Technology

Lumia 710, Nokia's first U.S. Windows Phone -- review

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Microsoft Stores taking $25 deposit on Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia Lumia 900

AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia haven't said when the Lumia 900 will hit stores or how much it will cost, but if the flagship Windows Phone is a device you just have to have, you can now pre-order it.

Microsoft's retail stores are currently taking a $25 deposit for those looking to reserve themselves a Lumia 900 on launch day, whenever that is. The deposit offer was first reported by The Verge and confirmed to The Times on Friday through Microsoft Store employees.

Rumor has it that the Lumia 900 could launch in March at a price of about $99 on a 2-year contract, which would undercut top-of-the-line rivals such as Apple's iPhone 4S and the Android Ice-Cream-Sandwich-equipped Galaxy Nexus, built by Samsung.

In the U.S., the Lumia 900 will be exclusive to AT&T and feature a 4.3-inch display, a polycarbonate body in cyan or black, a 1.4-gigahertz Qualcomm single-core processor, 512 megabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of built-in storage, an 8-megapixel/720p video rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

I spent a bit of time with the Lumia 900 at CES in Las Vegas last month, and the phone did look quite impressive and something I thought could sell at $150 or $200 on a 2-year contract. Check out my hands-on look at the Lumia 900 below.

CES 2012: Lumia 900, Nokia's first 4G LTE Windows Phone, debuts [Photos and Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Facebook IPO: Winklevoss twins could reap big payday

Photo: A Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone sits on display inside a Nokia retail store in Helsinki, Finland. Credit: Ville Mannikko / Bloomberg

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More in: AT&T, Gadgets, Microsoft, Mobile, Nathan Olivarez-Giles, Nokia, Phones, Windows Phone 7

Facebook's IPO filing, by the numbers

Facebook's Menlo Park HQ

Facebook's IPO filing on Wednesday offers investors, bankers, analysts, journalists and anyone willing to read the massive S-1 document a deeper look at the business and financial side of the world's largest social network than we've ever had before.

Our team of tech and business reporters has been digging into the filing, reporting on the Menlo Park, Calif., company's $3.7-billion revenue, rivalries with Twitter and Google+, perspective on China, social mission and hacker ethos, Zynga accounting for 12% of Facebook's revenue, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's pay cut from $600,000 in 2012 to $1 in 2013 and even what the IPO could mean for the Winklevoss twins.

But that wasn't all the S-1 had to say. Here are some other highlights from Facebook's IPO filing before the company actually goes public in May:

Users: Facebook has an average of 845 million monthly active users, 483 million of whom log into the social network daily.

Workforce: At the end of 2011, Facebook had 3,200 full-time employees, up 50% from 2,127 employees 2010. In 2009, the company had 1,218 employees.

Worldwide: Facebook's plan, unsurprisingly, is to continue to grow by gaining more users in countries around the world. But the company also said in its S-1 that it plans to grow its workforce worldwide as well. "We plan to continue the international expansion of our business operations and the translation of our products," Facebook said. Currently, Facebook is offered in more than 70 different languages, and the company has data centers in more than 20 different countries.

Popularity: Facebook said that about 60% of the online population in the U.S. and U.K. is registered on the social network. But Facebook is more popular in Chile, Turkey and Venezuela, where the company has "penetration rates of greater than 80% of Internet users."

There are more than 2 billion Internet users worldwide and Facebook said its goal is to connect all of them through its social network.

"In countries such as Brazil, Germany, and India we estimate that we have penetration rates of approximately 20-30%; in countries such as Japan, Russia, and South Korea we estimate that we have penetration rates of less than 15%; and in China, where Facebook access is restricted, we have near 0% penetration," the filing said.

Money in the bank: Facebook said that it had $1.5 billion at its disposal in a mix of "cash and cash equivalents" as of Dec. 31, as well as $2.3 billion in "marketable securities." In 2010, Facebook had $1.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents and no marketable securities. Total assets on hand amounted to $6.6 billion in 2011, while Facebook had a total of $1.4 billion in liabilities.

