Mobile Updates: September 2012

30 September 2012

My Nokia Blog

Editorial: Nokia’s “Forever-Beta-Land”; End This Madness!
Beta Labs Drops Meego & Symbian Support For City Lens (Belle Refresh Devices Incompatible)
Nokia Lumia 920 samples gallery
Forbes: Judging From Apple’s Apology, Maps Matter and Nokia Has Maps That Work
Weekend Watch: Nokia Parking, find and pay for a parking spot!

Editorial: Nokia’s “Forever-Beta-Land”; End This Madness!

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 01:28 PM PDT

This post was inspired by the dropping of Symbian & Meego support for Nokia City Lens and is mostly a collection of my thoughts regarding the Beta services provided by Nokia, it might seem like random ramblings, but I promise you there’s a point to all this buried somewhere (if you look deep enough).

Nokia Beta Labs has always been a mystical place for Nokia users, especially those who were there by Nokia’s side during the early days of S^3 (and before). Beta labs has some of the greatest minds I’ve ever seen working behind the scenes; think of them as unsung heroes if you will. Almost every single app you see carrying a Nokia branding (on Symbian devices) has at some stage run through the mill of Beta Labs, Nokia Maps (the new client), Nokia Transport, Nokia Store…… Yet the number of apps that never make it out the other side of the factory are quite a large number (especially when said apps aren’t deemed failures, but in fact are loved and embraced by the community).

First off a small refresher course at some of the greater Beta labs apps that are stuck in this “Limbo land” of Forever-a-beta

The first that comes to mind is Nokia pulse, I’m honestly surprised at how few people know that this client exists; Nokia Pulse is a beautiful app (fully functional) that provides private chat-rooms to interact with friends and family, allowing you to share message, photos, locations and much more. I personally only heard about the app back at MWC; but since then I’ve joined multiple groups that keeps me in touch with other “phone geeks”; and it would be a great solution for my family as well; if only they weren’t all iPhone users (although there is a web client available).Nokia Pulse was first released to the Beta world in “ 26-10-2011″ almost a year ago now; and true it has had some decent upgrades and fixes but the time has long passed for this app to graduate. The app on Meego & WP runs quite smoothly and has enough features baked into it to warrant coming pre-installed on future devices. In fact if Nokia pulse was marketed properly it could’ve blown iMessage out of the water, all it needed was proper integration within the SMS feed, but even without that Pulse is a stellar app. The ability to share photos locations and much more with groups of people no matter what platform they use is indeed something to be proud of along with the integration of Nokia’s already amazing maps clients give it an edge above the rest. Instead one of the latest updates to Nokia Pulse on WP changed its name to Nokia Pulse Beta- seemingly condemning it to Forever-Beta-Land. (It’s worth noting that the new rumored “rooms” feature in WP8 seems to be an exact replica of the basis of Nokia pulse…)
Second up we have the ever-so-famous Nokia Bubbles, which was a great hit upon initial release; and though it hit some snags on the road (due to some issues with QT and the horribly stupid “Smart Installer”) it was pulled from the Beta world, only to be introduced once again a couple months later, and for some reason pulled back once again; the current status of Nokia bubbles is “archived- Trial ended, installer no longer available”. It truly is a wonder why this app was forsaken, not even placed in “forever beta mode” but completely scrapped, even if the app was a complete failure (which it wasn’t) the sheer amount of positive feedback from trialists should have been enough to call for a 3rd or even 4th try at breathing life into those bubbles. In something that is almost a rarity well over 500 people rated/reviewed the app giving it a 5 star over-all rating; that is something to be proud of.

