick up at the weekend.

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WP_20130923_19_42_28_Pro (1)

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Ridiculous! (Below is screenshots taken in word. I don’t know how to put images together like in Paint on a mac)

Screen Shot 2013-09-23 at 21.28.53

Interesting story: After the meeting on the way home on the hospital shuttle, whilst playing with the 1020 it caught the eye of this woman who looked impressed at the detail the 1020 was capturing. She asked if this was the camera with 41MP, and that it was nice to see it in person. I was surprised to hear her say she’s heard of it before. She said she loved taking pictures and after a little chat and demo she was sold on getting a 1020 herself. Neat!

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Me and my NHS badge.

BTW, for pictures of the yellow 1020, here’s a gallery we shot from NYC.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/12/hands-on-gallery-of-the-nokia-lumia-1020-in-yellow-with-wrist-straplanyard/

And if you wanted, black and white too.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/12/hands-on-gallery-nokia-lumia-1020-in-black/

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/12/hands-on-gallery-of-nokia-lumia-1020-in-white/

 
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I guess I should be more weary about having my fingerprints online, eh?

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So here’s someone else’s. Their reaction? “What’s all those pen marks? I can’t even see that with my eyes”

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What will happen if the Nokia Devices and Services sale is not approved by Nokia Shareholders?

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:29 AM PDT

nokia logoOne of our readers highlights question 4 (unlucky number at Nokia apparently) which asks what would happen should the Nokia-MS deal not go through. It’s a huge document that might answer a lot of questions regarding the Nokia-MS arrangement. There’s a section afterwards that then goes on to discuss risks should the deal not go through. It’s not 100% set in stone that the deal will take place. It’s highly likely, but the shareholders still have powers to decide otherwise.

http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/3006738/data/2/-/Proxy-materials.pdf

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE SALE OF THE D&S BUSINESS IS NOT CONFIRMED AND
APPROVED BY OUR SHAREHOLDERS AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING?

If the Sale of the D&S Business is not confirmed and approved by our shareholders at the
Extraordinary General Meeting, we will not sell the D&S Business to Microsoft International at this
time and we will continue to conduct our business in the ordinary course and evaluate all available
go-forward strategic alternatives. In addition, both Nokia and Microsoft International will have the
right to terminate the Purchase Agreement and we would be obligated to pay Microsoft
International or its designee a damages fee equal to EUR 37,900,000.
If the Purchase Agreement is terminated because our shareholders do not confirm and approve
the Sale of the D&S Business at the Extraordinary General Meeting and we receive a competing
proposal to acquire control of at least 20% of our voting securities or all or a material portion of the
D&S Business that has not been withdrawn prior to termination of the Purchase Agreement and
within one year of termination we consummate a transaction with regard to any competing
proposal, we would be obligated to pay Microsoft International or its designee an additional fee
equal to EUR 113,700,000 less the EUR 37,900,000 damages fee if previously paid to Microsoft
International or its designee.
Further, if the Sale of the D&S Business is not approved by our shareholders at the Extraordinary
General Meeting, the Patent License Agreement will not become effective and we will not receive
the EUR 1.65 billion payable under the Patent License Agreement from Microsoft (EUR 100 million
of which is payable as consideration for Microsoft's unilateral right to extend the term of the Patent
License Agreement to perpetuity). In addition, Microsoft will not become a licensee of Nokia's
HERE location platform.

 

_______

 

