The Android-based X series is not the only casualty of Microsoft’s big move on Thursday to restructure the company. Apart from a record 18,000 job cuts and the decision that X series designs will become future Lumia products running Windows Phone, Redmond also announced a decision to abandon Nokia’s Asha and Series 40 phones.

“With the clear focus on Windows Phones, all Mobile Phones-related services and enablers are planned to move into maintenance mode, effective immediately,” Jo Harlow, who heads the phone business under Microsoft devices said in an internal email accessed by BGR and The Verge. “This means there will be no new features or updates to services on any Mobile Phones platform as a result of these plans,” Harlow added.

The transition is likely to happen over the next 18 months, as Harlow said, “We are committed to supporting our existing customers, and will ensure proper operation during the controlled shutdown of services over the next 18 months.”

As part of the shutdown, all developer activities around these platforms will also be ramped down.

“To focus on the growing momentum behind Windows Phone,” said Harlow, “we plan to immediately begin ramping down developer engagement activities related to Nokia X, Asha and Series 40 apps and shift support to maintenance mode.”

Nokia Xpress Browser and MixRadio are likely to be spun off into a separate business.

“We plan to consider strategic options for Xpress Browser to enable continuation of the service outside of Microsoft,” Harlow said in the memo, while a MixRadio spokesperson told ZDNet, “We are not closing down or ceasing to develop the service. We are being spun out as a separate company, although we will continue to be preloaded to Microsoft devices.”

-NDTV

Partners Softlogic to offer amazing Mobitel packages

The National Mobile Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel partnered with The Nokia Corporation to provide an exclusive tailor-made package for the recently launched Nokia 107 and 108. Both are the latest in a range of affordable mobile phones introduced by Nokia recently.

All Nokia 107s and 108s purchased via Mobitel and Softlogic distribution channels will also add value to this offer, by including a connection bundled along with a special Mobitel pre-paid package. This features a bonus value of Rs. 250/-. For every Rs.50/- spent on SMS and Voice, Mobitel will add on a bonus of Rs.5/-.

The Nokia 107 is reasonably priced at Rs. 3,790 while the 108 is priced at Rs. 4,490.

Apart from these special offers from Mobitel, customers who purchase these mobile phones can also expect; a one-to-one replacement guarantee, which translates to a one year warranty on the phone and a six-month warranty for accessories, colour display, one month standby battery life and Sinhala and Tamil keypad options.

Both phones have a colour display, dual SIM and hands-free features. The Nokia 107 in the meantime has a dust-proof key mat, an FM radio and a flashlight while the Nokia 108 offers up a Bluetooth feature, Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature, a hands-free kit and a one-year warranty. This phone is also the first Nokia to offer a camera within this price bracket.

Both the Nokia 107 and 108 can be purchased at all Mobitel, Softlogic channels as well as at all phone dealerships islandwide.

This is yet another joint initiative taken up by Mobitel and Nokia, aimed at bringing the latest technology in the market closer to the Sri Lankan consumer. The Nokia 107 and 108 belong to a range of cost-effective mobile phones created by Nokia. As a globally respected brand, Nokia is consistently geared to meet the dynamic expectations of consumers while introducing products that offer exceptional service.

SEATTLE: Nokia will unveil a low-cost smartphone running a version of Google Inc's Android operating system, despite the company's close partnership with Microsoft Corp and its competing Windows system, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The handset division of the Finnish company, which is in the final stages of being acquired by Microsoft, will show off the new phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, the report said on Monday, citing unidentified sources who were familiar with the matter.

Nokia and Microsoft declined to comment.

The new Android phone will be aimed at emerging markets and will not feature some of Google's higher-end, custom Android features.

Microsoft and its main handset partner Nokia have struggled to make an impression in the smartphone market dominated by Samsung's Android devices and Apple Inc's iPhone.

According to technology research firm, Strategy Analytics, 79 percent of smartphones shipped worldwide last year ran on Android, 15 percent were iPhones running Apple's iOS and only 4 percent ran Windows Phone software.