Since Nokia apparently gave up on this glorious idea of an app; Android users (and developers) openly rushed to copy it (Gizmodo even openly pleaded for it to be stoled/ripped-off by others); google went as far as patenting Nokia’s own idea; and I’ve seen it in action on the Galaxy nexus and other android devices (although I’m not sure if that’s a custom ROM or a Android Feature). Overall Nokia bubbles was just another app that was condemned to never see the light of a marketplace, and was poached by others to be hailed as a savior… great going.
Next up is the Redesigned Symbian Nokia Store QML Client- without going into too much detail I think it’s safe to say that the normal non QML store is a nightmare; to anyone who is not using the new version for the love of all that is holy please download the QML Client (thank you). The QML Client was pushed out almost a year ago (one year and 3 days to be exact) and has amassed over 66-thousand trialists. Honestly I’m not sure if the version being shipped with newer phones is the QML client or not (since it still claims to be in Beta mode) but if not I (politely) demand this graduate and be pushed out immediately.
Nokia Bots is another great example of Nokia’s ingenuity, Bots were a set of widgets that “learned” as you went along; watching your habits and gathering data about your lifestyle. The point was that the Bot would soon begin to understand when you want you phone silent (during your school schedule for example) and would automatically silence itself, then switch back to general profile once you were home (using GPS location and routine as a guide). the contact Bot had a widget that watched who you called the most and served them up instantly on your home-screen for easy access, battery bot reminded you to charge your phone if it expected a long day of usage ahead of itself. All in all Bots where geniuses, but haven’t been touched since April of 2011(Pre-Anna), giving up on such a promising app makes me want to cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZQyPEz_H4M&feature=youtu.be

Swype keyboard for Symbian- Unknown to many there are actually two version of Swype; the lousy version available in the Symbian store; which doesn’t even support Split Screen input (taking us back to pre-Anna days), and the second version in the Beta labs which offers split screen input. That difference alone makes or breaks an app; and currently in my books the Store version of Swype is Broken. Seeing as the latest update to Swype was 07-11-2011 (well over a year ago) I think it’s safe to assume that no drastic updates will be made any time soon. So why not go ahead and push it out to the public rather than keeping it on your shelf?

The list goes on and on, but I’m tired and I think 5 examples is enough to get my point across, Nokia have AMAZING ideas, and they usually work out quite well; but they also seem to lose interest quickly like a child distracted by a new toy. I know a lot of these apps were affected by the transition to WP and burial of Symbian, but as I pointed out many of these require as little work as hitting “Publish to Store”. And if these apps truly aren’t ready, and the people with the Symbian and Meego know-how are no longer on board Nokia, why not give them another shot at life with WP?

I have nothing but the utmost respect for the minds behind these Beta trials, but it still hurts to see all this potential uncapitalized on. We are witnessing the birth of a new Nokia, one that ‘s trying to shed off the skin of the older slower dinosaur that was so close to extinction, but I pray that the things that made us love the old dinosaur aren’t shed along with the skin, and for me one of these factors is Nokia’s creativity which almost always stemmed from Beta Labs.

Beta Labs Drops Meego & Symbian Support For City Lens (Belle Refresh Devices Incompatible)

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:48 AM PDT

As most long time Nokia fans/users know; Beta Labs is the source of all the greatest Nokia applications, chances are that most of your favorite applications passed through its doors once upon a time (some sadly never make it to the other side-Bubbles, Pulse :’( ). Now Nokia Beta Labs have announced that they will no longer continue to provide updates to the Meego and Symbian versions of Nokia City Lens; and instead will double down on their development for WP.

With Windows Phone as our new main smartphone platform, naturally our focus for the development of our mobile location-based applications has also switched to Windows Phone. Thus moving forward, we are concentrating our efforts for the further development of Nokia City Lens on our Lumia range. You will still be able to use this current beta version for Symbian and the N9; however, it does not support the latest Nokia Belle Refresh update. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We are very grateful for your feedback, suggestions and insights and thank you for using and contributing to Nokia City Lens.

Best,

City Lens Team

It would seem that the current version available online at: http://betalabs.nokia.com/trials/nokia-city-lens/?ns=true will run on most devices except those that have been upgraded to Belle Refresh (no word about Belle FP2- seeing as it’s not an official product yet)-As of now it installs on my 808 running FP2- but it gets stuck on the loading screen. Honestly my opinion would be to any fans of the application who really use it, NOT to upgrade to belle refresh if it’s that big of a deal for them; especially seeing how Refresh isn’t the greatest upgrade in the world to begin with.

Thanks to nabkawe for the tip.

Nokia Lumia 920 samples gallery

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 10:02 AM PDT

There’s a gallery of Nokia Lumia 920 shots available over at Flickr. They’re marked as 920 proto.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nokia_lumia_920/

Low light looks quite good.

The shots people are interested in is bright sunny days. How does it fare?

It seems you can take fast action shots without much problem.

