February 2011 Archives

Yesterday I finally stepped into the world of Smartphones & received my brand-spanking-new BlackBerry Bold 9780, after receiving recommendations from fellow BB users.

Now, I'm not a complete smartphone novice - I've played around with many an iPhone before, the occasional BlackBerry....my son has a Nokia (much to his annoyance).

I went for the BB simply because - it's cheaper! I'm a big Apple lover, and I did feel a twang of betrayal opting for the BB; but I'm not regretting it.

First off - it's pretty easy to get the hang of, the keypad's taking a while to get used to (can't imagine it'd be great if you have big fingers!) but the new trackpad is nicer to use than the previous ball

The camera's a nice healthy 5MP with 2x digital zoom, flash, video recording and plenty more options that I haven't yet had chance to play with... talking of which - usually by this point (a whole day later) I'm bored with my new phone in regards to what extras it has to offer, not this time - the Bold 9780 comes with Texas Hold 'Em Poker! (note to self: never chase a Flush!).

The Wi-Fi & 3G make browsing/emailing/social networking a doddle (pretty speedy!) and the apps I've seen so far look great. Other extras include a media player that accepts various formats, a pretty long battery life (guess I'll find out nearer the weekend), a high-resolution 480x360 pixel colour display, 512 MB onboard memory with an additional 2GB media card and to top it all off - you get to choose between black or white!....in my opinion the white looks like a child's toy, but then I'm picky. It's pretty light too - 4.3oz / 122g.

The main downsides for me are:

1. The ear phones they supply with it are rubbish, but then that's a given.
   
2. I can see myself getting slightly addicted to the Poker game that's on it.
3. Well, it's not an iPhone. The latter becoming less of an issue with time.

An obvious plus is BlackBerry messenger which is probably the most popular mobile instant messaging service around and is incredible easy and incredibly addictive!

Lastly, this new model comes with BlackBerry 6...get in!! Okay, I'll be honest - I have no real idea what this is, other than it "stimulates my senses" according to the BB website. Not quite sure what to make of that, but I'll keep you posted!

 

Well it might not have any one stand-out feature, it is a fantastic phone.

Hardware

The Neo has a 3.7 inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, it's bright, vibrant and colourful.

While smaller than the Xperia Arc, the Neo is the same size as the classic HTC Desire but a lot lighter, in fact this may be one of the lightest phones I've reviewed.

Whether that's a good thing or not is really a personal choice. I always find that I prefer a phone to have a good weight to it.

Like the Arc and Pro, the Neo has an 8.1 MP camera with LED flash and the great set of photo settings that comes with most Sony Ericsson phones such as face detection and image stabilisation.


I have to say that all three phones (Arc, Neo and Pro) take fantastic pictures, probably the best I've seen on a smartphone assisted by the Exmor R CMOS sensor that is being packed into the new Xperia phones.

The only other smartphone that has similar picture quality is the Nokia N8 but it's a bit of a rubbish phone.

The Exmor R CMOS sensor, in basic terms, helps take pictures in low-light conditions which is a welcome addition to a digital camera never mind a smartphone.

The Neo records 720p video and has a mini-HDMI port to not only watch video on your TV but the phone can also double up as a remote as well as allowing you to do everything, games apps etc. on the big screen.

The Neo also has a microSD slot which is expandable up to 32GB.

Software

The Neo runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread which is the latest version of Android and, as you'd expect, has fantastic usability.

Sony Ericsson have added their own skin on top of Android which works very well, much better than previous versions.

On any of your homescreens you can pinch the screen and see all of your live widgets together and then hit the one you want to go to. It's very similar to the HTC Sense system but is still a useful and very cool addition.


Arranging your apps has been made simpler too, you can change the order of the apps by alphabet, size, date installed etc. and even a custom layout option where the app icons float and allow you to arrange them which way you see fit.

Sony Ericsson have also added folders so you can group your apps, similar to the folders on the iPhone 4.

Emails can be viewed on a dual-pane system where on the left you have your emails listed and on the right you're shown a preview of the highlighted message.

As many of you will know, their version of Android failed miserably last year as Timescape was by far the most annoying addition to Android in 2010.

For those of you that don't know what Timescape is, it's a social-networking add-on that compiles your Facebook and Twitter updates together for your contacts. Sounds good right? The problem was that the frequency of the updates made it messy and clicking through an update takes you to Twitter/Facebook and not the update so you'd need to log in and be really annoyed.

I was happy to see that extensive work has been done on the skin. Timescape is now an annoying widget that you can quite easily bin.

