My Nokia Blog

Nokia Lumia 720 & 520 Q&A With Product Managers
Nokia 808 Available For Under $400 on Amazon
Nokia Give Strength to Microsoft Surface Phone Rumors by Listing it as a “Risk”
Weekend Read: Two years later, Elop’s strategy panning out.
HERE Transit updated to v3.5.1017.0
Lumia 620 Camera Samples; Surprisingly Good for a Phone That Won’t Break the Bank

Nokia Lumia 720 & 520 Q&A With Product Managers

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 12:19 PM PST

While we were in Barcelona we had a chance to sit down with the product managers for the new Lumias, so here’s a quick rundown of some facts/questions about the latest additions to the Lumia family.

One important factor we had too look into with both the Lumia 720 and 520 was avoiding the low memory and app restrictions (basically avoiding another Lumia 610 scenario). We actually had early prototypes running on 1Gb of ram and other running on 512Mb; the users testing them out couldn’t tell which was which.
The Lumia 720 brings the Lowlight capabilities of the 920 to an affordable price range, with a first ever f/19 lens aperture in a smartphone (with a 6.7Mp sensor). We can personally attest to that- If you haven’t seen it already check out the Lumia 720 video capabilities down below.
The Lumia 720 comes with NFC built in; however the Lumia 520 does not.
Regarding the exclusion of FM radio in the latest WP8 devices, we realize that it’s important especially in emerging markets; and we’re “pushing for it”
Currently the Lumia 720 and 520 come with HERE DRIVE; and not “DRIVE +”- meaning that they will come with regional turn by turn navigation only. You can still download the offline maps and plan routes etc. but turn by turn navigation will only work for the region the device comes from.
The Lumia 520 does NOT support Here City Lens due to the lack of a gyroscope.
The Lumia 520 has “Hardened Glass” while the Lumia 720 uses “Corning gorilla glass”
Currently the whole Lumia WP8 range is made of polycarbonate; except for the Lumia 620 which uses plastic for dual shot.
The Lumia 720 has a gorgeous 4.3″ laminated display that gives 180 degree viewing angles (it really does!!)
The Lumia 720′s screen is curved, while the 520′s is flat.
The L 520 does NOT have a flash (the only WP8 Lumia without one)
The main advantages of the Lumia 820 over the 720 is in the presence of LTE and the larger processor in the 820; although the 720 will still give the optimal WP8 performance, some differences might be visible when running heavier programs (apparently the most taxing application on WP8 would be the camera features/apps such as City lens, Smartshoot etc.)
What you can clearly see with the full lineup now is that the Lumia 920′s features (consider it the father of the family) has been broken down along different price ranges. With the Lumia 820 we get the fast processing power, the 720 is “social” and has a great camera. etc.
The new Lumias will be available in Yellow, Cyan, Red, Black, White
Q: Why isn’t there any green??? (in the original leak there was a green color)
A: Green is certainly beautiful and we’re looking into it, (the Lumia 620 comes in green due to the dual shot material).
The 520′s display is the only one that DOES NOT have Nokia’s Clear Black Display technology, which is why it might seem a bit “grey”.

Lumia 720′s camera performance:

Low Light vs. the 920 and Z10:

Low Light vs. the HTC One:

Rear facing camera:

Front Facing camera:

Nokia 808 Available For Under $400 on Amazon

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 11:12 AM PST

For anyone who was waiting for the Nokia 808 to get a bit more affordable now seems like a reasonably good time to buy one. Amazon has it listed for $396 which factors into less than $10 a megapixel; which is a good deal any day of the week.

Get it over here (only 2 left in stock):

Nokia 808 PureView Black Factory Unlocked 41MP GPS

Thanks for the tip James Scott

Nokia Give Strength to Microsoft Surface Phone Rumors by Listing it as a “Risk”

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 11:03 AM PST

There’s been no shortage of rumors regarding if and when a “surface phone” will leave Microsoft’s top secret labs; but these rumors have all come and gone without any actual physical evidence. Except now Nokia have listed the possibility of Microsoft making their own Windows Phone device as a risk in their latest SEC filings.