R&D: Facebook's research and development efforts have seen massive growth over the last few years. In 2011, the company spent $388 million, or about 10.5% of its revenue, on R&D. In 2010, Facebook spent less than half that amount, with $144 million going toward R&D. In 2009, the company spend $87 million on R&D, up from $47 million in 2008 and $81 million in 2007.

Patents: Faceook said a major factor in whether or not the company will be able to maintain the huge success it's had thus far will ride on its ability to "protect our core technology and intellectual property."

To do that, Facebook will "rely on a combination of patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, including know-how, license agreements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other contractual rights." The social media giant ended 2011 with 56 patents and 503 patent applications filed in the U.S., along with 33 corresponding patents and 149 patent applications filed in foreign countries.

Facebook IPO: Mark Zuckerberg's salary falling to $1 in 2013

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Television makers push Google TV at CES 2012 in Las Vegas

Photo: Visitors pose in front of a sign at the entrance of Facebook's new headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Wednesday. Credit: Kimihiro Hoshino / AFP/Getty Images

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Vizio's 21:9 aspect CinemaWide TV due in March at $3,499

Vizio's new 58-inch CinemaWide TV is set to hit retailers in March at a price of $3,499

Just in case your widescreen, high-definition TV isn't wide enough for you and you've got a few extra thousand dollars to spend, Vizio's new 58-inch CinemaWide TV is set to hit retailers next month at a price of $3,499.

With a price that will help shed Vizio's bargain-brand image a bit, the new set will feature a 21:9 aspect ratio that the Irvine-based electronics maker says is closer to the screen orientation found in a movie theater.

For the last few years, nearly all TVs have a been sold with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Most TV shows and sporting events are broadcast with a 16:9 image, and most video games have been produced with that aspect ratio as well.

So if you are watching TV on a CinemaWide set, you'll be almost guaranteed to see black bars running to the left and right of the picture, but Vizio says that screen real estate won't go to waste.

The CinemaWide sets will be able to upscale and stretch video to fit the entirety of the 21:9 screen, or the leftover space can be used to browse the display's VIA apps, such as Facebook and Twitter, the company said.

And if you're watching a widescreen movie, you might be able to watch without the "letterbox" black bars above and below the image, found when watching on a 16:9 set.

Rather than the standard 16:9 high-definition resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, the CinemaWide TV will feature a 2,560 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The CinemaWide sets will also be a line of LED-backlighted, 3-D TVs with four pairs of passive glasses thrown in at no added cost.

For now, Vizio is only listing the price and release window for the 58-inch CinemaWide TV, but 50-inch and 71-inch screen sizes are planned as well.

Vizio desktops and laptops aim to disrupt PC market [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Mark Zuckerberg: Know Facebook's social mission before investing

Image: Vizio's CinemaWide 21:9 aspect ratio TV. Credit: Vizio

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Facebook IPO: Mark Zuckerberg's salary falling to $1 in 2013

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With Facebook's S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for what is set to be a blockbuster IPO worth at least $5 billion in May, Mark Zuckerberg is now firmly sitting among Silicon Valley's top chief executives, if he wasn't already.

And, probably with that in mind, Zuckerberg is falling in line with a tradition among some of the valley's top CEOs: a $1 annual salary.

Zuckerberg received a $500,000 salary in 2011 and he'll get a $100,000 raise to $600,000 this year, Facebook's S-1 filing said. Zuckerberg also received a $220,500 bonus in the first half of 2011, the filing said.

"In the first quarter of 2012, our compensation committee discussed and approved a request by our CEO to reduce his base salary to $1 per year, effective Jan. 1, 2013," the document said.

Zuckerberg asked for the dramatic salary cut in the first quarter of 2012, according to the S-1, which would mean he made the request sometime in January, given that the document was filed Feb. 1.

The pay cut falls in line with the $1 annual salary taken by Steve Jobs from 1997 until his death last year as Apple's chief executive, and the $1 annual salaries taken by Google's former and current CEOs, Eric Schmidt and Larry Page; Larry Ellison at Oracle; and Meg Whitman at Hewlett-Packard.

But make no mistake, the 27-year-old Zuckerberg is being compensated for his leadership of the world's largest social network in many other ways -- not the least of which is Zuckerberg's 28% stake in Facebook, a company valued at as much as $100 billion.

