Back-to-school season brings turmoil to mobile-phone giants Nokia and Samsung as they struggle for consumer and investor appeal and lay their hopes on ambitious new projects or some small but appealing tweaks.
Nokia (NYSE:NOK), stripped of half its market value in a year, shedding thousands of workers in Finland and losing the magic dust of technological hits, expects to turn up the heat on its Lumia range with a new operating system and jazzy accessories.[BANNER]
Nokia’s biggest splash should come next Wednesday, September 5th, when experts expect the unveiling of Windows Phone-8 devices. Microsoft stirred some discontent by stating that current Windows Phone-7 devices won’t be upgradable to the new system but instead will receive a 7.8 version. This would push the truly curious gadget fans to make new purchases.
The Finnish company will also show its Northern taste for design by a joint project with HARMAN (NYSE:HAR) for a series of accessories for the Nokia Lumia range. HARMAN, the global leading supplier of audio and entertainment technologies will create wireless speakers for the Nokia Lumia range, compatible with the expected Windows Phone-8 generation. The speaker with a unique round design offers room-quality 89-decibel sound, sufficient for all music lovers.
Unfortunately for Nokia, Samsung has already started its own Windows Phone-8 hype, expecting the ATIV models with the new system to unroll later in the fall. The Korean company will draw customers to its wider portfolio, providing also tablets and phablets- a slightly larger smartphone intended to combine the best of both devices.
Samsung hopes the wide range and novelties will take the eyes of investors off the unpleasant court case for design infringement against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), coming with a billion-dollar fine. The Note, a phablet with a 5.5 inch screen and a new Jellybean version of the Android operating system, is supposed to wipe out some of the loss. Speculations abound that Apple may come after all Samsung smartphones and the Note will escape with its extra edge in features.
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IMPORTANT NOKIA UPDATE: August 30th 2012 – Nokia is making a chart pattern that has been seen 136 times since the year 2000. 57.35% of the stocks that have made this pattern went up over 14% in a 20 day period. Watch the video to learn more about the probabilities of Nokia stock moving up.  |
