Smartphone spread boosts Japan's NTT DoCoMo

TOKYO—Leading Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo said Friday net profit sagged in 2011 due to an additional tax burden, but growing smartphone use had boosted operating profit.

Net profit for the year to March slipped 5.4 percent from a year ago to ¥63.9 billion ($5.7 billion), mainly due to changes in the tax code, the company said.

But operating profit rose 3.5 percent to ¥74.5 billion, on sales of ¥.2 trillion, up 0.4 percent from the previous year.

Solid earnings came as strong sales of smartphones have increased revenue from subscribers expanding their use of data services, DoCoMo said.

For the year to March 2014, the company forecast net profit would jump 20.1 percent to ¥57 billion. Operating profit should edge up 2.9 percent to ¥00 billion, on sales of ¥.45 trillion, up 5.0 percent.

DoCoMo is by far the market leader in Japan with just over 60 million subscribers versus 35.1 million at KDDI and about 28 million at Softbank. Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report —Agence France-Presse

source:gmanetwork.com

And all I really want for Christmas is a Nokia

MANILA, Philippines — Let this Christmas be the merriest ever by giving yourself and your loved ones the best gift ever: a Nokia phone! For this Holiday season, Nokia presents new mobile phone offerings that fit any budget and personality, too. Whether it’s for someone who wants style and simplicity in one package or for another who’s looking for the latest in smartphone technology, Nokia offers a wide variety of handsets that cater to all kinds of users.

The latest touchscreen smartphone below P25,000

For those on the lookout for a smartphone that looks good yet works better, and at a price range of below P25,000, the Nokia N9 (16GB) fits your requirements perfectly. This unique all-screen smartphone is built for people who appreciate a stunning blend of design and the latest smartphone technology.

What sets this apart from current smartphones in the market today is its innovative new design where the home key is replaced by a simple gesture: a swipe. This means, no keys to bring you to the home screen, just a simple swiping from the edge of the display does the trick.

What’s more, this ultra-stylish smartphone boasts of three home views of the user interface to give fast access to the most important things you do with your phone: using apps, staying up to date with notifications and social networks, and switching between activities.

It is also packs an 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus sensor, wide-angle lens, HD-quality video capture and large lens aperture for great camera performance; a free turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance; and the Dolby Digital Plus audio technology for a great surround sound experience.

Complementing this impressive technology is its exceptional design and craftsmanship: the body is precision-machined from a single piece of polycarbonate and flows seamlessly into beautiful curved glass. The Nokia N9 is available in colors black, cyan and magenta with an SRP of P24,990 for the 16GB model.

Touch and QWERTY options below P15,000

Nokia’s new touch devices – Nokia 700 and Nokia 500 – are perfect for those who want a smartphone that doesn’t break the bank. They pack the latest in touch technology and stylish mobile design and let you enjoy these features at prices you can afford.

Gift yourself this Christmas with a Nokia 700, dubbed the most compact touch screen monoblock smartphone in the world, at only 50 cubic centimeters, 96 grams, and 110x50.7x9.7mm.

It boasts of a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen ClearBlack display with a 1Ghz processor and 2GB internal memory, and a 5-megapixel full focus camera with LED flash. It is powered by the new Symbian software, Symbian Belle, with single-tap NFC technology for a one-of-a-kind sharing experience. It lets you do your share in protecting the environment, too, as it boasts of having a long battery life and designed using eco-friendly materials and features that minimize battery consumption.

If you want to introduce your loved one to smartphones, the Nokia 500 is a good choice. For only P9,290, this entry-level smartphone offers high quality and high performance without the high price, incorporating Nokia’s fastest processor to date, a 5-megapixel camera, great music and entertainment experiences and preloaded Ovi Maps, and turn-by-turn navigation.

For the QWERTY user who also wants the benefits of touch, the new Nokia Asha 303 gives just that for a price that’s a steal. Style meets speed for this stylishly slim device that also features an exceptionally responsive touch screen that is great for browsing, scrolling, and opening apps. You can also enjoy a full QWERTY keyboard for fast texting – all on the vivid 2.6-inch display.

It’s also a powerful social networking hub: stay connected fast with its 1 GHz processor and the latest 3.5G and Wi-Fi support that allows you to get in touch on your social networks, chat and access mail more conveniently.

For the serious music lover, it features a dedicated music key for instant access to your playlist and also comes preloaded with apps like Angry Birds Lite. It’s fast, slim and stylish – everything that you want in a QWERTY-touch smartphone.

