In a Wednesday announcement, Nokia's technologies group unveiled its first project - the limited release of an Android launcher - since the company's acquisition by Microsoft.

The Android launcher - currently in pre-beta testing - has been termed Z Launcher; and will essentially enable the users of Android devices to manage all the apps on their devices or even find them easily.

The Verge has revealed in a recent report that the Kinect motion-sensing input technology is being brought to Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone handset --- the company's future Lumia flagship codenamed 'McLaren.'

Finnish handset maker Nokia's latest Windows Phone 8-powered handset - the Nokia Lumia 1020 - was recently unveiled by the company's CEO Stephen Elop at a New York launch event.

According to a Wednesday report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), software giant Microsoft and Finnish handset maker Nokia were in "advanced talks" about Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's device business; but the discussions have broken down recently, even before the talks could be made public.

In an attempt to regain a foothold in the low-cost smartphone sector, Finland-based handset maker Nokia unveiled its $99-priced touchscreen handset, the dual-SIM Nokia Asha 501, for India as well as other emerging markets last week.

Taiwan-based Android handset maker HTC said in a Friday statement that the District Court of Mannheim in Germany had dismissed two patent-infringement lawsuits which Finnish firm Nokia had filed against it.

With the Chinese Lunar New Year coming up on February 10 this year, marking the approaching gift-giving season in the country, Finnish handset maker Nokia - which is aggressively trying to re-enter China - is facing supply shortages in the country.

According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Nokia CEO Stephen Elop responded to the Australian media's queries about a much-rumoured Nokia Windows RT tablet by saying that his company is prepared to "consider any option" for a tablet OS.