Another question, what if there’s a competing offer?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE IS A COMPETING PROPOSAL TO ACQUIRE THE D&S
BUSINESS?
A: Under the Purchase Agreement, we are not permitted to initiate, solicit, discuss, knowingly
facilitate or negotiate any inquiries, proposals or offers from, or enter into any agreement, with a
third party to acquire control of at least 20% of our voting securities or all or a material portion of
the D&S Business. Our Board of Directors may not change, withdraw or qualify its
recommendation in favor of the Sale of the D&S Business or publicly propose or recommend any
competing proposal.
If we receive an unsolicited competing proposal, we may contact the party making the proposal to
clarify its terms. If our Board of Directors determines in good faith that such a competing proposal
is or could reasonably be expected to result in a proposal that is superior to the transactions
contemplated by the Purchase Agreement and the competing proposal seeks to acquire control of
at least 75% of our voting securities or all or a material portion of the D&S Business, we may
negotiate the proposal and furnish the person making the proposal with information about us after
entering into a confidentiality agreement that is materially not less favorable to us than our
confidentiality agreement with Microsoft. Prior to our shareholders voting on whether to confirm
and approve the Sale of the D&S Business at the Extraordinary General Meeting, Nokia's Board of
Directors may, with respect to a superior proposal, publicly change its recommendation with
respect to the Sale of the D&S Business, but only after granting Microsoft International a right to
match such proposal.
If our Board of Directors changes, withdraws or qualifies its recommendation in favor of the Sale of
the D&S Business in a manner adverse to Microsoft International or fails to recommend against a
tender offer or exchange offer for any outstanding shares of Nokia that constitutes a competing
proposal, Microsoft International would have the right to terminate the Purchase Agreement and
we would be obligated to pay Microsoft International or its designee a termination fee equal to
EUR 113,700,000.
Even if Nokia's Board of Directors changes its recommendation with respect to the Sale of the
D&S Business, pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, our shareholders will still have an
opportunity to vote on the Sale of the D&S Business at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

 

_____

Quite importantly:

. WHO IS ENTITLED TO VOTE AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING?
A: Each shareholder who is registered in the Register of Shareholders of the Company on the
Record Date of November 7, 2013 has the right to participate in the Extraordinary General
Meeting. A shareholder whose shares are registered on such shareholder's Finnish book-entry
account is automatically registered in the Register of Shareholders of the Company. A nominee
registered shareholder may be temporarily registered in the Register of Shareholders in order to
be able to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders if such shareholder
has the right to be registered in the Register of Shareholders on the Record Date of November 7,
2013. Shareholders who hold nominee registered shares must follow the instructions of their
broker in order to be temporarily registered in the Register of Shareholders. ADS holders who
have provided their voting instructions to the Depositary as described in detail in the Depositary's
Notice will be automatically recorded in the Register of Shareholders

_____

 

How was the price negotiated?

HOW WAS THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE D&S BUSINESS DETERMINED?
A: The purchase price for the D&S Business proposed to be sold to Microsoft International was
negotiated between representatives of Nokia and representatives of Microsoft. In determining an
appropriate price for the D&S Business, Nokia's Board of Directors engaged in an extensive
evaluation of Nokia's business plans and prospects, assessed current business trends and the
rapidly changing competitive dynamics in the mobile phone and smartphone markets, compared
prices paid in similar precedent transactions and reviewed the valuations of other similar publicly
5traded companies. Nokia's Board of Directors worked with Nokia's management to consider
alternative strategies with respect to the D&S Business and Nokia's partnership with Microsoft,
including but not limited to changing the platform for Nokia's smartphones, selling some or all of
the D&S Business to other potential acquirers and amending the agreement governing Nokia and
Microsoft's partnership (the "Existing Commercial Agreement").
We have also received a fairness opinion from J.P. Morgan Limited concluding that the
consideration to be received for the D&S Business is fair, from a financial point of view, to Nokia. A
copy of the fairness opinion from J.P. Morgan Limited is included as Annex A to these proxy
materials.

  • Page 22; Reasons for the Sale of the D&S Business

Cheers ms.nokia for the tip.

Nokia Smart Camera and Pro Camera to combine into one as Nokia Camera

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:17 AM PDT

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One of the things some reviewers noted with Nokia Pro Camera, was that as awesome as it was to give so much manual control in a very accessible UI, it was a bit more of a fuss having to switch out of it to use the other lenses, namely Nokia SmartCamera. It would be ideal if this and a few other components was combined (e.g. HDR? Pano too).

According to a tweet by someone claiming to be a specialist at MicrosoftKuwait, this is going to be the case.

It’s not that far fetched that Nokia would do this as Nokia Smart Camera is itself a combination of other lenses. Not only is the all in one approach easier, but the controls within the amalgamated lenses are all so much easier to use.

How else could Nokia improve Nokia Camera? What additional settings/controls/filters would you like to see?

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

 

What is Nokia’s Project N? (Nseries Reborn? :p)

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 04:40 AM PDT

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@evleaks has learned of something from Nokia called Project N.

