nokia

Smartphone sales are expected rise 49% this year to 450 million units, according to a new survey from electronics research firm IDC.

Motorola's sale of its network-equipment division to Nokia Siemens Networks seems to have hit another hiccup. Chinese telecom-equipment maker Huawei has won a preliminary U.S. court injunction against Motorola, a Huawei vendor, arguing that the deal would transfer confidential information to a competitor.

The recent news that Nokia will now use the Windows 7 operating system in its smart phones means that Microsoft stands to gain licensing revenues for its operating system as well as increased search advertising market share. Good news for the stock?

From a strategy standpoint, there's some sound reasoning behind CEO Stephen Elop's thinking: Most likely there's room for a third player at Apple and Google's poker table. But Nokia's new deal with Microsoft will be all about how well it's executed.

In four months, CEO Stephen Elop has slashed its workforce and turned the company in a new direction. On Friday, he launched his gutsiest strategy yet -- dumping Nokia's ailing Symbian mobile operating system and betting the house on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 OS.

When Nokia's CEO presents the company's strategy to investors in London on Friday, it could announce plans to use an outside operating system -- namely, Microsoft's , Google's or both, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Handsets based on Google's Android mobile operating system accounted for 32.9% of worldwide smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter, compared with Symbian's 30.6% market share, according to a new report from market researcher Canalys. Apple's iOS was a distant third, with 16%.

A broad array of technology news helped define 2010, from the launch of Apple's iPad to the arrival of the app to a supernova of Internet stock gains. Here's a look back at those major stories -- and a glimpse of some highlights you can expect next year.

Nokia Siemens's planned acquisition of the bulk of Motorola's wireless-network business likely won't happen this year. Chinese regulators are still reviewing the deal, and Nokia Siemens now expects approval -- and the completion of the purchase -- will have to wait until the first quarter of 2011.

Nokia has announced that its high-end flagship E7 smartphone will miss the 2010 holiday season. Without explaining what the exact problem was, a spokesperson says Nokia wants to "allow the best possible user experience." Making sure the phone works is a good start.