This reminds me that you should check out that Engadget zip file of full res images if you haven’t already. I saw it when the post was published but it had reached the max download limit. I think that’s the original source for most of the images.

Cheers Vignesh for the tip!

Forbes: Judging From Apple’s Apology, Maps Matter and Nokia Has Maps That Work

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 02:36 AM PDT

Yesterday, Ali showed how Apple CEO, Tim Cook was recommending Nokia Maps, as well as a funny cartoon starring Cook and a comparison against the Nokia/Apple solutions.

http://mynokiablog.com/2012/09/28/showdown-apple-maps-vs-nokia-maps/

http://mynokiablog.com/2012/09/28/tim-cook-suggests-using-nokia-maps-as-an-alternative-to-ios-maps

Whilst we know how excellent Nokia Maps is, unfortunately, it still doesn’t have the same recognition as Google in the mapping space. It’s nice to see that the a comment by the CEO of the World’s Best Marketeers is getting Nokia Maps Noticed.

Judging From Apple’s Apology, Maps Matter and Nokia Has Maps That Work - Forbes

Tim Cook: ‘So sorry for Apple’s crap maps app – try Bing or Nokia’ – The Register

There’s more from the various sources blogging verbatim Tim Cook’s suggestion to use Nokia Maps. In the Forbes article, location based services is seen as an important advantage and they note that Nokia’s new Lumia phones are completed with excellent mapping functions from Nokia’s subsidiary, NAVTEQ.

On a side note, isn’t it a bit strange how C3′s 3D maps that Nokia used – which many of us were gutted about to hear it was brought first to mobile by Apple, is being used so heavily to Apple’s detriment? OK there are many things wrong with Apple’s maps.

Incorrect data for one, telling you things are something that they are not, like major landmarks.
Insufficient data, no where near the level of mapping information as say, Nokia’s maps. Not just streets missing but whole cities.
3D Mesh data looking wrong. We knew based on the limitations of how the mesh 3D works that it would not be perfect. Some things look amazing but some things are not quite right. I don’t know if it’s due to the scrutiny of those watching Apple (fans or the non fans) or if Nokia had just taken more time to implement more correct 3D (and thus, avoid it where it was not quite right)

I just tried to install Nokia Maps 3D plugin on my mac but it seems Apple are preventing it :/ This wasn’t an issue before.

Source: Forbes

Weekend Watch: Nokia Parking, find and pay for a parking spot!

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 02:10 AM PDT

This is a video showing a proof of concept app (to demo the Nokia Location Data that can be licensed), Nokia Parking.

Here you can see live data of parking spots/car parks/parking garages as well as information on height restrictions. You can then pay the parking (and cancel) from the app.

Oh, the comments kill me :p

Source: Engadget

Thanks rishabh for the tip!

GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News

Harris InTouch RPC-200 Rugged Smartphone Operates on Public Safety Band 14 LTE
Open WebOS Boots on Galaxy Nexus in Front of Camera (Video)
Samsung Galaxy Note II AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Versions Spotted at the FCC
HTC One X+ Pictured Yet Again, This Time in Hands on Photos
Motorola Droid RAZR HD and MAXX HD Have Antenna Problems, Could be Delayed
Windows Phone ZTE Orbit Available for US Cellular As ZTE Render

Harris InTouch RPC-200 Rugged Smartphone Operates on Public Safety Band 14 LTE

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Harris InTouch RPC-200 is an interesting device with public safety band 14 LTE and commercial 2G/3G/4G support, Android 4.1 as the OS and the rugged case. As you can see it looks like a pretty bulky affair and the kind of device that’s used in construction or oil rigs, or places like that.

The handset is optimized for public safety critical operating environments and it can face drops, varied temperature ranges, immersions and more. The phone supports downloading and installing of third party apps and has common and modern features like a 4 inch display, HDMI video out and 5 megapixel camera. There’s a large PTT button on board, a waterproof speaker and noise cancellation capability. Android 4.1 comes with an optimized user interface, an industry leading LTE chipset and an integrated communication applications framework.

For those of you who haven’t heard about Harris, know that this company is a leading supplier of assured communication systems and equipment for public safety, federal, utility, commercial and transportation markets. The company has 80 years of experience in public safety.

