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Withings returns at a dark time for wearables
Withings, which briefly became Nokia Health, is now Withings again. Nokia bought the health-tracking business in 2016 and rebranded it, hoping to compete with Fitbit and even Apple. Amid a bad wearable-market slump, though, the division foundered. To make things worse for Nokia, it was also having other problems elsewhere, like with its costly Ozo camera. Withings co-founder Eric Carreel just bought the company back (for undisclosed terms) with plans to revive the original name and develop new products. But wearables have struggled to become the must-have gadgets they were once framed as, and without Nokia's resources, Withings will have a tough time.
Withings will return after buying out Nokia's health business
Withings is back in the hands of its original owner and will return as a brand. As expected, co-founder Eric Carreel, who sold the business to Nokia just two years ago, has completed the re-acquisition for undisclosed terms, Nokia and Withings announced. For now, Withings will sell existing branded Nokia Health products, including the Nokia Body Cardio scale, BPM+ blood pressure monitor and Health Mate app. However, the company plans to relaunch the Withings brand by the end of 2018, and develop and release new connected health products as well.
Nokia Sleep review: Smart home controls don’t live up to the hype
When Nokia officially took over the Withings brand in 2017, it inherited many of its products, like the Activité watches, the WiFi Body scales and a wireless blood pressure monitor (that was relaunched as the Nokia BPM+). The one product it didn't carry over was the Aura, a combination lamp and bed sensor designed to track your sleep patterns and shine various shades of light to help you sleep or wake up. Nokia discontinued it, much to the consternation of many Aura users at the time.
Nokia is selling its Health business back to the former owner
Nokia has has entered negotiations to sell its Digital Health business to its original owner, Withings co-founder Éric Carreel. The move is part of the company's plan to exit the consumer market and "focus on becoming a business-to-business and licensing company," it said. The company paid $191 million for Withings back in 2016, but recently announced that it had written off $175 million in goodwill, and would do a strategic review of its wearable businesses.
34 major tech companies are uniting to fight cyberattacks
Cyberattacks are a global issue that can cause havoc regardless of who's involved, and key members of the tech industry are uniting in a bid to fight these attacks. A group of 34 companies has signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an agreement promising to defend customers around the world from hacks regardless of where they take place or who the perpetrator might be. They're promising to boost defenses for customers (including users' capacity to defend themselves), establish more partnerships to share threats and vulnerabilities, and -- importantly -- refuse to assist governments in launching cyberattacks.
The upgraded Nokia 6 is available for purchase in the US and UK
The second-generation Nokia 6 was announced in China in early January, and now it's finally made its way stateside. The affordable mid-range phone carries an MSRP of $270 for the 32GB version. It's currently available at Amazon.com and Walmart.com.
Researchers say some Android phone makers hide missed updates
A number of Android phones have a tendency to skip the occasional security patch while making it appear that the device is fully up to date, Wired reports. Researchers with Security Research Labs (SRL) looked into 1,200 phones from manufacturers like Google, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Huawei, Motorola, LG, HTC, ZTE and TCL and found that there's often a gap between what the phones say have been updated and what patches have actually been installed. "It's small for some devices and pretty significant for others," SRL founder Karsten Nohl told Wired.
The best blood pressure monitor for home use
By Stacey Higginbotham This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending 20 hours researching more than 50 blood pressure monitors, interviewing medical professionals, and testing 10 finalists with a group of nursing professors and students at the University of Texas Nursing School, we can say the best blood pressure monitor for most people to use at home is the Omron Series 10 with Bluetooth. Not everyone needs a blood pressure monitor, but those with high blood pressure (a third of Americans) or concerns about it will find a blood pressure monitor is a relatively inexpensive investment in one's health.
Here's what you missed at MWC 2018
This year's Mobile World Congress has been strangely quiet. Despite Samsung's return to the event to launch its latest flagship phones and Google unveiling new Android Go devices, the convention has been almost uneventful. In fact, the most interesting thing to have happened this show has been snow falling in Barcelona, with temperatures dipping close to 38 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 0 degrees Celsius). Although Nokia's parent company tried to drum up interest by reviving an old favorite like it did before, people just didn't care as much the second time around.
The first Android Go phones blend low prices with lots of promise
The world's first Android Go phones debuted here at Mobile World Congress, and they just might change the way Android works for the developing world. We took some time to get acquainted with some of these new devices, but in case you're not entirely up to speed on Go itself, we've prepared this handy primer.
The Finns who refuse to give up on Sailfish OS
Wander the halls of Mobile World Congress and you'll notice a theme on almost every phone manufacturer's stall: Android. Google's operating system has slowly suffocated every "alternative" adversary including Firefox OS, Ubuntu Touch and Windows Phone. But in the middle of hall five you'll find an unlikely holdout -- Sailfish, a quirky mobile platform by Tampere-based developer Jolla. Walk by the company's stall and you'll find a small group of Finnish employees eagerly showing off the few phones that run their swipe-based software. They're grinning like children, which is no surprise given the hell they've been through to get here. Most people know Jolla for its quirky 'other half' phone. It was the first hardware to run Sailfish OS -- a continuation of the MeeGo platform that Nokia abandoned for Windows Phone -- and boasted swappable backs that could add new hardware features and themed software. Jolla hoped brands would build backs for their most devout fans — a Real Madrid cover, for instance, might come with custom wallpaper, ringtones and an app for watching matches -- but few embraced the idea. Still, the hardware was intriguing because of the operating system it shipped with. In a sea of Android conformity, Jolla stood out.