Facebook, for example, has paid for a home security system and "security personnel" for Zuckerberg, the S-1 said.

"Because of the high visibility of our company we have implemented a 'comprehensive security program' for Mr. Zuckerberg to address safety concerns resulting from his position as our founder, chairman and CEO," the filing said. "We require these security measures for the company's benefit because of the importance of Mr. Zuckerberg to Facebook, and we believe that the costs of this comprehensive security program are appropriate and necessary. We paid for the initial procurement, installation and maintenance of security measures for Mr. Zuckerberg's personal residence, and we pay for the annual costs of security personnel, neither of which constitutes taxable income to Mr. Zuckerberg."

The company also "has also authorized our CEO and COO to use private aircraft for business purposes," the S-1 said. "This practice maximizes such executives' productive time and ensures their quick availability. In addition, Mr. Zuckerberg may use private aircraft for personal purposes in connection with his comprehensive security program. On certain occasions, Mr. Zuckerberg may be accompanied by family members or others when using private aircraft.

"For flights involving passengers flying for personal purposes, the aggregate incremental cost of such personal usage is reported as other compensation to Mr. Zuckerberg. The reported aggregate incremental cost is based on costs provided by the applicable charter company and includes passenger fees, fuel, crew and catering costs. The incremental cost attributable to Mr. Zuckerberg's use of private aircraft in 2011 is disclosed in the 'All Other Compensation' column in '—2011 Summary Compensation Table.'"

Zuckerberg's "Other Compensation" in 2011 totaled $783,529, the filing said, with about $692,679 going "to personal use of aircraft chartered in connection with his comprehensive security program and on which family and friends flew during 2011." The remaining $90,850 was for "costs related to estate and financial planning during 2011," the filing said.

RELATED:

Facebook files for IPO

Facebook IPO: Mark Zuckerberg says 'Stay focused & keep shipping'

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Mark Zuckerberg: Know Facebook's social mission before investing

Photo: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder and chief executive, speaks at the company's F8 developers conference in San Francisco in September 2011. Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

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Facebook IPO: from a dorm room, to 800 million users, to an S-1

Mark Zuckerberg in 2005

In eight years, Facebook has gone from the creation of a couple of college kids in a Harvard dorm room, to Silicon Valley golden child, to filing for one of the largest IPOs the U.S. has ever seen.

Although Facebook is in the midst of a milestone day Wednesday, there have been many other important moments in the relatively young life of what has grown into the mostly widely used social network in the world.

Here is a rundown of key moments in Facebook's history, as compiled by the Associated Press:

February 2004: Mark Zuckerberg starts Facebook as a sophomore at Harvard University.

March 2004: Facebook begins expansion to other colleges and universities.

June 2004: Facebook moves headquarters to Palo Alto.

September 2004: Facebook introduces the Wall, which allows users to write personal musings and other tidbits on profile pages. A lawsuit is filed against Facebook alleging that Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook from a company co-founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and a third person at Harvard.

September 2005: Facebook expands to include high schools.

May 2006: Facebook introduces work networks, allowing people with a corporate email address to join.

September 2006: Facebook begins letting anyone over 13 join. It also introduces News Feed, which collects friends' Wall posts in one place. Although that led to complaints about privacy, News Feed became one of Facebook's most popular features.

May 2007: Facebook launches Platform, a system for letting outside programmers develop tools for sharing photos, taking quizzes and playing games. The system creates a Facebook economy and allows companies such as game maker Zynga Inc. to thrive.

October 2007: Facebook agrees to sell a 1.6% stake to Microsoft for $240 million and forges an advertising partnership.

November 2007: Facebook unveils its Beacon program, a feature that broadcasts users' activities on dozens of outside sites. Yet another privacy backlash led Facebook to give users more control over Beacon, before Facebook ultimately scrapped it as part of a legal settlement.

March 2008: Facebook hires Sheryl Sandberg as chief operating officer, snatching the savvy, high-profile executive from Google Inc.

April 2008: Facebook Chat is introduced.

February 2009: Facebook introduces "Like," enabling users to endorse other users' posts.