Mediascape has also had a makeover as it now runs much smoother with the music widget working extremely well and is now a much more pleasant experience offering a far better alternative to the default Android player.

It's small additions like these that make this phone a pleasure to use.

Conclusion

The Xperia Neo is, when stood next to some of it's siblings, a phone that may look to have nothing 'special' about it, but that's where first impressions can decieve.

This is a very powerful smartphone with a great camera and very good usability, it does everything well.

Expect this phone to take on the HTC Desire which was seen as the best phone of 2010.

See also:

• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review - Noah would be proud
  
• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review - All my dreams come true AWESOME
• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro review - Great keyboard, nice phone
• Video: Sony unveils PlayStation Suite store for Android games
• Sony PSP2 aka NGP is awesome! - Videos and pictures

Sony Ericsson continue to produce handsets that they hope will rock the smartphone world and the Arc is their top of the range.

Is this the best Sony Ericsson yet?

Hardware

Like most of the new Xperia smartphones, the Arc has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512 RAM.

For me this is the Arc's biggest problem. As things stand, this is powerful enough to compete with the best phones around and certainly sizes up to the HTC Desire HD but the fact that Nvidia Tegra 2 chipsets are going to be all the rage in Q2/Q3 2011 means that while the Arc looks like a beast at the moment, it will fall behind very soon.


The fact the LG Optimus 2X looks ready for launch sporting the Tegra 2 may completely steal the Arc's thunder sooner rather than later.

An improvement the Arc has over the Desire HD is the battery where they've managed to fit a 1500mAh inside this wafer thin phone.

The 1230mAh battery in the Desire HD meant that the phone struggled to make it through a day of heavy-ish usage. Something that isn't a problem on the Arc.

Like the Neo and Pro, the Arc has an 8.1 MP camera with LED flash and the great set of photo settings that comes with most Sony Ericsson phones such as face detection and image stabilisation.

I have to say that all three phones (Arc, Neo and Pro) take fantastic pictures, probably the best I've seen on a smartphone which might be due to the Exmor R CMOS sensor that is being packed into the new SE phones.

The Arc also has a microSD slot which is expandable up to 32GB.

Software

With regards to software the Arc runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread which is the latest version of Android (getting the latest Android was something Sony Ericsson struggled with last year).


Gingerbread runs smoothly and, as you'd expect of Android, is full of wonder but the burning question for most is what have Sony Ericsson done with their skin?

As many of you will know, their version of Android failed miserably last year as Timescape was by far the most annoying addition to Android in 2010.

For those of you that don't know what Timescape is, it's a social-networking add-on that compiles your Facebook and Twitter updates together for your contacts. Sounds good right? The problem was that the frequency of the updates made it messy and clicking through an update takes you to Twitter/Facebook and not the update so you'd need to log in and be really annoyed.

I was happy to see that extensive work has been done on the skin. Timescape is now an annoying widget that you can quite easily bin.

Mediascape has also had a makeover as it now runs much smoother with the music widget working extremely well and is now a much more pleasant experience offering a far better alternative to the default Android player.

Design

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is thin, 8.7 mm in fact. That is the first thing you'll notice about it. It's the thinnest smartphone on the planet, so those iPhone 4 commercials will have a limited run.

While the phone looks slick, it feels a bit plasticky. Mainly because it's made of plastic :oP

Now don't get me wrong, I understand that the lack of metal makes the phone lighter but my personal preference is to have a solid and heavier phone, like the Desire HD.

The 4.2-inch (854x480-pixel resolution) screen is TFT LCD which I found clear and colourful. Pictures looked crisp and it was a truly a joy to use. It's not as good the iPhone 4 but then, there isn't much that is at the moment.

In addition to the Exmor R CMOS sensor, Sony Ericsson have also added the Mobile Bravia Engine to improve image processing to deliver amazing colours and picture quality.

This works amazingly well. I watched How to Train Your Dragon and was really impressed with the clarity and sharpness on the screen. However the Bravia engine only kicks in when powering up a video but it's a welcome addition all the same.

The Arc records 720p video and has a mini-HDMI port to not only watch video on your TV but the phone can also double up as a remote as well as allowing you to do everything on the big screen. So 42 inch Angry Birds here I come!

Conclusion

This is a fantastic phone. It will get envious glances and genuinely does everything very well.

I cannot fault it and, for me, takes the Android Beast Crown away from the HTC Desire HD. Things like the Exmor R CMOS sensor and the Mobile Bravia Engine in addition to a 4.2 inch screen and 8MP camera mean you will be hard pushed to find a phone that has both impressive hard and software like this...