Open WebOS Boots on Galaxy Nexus in Front of Camera (Video)

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:25 AM PDT

HP launched this week the Open WebOS platform, version 1.0, that’s highly portable to any device out there. One of them is the Galaxy Nexus, that’s just received a port of the Open WebOS OE (OpenEmbedded). The WebOS Ports team is behind this port and they’ve uploaded a video of the Open WebOS running on the Galaxy Nexus, shown below.

It may not look pretty and it’s not fast, most likely because there’s no hardware acceleration supported yet, but it’s still something to evolve from. If you’re wondering how the guys worked so fast, know that the beta version of Open WebOS has been public for a month now and other parts have been available as open source for many more months. The Galaxy Nexus was apparently chosen by the WebOS Ports team for hacking and porting back in August, as the first target device, thanks to its open source nature.

What the devs were able to do is play with the beta build, getting the device to boot Open WebOS and also support WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, telephony and camera don’t work just yet. Future modifications of the platform may bring more speed, hardware acceleration, other normal features and maybe some integration with Android, who knows? I have to say that the keyboard displayed here actually looks quite nice…

Samsung Galaxy Note II AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Versions Spotted at the FCC

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 09:19 AM PDT

Samsung is certain to bring the brand new Galaxy Note II to all major carriers in USA by the middle of this fall, that’s for sure. Another sure thing is that the devices will get the FCC blessing, as confirmed by the sketch below. The regulators are giving the approval for 3 carrier versions of the new Android phablet.

I’m talking about the AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon versions. The SGH-i317 is the AT&T unit and the same one for Canadian carriers and it just got the green light for 3G and 4G use. SCH-i605 has both CDMA and GSM, plus a 700 MHz LTE band, meaning it’s Verizon material. SGH-T889 is all T-Mobile. Samsung apparently has a pen-focused event on October 24th, that could be meant for the debut of the Galaxy Note II launch in USA. Let me remind you that this device measures 9.4 mm in thickness and packs a 5.5 inch HD display with a Super AMOLED panel.

The handset offers either 16, 32 or 64 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM, LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0 and an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash. I expect minor design differences or even big ones, since it has happened before that a Galaxy device has a physical Home button in a carrier version and lacked it on another operator.

HTC One X+ Pictured Yet Again, This Time in Hands on Photos

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 07:10 AM PDT

We’ve seen the HTC One X+ leaking as specs, benchmarks, press shots, brochure pics and now we’ve got one of the first decent hands on pics out there. This is supposed to be an evolved version of the HTC One X, with an improved CPU and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean preinstalled. The first HTC One X was a fine phone, so do we really need this slight improvement?

The Taiwanese company we know as HTC is seriously preparing to launch this time, although no dates or prices have been disclosed. It’s true that an O2 UK leak showed a price of around 600 euros for the newcomer, but can we take that for granted? The newcomer brings a Tegra 3+ quad core CPU at 1.7 GHz, an upgrade from the original model, a 1800 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera, Beats Audio technology and 32GB of storage. Preinstalled Jelly Bean can also be considered a selling point, I guess…

I’m pretty sure that by the middle of October we’ll see this product launched and I hope it won’t suffer the fate of the HTC Sensation XE, also a minor upgrade of a decent product, the HTC Sensation. That one only came with a bunch of headphones and minor design changes and it didn’t sell well, at all. Is the market ready for such small upgrades?

Motorola Droid RAZR HD and MAXX HD Have Antenna Problems, Could be Delayed

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 02:04 AM PDT

Verizon’s plans to release the Motorola Droid RAZR HD and Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX HD on Verizon could be hindered by the most unexpected of problems: antenna issues. There’s a rumor at the Howard Forum, saying that antenna issues forced Moto and VZW to delay the products.

The report blames the antenna design of the newcomers, that puts the antenna in contact with the edges of the phone casing, causing a death grip-like situation. The problem is a hardware one, so it can’t be fixed with a software update, so we’ll see a lengthy debate here and possibly a longer delay. Rumors said that we should expect the phones to debut at the end of October, but if the antenna issues are taken into account, we may see them at Thanksgiving time.

For those who don’t know, Motorola Droid RAZR HD features a 4.7 inch 720p display, Android 4.0.4 and a dual core Snapdragon S4 processor at 1.5 GHz, plus an 8 meapixel rear camera and NFC. Inside there’s a massive 2,500 mAh battery and even more massive on the MAXX HD.