June 2009: Facebook surpasses News Corp.'s Myspace as the leading online social network in the U.S.

August 2010: Facebook launches location feature, enabling users to share where they are with their friends and strangers.

October 2010: Release of "The Social Network," a movie about Zuckerberg and the legal battles over Facebook's founding. It gets eight Academy Award nominations and wins three.

June 2011: Google launches rival social network called Google+. The Winklevoss twins end their legal battle over the idea behind Facebook. They had settled with Facebook for $65 million in 2008, but later sought more money.

September 2011: Facebook introduces Timeline, a new version of the profile page. It shows highlights from a user's entire Facebook life rather than recent posts.

November 2011: Facebook agrees to settle federal charges that it violated users' privacy by getting people to share more information than they agreed to when they signed up. As part of a settlement, Facebook will allow independent auditors to review its privacy practices for two years. It also agrees to get approval from users before changing how the company handles their data.

December 2011: Facebook completes its move to Menlo Park, Calif. Its address is 1 Hacker Way.

January 2012: Facebook begins making Timeline mandatory.

February 2012: Facebook files for an initial public offering of stock.

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Facebook files for IPO

Facebook cites Google+, Twitter among rivals, says growth will slow

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Facebook reportedly suspends share trading ahead of IPO

Photo: In a Jan. 6, 2005 photo, Mark Zuckerberg, right, and friends work on TheFacebook.com, an early version of the world's largest social network in a rented home in Los Altos, Calif. Now called simply Facebook, the website is the world's largest social network. Zuckerberg launched the site in his Harvard dorm room in 2004. Credit: Robert Durell/Los Angeles Times

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Mark Zuckerberg: Know Facebook's social mission before investing

Mark Zuckerberg

In Facebook's IPO filing on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg described the culture and purpose of the company he co-founded eight years ago and why he thinks going public is a good move.

"Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission -- to make the world more open and connected," Zuckerberg said in a 2,173-word letter included in the company's S-1 filing with the SEC. "We think it's important that everyone who invests in Facebook understands what this mission means to us, how we make decisions and why we do the things we do."

Zuckerberg's letter, depending on your viewpoint, is either a mission statement for a company that seeks to make the Internet and the offline world a more open and democratic place, or a long-winded piece of propaganda from a company that wants to mine our personal data to make a profit.

The 27-year-old CEO said in the letter that the Menlo Park-based tech giant was also built not as a company that simply wants to make money, but rather as a company that wants to make money so it can keep building a better Facebook.

"I started off by writing the first version of Facebook myself because it was something I wanted to exist," he said. "Since then, most of the ideas and code that have gone into Facebook have come from the great people we've attracted to our team.

"Most great people care primarily about building and being a part of great things, but they also want to make money. Through the process of building a team -- and also building a developer community, advertising market and investor base -- I've developed a deep appreciation for how building a strong company with a strong economic engine and strong growth can be the best way to align many people to solve important problems.

"Simply put: We don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services."

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Facebook IPO: 'FB' on Nasdaq or NYSE?

Facebook Headquarters

Questions, questions, there are so many questions surrounding Facebook's expected initial public offering.

Of course, the main question is when will the world's largest social network file its S-1 paperwork for its IPO. Well, this much we know — it isn't happening this morning as was widely expected.

Kara Swisher, over at the website AllThingsD, bluntly called the salivating tech press out on their expectation of an early Wednesday IPO filing (with a little help from Samuel L. Jackson). Swisher reported that her sources say Facebook's IPO will arrive Wednesday afternoon at the earliest. So it'll arrive today or it won't — got that?

But other questions abound too. Such as how big will the IPO be? For months rumors have pointed to a Facebook IPO of about $10 billion, which would place the company at a valuation of about $100 billion. But on Tuesday, the website International Financing Review reported that Facebook is instead planning on an IPO worth about $5 billion instead.

Like Swisher, the IFR gave itself an out in case $5 billion isn't the number after all, stating the while $5 billion is "less than anticipated" the IPO "could be increased to satisfy ultimate investor demand."

Another question is where Facebook's stock will trade — the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Both Bloomberg Businessweek and the New York Post have documented the two stock markets essentially fighting to lure Facebook.