BUT the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor means that while it holds that crown for the time being it will be a matter of months before it will fall behind the next generation of phones that will pack the Tegra 2 and be capable of so much more.

Whether they will be able to match any of the Arc's other features remains to be seen, if not doubtful.

See also:

• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review - All my dreams come true AWESOME
• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro review - Great keyboard, nice phone
• Video: Sony unveils PlayStation Suite store for Android games
• Sony PSP2 aka NGP is awesome! - Videos and pictures

Many years ago, I bought myself a Nokia N-Gage phone and heralded the new era of mobile gaming. How wrong I was. But now, after many years in hiding, I'm going to do it again.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is different to any other phone on the market and to me is a magical little device.

Thanks to the iPhone, mobile gaming is massive now. Games like Angry Birds have made mobile gaming big business and the best way to spend your time when on the train.

And so Sony Ericsson has now looked at using it's strengths in gaming to beef-up their smartphones by coming up with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

This is the much-fabled 'Playstation Phone' that everyone dreamt about and gives Sony an edge over all their rivals by putting their PlayStation brand with the Xperia line.

What you get is a great phone and a great gaming experience all in one.




Hardware

The Play is very comfortable and the slide-out joypad is brilliant. They have the iconic PlayStation controls and are so comfortable to play with.

You get the D-pad button on the left and the four iconic PS buttons (circle, square, triangle, and cross) on the right. The L and R buttons sit on the shoulder and are probably the most uncomfortable part of this gaming experience but even they aren't that bad and you get used to them really quickly.

On the bottom right you have the start and select buttons with, intriguingly, two touch-sensitive pads in the centre that act as analogue controls.

For such a tightly knit package of controls, the lay-out is perfect and I can't stress how comfortable it feels to play games on this device.

Sony Ericsson have really put thought into the design and made sure that the gaming experience you're used to on your Xperia Play is as close to the home PlayStation experience as you can get.

I managed to play Asphalt, The Sims 3 and some Star Fox like 3D game. Some of the graphics were fantastic and although I had some lag on Asphalt, the gaming experience was fun.



The display is fantastic. The Play comes with a decent 5.1 MP camera and games look clear and sharp on the 4 inch screen with a with a resolution of 854x480 pixels.

While that not be up there with the iPhone 'Retina display' it's still very very good and you'll be impressed when looking at pictures and videos due to the vibrant colours.

The Play has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a Qualcomm Adreno 205 GPU that handles the graphics and 512MB of RAM.

I didn't see too much lag when playing etc. but this isn't the fastest processor and with the Tegra 2 on the horizon might become quite dated, quite quickly. However this might be down to Sony Ericsson trying to be clever.

I think the Play will launch Sony Ericsson's mobile-gaming offering to get us warmed up and then hit us with a beast-like phone with more memory and a faster processor to handle top-end games as the Playstation Suite builds.

PlayStation Suite / Software


Yes, the PlayStation Suite. This could be a remarkable idea.

An online game/app store for Android. Only phones that are PlayStation certified will be given access but that means the Play is the first device that has access to this 'Willy Wonka' style games factory.

In the PlayStation suite you'll be able to download PSP and PSOne games plus any other game specially made for the store.

This store will make or break the Play, and any other PS certified smartphones, as the quality and ease of access of the games will truly set these phones apart from the rest.

If the Suite is as good as I think it will be then this could spell the end of portable gaming devices in a few years. Sure, the 3DS and NGP are incredible devices but if you have a phone that entertains you enough with games and a PS3 at home, would you carry a 3DS too? Unlikely.

The Xperia Play will come with the classic Crash Bandicoot (from the PSOne) and I believe at least six games will be available on launch including FIFA 10, Asphalt and the Sims 3.

Conclusion

This phone is a thing of beauty. many have tried to merge the worlds of mobiles and gaming but this will be the first time that it's worked, and not as an after-thought like the iPhone or Android (harsh I know).

The phone itself is fantastic and Sony Ericsson deserve plaudits for making such a device but it's success will hang on whether the PlayStation Suite delivers great games and a good user experience.
 
Having said all that, I have already looked into getting one and that's probably the biggest compliment a reviewer can give.

