Nokia today announced that Warner Music Group will make its diverse catalog of new stars and legendary artists available through Nokia Music Stores around the world as well as through Comes With Music, a revolutionary way for people to discover and enjoy music offered uniquely by Nokia.
“Warner Music Group has been a pioneer in developing new digital music business models and we are very pleased to have them supporting both the Nokia Music Store and Comes With Music,” said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president and head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business. “Comes With Music enables people to access great content, provides artists to wider exposure with new and existing fans, and creates new revenue for all stakeholders.”
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Recognizing that no one style fits all, Nokia today unveiled a new range of products to let consumers express their personal styles on a number of levels ranging from stylish designs, to personalization through vibrantly hued exchangeable covers.
The first four devices to launch as part of the new Nokia Supernova range feature a mix of bold colors and of-the-moment designs, evoking the allure of the latest statement handbags or must-have sunglasses. Aimed at style conscious men and women who want to stay connected, the new range delivers exceptional mobile functionality alongside a variety of music and internet experiences.
Nokia today announced it has launched a cash offer to acquire all of the shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own, at a price of EUR 3.647 per share. The net cash outlay from Nokia to purchase the approximately 52% of Symbian Limited shares it does not already own will be approximately EUR 264 million.
Nokia has received irrevocable undertakings from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. and Siemens International Holding BV to accept the offer, representing approximately 91% of the Symbian shares subject to the offer. Nokia also expects Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to accept the offer.
Nokia and Plazes (www.plazes.com) today announced an agreement for Nokia to acquire substantially all assets of Plazes, a privately-owned start-up company of 13 people with its principal operations in Berlin. Plazes provides a context-aware social-activity service that people can use to plan, record, and share their social activities: why they are at a given location at a given time, whether in the past, present or future.
“This acquisition helps Nokia to accelerate its vision of bringing people and places closer together, in line with our broader services strategy,” said Niklas Savander, Head of Nokia Services & Software. “In addition to the key assets, through this acquisition Nokia will bring on a visionary team with an advanced understanding of social-activity services, as well as the technical ability to further develop this area.”
Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO announced today their intent to unite Symbian OS™, S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) to create one open mobile software platform. Together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone they plan to establish the Symbian Foundation to extend the appeal of this unified software platform. Membership of this non-profit Foundation will be open to all organizations. This initiative is supported by current shareholders and management of Symbian Limited, who have been actively involved in its development. Plans for the Foundation have already received wide support from other industry leaders.
To enable the Foundation, Nokia today announced plans to acquire the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that Nokia does not already own and then contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation. Sony Ericsson and Motorola today announced their intention to contribute technology from UIQ and DOCOMO has also indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with common UI framework. A full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free license, from the Foundation’s first day of operations.
On June 5th, 2008 European Commission announced that it had unconditionally approved Nokia’s voluntary tender offer for all the shares in Trolltech ASA (OSE: Troll). Nokia today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Trolltech, a recognized software provider with world-class software development platforms and frameworks.
In addition to the key software assets, the Trolltech team will play an important role in accelerating the implementation of Nokia’s software strategy. This will enable Nokia to accelerate the cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and develop our Internet services business.
Oslo Stock Exchange has decided to delist Trolltech ASA. Last day of listing will be June 17, 2008.
Nokia and novero GmbH today announced that the transfer of Nokia’s line fit automotive business in Bochum and Düsseldorf, Germany, and Detroit, USA to novero has been completed. novero is owned by Razvan Olosu, the former head of Nokia’s Automotive business and Enhancements unit, and Equity Partners GmbH, a German private equity firm. With this transfer novero assumes full ownership of the line fit automotive business, effective June 16, 2008. The transaction will enable continuance of the employment for approximately 230 employees of the line fit automotive business.
“Nokia’s line fit expertise combined with Razvan Olosu’s established position in automotive business forms a solid foundation for novero to strengthen their operations. With his experience in this industry, the line fit business continues in good hands, allowing the business and customer relationships to go on smoothly”, said Heikki Tenhunen, Vice President, Enhancements, Nokia.
Razvan Olosu, CEO of novero said: “We are pleased to conclude this deal and focus on implementing our strategy with full steam ahead. In-car mobile communication, information and entertaintaiment are becoming more and more common in the market, and the line fit automotive market is exhibiting solid growth rates. We are confident there will be great opportunities for us to continue this successful business.”
novero plans to strengthen the main operations of the line fit automotive business in Germany and the United States, and increase the focus and dedication in serving the current customers in the automotive industry. novero aims to play a leading role in the growing market for automotive communications and multimedia solutions, and position itself at the forefront of innovation in the industry.
Nokia introduced today the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 - the latest email-optimized devices from the Nokia Eseries product range. The sleek Nokia E71 with full QWERTY keyboard and the stylish, slide-to-open Nokia E66 easily mobilize a broad range of personal or professional messaging needs, including Microsoft Exchange, the world’s most widely adopted corporate email solution. Both devices are expected to begin shipping in key markets in July. The Nokia E71 and the Nokia E66 are expected to retail at EUR 350, before applicable taxes and subsidies.
“The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 were designed for people who lead a mobile lifestyle and want quick and easy access to their personal and work email. With both of these devices, we have responded to consumer feedback by making calendar and contacts available at the touch of a button,” said Søren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Devices, Nokia. “Equally important, people want well-crafted devices that are as beautiful to use as they are to behold. Stainless steel was chosen as the core material for these devices, giving them additional strength and a touch of class. Furthermore, the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 offer all the latest multimedia features that people desire.”
Nokia today announced the launch of the Nokia Advertising Alliance, which will simplify mobile advertising for brand advertisers. The program brings together leading mobile marketing solutions, including couponing, location-based targeting, image recognition, and other emerging technologies, to offer advertisers a simple way to increase consumer engagement. Now brands can work with Nokia to combine the reach of mobile advertising on the Nokia Media Network with the latest mobile technologies for more effective campaigns.
“Mobile is maturing into an effective advertising medium, however, the fragmentation of certain technologies makes it hard for some programs to scale,” said Brian Bos, Senior Vice President, Convergence Director at MindShare-Team Detroit. “We applaud Nokia’s efforts to streamline this evolving market and make it easier to manage our clients’ mobile advertising investment.”
Nokia Nseries today announced it will be the exclusive telecom sponsor of the prestigious Young Lions Film Competition aimed at supporting and nurturing young talent in the advertising industry. Each of the creative teams in the film segment will be provided with a Nokia Nseries handset with which to shoot their entry in this famous annual competition. While the teams shoot their stories, Nokia will collect footage to produce regular video blogs highlighting teams in action at www.nseries.com/cannes. In addition, the footage will be used for a “behind the scenes” documentary that will be televised globally later on.
“The Young Lions Competition provides us with an excellent opportunity to showcase our Nokia Nseries range as the mobile devices for content creation and creativity. With their state-of-the art image and video capture and sharing features, Nokia Nseries handsets enable people to take full advantage of their creativity,” said Johan Eidhagen, Marketing Director, Explore category, Nokia.