Windows Phone ZTE Orbit Available for US Cellular As ZTE Render

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 01:49 AM PDT

The Orbit is ZTE's second Windows Phone handset. The device was first introduced at this year's MWC in February. The budget priced handset offeres a 4-inch 800 x 480 screen, a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, 5-megapixel camera, 4GB of onboard storage and 512MB of RAM for multitasking.

For US Cellular the ZTE WP device comes in named as the ZTE Render. It retains the same aspects regrading the specs of the original model, with HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps, FM radio, a full complement of sensors, DLNA and NFC. The device is available for US Cellular seven months from its firs time unveiling. It is priced very competitive and packs an CDMA/EVDO radio. Pricing goes for $299.99 outright from US Cellular or $79.99 with a two year contract after discount and mail-in rebate. You are now able to purchase it from US Cellular’s official device page.

My Nokia Blog

Lumia 800 Front & Center in Sherlock Holmes “Elementary” Premiere
Showdown: Apple maps vs. Nokia Maps
Tim Cook Suggests Using Nokia maps as an Alternative to iOS Maps
Ashgrey ‘Unicorn’ 920 pictures
Lumia 820 Q&A- Your Questions Answered
Video: Nacho Pop Nokia Lumia soundtrack #NokiaAustralia
Nokia Location gets huge NAVTEQ deals with Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Hyundai, Pioneer and Garmin

Lumia 800 Front & Center in Sherlock Holmes “Elementary” Premiere

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:39 AM PDT

Elementary is a new take on Sherlock Holmes, where the famous sidekick Watson is a female (played by Charlies Angel Lucy Liu). I decided to give the show a go seeing as Sherlock Holmes is usually awesome (Still haven’t come to a conclusion as I’m still watching the show while typing this post).

Less than 8 Minutes into the Shows Premiere the Lumia 800 pops up on screen with some decent screen time, showing for about a full 7-10 seconds; swiping through the gallery. However the screen time is shared with an iPhone (4 or 4S, the 5 is yet to make its on screen debut), although it does admittedly look ridiculous with the attachable lens glued on (visible in the picture above). If indeed the the inclusion of the 800 was not a paid placement but rather an attempt at diversity then this is definitely good news for Nokia and the Lumia brand as a whole, where it’s getting “picked out of a line-up”.

Anyone else watched Elementary? Any thoughts?

Showdown: Apple maps vs. Nokia Maps

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:55 AM PDT

Last week we saw an interesting inphographic detailing how Nokia Maps matches up to it’s competitors (Google and Apple Maps); unsurprisingly it held it’s own and beat them in most stats (funny how that’s happening more and more now with the “new” Nokia, specs and graphs were always their downfall- where as a Nokia fan I would have to constantly say that it’s not the paper that counts, you have to USE the device).

Now with Tim Cook himself suggesting the use of Nokia maps as an alternative (Apple provided a link to the Web app in their press release); people are starting to realize how great of an alternative Nokia maps is (in fact it should be your main client not a backup). Back on topic, Nirave from UKMobileReview made a huge in depth comparison between the two clients looking it at from all aspects including Navigation, satellite imaging, Standard view and several other aspects; I’ll give you the short and sweet version but be sure to run over and check out the full review when you have a couple spare minutes:

http://www.ukmobilereview.com/editorial/apple-maps-vs-nokia-maps-iphone-5-vs-lumia-900-showdown/#.UGWy5k3MglQ

Apple maps location integration SUCKS, apparently it wasn’t even able to properly find Heathrow Airport… I was in London for 6 hours and even I think I could do a better job than that..

However whilst Apple Maps definitely does well in a crowded popular place such as Oxford Street, one of its key issues is the inability to find locations that many people are likely to search for. One such example of this is a search for Heathrow Airport

Satellite imaging on iOS maps is also one part that severely lacks; we’ve all seen the horribly rendered roads, and the surprise mountains on the highways.

That doesn’t look like any airport I’ve ever seen..

