Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may have looked westwards for its latest CEO—the Canadian, ex-Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) executive Stephen Elop—but, in picking its new chairman, it appears the handset maker may remain Finn.

After years of effort and speculation, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has pieced together nearly 40 broadcast services from around the world to boost the on-demand programming available through Xbox Live. It took a shift in strategy to make room for broadcasters like the BBC, the trend toward authentication to bring on…

No one ever said turnarounds were easy, and Nokia (NYSE: NOK)—currently the world’s largest handset maker—is one big ship. Today the company announced that it would be downsizing its manufacturing, as well as its mapping and commerce divisions, which will result in job losses totalling 3,500.

Many consumers were never completely sure of the correct way to pronounce it, and it has had mixed success as a household name synonymous with cloud-based entertainment, so it comes as not too much of a surprise to hear that Sony (NYSE: SNE) has now dropped the Qriocity brand. Instead,…

At our paidContent Mobile conference in May, Andrew Stalbow and Peter Vesterbacka paired up to tout the value of a major studio partnering with a popular game developer on the successful Angry Birds Rio. Now Stalbow has shifted from SVP-Mobile for *Fox* Digital to working with Vesterbacka directly as the…

One of the biggest reasons that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has dumped Symbian in favor of Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is to better tackle winning back some market share and mindshare in the U.S. But it looks like it will try out its first WP7 devices in markets…

Two big steps for Nokia (NYSE: NOK) today in its ongoing strategic shift: the company announced it would transfer all Symbian software operations to Accenture, including the 3,000 people that work in the division. It also said that it would begin a massive wave of layoffs that will total 4,000…

Some of the mobile industry left MeeGo for dead when Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced it would be focussing the bulk of its software development on integrating Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). But apparently there are some OEMs that could be interested in developing smartphones on the platform. Is…

Despite the big stories about the iPad 2 selling out in the U.S., and the question marks over how events in Japan might affect consumer electronics supplies, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is going ahead with its scheduled launch of the iPad 2 outside the U.S.

Big news today from Rovio, the Finland-based developers behind the hugely successful Angry Birds mobile game: the company has picked up $42 million in funding, a first round round led by no less than Accel Partners and Atomico Ventures, the VC firm founded and led by Skype/Kazaa/Joost founders Niklas Zennstrom…

Nokia’s stock may have dipped to 1998 levels in the last few days on worries about its new smartphone strategy with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), but there are some good-news stories coming out of Finland’s mobile world, too. Grey Area, the Helsinki-headquartered, location-based social mobile game developer, has announced that it…

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may be rethinking how it delivers mobile music—shuttering its Ovi Unlimited music service—but it is not giving up on digital entertainment altogether. The Swedish VOD and streaming site Voddler has announced that it has picked up an additional $8 million in funding, with this round led by…

Nokia’s struggle to compete against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), and drive more sales of its own smartphones, hit a new low today, as the Finnish company said it would be discontinuing its free, bundled music service, Comes With Music, in 27 of the 33 markets where it has operated since 2008,…

Aspiro, the hosted and white-label mobile TV and music provider, today announced that it has sold its remaining mobile entertainment business in Finland to Exsol Oy, for €100,000 ($137,000; £86,000), a holding company set up by games/ringtone distributor Buumi International. This follows a sale of entertainment assets in Norway, Sweden…

The day after Nokia started shipping its flagship N8 smartphone, it released a furry of statistics to make the point that it was making progress in building out its Ovi Store and distributing applications. It said 200,000 people sign up daily for the Ovi Store; downloads have increased to 2.3…

Early analysis is concluding that Nokia’s hiring of Stephen Elop was the best way to create a clean slate and breathe personality into a company that must transform from a hardware maker to a creative software and services innovator, comparable to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Google. However, critics question whether…

—Bambuser deal: The Swedish mobile vidcasting rival to Qik and Flixwagon has signed its first commercial partner since starting in ‘07 - Finnish public broadcaster YLE will embed on its site live mobile vids from its news reporters, “to document everyday work life as well as a new way to…

—Free Films Direct: A new movie service for Sweden, the land of Spotify and Pirate Bay. Free Films Direct comes from Sweden’s Brixgate Communications and has Paramount Digital Entertainment repertoire, offering paid downloads and streaming plus ad-supported free films. Via Hollywood Reporter and release. —MuZu.tv/O2: The Irish music video site…

Well, if you can’t beat ‘em… Finnish games developer RedLynx is releasing limited versions of its own games on the day of release to P2P file-sharing sites in the hope that gamers will shell out for a full version. Speaking at the Develop Liverpool conference on Thursday (via Gamesindustry.biz), CEO…