Dual SIM devices below P5,000

If your budget allows for not more than P5,000, Nokia offers Dual SIM handsets that offer superior performance. For those who want the best of both worlds, there’s the Nokia C2-03, a Dual SIM Touch and Type phone that gives the best value out of your networks while offering the convenience of keypad for email and documents with quick touch pad for browsing music or navigating your phone.

It also features Nokia’s innovative Easy Swap technology that allows you to change between SIMs with ease, and provides setting for up to five separate SIM cards that can each be personalized.

Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM can also be enjoyed in the new Nokia Asha 200 (coming soon!), which lets you type with convenience, thanks to its QWERTY feature.

You can also personalize your phone for up to 5 SIM cards. This colorful handset makes staying in touch easy as it lets you access your favorite email accounts, chat quickly and update Facebook and other social networks.

You can also download music, apps and games directly to your phone. You can even customize your homescreen, letting you add your favorite contacts or app shortcuts with ease.

For Dual SIM that’s cheap yet packs great features, the Nokia 101 is your best bet. It lets you connect to two different networks to receive calls and messages and features a Nokia SIM manager that allows you to select which SIM card to use to make a call or send a text message, so you can manage costs and maintain network coverage without needing several phones.

It also lets you store settings for up to five SIM cards and can be personalized by assigning names and logos for each SIM setting. You can also enjoy features like an FM radio, integrated MP3 player, and a 103-phon loudspeaker, and provides support for up to 16 GB microSD memory cards.

source:mb.com.ph

Twitter undergoes major design revamp

Micro-blogging site Twitter is rolling out a major redesign revamping key features and updating its apps for mobile devices running iOS and Android.

A unified "Home" area allows users to view Tweets including latest news, commentary and information from the people he or she chose to follow.

"It’s now easier and faster to see the information that matters most to you. Immediately access your favorite features from the left-hand side. Photos, videos and conversations are embedded directly in Tweets so you can see the whole story at a glance. And now everything in Home will appear consistently across computers, iPhones, and Android mobile phones," it said.

The revamped Twitter also features a new tab menu that will be the same across all devices.

It added a simpler design allows one to easily view Twitter stats, get suggestions on who to follow and see trending topics.

Also, tweets can now expand to show more information such as replies, retweets and embedded photos and videos.

A new Connect section allows one to see who has followed or mentioned him or her; or retweeted or favorited one of his or her Tweets.

It also allows a user to connect with @usernames instantly and act on interactions.

One can now also see all the Tweets in which he or she is mentioned in one place, "so you can keep the conversation going."

The Discover feature lets one tap into a stream of useful and entertaining information.

"When you use Discover, you’ll see results reflecting your interests—based on your current location, what you follow and what’s happening in the world. As you use Twitter more, Discover gets even better at serving up more content just for you. Whatever you’re curious about, Discover will help you find out more," Twitter said.

A "Made for you" feature shows stories and trends content trending in a user's world based on recent popularity as well as connections, location and language.

Profile section

Twitter features a new profile section that puts a users and his or her interests front and center.

"Others can Tweet directly to you and view your lists, favorites, followers, photos and more. The Me tab is also where you can stay current on your direct message conversations," it said.

A "Me" tab lets one introduce himself or herself to the world.

Branding pages

Twitter also launched of its own version of branding pages, appearing to challenge Facebook's current preeminence as a social location for advertisers.

"Advertisers can have large customized headers adorned with their logos. Brands have the option to park any tweet at the beginning of their timeline," tech site CNET said.

It added advertisers can also separate out and highlight their brand's "@ replies" and mentions - potentially a big deal for companies who'd like to be in constant conversation with their customers, but who don't want that back-and-forth to dilute their own message.

Another article on Mashable said Twitter also expanded the number of brand pages on the platform.

Launch partners for the pages include American Express, Best Buy, Bing, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Dell, Disney, General Electric, Hewlitt-Packard, Intel, JetBlue, Kia, McDonald’s, Nike, PepsiCo, Staples, Verizon Wireless, NYSE Euronext, Heineken, Subway and Paramount Pictures, specifically for the release of Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.

It cited a report in Advertising Age where "bBrands can also choose to keep a particular tweet at the top of their time line, and that top tweet also auto-expands to reveal an embedded photo or video from Flickr, YouTube or other sources, without requiring the user to take action.”

The new design also lets brands separate their @ replies and mentions, according to the report.

"Twitter’s embrace of brand pages, which had been rumored since April, comes about a month after Google introduced brand pages for Google+," it noted. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com