Finland's Nokia said on Friday it signed its first major deal to supply new 5G wireless radio base stations to Japanese telecom operator NTT DoCoMo, which boasts nearly half of the country's mobile subscribers. The contract marks Nokia's first sizeable deal for its flagship mobile base station equipment based on official global New Radio (NR) standards for the fifth generation of wireless networks, which were only finalised in December 2017.

Microsoft is promoting its Minecraft boss to the head of the company’s games studios. Matt Booty’s new role sees him oversee Microsoft Studios, second only to Microsoft’s games chief Phil Spencer, according too reports. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella previously promoted Phil Spencer from head of Xbox to a new role overseeing all games, associated hardware, and game strategy.

DJ Koh, the Korean conglomerate’s mobile chief, has announced at a press conference in Las Vegas that the company will launch the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at Mobile World Congress, slated for February 2018. Samsung will also reveal when the phone will be available for purchase at the annual trade show, which will take place at the end of February in Barcelona, Spain. According to Engadget, Samsung will offer a peek at the Galaxy S9 at the Consumer Electronics Show, but a company spokesperson quickly squashed that rumour.

WhatsApp has launched a separate app designed for use by small businesses to more easily connect with customers. WhatsApp Business adds key features like dedicated business profiles for details like email address, business description, store addresses, and website; smart messaging tools like greetings, quick replies, and away messages; and metrics for how many messages were sent, delivered, and read.

Microsoft first launched its new 13- and 15-inch Surface Book 2 laptops back in November, but the larger model has only been available in the US so far. Microsoft is now taking orders for its larger Surface Book 2 tablet PC. Starting today, the 15-inch Surface Book 2 will be available in 17 new countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Facebook To Prioritize Friends And Family In Major News Feed Changes

Facebook on Thursday began to change the manner its filters render posts and videos on its centrepiece News Feed, placing emphasis on conversations among family and friends while making posts from businesses, brands and media less prominent.