Nokia Oyj

Nokia is the global cell-phone leader, with sales of 329 million units in 2009. Yet when it comes to feature-packed smartphones in some markets, including the U.S., analysts say Nokia is under threat from rivals Apple, Research In Motion, and Google.

Samsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of cell phones for the U.S. market, on Sunday revealed the first phone running Samsung's own "smart" software system, bada.

With bada, Korea-based Samsung is taking the TouchWiz system used on its touch-screen non-smart phones and making it the basis of a smart phone platform to take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry. Samsung also makes phones based on other competing smart phone systems: Android, created by Google Inc., and Symbian, of which Nokia Corp. is a major backer.

The world's largest wireless carriers, including the four largest in the U.S., announced Monday that they are combining forces to make it easier for software developers to write applications that will run on as many phones as possible.

The "Wholesale Applications Community" is an attempt to retake the initiative from phone makers like Apple Inc., Nokia Corp. and Research in Motion Ltd., which have applications stores of their own. Google Inc. is also building a significant store for its Android software.

Intel and Nokia are combining their Moblin and Maemo operating systems to create a unified Linux-based platform that will run on a wide range of mobile computing devices, including advanced cellular handsets, netbooks, tablet computers, TV sets, and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Called MeeGo, the new open-source platform is expected to launch on next-generation devices from Nokia and perhaps other vendors in the second half of this year.

The stock prices of TomTom and Garmin fell Thursday in the wake of Nokia's rollout of a free mobile app that delivers turn-by-turn navigation voice guidance in 74 countries. Nokia's Ovi Maps currently can be downloaded onto 10 Nokia smartphones, including the Nokia E72, N97 mini, 5800 XpressMusic, and 6730 classic.

Nokia ofrece navegación gratis por GPS a conductores y peatones para los clientes de sus teléfonos inteligentes. El servicio alcanza a 74 países y 46 idiomas. Con esta oferta va muchos más allá que sus rivales Google o Apple. El cliente podrá descargar los mapas en Ovimaps, así como guías de distintas ciudades como las de Lonely Planet. Los mapas estarán almacenados en el terminal, y por lo tanto su empleo será gratuito para el propietario del teléfono.

Nokia ofrece navegación gratis por GPS a conductores y peatones para los clientes de sus teléfonos inteligentes. El servicio alcanza a 74 países y 46 idiomas. Con esta oferta va muchos más allá que sus rivales Google o Apple. El cliente podrá descargar los mapas en Ovimaps, así como guías de distintas ciudades. Los mapas estarán almacenados en el terminal, y por lo tanto su empleo será gratuito para el propietario del teléfono.

Whatever might be said of its methods and accuracy, there is little question that the Greenpeace "Guide to Greener Electronics" has become an important fixture on the consumer electronics scene.

In August 2006, Greenpeace took its first stab at ranking the green bona fides of 14 makers of consumer electronics. In a nutshell, the appraisals hinged on the elimination of certain hazardous chemicals and a willingness to take responsibility for products across their life cycles, through take-back programs, recycling and other efforts.

From sinner to saviour: After years of heat from Greenpeace about its environmental record, Apple has become the example par excellence in the eyes of the ecology group after it studied the issue.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Thursday, Greenpeace heaped praise not only on Apple but also cell-phone makers Nokia and Sony Ericsson for their products and information technology guidelines.

At the bottom of the list in the Greenpeace study were Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and LG Eletronics.

Options traders are betting Nokia Oyj will gain 14 percent by Feb. 19 as the world's biggest maker of handsets returns to profit and investors bet the company is about to introduce technology.

Speculation that Nokia will rise pushed the number of bullish options on the stock to almost double the level of bearish ones, the highest ratio in about a year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.