More Job Losses at Nokia’s Salo Factory

Feb 8

Posted by steverowlands in Industry | Comments



This morning brings news of yet more cost trimming by Nokia in the form of around 285 jobs at their manufacturing plant in Salo, Finland.  The reason for this is quoted in the PRESS RELEASE as a new operating mode.

The new operating mode essentially means the investment in new, faster, more efficient hardware and more automation, thus reducing the need for skilled workers on the job floor.


Now the press release doesn’t specifically define whether or not the new machines will be installed in the Salo factory, or another lower cost factory around the world, such as in Brazil or China.  It does seem to read that the hardware upgrade will be invested in Salo, but it is an open jury on that.

The current state of temporary rotational job losses at Salo are hoping to be brought to an end by June 2010.  Ultimately I would guess this means yet more redundancies at Nokia.

What do you think of this latest round of job losses at Nokia, especially considering the positive Q4 2009 financial results?  Let us know in the comments.

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

Nokia Release the 6303i

Feb 4

Posted by steverowlands in Handsets, Industry | Comments



This morning Nokia announced a refresh to their very popular 6303, in the form of the 6303i.  This process of adding an ‘i’ to the name of a device has usually meant a general specification overhaul, and this one is no different.

The Nokia 6303i is running the S40 feature phone operating system, has a 3.2 Megapixel camera with dual LED flash, and HSPA 3G connectivity.

Priced initially at 105 Euros, expect this device to be free on most pay monthly contracts from operators very soon.


Other highlights include a fairly respectable battery life of 8 hours talk time, or potentially 3 weeks of sitting in standby powered by a 1050mAh battery, with both USB and the old style pin charging available.  A 3.5mm headphone jack, a 2.2inch QVGA screen, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1 all wrapped up in a package weighing just 96g.

Initially this device will be available in two colour options, either silver shown above, or khaki, and will go on sale sometime in Q1 2010.  So take that as sometime in the next month or so.

You can find the official Nokia data sheet HERE.

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands


Symbian Goes Completely Open Source

Feb 4

Posted by steverowlands in Events, Industry, Symbian | Comments



Today the Symbian Foundation announced that they have finally made their entire Symbian operating system source code available to everyone, completely free of charge, under the EPL (Eclipse  Public License).

This release has been a cornerstone of the Symbian Foundation’s business strategy, and comes four months ahead of schedule.

It is hoped that by moving to an open source model, developers will get involved, inspire a community, and the speed of innovation around the Symbian ecosystem will increase proportionately.


So what will this mean to me as a consumer?  Well essentially it means that any hardware manufacturer can download the code, and build a Symbian device.  Chances are that this scenario won’t really come to fruition in the short term as many of the large scale manufacturers who were interested have already joined the foundation.

What you should see though, is a quicker development of the OS to bring it up to speed with it’s competitiors, as in some areas Symbian has fallen behind somewhat.

This release is no small mean feat by any standards, and there is lots of extra reading if you are so inclined.  The announcement is HERE, the press release is HERE and the relevant post on the Symbian Blog is HERE.  Or, if you are feeling really brave, the code is available for download HERE.

What do hope to see come out of this announcement?  Are you a developer interested in taking up arms?  Let us know in the comments, or shoot me an email steve@thenokianetwork.com

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

Update – Nokia N97 Firmware 2.1 Available from 1st February

Jan 29

Posted by steverowlands in Firmware, Handsets, Symbian, Updates | Comments



Looks like there was a slight problem releasing the N97 v2.1 update which should have happened yesterday.  No bother, as it’s now been confirmed that it will infact be upon us from Monday 1st February instead.

The update will ONLY be available initially be using the Nokia Software Updater application on your computer.  Nokia say they need more time to test the OTA (Over the Air) functionality, so that will be delayed slightly (again).

RM-505 will be updated to v21.0.045 and RM-507 versions will be getting v21.2.045.  RM-506 models will not have the update available in the short term.

Generic product codes, as always, will be updated first with country variants, and then operator variants coming along at maybe some point in the future.

Specified changes include:

Improved call reliability, smoother scrolling, browser and music player improvements and upgrades to photo and video stability.

Let us know when you find the update available, and whether you find it an improvement.

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

Via – [Here]

Nokia at Mobile World Congress

Jan 26

Posted by steverowlands in Events, Handsets, Industry, Maemo, Symbian | Comments



This year, Nokia are not going to be attending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on the 15th – 18th February 2010.

Nokia fans out there need not worry however, because Nokia will still be in Barcelona on the 15th and 16th February.  They will be holding their very own event just down the road at Once, which is the home of the Spanish National Organization for the Blind.

This is quite obviously a cost saving exercise, because of the enormous price they would have to pay in order to get a similar setup inside MWC.

Nokia have now put up their mini MWC event website, which details their press conference which will be held on 15th February at 11.30am CET sharp.  Following the press conference, there will be breakout presentations, and the opportunity to have a chat with senior management personnel.