Over all score:

Nokia Maps – 43 out of 50

Apple Maps – 24 out of 50

UKMR

Tim Cook Suggests Using Nokia maps as an Alternative to iOS Maps

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:12 AM PDT

After the recent fiasco with iOS maps and the ditching of google maps on iOS6 and going with their own half-baked version of the maps, alot of people have been demanding they fix it. Earlier today Apple’s CEO made a statement regarding the maps:

While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

It’s worth noting that using Nokia Maps online is pretty awesome; opening http://m.maps.nokia.com on your Android or Apple device will prompt you to create a shortcut icon on your homescreen for quick launch. After which you can use their turn by turn voice navigation completely free (it even caches the maps so you don’t have to download them again).

All in all it’s nice to see that Nokia maps is getting some well deserved recognition, even if it was casually dropped in a press statement; personally I never saw the appeal of google maps; I always considered Nokia maps the clear winner, but I assume that the coverage in the US is much better than Jordan/MEA where most mapping companies haven’t bothered with (except Nokia/NavteQ).

Check out the full press release here

Ashgrey ‘Unicorn’ 920 pictures

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 04:34 AM PDT

This is one I had been wanting to see ever since the 920 was announced, live pictures of the grey color variant. Engadget comes through once again and has been the go to site for 920 news over the past few days.

Anyway, enough with the letters. On with the pictures. (Ow, and the unicorn reference is there because there are no real life pictures to be found anywhere apart from these apparantly)

Eventhough I was liking this grey color initially it seems a lot less ‘impressive’ in these photos. It looks like someone forgot to put the color on it and just put it out there with just the base coat of paint. So, what do you think? A good addition to the already rich Nokia color pallet (yes, grey isn’t a color, yadayada) or just kill it with fire?

Lumia 820 Q&A- Your Questions Answered

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 02:04 AM PDT

A couple days ago we asked if you had any questions for the Lumia 820 product managers, well here’s the inside scoop regarding everything 820 related:

Q: I’d like to start off with the actual design of the 820, the 800 was the first Lumia device to carry on the N9′s “Fabula” design, as well as the curved glass; yet the 820 has none of those; which are present in the 920, any specific reason for switching up the design language?

A: Fabula is more a mindset than a specific design style. The Lumia 820 incorporates the same elements as the Lumia 800, Lumia 900 and Lumia 920 which are attention to detail, quality material and craftmanship.

Q: Is the camera module of the 820 the same as the 900′s 8MP or is it closer to the 920 minus the OIS?

A: The Capture and Relive experience is made out of 3 different elements: the hardware module, integration between hardware and software and the user interface for the camera. In the Lumia 820 we are completely changing the camera UI and the integration between the HW and SW. while the camera module will be the same, the experience for our consumer will be greatly improved and new.

Q: I didn’t see the Micro SD slot in 820 . Does 820 supports hot swappable Micro SD cards ? or the slot is located under the battery ?

A: we have MicroSD card support in Lumia 820. the card slot is placed so that you need to remove the battery in order to access it

Q: Will the Lumia 820 support 64GB SD cards or is there a maximum limit set?

A: Yes, the Lumia 820 will support 64GB microSD cards.

Q: Since the Lumia 820 uses an Amoled screen will we see a comeback of the standby clock/ sleeping screen present in the N9 and Symbian devices?

A: For the standby clock and sleeping screen, we are definitely looking at the possibilities in that area

Q: The Lumia 820 looks like a redesigned Lumia 900. So is it a successor to the Lumia 900? I mean how are you going to differentiate between the two.

A: Both the Lumia 820 and Lumia 900 use similar design principles, so in that respect there are similarities. However if you compare the Lumia 820 and 900 from a technology perspective, there are bigger differences: the Lumia 820 has global LTE capability, NFC, wireless charging, memory card support and the list goes on.

Q: Any comment on Pricing/availability/carrier support in the USA and other regions?

A: we don’t have anything else we can say on that right now I’m afraid!

Q: We know from sales data in the nordic regions the NL 800 is having good uptake in business. Is the rugged case part of a strategy by Nokia to get into that market?

A: For the rugged case and business: through the versatilty we gain from the interchangeable shells, we are able to address different needs, be those consumer or different channels

Q: Does the Lumia 820 sport Corning Gorilla Glass?

A: the glass on 820 is scratch-resistant, but it’s not Gorilla Glass.

Q: Does the Lumia 820 comes with free wireless charging shell in retail package?

