analyst

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.

The search-engine wars are alive and well -- and Bing is the beneficiary again. Microsoft's so-called decision engine grabbed 11.5 percent of the U.S. search market in February, according to comScore.

Although that's only a slight increase over January, when Bing boasted 11.3 percent of the search market, it's an incremental improvement Microsoft is glad to see for its less-than-a-year-old engine.

Motorola is placing two new bets on the open-source Android operating system with the release of its Backflip and Devour smartphones. The uniquely designed Backflip began selling through AT&T Wireless late last week, and the Detour is now available from Verizon Wireless.

The 3G/Wi-Fi Backflip, at $99 after rebate and with a two-year contract, is gaining a lot of attention for its unique flip-out QWERTY keyboard, which AT&T has described as "an original reverse flip design."

Big Selling Point -- MOTOBLUR

Facebook and Omniture, the Web analytics software maker, said Wednesday they are working together to help companies use the world's largest social network as a marketing channel.

Using Omniture's products, companies will be able to measure how effective their ads are on Facebook. They will also be able to use Omniture's search engine marketing management tool to buy Facebook ads. And they will be able to compare how well their ad campaigns do on Facebook compared with other outlets.

Investors have been selling shares of Palm Inc. at a rapid pace this year, worried that the company won't be able to turn its business around with new smart phones because of fierce competition from Apple and BlackBerry.

The stock has lost nearly 40 percent of its value so far this year. On Thursday it fell 22 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $6.05 in afternoon trading. Shares of rival Research in Motion Ltd., meanwhile, have risen nearly 4 percent year-to-date.

Activision Blizzard Inc. said Tuesday that Jason West and Vince Zampella, executives at "Call of Duty" developer Infinity Ward, are no longer with the company.

Zampella had served as CEO at Infinity Ward, and West as chief technology officer, among other titles.

Activision also said it plans to form a new business unit around the "Call of Duty" franchise, focusing on online content and expanding the brand.

The shake-up comes a day after Activision said it was looking into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at its Infinity Ward studio.

Nokia is making Skype available for the Symbian platform. A joint announcement Wednesday by the world's largest handset maker and the maker of the most popular VoIP calling software means that owners of select Nokia devices will be able to make phone calls over Wi-Fi or a mobile data connection at a fraction of the cost for normal calls.

Nokia launched a new family of devices Tuesday, called the C series. The company said the new series is the "core of the Nokia portfolio" and the devices -- including the first one, the C5 -- will be "optimized for social networking and sharing."

Optimization means the C5 helps the user maintain a continual connection with his or her social circle. This includes direct access to the user's favorite contacts right on the home screen, Facebook status updates visible on the phone, and easy access to social-networking sites.

Four Families of Devices

Nokia launched a new family of devices Tuesday -- the C series. The company said the new series is the "core of the Nokia portfolio" and the devices -- including the first one, the C5 -- will be "optimized for social networking and sharing."

Optimization means the C5 helps the user maintain a continual connection with his or her social circle. This includes direct access to the user's favorite contacts right on the home screen, Facebook status updates visible on the phone, and easy access to social-networking sites.

Four Families of Devices

Nokia launched a new family of devices Tuesday, called the C series. The company said the new series is the "core of the Nokia portfolio" and the devices -- including the first one, the C5 -- will be "optimized for social networking and sharing."

Optimization means the C5 helps the user maintain a continual connection with his or her social circle. This includes direct access to the user's favorite contacts right on the home screen, Facebook status updates visible on the phone, and easy access to social-networking sites.

Four Families of Devices