Nokia and Intel Team Up for New Mobile Platform

I pulled up one of my favorite webpages, Techmeme, just now and found a bunch of stories about Nokia and Intel teaming up to build a new mobile platform using open source Linux operating system.

The reason, according to Brian Caulfield at Forbes, is:

Propelling this all is Apple which has rolled through the smart-phone business like a nitro-fueled tank. The company announced Monday that it has sold more than 1 million units of its latest handset, the iPhone 3G S, since it went on sale Friday in an announcement that included the first public statement from Steve Jobs since the Apple chief went on medical leave in January.

Apple's progress is more than just a direct challenge to Nokia. While Apple relies on processors built by Samsung around designs from U.K.-based ARM to power its smart phones, it has recruited a strong team of chip designers since its acquisition of PA Semi last year. That could pose a challenge to Intel's efforts to put its chips at the heart of the next generation of mobile devices.

There are other challenges the chip maker and Nokia must face in order to make their partnership a successful one. Intel, for example, has to make its processors more power efficient--so they can work well in ever-shrinking devices--and fast. If the company can't do this quickly enough, it may be a while until Nokia puts Intel's processors at the center of its handset lineup.And while Nokia has an enormous installed base, Apple, Research In Motion and Palm are all building software ecosystems around their handsets, making the handset industry look more and more like the early PC industry. The Nokia deal with Intel could give it a stronger position in that game.

Sounds like Apple is forcing people's hands, having sold over a million iPhone 3G S's over the weekend. Of course, James Kendrick, at jkOnTheRun, thinks it's all BS, as they didn't announce any products or is the agreement exclusive to anyone...

something to keep an eye on...

Nokia Buying Part of Facebook?

I read a headline earlier today about how Facebook was passing MySpace as the most popular social networking website. I can't say I read the actual story- I think it was on Drudge- but it makes sense to me. Most people I know use Facebook exclusively.

Now, I read on one of my favorite newsy websites, StrategyEye, that Nokia and Facebook might be developing a strong relationship.....Hmmmm.

Nokia is rumoured to be poised to take a stake in Facebook as part of a partnership between it and the mobile phone maker where the social network will be integrated into Nokia's handsets. A report on tech blog, PaidContent claims that the "the Facebook placement could be as prominent as the YouTube button on the main screen of iPhone." The site also cites "sources" who say the "early stage talks" involve the possibility of Nokia purchasing a stake in the company. Spokespersons from either side failed to comment, although a Nokia exec reportedly admits: "There is talk of a partnership in the works."

The rumours come a week after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said on a US TV interview that the site was "highly unlikely" to go public in 2008. However, the firm reportedly took an undisclosed amount of funding last week, rumoured to be between USD10m and USD15m, from European Founders Fund, a firm owned by three German entrepreneurs, the Samwer Brothers. The investors are also said to have a stake in Facebook rival, LinkedIn. Various rumours surround Facebook and it was also recently linked with an acquisition of social community and online address book, Plaxo.

Nokia, which said it was to cut some 2,300 jobs last week as part of the closure of a German plant, has been making moves into the online space of late. Earlier this month it signed a deal with mobile games firm Vivendi. Last month, it said it is to offer mobile users unlimited access to music downloads from the second half of 2008, with a content deal with Universal Music. Meanwhile, it has also been expanding and making deals based on its newly launched Ovi mobile platform.

Interesting no? How many times have we seen the builders/owners of the "pipes" look enviously at the content developers/organizers and wonder how to get a piece of the action? Nokia is hardly a carrier, but it is very intriging that they are differentiating themselves by trying to associate themselves with a popular destination community- a la iPhone and YouTube.

Apple PR Crisis?

Everyone knows that Apple has been on a tear since 2001 or so. First the iPods sell like gangbusters and now the iPhone is one of the most remarkable product launches in a long while. Apple seems to have dodged a number of bad PR bullets during this time, but due to the strength of their whole brand (products, design, customer interactions, stores, history), nothing has done much damage.

Now, not being green may hurt. Apple's brand has a strong dose of counter-culture, lefty, hipster to it. Getting attacked by Greenpeace cuts the core of how their customers feel about Apple and how they feel when buying Apple's message. It'll be interesting to see how Apple's PR team responds to this...

From StrategyEye:

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace is attacking the iPhone and claims by Apple CEO Steve Jobs that his company is committed to environmentally friendly business practices. Greenpeace has released a video clip showing the deconstruction and analysis of an iPhone, demonstrating that the device contains toxic brominated compounds, possibly including hazardous brominated flame retardant compounds, as well as environmentally harmful PVCs. In addition, Greenpeace says the pthalates found in iPhone headphone cables are banned from all toys in Europe and questioned the environmental commitment of the firm in the lead up to the iPhone's European launch. The report also notes that analysis of other handsets showed that no PVC chemicals were found in Nokia phones and that Sony and Motorola devices showed a commitment to removing brominated flame retardants.