A: That’s really a decision that will be made at the retail level and we can’t speak for our retailers I am afraid

Q: Will Qi wireless Charging be standard in all future Nokia products from now on? (optionally as a 3rd party accessory at least like the snap-on covers for the 820)?

A: Unfortunately we can’t comment on future devices… Sorry!

-The Qi standard is an open standard for wireless charging, but we can not really comment on possible 3rd party plans in the wireless charging area. But going forward, we hope to leverage on Qi being an open standard

Q: What are the improvements done on the battery life of the Lumia 820 over Lumia 900 as the Lumia 820 comes with a lower capacity 1650mAh battery and still give higher Standby and talk time

A: Battery life improvements: we are improving in 3 different areas. Firstly, we have the Snapdragon S4 engine with improved power management capabilities. Secondly, we are adding Nokia know-how & expertise on the power management are starting from Lumia 820 & 920 and thirdly with wireless charging people will have a convenient and intuitive way to keep their devices charged

Q: What prompted you to get the snap on covers for the L820.

A: In Lumia 820 we took the challenge to design a device that looks like a unibody device but would be much more versatile. With the Lumia 820 we are going beyond color and smart functionality with the covers, so you make the device more rugged with the protective shells, a wireless charging device or just a beautiful product with the design shells.

Q: With the release of the Lumia 820 we also saw a new range of accessories; (including the new JBL PowerUp and PlayUp as well as the fatboy pillows)- is this part of Nokias new strategy to involve itself in other “additives” besides phones that enhance the Smartphone experience? Since other Smartphone manufacturers tend to “tie-in” consumers with the additives such as their own marketplace and accessories?

A: @Ali: we are always looking to work with the best partners in areas we have mutual interests. If we talk about JBL and Monster, they are market leaders in their industries and tie is obvious to our Entertainment offering with Nokia Music and Mix Radio being the most obvious ones. With that partnership we can provide experiences to our consumers that are not available anywhere else for example providing a accessories that look and feel like your phone, can be connected easily using NFC and can charge your device wirelessly while playing music

Q: Can we expect the Lumia 820 to launch in the Middle east & Gulf areas alongside the rest of the world or will there be some delay issues (keeping in mind that the original set of Lumias never launched here due to the lack of Arabic support).

A: we don’t have any specific details on that we can share right now (re; gulf areas)

Q: Not really a 820 specific Q, but: Are there any plans from Nokia/MS to integrate Whatsapp/LINE within the SMS app as right now it is only FB

A: we’re working together with Microsoft to provide the best possible 3rd party integration and experiences into the WP8 platform but we don’t have anything specific to say right now RE: Whatsapp

Q: There is a rumour that the location of the USB charging port has been standardized in Windows Phone 8. Can you confirm this? Related to this, can we expect USB charging cradles as a 1st party accessory?

A: afraid we can’t comment on rumours like that!

Q: Is there a reason besides keeping the pricing down of using a lower resolution screen on the 820 (480*800)?

A: when we are looking at display resolutions, we need to carefully consider resolution together with the display size. for the size of the display we have for the Lumia 820, we chose the “standard” WP resolution due to the facts that it provides a much better readability for our consumers on the display size and due to the fact that the performance, mainly FPS, is something amazing in the new Lumia 820 OLED display with that specific resolution. The display experience is much more than resolution as we see on the Lumia 820 ClearBlack display and Nokia specific features like Sunlight Readability Enhancement

Q: Will there be an appreciable difference between Windows Phone 8 on 512 RAM such as on the 820 vs 1 GB on the 920?

A: both Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 have 1Gb RAM because we want to offer the best performance in these specific product categories

Q: Does Lumia 820 supports USB OTG ?

A: it doesn’t have USB on the go specifically, but it does have a great USB experience including browsing files etc.

Q: about the NFC Wireless charging cradle – will it launch a different app for each different cradle?

A: with the NFC Wireless charging stand, the consumer can select which app is opened with NFC

Q: Are there any apps/uses being made of NFC besides wallet? We’ve heard of being able to launch a specific app when placing the phone on the dock, can you give us a clearer picture of what we can use the NFC for? (Bluetooth sharing?)

A: The WP8 platform is strong in the NFC area. In addition to Wallet, we have NFC support for several use cases like sharing links, and contacts, in addition to initiating pairing of Bluetooth accessories.