It could be a multitude of things form an advertising campaign to a device.

What if it’s Nseries reborn but going up in numbers as opposed to a number signifying where it fits in the current line up only to make it confusing later on when a newer cheaper device has better specs than a previous flagship (kinda like the current Lumia numbering system).

Windows Phone moves up to Second place in Taiwan, edging out iPhone

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 04:16 AM PDT

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WP has apparently shifted up slightly to second place in Taiwan, surpassing that of iPhone. That sounds good as WP is displacing iPhone in a growing number of regions.

However, it is worth noting that first place Android has a massive chunk. 97%! WP achieves 2% which only just pushes iPhone aside.

Fingers crossed there’s more love for Lumia, especially when the new big screened GDR3 devices are available. An amazing 37% of devices shipped this quarter have a screen 5″ or more in size! 93% have a screen size over 4″. Now wasn’t the iPhone 3.5″ screen the perfect size apparently until they moved up to 4″?

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

“Check Out How Much Better The Nokia 1020 Is At Photos Than The iPhone 5S” – Via Robert Scoble’s comparisons

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 04:10 AM PDT

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Whilst it’s not a surprise for us that the Nokia Lumia 1020 is so good at photos, especially given it’s a photo centric smartphone and the iPhone 5S isn’t, that’s not what Apple’s marketing, keynote and hoard of fans would have you believe. It’s not about more MP anymore apparently (with claims MP count is misleading…ooh says those where the reality distortion field is all about misleading), but bigger sensors and bigger pixels.

So every little glimmer of the Nokia showing Apple what’s what is worth shouting about.

This story comes by way of Business Insider who looks at Robert Scoble’s comparisons between the 1020 and 5s.

http://www.businessinsider.in/Check-Out-How-Much-Better-The-Nokia-1020-Is-At-Photos-Than-The-iPhone-5S/articleshow/22901176.cms

Apple touts some special prowess of their new LED flash but even the 925 with its latest generation LED can’t match Xenon for lighting up people. You know, things that move.

Note the comparisons look at the 5MP 1020 samples versus the 8mp iPhone ones. There’d of course be a crazy amount of extra detail if we had the 34/38mp shots.

Screen Shot 2013-09-23 at 11.51.13 Screen Shot 2013-09-23 at 11.51.18

Perhaps the white balance/saturation needs some shifting.

Again, the iPhone 5S is a good camera phone and can take great pictures. It’s just that the 1020 is a lot better and there are even more extreme situations I often encounter when taking similar pictures that I’d know the 1020 could/should excel on.

Business insider notes preference for iOS over WP, especially as it has more apps including the most important photo app, Instagram (fortunately, I have a handful of Instagram lumia apps able to post to instagram, browse, comment, like etc, etc :/).

Cheers  zxv for the tip.

 

 

 

Nokia N8 Update in US: Twitter Login Fix for Social.

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 03:47 AM PDT

nokia_n8-cam

From our tips section, we’re told that Nokia N8s in the US get an update called “Twitter Login Fix for Social”.

Cheers NokiaNokia for the tip!

BetaLabs: Nokia Device Hub Beta

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:54 AM PDT

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Today, Nokia’s Beta Labs has released a new app, Nokia Device Hub Beta. According to the entry on their Beta Labs page, Nokia Device Hub Beta is designed to

connect to and access your devices easily. Many wireless headsets, Internet capable Smart TVs, Blu-Ray Players and Computers are supported. Nokia Device Hub recommends Windows Phone applications which work with your devices. Pin a device to the home screen to get easy access to all the apps which work with it.

The Nokia Device Hub Beta solution discovers devices on your local Wifi network using different discovery protocols, and intelligently combines this information to deduce what a device is capable of – while making an emphasis to hide this technologic complexity about different protocols.

Known limitations

This release cannot discover nearby Bluetooth devices, however it shows already paired Bluetooth speakers or headsets. Apple Mac computers and mobile devices are not likely to be discovered by Device Hub either.

The concept of the app is pretty cool. I’m yet to use it as my Lumia is in that awkward charging phase where it won’t turn on yet.

http://betalabs.nokia.com/trials/Nokia-Device-Hub 

Let us know of how the app goes for you!
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