Technology

The world's largest mobile phone maker says it plans to eliminate roughly 4,000 manufacturing positions, or about 7 per cent of its entire work force. Nokia cited efforts to become more efficient in its production of smartphones as the main reason ... behind the cutback. On Wednesday, February 8, 2012, the Espo, Finland-based firm announced that it would eliminate certain jobs from three of its major factories, specifically those located in Komarom, Hungary, Reynosa, Mexico, and Salo, Finland. Nokia says the bulk of the planned layoffs will come at its Hungarian facility, with less drastic cuts ... (view more)

Microsoft's standing in the smartphone operating system (OS) marketplace may have been seriously hurt by the many delays associated with Windows Phone 7, it's most current offering. But a newly leaked video suggests work on the next Windows Phone ... system is well underway and could make up for several current failings. The video, which was leaked to the Pocket Now website, was produced by Microsoft for Nokia, which now uses Windows Phone 7 in almost all of its new smartphones (one of Microsoft's few mobile success stories in recent years). It's not clear why Microsoft created the video, though ... (view more)

Just when you thought you understood the difference between notebooks, netbooks, tablets and smartphones, Samsung has come up with a totally new device: it's a phone with a 5.3-inch display, which may make it the biggest smartphone ever released. ... The Samsung Galaxy Note bridges the gap between smartphones and tablets. To put its size into perspective, most smartphones have a 3.5-inch screen, most tablet computer screens range from the RIM (Research in Motion) PlayBook's 7-inches to the Apple iPad's 10-inch display. The new "phablet" (phone / tablet) will be sold in the same way as a ... (view more)

A new survey draws some interesting parallels between the smartphones we choose and our dating behavior. According to the poll's results, Android users are far more likely to engage in 'hanky panky' on a first date than those who prefer to use an ... Apple iPhone or a BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion (RIM). The survey was recently conducted by Match.com, a major online dating website. Survey questions were asked of Canadian singles, and produced a flurry of fascinating findings. The study should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as the sample size was only 1,000 respondents. (Source: ... (view more)

Despite extremely strong smartphone sales, AT&T says it lost $6.7 billion in the last three months of 2011, which the company blames on government for blocking its proposed takeover of T-Mobile -- a decision which also triggered a hefty penalty. ... Between October and December AT&T sold 9.4 million smartphones, up 60 per cent over the same period last year. The surge was largely driven by the new iPhone 4S. In fact, 80 per cent of all AT&T's sales for the period involved some version of the Apple smartphone. Pension and Subsidy Costs Turn Ink Red With its core business booming, AT ... (view more)

Have you ever dropped a smartphone or other handheld digital device into a toilet or sink? It's a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling knowing that you may have accidentally destroyed your phone and all of its information in an instant -- but a new ... scientific breakthrough may help to change that. A new nano-coating procedure offered by three different companies is said to prevent such accidents from ruining your expensive smartphone. The price: only $60. Not surprisingly, the technology aroused a lot of interest at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Plasma Gas Creates ... (view more)

In an attempt to calm investors and win back the support of consumers, troubled BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) has announced a major management transformation. Co-Chief Executive Officers Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have officially ... resigned their posts and will be replaced by a single man: Thorsten Heins, who has been with the company since 2007. Speculation about a change of this magnitude has been circulating for months , following an extremely rocky calendar year for the Waterloo, Canada-based manufacturer. Several of the firm's major projects, most notably the PlayBook, ... (view more)

Only a day after reports emerged suggesting tech industry titan Samsung was preparing to grab up embattled BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM), the supposed buyer has publicly nixed such rumors. On Tuesday (January 17, 2012), tech blog Boy ... Genius Report (known as BGR) reported it had learned Research in Motion co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Balsille had met with Samsung in order to discuss a buyout. BGR reported that Samsung was prepared to pay anywhere between $12 billion and $15 billion to acquire the Waterloo, Canada-based company. The rumor received apparent approval from ... (view more)

Troubled smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM), best known for its BlackBerry mobile device, may soon be bought up by tech industry heavyweight, Samsung. The rumor of such a purchase was responsible for an increase in RIM's stock value Tuesday ... (January 17, 2012). This is not the first time a heavy-hitter like Samsung has been mentioned as a possible purchaser of RIM. Back in December, 2011, Nokia, Amazon and, in particular, Microsoft, were all believed to be interested in obtaining the Waterloo, Canada-based firm, which has faced considerable adversity in the past year as a result of ... (view more)

Many of us go to great lengths to ensure our drinks are cold because, let's face it, there's nothing more disgusting than a warm beer. Thankfully, South Korea's LG now offers a solution to the age-old beverage-cooling problem: its new "Blast ... Chilling" refrigeration technology. LG introduced refrigerators with a special Blast Chilling compartment during a recent presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), taking place in Las Vegas right now. It's part of what LG calls its "Smart Manager" technology, the name for appliances that can track data or communicate with other digital devices ... (view more)