That’s about it; we only had 45 minutes, so we had to make the best of it; hope you guys found it useful.

Video: Nacho Pop Nokia Lumia soundtrack #NokiaAustralia

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 11:43 PM PDT

From Nokia Australia is a dance soundtrack to Nokia Lumia. Why? Hey it’s Friday.

Nokia Location gets huge NAVTEQ deals with Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Hyundai, Pioneer and Garmin

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 11:37 PM PDT

Kudos to Muerte who noticed some pretty significant Nokia Location news was missed.

Volkswagen Group, Mercedes A-Class, BMW, Garmin, Hyundai and Pioneer.

Press releases available below:

http://press.navteq.com/Garmin-selects-Nokia-s-Transit-and-Pedestrian-Content-to-power-Urban-Guidance

http://press.navteq.com/Hyundai-infotainment-strategy-includes-NAVTEQ-Map-data

http://press.navteq.com/2012-09-27-Pioneer-chooses-NAVTEQ-Maps-to-power-aftermarket-systems

http://press.navteq.com/2012-09-27-Volkswagen-Group-powers-new-infotainment-systems-with-NAVTEQ-Map-data

http://press.navteq.com/2012-09-27-Mercedes-A-Class-navigation-to-feature-NAVTEQ-Map-data

http://press.navteq.com/Nokia-Location-Commerce-provides-NAVTEQ-Maps-and-content-to-German-OEM-for-new-generation-navigation-system

This one is for the Volkswagen Group:

Nokia today announced that its Location & Commerce business is supplying NAVTEQ® Maps and data to the Volkswagen Group for its new Discover Media and Discover Pro infotainment systems. This significant move means systems for brands throughout the Volkswagen Group will be powered by Nokia Location & Commerce content. Both the Discover Media and Discover Pro will offer global, premium quality NAVTEQ® Maps with drivers opting for the high end Discover Pro also benefitting from advanced features such as 3D visual guidance and a real-time traffic service.

NAVTEQ Traffic™provides highly-accurate, up-to-the minute traffic information in over 30 countries to in-vehicle navigation systems, personal navigation devices and cell phones to enable drivers to save time, fuel and frustration. The traffic data is aggregated from a vast wealth of sources, including the world’s largest compilation of both commercial and consumer probe data, the world’s largest fixed proprietary sensor network, event-based data collected from government sources and billions of historical traffic records.

“NAVTEQ® Maps are known for automotive grade quality and, with the addition of innovative 3D content and a real-time traffic service, Volkswagen Group drivers around the world can look forward to a first class navigation experience with our new systems,” commented Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electric-and Electronics Development at Volkswagen Brand.

By delivering the right portfolio of products at the right time, Nokia Location & Commerce is developing an extensive location ecosystem built on content, platform and services. With 3D imagery integral to the future of location, the company has already established a strong foundation with a range of highly realistic products. The Volkswagen Group, for example, is enhancing its offering with 3D Landmarks and 3D City Models which are designed to help orientation in unfamiliar surroundings.

“The decision by the Volkswagen Group to implement our content in systems across the Volkswagen Group clearly underlines our leadership in the automotive location space,” added Bruno Bourguet, Senior Vice President Sales and Business Development, Nokia Location & Commerce. “Building on an established legacy in in-vehicle navigation, we have developed a Location Platform offering high quality, global content to support innovation in not only the automotive sector, but also across a broad range of industries.”

Nokia will be exhibiting at the Mondial de l’Automobile show in Paris at Hall 3, booth #213

Nokia Location & Commerce demonstrates its ‘location’ leadership in the global automotive space via numerous OEM collaborations and comprehensive partner demonstrations at Mondial de l’Automobile. Delivering on the needs of the ever-connected consumer has long been a focus of the in-vehicle industry. The ability of Nokia L&C to serve the expectations of today’s ‘connected driver’ via fluid location-based products and services whether at home, walking in the city or in the car will be on full display and showcased to show how both customers and consumers alike benefit from smarter data and multi-screen, multi-modal choices.

30 September 2012

Judging From Apple’s Apology, Maps Matter and Nokia Has Maps That Work - Forbes

29 September 2012

Nokia Maps – 43 out of 50

Apple Maps – 24 out of 50