Please, Nokia, bring back the 7110 next
It's becoming something of an MWC tradition that HMD Global, the company that builds phones under the Nokia brand, offers a gift to sentimental Europeans. In 2017, the manufacturer rebooted the 3310 while 2018 saw the arrival of a similarly refreshed version of the 8110. When HMD/Nokia returns to Barcelona in 2019, I hope that the company chooses to unveil a new version of the 7110, because I'd be first in line to buy one.
Nokia made a smart, fashionable jacket for first responders
Nokia has been creating unconventional products for years, like that weird touchscreen made of ice from 2010. And now, at MWC 2018, the company is showing off a new, offbeat project that's in the works: the CHASE (connected health and safety equipment) LifeTech FR (first responders) jacket. This smart garment was designed in collaboration with Kolon, a South Korean fashion brand, and GINA, a software developer from the Czech Republic. While the CHASE LifeTech FR may look like a traditional bright piece you'd see on a cop or firefighter, there are a few things that make it different than your average first-responder jacket.
Dear HMD, the world is finally ready for the Nokia Communicator
The phone that stole the show at last year's MWC wasn't an Android, didn't have a Samsung badge on it, could barely connect to the internet and didn't have a touchscreen. The relaunched Nokia 3310 traded on one key thing: nostalgia. But it was enough for it to grab most of the headlines, and even see a re-rerelease later that year with souped up "3G" data speeds. That wasn't it though, just a month ago, we finally got the 4G version we presume some people were asking for.
Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon
German new-space firm PTScientists has been planning a mission to the Moon for many years now. It has partnered with Audi to produce and deliver two XPrize-winning quattro rovers to the Moon that will explore both the lunar surface and carefully return to the Apollo 17 landing site in 2019. Now the team has partnered with Vodafone and Nokia to create a Moon-based communications network using 4G LTE to bring high-def video of the moon to those of us here on Earth.
Facebook has big plans to bring internet to more people in rural areas
Over the past few years, Facebook has been rolling out several initiatives to bring free and cost-reducing internet to people in underdeveloped areas all around the world. That includes things like Terragraph, a millimeter-wave wireless technology that not only serves connectivity but does so in speedy form -- it runs on the same frequency as the one being tested by operators for proposed 5G cellular networks. Then there are others such as the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), a collaboration between tech industry firms to accelerate the development of internet infrastructure in rural areas. OpenCellular, meanwhile, is a low-power base station optimized for underserved regions across the globe. In order for all of these projects to be successful, though, Facebook can't do it alone.
Watch Nokia's MWC 2018 event in under 10 minutes
It's good times for Nokia. Or rather HMD Global, the Finnish company that now owns the beloved Nokia brand. After a successful holiday season the phone maker has marched into Mobile World Congress with a bevy of new devices in tow. The Nokia 8 Sirocco is a stylish-looking Android flagship, while the Nokia 8110 Reloaded is a throwback to the classic 90s slider. For the average consumer there's also the entry-level Nokia 1, mid-range Nokia 6 and 6-inch Nokia 7 Plus. For a full rundown of the company's announcements, check out our 10-minute press conference supercut.
Nokia's new affordable smartphones prioritize design
Generating hype around the Nokia brand with retro-inspired feature phones is all well and good, but that doesn't necessarily result in people opening their wallets. And to best cash in on any interest, you need a little something for everyone. To that end, HMD Global has announced a number of new Android smartphones at MWC beyond its pricey flagship. There's the Nokia 1, the company's cheapest entry-level device to date; the second-gen Nokia 6, which is going global after debuting in China last month and the Nokia 7 Plus, a bigger version of the China-exclusive 7, which was released last fall.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco edition is 95-percent glass
HMD brought a Nokia phone for all tastes to this year's MWC. Just as some people might want a retro feature phone or an entry-level smartphone, others want the best that money can buy. HMD's latest offering to these flagship fiends is the Nokia 8 Sirocco, which is pitched as a special edition of the Nokia 8 that launched last summer. Make no mistake, this isn't merely the same phone in a new funky color. It sports a completely overhauled design consisting almost entirely of glass.
The Nokia 8110 Reloaded is HMD's latest retro feature phone
Many companies descend on the annual Mobile World Congress event to plug their first smartphone launches of the year. It's an established routine, but HMD Global undeniably stole the show in 2017 with, of all things, a new feature phone. Flexing its newly-acquired license to the Nokia brand, HMD put on a marketing masterclass by announcing a re-release of the iconic Nokia 3310. This year, it's attempting a similar trick, preying on '90s nostalgia with the new Nokia 8110 Reloaded.
