CARRIER IQ SOFTWARE TRACKING AND LOGGING CELL PHONE USERS ACTIVITIES

Carrier IQ provides telemetry to cellular carriers and manufacturers, and according to the company itself, its software is preinstalled on over 141 million phones. Now, a security researcher, Trevor Eckhart, claims that the same software is monitoring every single key you press on your smartphone, reading your SMS, and logging much of the personal data you transmit, too — all with an app that you can't remove.

Eckhart accused the company's software of monitoring vast swathes of user personal data and phoning home to the likes of Verizon, Sprint, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and more, has posted alleged video evidence of his claims on YouTube. Originally, Carrier IQ sent Eckhart a cease-and-desist letter, then withdrew and apologized for the threat, all the while representing that the service it provides cell phone manufacturers and carriers did not "record your keystrokes" or "inspect or report on the content of your communications, such as the content of emails and SMSs."

Contrary to what Carrier IQ states, Eckhart has posted a video of the software doing just that on a HTC EVO 3D phone. Eckhart's video allegedly shows Carrier IQ's software reading incoming SMS messages even before the phone displays them to you, querying supposedly encrypted HTTPS strings, and logging keypresses, all using an application that the user cannot opt-out of, stop, or remove. The video does not show if the data is transmitted or not however.

So far Verizon and Nokia have denied the software exists on their phones and while the software can be found in Apple's iOS, it appears it is only active in debugging mode. [Verge]

NOKIA OWES ROMANIA MORE THAN $10 MILLION, ASSETS BEING SEIZED

Nokia’s local assets were seized by Romanian tax authorities on Friday after it was revealed the company’s Romania-based subsidiary owes the government $10 million, Bloomberg said Friday. “We decided to seize the assets as a precautionary measure to prevent Nokia from selling them before they pay their debt to the state,” head of Romania’s tax authority Sorin Blejnar said. “This won’t affect the activity of the factory.”

Nokia announced in September that it would close its operations in the country, although the origin of the vendor’s $10 million in debt is unclear.

According to Convert News, the debt may be related to bills that Nokia owes for transporting its materials in the country. Nokia has not yet commented publicly on the situation.

SAMSUNG'S FLEXIBLE DISPLAYS COMING IN 2012

A few days after Nokia showed off its Kinetic Device prototype under the blue lights of Nokia World, Samsung made mention of its own plans to unleash some bendy mobile devices on the world. A spokesperson for the company was scarce on details, but noted that the flexible displays are targeted for 2012. The technology, which was showcased at this year's CES, will initially be incorporated into handsets, with tablets following down the road.

NOKIA LAYS OFF 3,500 MORE EMPLOYEES; MORE COMING

Nokia always said there'd be "substantial reductions in employment" but it's still brutal to see it happen. The manufacturer just revealed it intends to close its massive manufacturing plant in Cluj, Romania in order to shift high-volume feature phone production to Asian factories. The Cluj plant currently employs 2,200 people. Further "consolidation" of Nokia's Location and Commerce business will result in the closure of sites at Malvern in the US and Bonn in Germany, impacting around 1,300 employees. Finally, the company also says it'll review its production operations at Salo in Finland, Komarom in Hungary and Reynosa in Mexico, but we won't know how many workers this will affect until a further announcement at the beginning of next year. Nokia's press release says these cuts will take place by the end of 2012 and be in addition to the 4,000 job losses announced back in April

RUMOR: INTEL BAILING ON MEEGO

Intel plans to discontinue development of its MeeGo operating system for the time being due to a lack of enthusiasm for the platform, DigiTimes reported on Friday. Citing multiple anonymous industry sources, the report claims Intel will instead focus on “handset platforms to be paired with either Android or Windows Phone in 2012.” Nokia had initially been Intel’s premier partner on the MeeGo platform, but the company recently announced that it was dumping MeeGo in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. Nokia did unveil one MeeGo-powered phone this past June, the Nokia N9, but the Finnish vendor simultaneously confirmed that the N9 would be the first and only MeeGo smartphone Nokia produces.

In response to DigiTimes’ claims, Intel commented that it “remains committed to MeeGo and will continue to work with the community to develop and help meet the needs of customers and end users with open source.”

NOKIA GOES AFTER ANDROID TO GAIN US MARKET SHARE

Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models.

Weber reconfirmed that Nokia is still on track to release its first Windows Phone handset this year, likely the SeaRay device we’ve seen leaked, but said the majority of its phones will begin to land next year. Business Insider also said that Nokia is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s plans for a complete tablet, PC and mobile phone ecosystem, which loosely suggests Nokia may have a tablet in the works, too.

LEAK: NOKIA PERKS TO TAKE ON GROUPON, LIVINGSOCIAL, ETC.

If you're looking to score deals and discounts online you've got plenty of choices -- Groupon, LivingSocial, GiltCity, Google Offers -- and yet, Nokia seems to think the world needs one more such service. The sleuths over at ZOMGitsCj spotted a video on Vimeo from the struggling handset maker (since removed) introducing Nokia Perks. The premise is pretty simple -- pop over to perks.nokia.com (currently offline), browse for deals and coupons, and click save on any you care to cash in. The discounts you pick are automatically sent to your phone and, just like Groupon, all you need to do is show the barcode to the register jockey. As a nice added touch, Perks also pops up directions to the store in the mapping app.

MOBILE PROTOCOL GSM TURNS 20 TODAY!

Happy birthday, dear Global System for Mobile Communications! 20 years ago today, on July 1 1991, the world's first GSM call was made by Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri. The historic call used Nokia gear on GSM's original 900MHz band. Today GSM is all grown up and ruling the world -- connecting 1.5 billion people in 212 countries and serving 80% of the planet's mobile market.

GSM gave us a number of firsts. It was the first fully digital cellular system using TDMA to cram more information into less spectrum and provide better sounding, more reliable calls using less power. It introduced the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), the idea of switching handsets at will (something carriers have sought to subvert by locking phones), and the reality of international roaming. Short Messaging Service (SMS) was first launched on GSM networks, along with packet data (GPRS and later EDGE), which made internet access practical on mobile devices. Eventually, GSM expanded to the 400, 800, 1800 and 1900MHz bands and evolved into WDCMA-based UMTS (3G) and later HSPA and HSPA+, followed by LTE (4G) networks.

So next time you're at the coffee shop sipping on that latte while uploading that video to YouTube at 10Mbps using your LTE phone, remember to be thankful for that first GSM call 20 years ago -- that's when the mobile revolution really started.

LEAK: NOKIA'S FIRST WINDOWS PHONE PHONE

A video just surfaced showing Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, foolishly asking a crowd of people to "put away their cameras" for the unveiling of something "super confidential," codenamed "Sea Ray." Naturally, a few people ignored the plea for "no pictures please" and, indeed, leaked the new device out to the blogosphere.

What is it? Why, it's Nokia's first Windows Phone. While it looks nearly identical to the just announced N9, the different LED placement on the back (in line with the same 8 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens) confirms it's a new device as does the additional hardware button (for shutter release, we presume) along the side. And the fact that it's running Windows Phone 7 Mango seals the deal.

NOKIA CLOSING UK WEB STORE AT END OF MONTH

Nokia’s affiliate team has confirmed that Nokia will close its UK online shop by the end of the month. In a letter to partners, the Finnish firm said, “This message is to inform you that Nokia is closing their affiliate [program]… in keeping with a strategic business decision to close down the Nokia UK online shop.” The company argued that it has been hard to compete with wireless carriers that are offering products at subsidized prices. “We are planning to close the current UK online store to simplify our channel structure and focus our resources on our key trade customers,” a Nokia spokesperson told Tech Radar.

APPLE, NOKIA SPAT ENDS; APPLE PAYING NOKIA

On Tuesday Nokia announced that it has reached an agreement with Apple that “will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies,” and that both firms will withdraw all complaints against one another from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The two firms have been fighting over patents for the past few years, filing counter suit after counter suit. The battle was thought to have had some closure when the U.S. ITC ruled that Apple did not infringe on Nokia’s patents, but then last month the government group said it would continue its investigation. Nokia said Tuesday that the agreement “consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple,” and that the Cupertino-based company will continue to pay royalties to Nokia for the remainder of the agreement. “We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia’s president and CEO. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

APPLE SELLING UNLOCKED iPHONES FOR $649

Apple on Tuesday began selling unlocked iPhone 4 handsets in the U.S. a day earlier than expected. The smartphone is now available in 16GB for $649 or 32GB for $749, and both models come in black or white. Other manufacturers, most notably Nokia and Sony, have sold unlocked smartphones in the U.S. for quite some time. Neither company has seen much success with unlocked handsets thus far, though Apple’s approach is somewhat different.

Apple’s primary sales channels in the U.S. are undoubtedly carriers, and the availability of unlocked smartphones simply addresses the needs of a small secondary market that is willing to pay for phones outright rather than spreading the cost of their devices over two years. As an added benefit, buyers of unlocked iPhones will be able to switch freely between GSM carriers, though some surgery may be involved with carriers that do not offer micro-SIM cards.

With just a few months between the start of the summer and the expected launch of Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone, the availability of unlocked devices will allow also users to purchase iPhones now and then make a subsidized purchase in September, or whenever Apple finally does release the iPhone 5.

NOKIA CEO DENIES ACQUISITION TALKS WITH MICROSOFT

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop on Wednesday responded to reports that Nokia had agreed to sell its cell phone business to Microsoft for $19 billion. “We have a great plan for our future, and we’re focused on executing that plan,” Elop told Bloombergin an interview. “The rumors are all over the place. There’s no basis for them.”

According to Bloomberg’s report, Elop claims not only that a deal hasn’t been reached, but that Nokia has never discussed a potential acquisition with Microsoft.

WINDOWS PHONE 7.1, 'MANGO', COMING THIS FALL

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its forthcoming major update to its Windows Phone platform — Windows Phone 7.1 “Mango.” We gave you live coverage of the event as well a hands-on look at the update, and now that the dust has cleared we can finally sit down and collect ourselves. In short, Mango looks awesome. We’ve seen plenty of promise in the Windows Phone platform right from the start, but we also thought Microsoft rushed the OS to market — understandably — and a lot of key features and functionality were missing as a result. Mango goes a very, very long way in bringing the emerging platform up to date, and Microsoft has named HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Acer, Fujitsu Limited, ZTE Corporation and of course Nokia as partners moving forward. Windows Phone 7.1 will be the launch platform for upcoming Windows Phones from Nokia, by the way, and Microsoft confirmed that Nokia has already built devices running Windows Phone 7.1 that are currently being tested in its labs. Mango will add more robust multitasking support, messaging threads, deeper social integration, a unified email inbox, voice-to-text and text-to-voice support, and about 500 other enhancements to the Windows Phone platform when it launches this fall.

RUMOR: NOKIA IN TALKS TO SELL PHONE BUSINESS TO MICROSOFT

According to industry insider Eldar Murtazin, Nokia is set to begin discussing the possibility selling its cell phone business to Microsoft. According to the blogger, who has a proven track record of disseminating accurate intel, the negotiations will begin next week and the results will not immediately be made public.

If the two giants do work out a sale, however, it could close before the end of 2011. According to Murtazin, “both companies are in a big hurry.” The idea seems like a bit of a stretch, but some believed Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was brought on board for this very reason — an idea that seemed far fetched at the time.

And let’s not forget, Nokia was founded in the 1800s as a paper company and it shifted gears several times before building its first cell phone, so a change in direction would certainly be in line with the company’s heritage.

NOKIA CUTTING 4,000 JOBS, MOVING 3,000 MORE IN CONTINUED RESTRUCTURING

Finnish handset giant Nokia continues its restructuring in an effort to trim overhead and return to profitability. The BBC is reporting that the company will cut 4,000 jobs worldwide and jettison an additional 3,000 positions to Accenture — the consulting company set to manage the Symbian mobile operating system going forward. ”With this new focus, we also will face reductions in our workforce,” said Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop. ”This is a difficult reality, and we are working closely with our employees and partners to identify long-term re-employment programmes for the talented people of Nokia.” The proposed moves are scheduled to take place sometime in 2012.

MOTOROLA AND HUAWEI DROP LAWSUITS, ENTER INTO SHARING AGREEMENT

After months of fighting on the playground, Motorola and Huawei have finally come to an agreement to settle their differences once and for all. Both parties have now dropped their pending lawsuits, with Motorola originally accusing Huawei of stealing trade secrets from its former employees, and later on Huawei getting all worried about Motorola leaking confidential information over their partnership to the rivaling Nokia Siemens Networks. The new agreement will now allow Motorola "transfer its commercial agreements with Huawei to NSN for a fee," which would then permit NSN use this info to service Motorola's networks that utilise Huawei's equipment.

ITC RULES APPLE DID NOT INFRINGE ON NOKIA PATENTS

An International Trade Commission panel on Friday ruled on a patent infringement suit filed by Nokia against Apple in May 2010. In the suit, Nokia alleged that Apple’s iPhone infringed on multiple Nokia patents covering wireless data transmission, data encryption and other related technologies. The ITC found that Apple did not infringe on any of the five patents named by Nokia in its complaint. The suit was one several patent-related suits exchanged by Nokia and Apple in recent years in the United States and in Europe.

MICROSOFT PAYING NOKIA BIG MONEY IN WINDOWS PHONE 7 DEAL

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft Corp. will pay Nokia more than $1 billion to promote and develop Windows-based handsets as part of their smartphone software agreement, according to two people with knowledge of the terms.

Nokia will pay Microsoft a fee for each copy of Windows used in its phones, costs that will be offset as Nokia curtails its own budget for software research and development, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the final contract hasn’t yet been signed. The agreement runs for more than five years, the people said.

“This gives Microsoft scale and allows Nokia to rip out costs,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners in New York, who recommends buying Microsoft shares. “Microsoft is getting the platform boost that comes from acquiring a Nokia for about a billion dollars.”

NOKIA PLAN B WAS A HOAX

We reported yesterday that a group of young Nokia shareholders were dissatisfied with the recent decision to embrace the Windows Phone 7 platform. We have now learned it was a hoax and the "nine young investors" don't really exist -- according to the last tweet on the @NokiaPlanB Twitter account, perpetuated by "one very bored engineer who really likes his iPhone."