Specifications

• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• Qualcomm Adreno 205 GPU
  
• The screen is 4.0 inches (854 × 480)
• A 5MP camera
• 512 MB RAM
• 512 MB internal storage
• A microUSB connector
• MicroSD card slot
  

See also:

• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review - Noah would be proud
• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro review - Great keyboard, nice phone
• Video: Sony unveils PlayStation Suite store for Android games
• Sony PSP2 aka NGP is awesome! - Videos and pictures

Sony Ericsson have released some heavy hitters lately with the Sony Ericsson Arc and, of course, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play taking all the headlines.

But here we have the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro which even though it might've slipped in under the radar, packs quality and a mighty punch.

This isn't Sony's first venture into QWERTY mobile phones. You could call the Sony Ericsson Mini Pro the Pro's predecessor and while the Mini Pro won awards, this handset takes this a couple of steps further.

Bigger screen, bigger keyboard and more features.



Keyboard

The first thing I'll say about this handset is that the keyboard is probably the best I've seen on a smartphone handset. It's incredibly comfortable and makes typing a breeze.

It flips out nicely, smooth and the keys are rubber but not soft, well spaced and backlit.

Blackberry and HP-Palm should take note. I think the landscape slide-out keyboard works better than the portrait slide-out. More space for the keys and I just think it makes it better.

The Pro is the same as the Neo but with the keyboard, much the same way the Sony Ericsson Mini Pro and the Mini worked. Pretty much the same but the Pros have a keyboard.

Dimensions / screen

The Pro is light at 140g and measures at 57mm X 120mm X 14mm. It's depth is due to the keyboard which is a shame but it's not so deep to make you feel that it is actually 'thick'.

It has a 3.7 inch touchscreen with a resolution of 854 X 480 pixels. The screen is extremely crisp and colourful.

In dark light it lit up like a firework and it was great in light too.



Software

The Pro runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread which is the latest version of Android and, as you'd expect, has fantastic usability.

Sony have added their own skin on top of Android which works very well, much better than previous versions.

There were a few features that impressed me.

When on any of your homescreens you can pinch the screen and see all of your live widgets together and then hit the one you want to go to. It's very similar to the HTC Sense system but is still a useful and very cool addition.

Arranging your apps has been made simpler too, you can change the order of the apps by alphabet, size, date installed etc. and even a custom layout option where the app icons float and allow you to arrange them which way you see fit.

Sony Ericsson have also added folders so you can group your apps, similar to the folders on the iPhone 4.

Emails can be viewed on a dual-pane system where on the left you have your emails listed and on the right you're shown a preview of the highlighted message.

It's small additions like these that make this phone a pleasure to use.

Hardware

The Sony Ericsson Pro runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with performance very slick and speedy.

Otherwise it has a 2 mega-pixel front-facing camera and an 8MP camera on the back which, with it being Sony et al, takes fantastic pictures.

To improve the quality of the images Sony has added some software called 'Exmor image enhancement' to make both videos look better. They also use software, known as the Mobile Bravia Engine, to enhance the level of details in videos and photos.

The Xperia Neo and the Xperia Pro both come with 320mb of internal memory, and includes a removable 8GB microSD card which is expandable up to 32GB.

They also both have built-in HDMI ports that allow you to output everything on the phone to your TV. You get an exact replica of your phone on the TV using the handset as a remote control and watch videos at 720p HD or browse photos.


Conclusion

This is a fantastic phone, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed using it especially the keyboard.

Sony Ericsson have really done their homework here. Many of their Android handsets last year lacked one thing or the other and the skin they put on Android wasn't fully developed leaving the user experience lacking but full of potential.

If you want a QWERTY smartphone then look no further than the Xperia Pro.

It's packed with features and doesn't disappoint.

The Pro comes in black, silver or red versions.


See also:

• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review - All my dreams come true AWESOME
• Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review - Noah would be proud
• Video: Sony unveils PlayStation Suite store for Android games
• Sony PSP2 aka NGP is awesome! - Videos and pictures

The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY looks to be the first in a new generation of smartphones that will blur the lines between phone and handheld. But the names a bit unfortunate.

Yesterday news broke that Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, had written an internal memo to all staff which was brutally honest to say the least.

He pointed to the fact that they'd lost a lot of ground to Apple and Google especially at the higher end of the market and that they weren't progressing quickly enough.

Of Symbian he said that it "is proving to be an increasingly difficult environment in which to develop to meet the continuously expanding consumer requirements".

This is something most people in the real world knew but Nokia fiercely defended Symbian many times. They also praised their new MeeGo platform as the future of Nokia but have now cancelled shipment of the first MeeGo handset before it sees the light of day.

My favourite quote of the memo is this one:

We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough. We're not collaborating internally. Nokia, our platform is burning.

He goes on to point the rise of he iPhone and Android as reasons for their decline.

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.

The  whole memo is a compelling read and although it may seem harsh is actually spot on. I'd hate to be a Nokia employee at the moment as it sounds like worrying times for the Finnish company but I would say that this is definately a step in the right direction.

See also:

• Why I hate Nokia Smartphones
• Nokia hardware to adopt Windows Phone 7 instead of Symbian and MeeGo
  

The full memo is below:

Hello there,

There is a pertinent story about a man who was working on an oil platform in the North Sea. He woke up one night from a loud explosion, which suddenly set his entire oil platform on fire. In mere moments, he was surrounded by flames. Through the smoke and heat, he barely made his way out of the chaos to the platform's edge. When he looked down over the edge, all he could see were the dark, cold, foreboding Atlantic waters.

As the fire approached him, the man had mere seconds to react. He could stand on the platform, and inevitably be consumed by the burning flames. Or, he could plunge 30 meters in to the freezing waters. The man was standing upon a "burning platform," and he needed to make a choice.

He decided to jump. It was unexpected. In ordinary circumstances, the man would never consider plunging into icy waters. But these were not ordinary times - his platform was on fire. The man survived the fall and the waters. After he was rescued, he noted that a "burning platform" caused a radical change in his behaviour.

We too, are standing on a "burning platform," and we must decide how we are going to change our behaviour.

Over the past few months, I've shared with you what I've heard from our shareholders, operators, developers, suppliers and from you. Today, I'm going to share what I've learned and what I have come to believe.

I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform.

And, we have more than one explosion - we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fuelling a blazing fire around us.

For example, there is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever expected. Apple disrupted the market by redefining the smartphone and attracting developers to a closed, but very powerful ecosystem.

In 2008, Apple's market share in the $300+ price range was 25 percent; by 2010 it escalated to 61 percent. They are enjoying a tremendous growth trajectory with a 78 percent earnings growth year over year in Q4 2010. Apple demonstrated that if designed well, consumers would buy a high-priced phone with a great experience and developers would build applications. They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range.

And then, there is Android. In about two years, Android created a platform that attracts application developers, service providers and hardware manufacturers. Android came in at the high-end, they are now winning the mid-range, and quickly they are going downstream to phones under €100. Google has become a gravitational force, drawing much of the industry's innovation to its core.

Let's not forget about the low-end price range. In 2008, MediaTek supplied complete reference designs for phone chipsets, which enabled manufacturers in the Shenzhen region of China to produce phones at an unbelievable pace. By some accounts, this ecosystem now produces more than one third of the phones sold globally - taking share from us in emerging markets.

While competitors poured flames on our market share, what happened at Nokia? We fell behind, we missed big trends, and we lost time. At that time, we thought we were making the right decisions; but, with the benefit of hindsight, we now find ourselves years behind.

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.

We have some brilliant sources of innovation inside Nokia, but we are not bringing it to market fast enough. We thought MeeGo would be a platform for winning high-end smartphones. However, at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market.

At the midrange, we have Symbian. It has proven to be non-competitive in leading markets like North America. Additionally, Symbian is proving to be an increasingly difficult environment in which to develop to meet the continuously expanding consumer requirements, leading to slowness in product development and also creating a disadvantage when we seek to take advantage of new hardware platforms. As a result, if we continue like before, we will get further and further behind, while our competitors advance further and further ahead.

At the lower-end price range, Chinese OEMs are cranking out a device much faster than, as one Nokia employee said only partially in jest, "the time that it takes us to polish a PowerPoint presentation." They are fast, they are cheap, and they are challenging us.

And the truly perplexing aspect is that we're not even fighting with the right weapons. We are still too often trying to approach each price range on a device-to-device basis.

The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem.

This is one of the decisions we need to make. In the meantime, we've lost market share, we've lost mind share and we've lost time.

On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's informed that they will put our A long term and A-1 short term ratings on negative credit watch. This is a similar rating action to the one that Moody's took last week. Basically it means that during the next few weeks they will make an analysis of Nokia, and decide on a possible credit rating downgrade. Why are these credit agencies contemplating these changes? Because they are concerned about our competitiveness.

Consumer preference for Nokia declined worldwide. In the UK, our brand preference has slipped to 20 percent, which is 8 percent lower than last year. That means only 1 out of 5 people in the UK prefer Nokia to other brands. It's also down in the other markets, which are traditionally our strongholds: Russia, Germany, Indonesia, UAE, and on and on and on.

