Steve Ballmer is one of those guys who just can't hide a mood. Probably a terrible poker player. Which is why-- when Microsoft is crowing about Kinect sales-- that the refusal to provide Windows Phone 7 sales figures is damning.

UK store deal aggregator MobilesPlease says Phone 7 has accounted for just 3% of their smartphone sales, with Android outselling WP7 handsets 15:1. With 800,000 visitors to their sites, you have to take this report seriously.

The site says Symbian devices outsold Windows Continue reading...

Garmin-Asus hopes a Windows Phone 7 device, expected to launch early 2011, will save its smartphone business. It also plans to expand its Android line-up with new devices, according to DigiTimes.

Last month Garmin's CFO said publicly the company is ready to exit the smartphone business if it does not achieve success in 6 months. Analysts define success as Garmin-Asus selling at least a million devices or more each year to stay in the smartphone market.

The Garmin-Asus joint venture, created Continue reading...

Microsoft unveils first phones running Win Phone 7, 8 months after the OS unveiling in Barcelona.

5 models will be initially available in Europe from Oct 21 from HTC, Samsung and LG. All come with 480x800 WVGA touchscreens and adhere to Microsoft standards for screen resolution, processor and button configuration.

The new OS overhauls Windows Mobile and integrates Microsoft's Zune, XBox Live and Office, together with Bing Search and Windows Live.

Go Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Portfolio Continue reading...

Visa Europe launches a contact-less payment system in Turkey. Customers of Akbank with a Blackberry enabled by a microSD card can now pay for goods.

Using NFC technology in a microSD called the In2Pay, the In2Pay card can still act as a storage expansion as well, so users do not give up memory to make use of the service.

Visa will expand this micro-SD programme to include HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and Motorola phones in the near future while it waits for NFC handsets to gain in the market.

Go VISA Continue reading...

The "iPhone 4" goes on sale on June 24th in UK, France, Germany in 16GB and 32GB versions.

iPhone 4 features more than 100 new features including a better still camera (5 megapixel), improved battery life (40% more time) and a screen with significantly higher resolution (326 pixels per inch, 4X more pixels than before).

But what everyone will be watching is the front-facing video camera for WiFi-only video conferencing. Will iPhone owners develop video chat habits with Mac owners or iPhone Continue reading...

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son shook up Mobile Asia Congress, declaring mobile networks alone can't support future data-intensive devices.

The CEO of Japan's largest Internet group uses this example to explain why future mobile networks may not be able to support the evolution of devices: if the same rate of device development continues, in 2024 an iPhone would be 1000X more powerful and will store 32 terabytes of data…

"The PC internet day is gone, the majority of Internet access will come from Continue reading...

Lenovo buys back the mobile phone unit, the same unit it spun off only last year... now probably "THINKing" its decision to focus on its core business in PCs might have been hasty.

It will cost USD$200 million plus stock to buy back Lenovo Mobile from a group of investors who bought it for $100 million last year.

The company justifies this, citing growing similarities between PCs and mobile phones that "are creating a new device category that Lenovo sees as a key growth opportunity in China and Continue reading...

Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Apple, RIM, NEC, Qualcomm and TI, all agree mobile phones in Europe will have the new Universal Charging Solution (UCS) in 2010 instead of 2012. The new chargers will only be compatible with smartphones, leaving out basic phones, reports Reuters.

The MicroUSB standard is now backed by the ITU. The new UPC standard was based on input from GSMA, which predicts a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption, elimination of 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers, Continue reading...