LG is going to increase investment in R&D by 25%, most of which will be allocated to OLED displays and solar batteries development. The company told ChannelNews that they would invest more than 3 billion US dollars in R&D during 18 months and that Apple paid them more than $500 mln to develop new monitors and displays. LG expects new OLED displays to be “fingerprint unfriendly” due to a special layer.  

  A new Lenovo touchscreen slider named X1 has a 3.2-inch WQVGA display. The interface of the X1 bears the name Touch Dream – you cannot but recall new devices by HTC and Sony Ericsson. Lenovo X1 will be initially launched in China.  

Verizon Wireless and Nokia, the world leader in mobility, today introduced the availability of the Nokia 7205 Intrigue. The sophisticated Nokia 7205 Intrigue will turn heads with its black exterior, hidden-until-lit external display, internal color keypad and support for exciting multimedia and music features. This multifunctional new Nokia device is now available on the nation's most reliable wireless network beginning today in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and through the company's online store at www.verizonwireless.com. Read more Source: Nokia

Nokia has today published "Nokia in 2008" that includes Nokia 2008 Annual Accounts and the Review by the Board of Directors. The document is available in pdf-format on Nokia's Internet pages at www.nokia.com/financials. Shareholders may also request a hard copy of the document free of charge through Nokia's Internet pages. Source: Nokia

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is aware that a series of unsolicited emails have been sent to members of the general public from an email address that appears to bear the name 'Sony Ericsson' and which tells that the recipient has won a sum of money in a competition and requests that certain personal data be confirmed. These unsolicited communications are not from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and are believed to be attempts to obtain personal data for fraudulent purposes. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications wishes to take this opportunity to apologise to members of the general public for any inconvenience or confusion caused by these fraudulent emails. If you receive a similar unsolicited email please do not reply to it, but forward it to questions.gb@support.sonyericsson.com Источник: Sony Ericsson

  Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (“Sony Ericsson”) announced today that its net sales and net income before taxes in the first quarter of 2009 continue to be negatively affected by weak consumer demand as well as de-stocking in the retail and distribution channels. Although final results may differ, Sony Ericsson plans to ship approximately 14 million phones during the first quarter of 2009 with an estimated ASP (average selling price) of EUR 120. Gross margin is expected to decline both year-on-year and sequentially. Net income before taxes is estimated to be a loss in the range of EUR 340 – 390 million, excluding restructuring charges in the range of EUR 10 – 20 million. Sony Ericsson will announce its first quarter, 2009 financial results at 07.30 UK time/08.30 CET on April 17. Source: Sony Ericsson

  Samsung is expected to make good progress in manufacturing and distribution of mobile devices running Android operating system that will result in HTC risking to lose its Android market segment. The manufacturers will start competing around Q3 2009. The first Android smartphone by Samsung will resemble HTC Magic in terms of design, specifications, and 3.5G chipset from Qualcomm. The information leaked from Samsung and should be treated as unofficial. However, the same sources said that HTC feels very confident in Android smartphone market segment.  

As part of its previously announced plans to increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation, Nokia today announced further actions it is taking in Devices and Markets units as well as in its Corporate Development Office and global support functions. Nokia plans to scale sales, marketing and technology management to match the pruned portfolio and global consumer demand; address the marketing and other activities that will no longer be integral following the Symbian acquisition; streamline the Devices R&D organization; and increase efficiency in certain global support functions. Altogether these plans will affect approximately 1 700 employees globally. Where applicable, Nokia will start consultations with employee representatives about these plans. All of these measures are part of Nokia's previously announced plans to adjust business operations and cost base in accordance with market demand and safeguard future competitiveness. Nokia continues to seek savings in operational expenses, looking at all areas and activities across the company. Source: Nokia

  Yesterday you could see the intriguing YOUR MUSIC PLAYER IS RINGING on the main page of events.nokia.com and today Nokia has raised the curtain of mystery and unveiled 3 new XpressMusic mobile phones: Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5330 XpressMusic and Nokia 5030 XpressRadio. All mobile devices are designed for better sound quality, easier music player use, and more convenient navigation. As for price range, it is really wide and this fact cannot be underestimated because every phone will find its buyer and admirer immediately. Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is the most functional among the three devices: its has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3.2-megapixel camera, 3.5 mm jack and supports 3G, Wi-Fi, and HSDPA up to 3.6 Mbps. The mobile phone is 16 GB microSD card compatible (an 8 GB card is included in the package), and has 100 MB of onboard memory. An estimated retail price will be 280 EUR, before subsidies and taxes. The Nokia 5330 XpressMusic mobile phone has fewer features in comparison with the previous 5730 XpressMusic. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3.5 mm jack, 3G and 16 GB microSD card support. However, 5330 XpressMusic doesn’t support Wi-Fi and has no QWERTY keyboard. The onboard memory is 70 MB and there’s a 2 GB memory card...

Sony Ericsson today announces that Mats Lindoff, Sony Ericsson Chief Technology Officer (CTO), has decided to leave the company effective 31st March to pursue new career opportunities. Commented on today's announcement Mats Lindoff said, "After six inspiring years I have decided to pursue other opportunities outside Sony Ericsson. To be a member of the team who has built up Sony Ericsson has been a great privilege. The course of evolution and change in our industry has been extraordinary, thanks to the very creative, innovative and passionate people I have met at Sony Ericsson. I leave the company with many fond memories and wish the company well in the future." Effective 1st April Ronald 'Ron' Louks, currently Head of Technology, Americas, and Deputy CTO, Sony Ericsson, will assume the role of CTO. Source: Sony Ericsson

  And it will be a music surprise. We don’t have any more information about the event because the company keeps it a secret. Probably Nokia is going to unveil another music mobile phone or a service for music lovers – it’s anybody’s guess. Well, Wednesday is the day of learning the meaning of the YOUR MUSIC PLAYER IS RINGING on the main page of the events.nokia.com website. This sentence is the only thing that makes it possible to describe the upcoming event somehow. Maybe we’ll manage to get some details before the event begins. We’ll see.  

  First of all, we’d like to point out that the manufacturer haven’t announced the retail price for the new devices but mentioned their market segment and shipping date: S5230 will be available in France in April and then in other European countries; S5600 will hit the European market a bit later, in May. Samsung S5600 is a relatively small and stylish mobile phone with minimalist yet attractive design. The TouchWiz user interface is worth being mentioned together with the Gesture Lock function that allows unlocking the phone and going to menus by drawing an English letter on the display with your finger. The menu-letter link is user-defined. Samsung S5600 has a 3-megapixel camera with Smile the Shot function, supports H.263, MPEG4, WMV file formats, and microSD memory cards up to 8 GB. The Samsung S5600 mobile phone has 80 MB of onboard memory. Samsung S5230 is a bit smaller than S5600 and has a larger display. This model also has the TouchWiz user interface, Gesture Lock, and a 3-megapixel camera but no 3G support if compared to S5600. The phone supports microSD memory cards up to 8 GB and has 50 MB of the onboard memory. Note that the manufacturer hasn’t given full specifications in the press release. Take this into account when...

  We have learned that from Global Certification Forum (GCF). What we are speaking about now is not a single mobile device but two of them. GCF has got approval for two Toshiba smartphones. TG01 is one of them, other being named in the documents as “To Be Advised”. The specifications (not full) of the two mobile phones coincide. Both are quad-band GSM mobile phones (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) supporting HSDPA and MMS. Well, maybe the difference hides in the operating system they run.