17 February 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog


Spot the Difference: Shelf of Yellow. #Nokia #Lumia #PurityPro

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 08:40 PM PST

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 04.34.10

 

Since I fell asleep watching Django Unchained (it wasn’t that it was boring, but cos I was tired) it’s gonna be one of those days when I fall asleep at 6am. Hmm.

Anyways, keeping myself occupied and maybe some of you, here’s my shelf of yellow things, in two different sets of pictures. Can you spot the difference between the top pic and the bottom one? What items are there, what moved and where?

[Do not try this at home. Things fall and may get scratched.]

A Week With BB10: What I Missed in my Lumia; and What I Didn’t

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 05:28 AM PST

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So as you may know by now I’ve been using the new Blackberry Z10 for the better part of a week now; and it really is an interesting device, rocking BB’s all new BB 10 based on QNX. So here’s a quick run down of what I thought of the whole experience; heavily influenced by the obvious fact that I’ve been a long time Nokia user and more recently a Windows Phone fan.

-I missed the great camera on my 920 (or any Lumia device in fact); the 820 has a borderline acceptable camera- but it does take some great close up shots (due to the drag to focus- similar to iOS’s tap to focus then capture when you like).

-I didn’t miss the lack of profiles in Windows Phone, being more specific BB10 (and all previous BB’s I think) have this great feature where you can put the phone in night mode; which turns off all notifications (and displays a cool clock on the lock screen)- I know that’s like putting the phone on silent but it’s just a lot cooler. What I do mean is the ability to set custom ringtones for every single notification, app or alert; muting what I like and keeping what I like.

-I missed the wireless charging in my 920 (I only got my fatboy pillow two weeks ago); sure it’s a “gimmick” but it’s one that literally changes the way you interact with your phone and how you sleep every night. So if that’s classified as a gimmick give me as many gimmicks as you got.

-I didn’t miss the built in Twitter and Facebook notifications in the Me hub (more on that HERE); however one thing I forgot to mention before is that the BBhub doesn’t support retweeting, so that’s a point against it.

-I missed the built in rooms and MSN (now Skype I guess) chat; sure rooms can be annoying seeing how there is no way to mute only rooms notifications without muting other chat notifications; but I genuinely missed it . Sure BB has BBM but honestly people have moved on (or at least the ones I know), nobody I know still uses BBM (or at least the ones I want to talk to). So for me this one comes down to a matter of pure preference.

-I didn’t miss the lack of notifications at a glance, yes I know live tiles = notifications center blah blah; but let’s face it if that were true Microsoft wouldn’t be working on a notification center would they?

-I missed the updating wallpapers (currently I use Amazing Weather HD notifications plastered over the Bing image of the day; but when I’m bored I switch over to photostream).

-I didn’t miss the lack of a notification light, it is honestly very useful although sometimes annoying; especially on the Z10. Someone out there thought it would be a great idea to alert you of your low battery status by flashing a blinking light every 2 seconds (not exaggerating)-Made with cinemagraph BTW

-I missed the apps, yes as dismal as the Windows Phone app selection may be it’s better than the road BlackBerry went down, quick recap for those who don’t know BB10 has a built in Android app emulator (which runs app in an Android 2.2 skin); to help boost their numbers the weekend before the launch BB offered developers a ridiculous amount of money to port their Android apps into the BB App world; the result was rather than having quality apps the store is filled with a bunch of horribly ported Android skinned apps that crash before running and every-time you try getting something done. I think it’s safe to say Quality>Quantity (or you can go the iOS way and have both).

-I didn’t miss the horrible Windows Phone connector tool for Windows 8; you know the one that makes Zune look amazing in comparison. BB10 uses something called BB Link which is pretty cool; although it does keep popping up an annoying prompt asking me to insert my device’s password.

*At this point I’ve run out of things that I didn’t miss on my 920 so I’ll just stick to things I missed.

-On the related point of apps I also missed the Xbox live service and games (mainly Wordament and Alphajax); BB10 does have it’s own game center for competing with friends (like the one on iOS) but nothing beats Xbox Live.

-I’ve definitely missed Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive (BB Maps whatever they’re provided by) don’t even cover most of the Middle East; so that’s a big fail there.

