SAN FRANCISCO--Although Microsoft would rather everyone ran out and bought a Windows Mobile phone, the software maker is aware of reality. And, since it wants people to use Bing on their phones, it knows it needs to have software that works on other devices.
"Everyone understands the popularity and the pervasiveness of the platform," said Microsoft principal group program manager David Raissipour, following a Bing event Wednesday. "We are actively working on it."
Raissipour confirmed Microsoft is working on a mobile Bing application that will combine a number of features--more than just mapping and search. However, he declined to say what all of those features are or when the software will be ready.
I probed as to whether some of the cool mapping technology Microsoft showed on Wednesday might make it onto phones. Raissipour said such mapping requires a rich platform, but could potentially be done without Silverlight, if necessary. So, what about the iPhone?
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The smartphone space has grown extremely competitive over the past couple of years, and though in a numbers race Nokia continues to sell more smartphones than its competitors, particularly overseas, the Finnish handset manufacturer is slowly losing its grip on the top spot.
Realizing the changing landscape, Nokia announced on Thursday that it will reduce its smartphone portfolio by half in 2010 in order to put more research and development into the products that it does put out. The company released around 20 smartphones in 2009, including the Nokia E71, the Nokia N97, and the Nokia N86.
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Verizon just informed us that Google released an SDK for Android 2.0.1 Thursday, which means those who have a Motorola Droid (Motorola Milestone is the GSM version) can expect a free over-the-air upgrade to their phone in the "coming weeks."
Some updates include an improvement to the camera's autofocus and the phone's voice reception. There's still no news on the exact dates the new firmware will be rolled out, but we look forward to it all the same.
Via CNET News

Can Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo's vision cover the world?
(Credit: John Chan/CNET Asia)
Those following our coverage of the Zii Summit will notice that it was held in Shenzhen, China. It would probably have gotten more press coverage had it been conducted in locations like Shanghai and Beijing, but as we found out, that's not the point. Businessmen who own factories making high-tech consumer products are found in Shenzhen and they are the ones Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo wants to engage.
Almost every tech product you own is made in China. Factories there manufacture some of the best devices, but the credit goes back to the foreign companies. Rightly so-- Nokia designs products in Finland, Apple in California, Olympus in Japan, the list goes on. Mainland manufacturers are merely production lines for these companies which are not able to make devices cheaply in their own countries due to high labor costs.
Sim's Chinese tagline for the Zii Summit contains a part which roughly translates to "changing Earth, covering the world". This is meant to give the idea that the Zii platform can enable these Chinese businesses to change their status as factories for big Western corporations, to tech companies known for their own products.
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Google and Microsoft have joined a group devoted to creating a way that cell phone buyers can easily comprehend the quality of their camera phones.