Are you going to be in Barcelona?  Do you think Nokia will announce new devices or services?  Let us know in the comments.  Alternatively, send me an email steve@thenokianetwork.com

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

Nokia N97 N97 Firmware 2.1 Available From 28th January – Includes Ovi Maps 3.03

Jan 22

Posted by steverowlands in Firmware, Handsets, Symbian | Comments



NEWS JUST IN! – Latest update on this new firmware is AVAILABLE HERE.

According to this post on the Nokia Support Forum from a Nokia employee, the next firmware for the Nokia N97, (probably version 2.1) will be available for download via the Nokia Software Updater application from the 28th January 2010.

This news is highly anticipated since Nokia seemed to leave the ‘flagship’ N97 out of it’s Ovi Maps with free navigation announcement yesterday.

Whether the new firmware will add any other functionality besides the Ovi Maps update still remains to be seen, and as usual, it will almost certainly be a staged roll out, so not all product codes will be available immediately.

Only 6 days to wait folks!

Let us know what you think in the comments, or shoot me an email steve@thenokianetwork.com

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

New Ovi Maps Installed on Nokia N86

Jan 21

Posted by steverowlands in Applications, Events, Industry, Symbian | Comments



Yes, you read the title correctly folks, I have the new version of Ovi Map, Version 3.03 installed on my Nokia N86 8MP.  After the press release and announcement event this morning, of the free navigation included with the new Ovi Maps, us N86 owners were left dejected after realising that our beloved devices had been left out in the cold by Nokia.

Well, I have some good news for you, I have just downloaded and installed the E52 version of Ovi Maps, available from http://maps.nokia.com/explore-services/ovi-maps and I can confirm it is working fine so far.  You will need to download the actual SIS file, and not get the text message download or else it won’t work.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nokia to Announce Free GPS Navigation with Ovi Maps

Jan 21

Posted by steverowlands in Events, Handsets, Industry, Symbian, Updates | Comments



News has just filtered through this morning via Symbian-Guru and The Nokia Blog, that this morning’s Ovi announcement from Nokia will be them releasing a new version of their Ovi Maps software which now includes voice navigation for free in 74 countries around the world.

This is a potentially a big shot in the eye for Google, who currently, only have this kind of service available for American customers.

This is a very obvious announcement by Nokia to try and reassert themselves as the biggest player in the mobile market, instead of the popular choices of Apple and Google.

Also remember that the likes of TomTom and Garmin took a massive hit on the stock market when Google announced their version of free navigation a couple of months ago, so in theory, today should be an even worse day for them.

Crucially, how the markets react, will tell us if they think Nokia can still mix it up with the big boys, or is a wounded animal lashing out at it’s attackers.

As usual though, the announcement is not as simple as it could be. The way Nokia likes to do it.

Only 10 devices will have the new Ovi Maps available later today, the N97 Mini, E72, E52, E55, 5800, 5800NE, 6710Nav, 6730, 5230 and the new X6.

So where is the N97? Where is the N86? Both premium Nokia devices, but shunned from the nice shiny new goodies. The budget 5230 gets in on the action though, bizarrely.

Apparently, more devices will be added at a later date, but let’s hang fire on that, until it actually happens.

What do you think of this announcement?  Are you an N97 owner?

Keep up to date with our posts by subscribing to our RSS FEED.

Follow me on Twitter: @steverowlands

Build Quality Problems with Nokia ‘Made in China’ Devices

Jan 19

Posted by steverowlands in Handsets, Industry, Video | Comments


Over the years there have been many discussions about the difference in quality of Nokia devices made in different factories around the world.

Specifically I remember back to the original Nokia N95, and how it was plagued with customer complaints of the wobbly slider, and general other build quality problems.  There were many trains of thought about the potential problems, but the general gist of things was the fact that if you managed to get one that was built in Finland then you were safe.  Anywhere else in the world, and you were likely to experience build quality problems.

This stigma has been attached to Nokia devices ever since.  Still people have this attitude.

Truth of the matter is that my old N95 was built in Finland, and had a wobbly slider, so, go figure.  I would say it is more down to poor industrial design, than the actual factory it was built in.

Another case in point is my Nokia N86 in white.  It’s built in China.  Enough to make some cringe with fear.  I must say though, that the build quality on it top notch.  The slide is perfect, all of the buttons feel great, and I’ve not encountered one single problem.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nokia 5230 and E52 Now Available from Vodafone UK

Jan 19

Posted by steverowlands in Handsets, Industry, Symbian | Comments



My weekly browse through the UK mobile operator websites has come up with a couple of little hidden gems, which aren’t overly apparent at first.

Top of the list is Vodafone. Recently, Vodafone’s line up of Nokia handsets has been ridiculously poor, however, things may be at a turning point.

First off I noticed the Nokia 5230 touchscreen smartphone powered by Symbian. This is a great entry level touchscreen device, with 3G capability, and 3.2 inch display and some great social media integration for the discerning teenager. Vodafone is currenty showing the 5230 as free on £15 per month contracts, and should move onto PAYG very soon.  You can find the 5230 data sheet HERE [PDF].

The real surprise for me was to see the Nokia E52 available in the business shop. The E52 was rumoured to be coming to Vodafone last summer, but word on the street has it, that the phone failed it’s very last round of tests before it started shipping, and never saw the light of day. Until now however.

Read the rest of this entry »