Nokia Buys Feature Phone Software Maker

Smarterphone AS, a software company based in Norway, was purchased by Nokia in November 2011 said the company. Smarterphone makes a feature phone operating system that is said to provide a smartphone-like user experience on lower-cost hardware. Smaterphone was sold by it Ferd Capital, and investment firm. Nokia currently uses its own S40 platform for lower-cost handsets and feature phones. Nokia has not said what it intends to do with Smarterphone’s platform and terms of the deal were not disclosed. ...

Nokia to Debut Lumia 900 at CES, Says New York Times

Nokia on Monday will is reveal the Lumia 900, a Windows Phone device for the AT&T network, reports The New York Times. Citing unnamed sources, the Times says the company is going to show off the “sleek, metallic” phone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Nokia and AT&T both have press conferences scheduled for Monday, January 9. The Times’ sources didn’t provide more details about the handset. Tweet Vote on HN ...

RIM Updates BBM, Traffic, and Travel Apps

Research In Motion today provided updates to a handful of its mobile applications in conjunction with the release of BlackBerry OS 7.1. BlackBerry Messenger version 6.1 has moved out of beta and is available to all users. BBM 6.1 adds support for BlackBerry Tag, which lets BlackBerry users exchange contact data by tapping their near-field communications-equipped BlackBerries together. It also adds more control over customization of individual messages and user profiles. The BlackBerry Travel application has been updated to include support for local deals on transportation and hotel ...

MetroPCS Gains the Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G with LTE

MetroPCS today announced the Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G, a new Android smartphone that supports MetroPCS’s Long Term Evolution 4G network. The Attain 4G runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, has a 3.5-inch display, and is powered by a 1GHz processor. The Attain 4G has a 3.2-megapixel main camera with LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel user-facing camera with Google Talk video chat software. The Attain 4G will cost $199.99 after $50 rebate, and will be available from MetroPCS stores and MetroPCS’s web site in the next few weeks. Voice, messaging, and data plans start at $50 per ...