So what's at stake for the NYSE and Nasdaq? "Winning it means more fees, a boost in trading and the chance to link their brand with the largest social networking site in the world," Bloomberg Businessweek said.

"It's a very heated battle," the New York Post quoted Larry Tabb, founder of the capital markets advisory firm Tabb Group, as saying. Tabb told the Post that competition between the two markets is too close to call. So far, Facebook hasn't said where it's shares will pop up when they do.

Another question, and one the Post says it has an answer to, is what will Facebook's ticker symbol be — Fbok, FBK, Book, FceB? According to the newspaper, it won't be any of those. Instead, it will be "FB," the Post says.

Facebook IPO: Could Facebook be worth more than $100 billion?

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Samsung Galaxy S II, Android on Sprint review [Video]

Photo: A door sign at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Credit: Paul Sakuma / File / Associated Press

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Samsung says 'Galaxy S III' is in the works

Samsung has confirmed that the official follow-up to its popular Galaxy S II smartphone, which the tech media are dubbing the "Galaxy S III," is on the way. On the left is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and at right is the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Samsung has confirmed that the official follow-up to its popular Galaxy S II smartphone, which the tech media are dubbing the "Galaxy S III," is on the way.

But just when the next top-of-the-line Samsung smartphone will arrive is still unclear. The company issued a statement Wednesday, first reported by the website TechRadar, that the new Android handset won't make its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain (Feb. 27-March 1), as the rumor mill had been predicting.

Instead, Samsung said it will hold its own event for the new phone. Here's the statement, as reported by TechRadar:

Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.

The successor to the Galaxy S2 smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.

Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world.

So, what will the next Galaxy S phone look like? Many of the rumors surrounding the device have speculated that a larger screen, better camera and faster processor (maybe even a quad-core processor) are on the way.

The Galaxy S II -- which was my personal favorite Android phone until the Samsung-built Galaxy Nexus arrived late last year -- was offered in multiple variations for multiple carriers and sold in either 4.3-inch or 4.5-inch screen sizes, matched with 8-megapixel cameras, 4G connectivity and dual core processors.

Lets hope that Samsung launches the "Galaxy S III" on the latest version of Google's Android operating system, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, whenever the phone does arrive.

Galaxy Nexus, on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, review [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Apple vs. Samsung: Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban upheld in Germany

Photo: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, left, and the Samsung Galaxy S II. Credit: Armand Emamdjomeh / Los Angeles Times

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EU investigating Samsung's 3G patent licensing practices

Samsung at CES 2012

Samsung's patent lawsuits with Apple and other rivals are bringing the South Korean tech giant a bit of regulatory scrutiny in the European Union.

On Tuesday, the European Commission, the E.U.'s antitrust agency, said it had formally launched an investigation into whether Samsung had broken any competition laws by not allowing rivals to fairly license patents relating to 3G technology.

"The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Samsung Electronics has abusively, and in contravention of a commitment it gave to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), used certain of its standard essential patent rights to distort competition in European mobile device markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules," the commission said in a statement. "The opening of proceedings means that the Commission will examine the case as a matter of priority. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation."

Central to the investigation is determining whether Samsung has lived up to a pledge the company made 14 years ago to license patents it owned that are "essential" to 3G technology in mobile devices such as phones and tablets.

"In 2011, Samsung sought injunctive relief in various Member States' courts against competing mobile device makers based on alleged infringements of certain of its patent rights which it has declared essential to implement European mobile telephony standards," the E.U. agency said. "The Commission will investigate, in particular, whether in doing so Samsung has failed to honour its irrevocable commitment given in 1998 to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to license any standard essential patents relating to European mobile telephony standards on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The Commission will examine whether such behaviour amounts to an abuse of a dominant position prohibited by Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)."

Samsung officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday on the commission's investigation, but the agency said it would work to "guarantee undistorted competition and to reap the positive economic effects of standardisation" of technologies such as 3G wireless connectivity. "It is important that FRAND commitments be fully honoured by the concerned undertakings," the commission said.

European officials looking into Apple-Samsung dispute, report says

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles