Nokia’s future is looking increasingly fragile as it announced it would be cutting 10,000 jobs on Thursday of last week and revealed its second profits warning in two months.

Since Stephen Elop took over as chief executive in September of last year the Finnish company has slashed 40,000 jobs as part of a cost cutting programme. Last week saw its shares fall by 18%, dropping below the €2 mark for the first time since 1996.

In a mobile world that is now dominated by ever changing smartphones, Nokia has pinned its future hopes on its Lumia range of phones which are operated by Microsoft’s Windows Phone interface. The problem is that between the lavish unveiling last November and March of this year the phone had only sold 3 million units compared with Apple’s iPhone, which had sold 72 million during the same period.

Nokia was the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer until earlier this year when Samsung overtook it. In the last five quarters the company has burned through €2.1 billion, meaning that without a huge cost cutting programme its €4.9 billion reserves could vanish within a few years. In addition to job cuts, the firm announced it would be closing its last factory in Finland, closing research and development facilities in Germany and Canada and retreating from non-key markets so it can concentrate on America, China and the larger European economies.

Chief executive Elop stressed that Nokia’s misfortunes were down to bad marketing and promotions. “We have truly great products, but aren’t getting the traction that we would prefer,” he said.

The firm is hoping that the new operating platform Windows Phone 8 will boost sales. Microsoft is to release a test version next week, while actual Nokia phones running on the system will be available before Christmas.

To see first hand how well the firm is doing make sure you don’t miss out on the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2013, February 25-28 in Barcelona. Book now to avoid disappointment and arrange your accommodation through EAS, the friendly local travel agent you can trust. Based in Barcelona, we’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of the city. Plus we can take care of all your transportation and entertainment requirements. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.

Mobile owners are increasingly using their smartphones to access the internet in preference of traditional PCs and laptops according to a new survey carried out by Prosper Mobile Insights.

The company, which looked into the internet habits of adults from across the world, found that seven out of ten smartphone users complete at least one web-based activity on their phone in favour of a PC or laptop, regardless of whether they are on the move or at home.

More than half of respondents (51.1%) admitted to checking their emails using only a mobile device, while 45.3% completed mobile-only web searches and 42.3% used only their phone to connect to Facebook.

All this means that today’s leading brands have an increasing need to embrace mobile advertising. But as the survey shows, they need to be aware of which ads their customers will be most receptive to. Around 1 in 10 people said they pay regular attention to sponsored stories or links, ads that play before or during a video, and video ads in general.

Video ads are the most popular with 42.9% of respondents saying they are more likely to grab their attention than other forms of advertising. The most successful video ads are ones you cannot click away from, with 30.4% of people confirming that they pay more attention to this video format.

The survey made clear that marketers should make sure that ads are delivered to the right audience. 33.5% of people said they are more likely to pay attention if the ad is relevant, 24.2% claimed they are looking for informative ads and 23.9% are more likely to be responsive to eye-catching advertising.

The world of mobile advertising is still in its infancy and there are limitless opportunities for marketers to promote their brands to a global audience. For all the latest news on how to benefit from mobile marketing head down to the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona’s Fira Gran Via, 25-28 February. If you’re after accommodation then look no further than EAS, your friendly local travel agents. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of Barcelona. Or if you prefer, why not try one of our luxury yachts – the choice is yours. We’ll also organise all your transportation needs and book you into the city’s best restaurants. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.

Mobile phones have overtaken desktops as the most common way in which people in China connect to the internet.

The Chinese government announced in July that the number of web users in the country had now reached 538 million, meaning that nearly four out of 10 of its 1.3 billion people now use the web.

A report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC) also reported that mobile internet users now number 388 million, which is up almost 10 percent since the start of 2012, while 380 million use computers.

The key cause for this growth has been put down to the fall in smartphone costs, which has seen an increase in the number of rural mobile users in China. More than 50 percent of the year’s new internet users were from China’s rural areas according to the report.

“Mobile phones are a cheaper and more convenient way to access the internet for residents in China’s vast rural areas and for the enormous migrant population,” the report said. “Meanwhile, mobile phone prices continued to drop – the emergence of smartphones under 1,000 yuan ($157) sharply lowered the threshold for using the devices and encouraged average mobile phone users to become mobile web surfers,” the report concluded.

China is now the largest smartphone market in the world with 33 million mobile phones sold in the country over the past 12 months compared with 25 million in the USA during the same time, with a growth rate at a stunning 164 percent.

Is this the beginning of the Chinese dominance of the world’s mobile phone market? Head to next year’sMobile World Congress in Barcelona to find out. For the best in accommodation, arranged transportation, hotel recommendations, and anything else you can think of to make your stay in Barcelona one to remember, look no further than EAS, the travel agent you can trust.

With our expert local knowledge we can source rooms in the best hotels, find you the most centrally located apartments, organise airport transfers and other transportation needs, and even arrange yacht and aircraft charters. Click on this link for more information.

New details have emerged about the content of next year’s GSMA Mobile World Congress, which will be held 25-28 February at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

The GSMA have confirmed that the CEOs of AT&T, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Viber will give keynote speeches during the four-day event. These industry executives join previously announced speakers including the CEOs of Deutsche Telekom, Mozilla, Nokia, Vodafone Group, and Telecom Italia Group.

A programme of talks will cover topics such as “Mobile Operator Strategies”, “The Future of Communications”, “Operating in the Cloud”, and “Mobile in Media”.

Adding on to 2012’s successful Connected House exhibit, this year’s Mobile World Congress will feature Connected City, which will showcase all the latest cutting edge wireless technologies for the smart cities of the future. In addition, a Wireless Broadband Alliance Wi-Fi Zone will focus on next-generation hotspot migration, Wi-Fi roaming and offload and Wi-Fi and heterogeneous networks among other things.

Given the explosive growth of the apps market, App Planet will be back again this year featuring more product and service demonstrations, network opportunities and workshops from some of the biggest and most influential companies in the mobile apps market.

And this year’s mPowered Brands Programme will see GSMA and Leger Marketing team up to reveal the results of their 50-country citizen assessment on the importance of mobile technology on people’s lives. The assessment will focus on issues such as quality of life, individual productivity and shopping behavior among other things. The results will be shared at the mPowered Brands Theatre at the Mobile World Congress, so head down if you want to be part of the action.

Next year’s Mobile World Congress will be the biggest yet and will be housed in the state-of-the-art facility, Fira Gran Via, Barcelona. For the best hotels, rented apartments and other accommodation choices contact EAS, your friendly local travel agents here in Barcelona. With our expert knowledge and experience we’ll make sure you have an unforgettable stay. We’ll even sort out your transportation and nightly entertainment needs, so click on this link to fill in our request form.