How did we get to this point? Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved?

This is what I have been trying to understand. I believe at least some of it has been due to our attitude inside Nokia. We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough. We're not collaborating internally.

Nokia, our platform is burning.

We are working on a path forward -- a path to rebuild our market leadership. When we share the new strategy on February 11, it will be a huge effort to transform our company. But, I believe that together, we can face the challenges ahead of us. Together, we can choose to define our future.

The burning platform, upon which the man found himself, caused the man to shift his behaviour, and take a bold and brave step into an uncertain future. He was able to tell his story. Now, we have a great opportunity to do the same.

Stephen.

Picture from Rex Features.

Following the news that Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, had written an internal memo to all staff saying that Nokia were on a 'burning platform' it should be no surprise that an announcement is to follow.

I have been told by a very reliable source that on Friday Nokia will reveal that they have agreed a deal with Microsoft to develop smartphones for the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

To the right is a picture of how an N8 might look.

This makes a lot of sense as Microsoft could really do with a big-hitter to help them fight Google and Apple and Nokia desperately needs an operating system to replace the forever disappointing Symbian and the Dead Dodo MeeGo OS.

There are no details yet as to how many phones will be released in 2011 or even when they will be released but the fact that Nokia and Microsoft have joined forces should send out a warning to Apple and Google that they mean business.

Nokia will continue to develop budget / non-smartphone handsets for the masses.

This probably means that in the long run Nokia will just become hardware manufacturers as smartphones become the norm.

UPDATE: Turns out Nokia actually spoke to Google first but the negotiations fell through leading them to Microsoft.

See also:

• Why I hate Nokia Smartphones

• Nokia CEO finally admits they're on a 'burning platform' - amazing to read

For those of you that regularly read this blog you will know that when I started this job I was hurt. I hated my life.

The pain was awful.

I had an N97 and had to write about good phones all day.

The first sign of trouble was at a pub quiz when a guy on my team didn't even bother to try cheating using the N97 despite everyone else hammering away at their iPhones.

Naively I asked him: What do you think of it?

His answer was short and accurate: It's sh!t.

Before that day, I thought it was going to be amazing. The build quality was great, I loved the slide out keyboard, thought the buttons were perfect and even liked the switch down the side to unlock the phone.

It was solid.

But what I didn't know was that Symbian was like a cancer for smartphones.

1. It froze when I went to heavy websites.
2. It wasn't user friendly AT ALL. I mean it purposefully made everything SOOOOO hard.
3. Installing apps was harder than putting down animals.
4. The app library was full of wallpapers that cost £4.50.
   
5. The apps are so bloody awful!
6. Everything crashes... regularly. In fact you can rely on it to crash more than anything else.
   
7. The OS wasn't meant for a touchscreen device.

On the day that I returned from a holiday and needed a lift from the airport it completely failed to boot and stayed that way meaning I needed a hard reset.

I fixed it by reinstalling the OS but it was that day, in the airport, that something changed inside of me.

Since then I have found myself shouting at people that try to show off any Nokia 'smartphones' anywhere.

Honestly, last year my new boss showed me his Nokia 5530 (not showing it off, merely showing me an image on the phone) and I felt so disappointed/angry but I managed to contain myself. Since then he's got a Desire which has actually helped our relationship massively.

Even reviewing Nokia phones is difficult because I hate them so much for doing what they did to me. I should 'stay professional' but Symbian is just so awful that I can't.

Have a look:

• Video: Nokia E7 - looks good, still on Symbian (yawn)
• Nokia N8 review: Great camera, Symbian disappoints again
  

The other day a shop assistant was demoing a Nokia to a customer telling him "it's easy to get your emails and it has Facebook, do you use Facebook?". Seriously who doesn't use Facebook you slimey, manipulative creep.

I couldn't just stand there and watch.

I walked over and explained exactly why the phone was rubbish and that ANY Android phone or an iPhone would save the guy a lot of heartache. He ended up with a HTC Wildfire.

On top of everything, Nokia even released an N97 mini which was exactly the same as the N97 and not that much smaller.

So I welcome the news that Nokia is moving to Windows Phone 7. Don't get me wrong, WP7 isn't perfect but anything is better than Symbian and MeeGo. If they went to an OS based on Tetris I would be happy.

Hopefully it isn't too late for Nokia, I think they'll be fine,  and my soul will be set free once again.


See also:

• Nokia hardware to adopt Windows Phone 7 instead of Symbian and MeeGo

• Nokia CEO finally admits they're on a 'burning platform' - amazing to read