-I missed the automatic upload to Skydrive service; which had my PC, my Lumia 900 and 920 as well as my iPad (through the Skydrive app) all synced together with latest photos from my devices.

-I’ve missed the much superior mail client on my 920 than the one on the Z10; which can’t even sync folders properly amongst other major issues (a shocker for someone who thought BB was all about email).

-As conceited as this sounds I missed the flashiness and attractiveness of my 920; even though i’ve had it for over 2 months I still get stopped by classmates and asked what phone that is; and I still enjoy taking pictures of it (or with it); while the Z10 does have an attractive design, it’s far from original (and apparently an upcoming HTC look exactly like it).

 

-Multitasking was not an issue seeing how the Z10 quits any app that hasn’t been used within the most recent 8 (WP8 also supports quick resume for 8 apps) the difference being on BB10 an app like Whatsapp (Android port) won’t give you a notification if it’s closed (not within the most recent 8); something that WP8 (and 7) both do.

-I can’t say I missed Microsoft’s One Note; seeing how BB10 has Evernote integrated into it; as well as the fact that one note is really a headache to use (given the different default folders from each device etc.)

-The weight issue was honestly a non-factor to me; that said the Z10 is VERY light (135 gms) but I honestly can’t see how it would influence the purchase of a phone, sure you can instantly tell the difference in weight but it’s not a “flaw” (in fact the Z10 actually slipped out of my pocket several times without me noticing- except for the clatter on the floor part).

-I’m not sure how to word this one, but I have N9 syndrome all over again; I’m swiping to close apps or to wake the phone, very difficult to overcome this habit.

 

*I’m sure there are a couple things I forgot to mention but apparently I’m getting old

Weekend Watch: Nokia Lumia 620 vs ZTE Blade 3

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 02:32 AM PST

Screen Shot 2013-02-16 at 10.24.01

 

3.8″ screen vs 3.7″ on the ZTE, plus apparently better outdoors and better viewing angles for the Nokia. There’s Dual Core on a Windows Phone vs Single Core on an Android. Not that number of cores matters that much for WP but we know a lag free droid requires the moon or other unearthly combination of power (:p jk jk).

Android is apparently more complicated with WP UI being simpler. But Android has a lot of apps.

Nokia Lumia 620 has a much better camera with the ZTE having a horrible camera lag.

Remember Engadget’s conclusion? Entry level smartphones that don’t compromise on experience makes the 620 precisely what an entry level smartphone should be. The ease of use makes it brilliant for those new to smartphones too.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/02/07/engadget-reviews-the-nokia-lumia-620-precisely-what-an-entry-level-smartphone-should-be/

Knowyourmobile Via ST

Video: Arduino Connected via Bluetooth to Nokia Lumia 920 (Windows Phone 8)

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 02:19 AM PST

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We rarely see folks tinkering around with Windows Phone (well perhaps like they did with the N900) but here’s lance connecting his Nokia Lumia 920 on WP8 to an Arduino over bluetooth. The LED light turns green when connected, red when disconnected to the 920.

Lance wants to know, “Have you made a successful Arduino to WP8 Project? Share your story!”

 

techmeshow

KPN Unannounced Lumia is “Not a Nokia Device”

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 02:08 AM PST

 

My eyes were rather sore yesterday morning after only sleeping an hour so whilst I was typing up a story on a 920 KPN promo, I had to double-take when I saw something that wasn’t an announced Lumia I was aware of. I attributed it to possibly my memory just failing at the time.

KPN claims that was not even a Lumia. The translation we got that “it’s not a Nokia Device”. It made me paranoid that HTC is stepping up their copy the Lumia game with that strip at the back. Haha, the story made it to Dutch news website Nu.nl.

http://www.nu.nl/gadgets/3209940/kpn-zaait-verwarring-met-namaak-lumia-in-reclame.html

Lumia that’s not a Nokia Device? The MS Lumia :( No. Just an error in translation perhaps. Our tipper ryfsap said:

Nokia Netherlands and KPN have responded to newssite Nu.nl concerning the leaked Lumia phone in the KPN commercial.

Nokia says: 'It's not a Nokia phone, ask KPN'
KPN says: 'We are investigating the situation'

Cheers ryfsap for the tip!

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