“Microsoft may make strategic decisions or changes that may be detrimental to us. For example, in addition to the Surface tablet, Microsoft may broaden its strategy to sell other mobile devices under its own brand, including smartphones. This could lead Microsoft to focus more on their own devices and less on mobile devices of other manufacturers that operate on the Windows Phone platform, including Nokia.

What’s interesting though is that Nokia disclose possible risk factors every year (by law); yet have never mentioned the possibility of a Surface phone by Microsoft. Perhaps the folks at Espoo have heard or seen something that may cause worry? Or is it just due diligence?

Via

Thanks everyone who sent this in!

Weekend Read: Two years later, Elop’s strategy panning out.

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 10:31 AM PST

Here’s a nice write up by Nabkawe about his thoughts on Elop’s/Nokia’s WP strategy and how its panning out, taken from the WPC forums:

Mr. Elop was criticized a lot for his transition strategy that angered lots of fans and employees.

But what was Elop’s strategy? well when you look at the WP8 portfolio you’ll notice WP8 Lumia range is special.

Its the only range of products that directly competes with the Apple products range (sans the Ipads) .
But instead of repeating it self over and over like the Apple range does, Nokia elected to use a design language that is Pure. in every sense possible which doesn’t just help Nokia financially as simple means cheaper production process. but it allows them be distinctive about it. and colorful too.

How does the Lumia WP8 portfolio competes with Apple in the hardware department
*Feel free to skip ahead this part if you’re familiar with the hardware of the Lumia WP8 range.

Lumia 920
The flagship the Lumia 920 the Swiss army knife of WP8. dubbed a tank for its steady construction, heavy profile and its fighting spirit.
This 4g beast is colorful in a sea of black and white , has a world first OIS smartphone camera for steady videos/blur free daylight pictures, amazing low light performance, its the first ever to come with wireless charging built in, and its 4.5″ HD/LCD high refresh rate display has all that amazing Nokia adjustments for sunlight readability, also a world’s first it has Supersensitive touch so you could use fingernails/gloves and keys to interact with the screen
the fact that Verizon still wants a variation of this phone 5 months after launch should tell you something about how well received this phone is.

Lumia 820
Then there is the Lumia 820 which boosts a smaller screen 4.3” with an AMOLED this time which looks great on WP because of the high refresh rate , a 480p res to keep things light while maintaining the same Processor/Ram/GPU/4g/supersensitive/Carl Zeiss as the 920, the 820 sports a smaller/lighter and thinner profile and while it lacks native wireless charging it can be added on via exchangeable covers which can also be 3d printed.
the 820 has two variations the 822/810.

Lumia720
last month the world got introduced to the amazing midrange Lumia 720 a phone that deserves the Pureview title yet it wasn’t given to it as Nokia set the bar a little bit higher for that, this slim and light phone doesn’t have 4g but in every other way its the fit younger brother of the Lumia 920 ,with a 1gb dual core processor 512mb ram and an IPS LCD 4.3″ 480p display again with all the Nokia adjustments for outdoor use and sunlight readability and Supersensitive touch too , the big attention grabber however is the phone’s cameras, the back one’s carl Zeiss 6.7mp with a 1.9 aperture will guarantee amazing daylight pictures/ wider dynamic ranges and a great low light pictures (nearly bested the HTC One even without OIS), the FFC uses BSI its the same tech behind the 920 and the 720 back camera which is again a first for FFCs. 720 also sports a big 2000mah battery and the ability to wirelessly charge through clip on covers.

Lumia 620
Then comes the Lumia 620 , a fully featured Entry level device with Front Facing Camera, and NFC a 3.8” screen a great double toned back exchangeable shell (Waterproof shells soon too), I haven’t heard a bad review about this one , its a great back up device and is expected to do really well with young customers.

Lumia 520
Finally in that awesome range of devices we have the newly born Lumia 520 , the best entry smartphone ever packing a 4″ screen with super sensitive touch and a 1gb dual core processor with 512mb of ram, 5mp camera with no FFC to cut cost a little bit, its designed to outshine and out class some major mid ranged and some times high end smartphones while being at a price point that is very reasonable.

Now that we know that every Lumia is differently innovative hardware wise while being fully featured phone on the other hand(unlike Apple’s products) .

What happens when you hold a Lumia phone?
When you hold a Lumia phoneyou’ll always know where all the buttons are , they’re all the same , much like holding an Apple product.
But the differentiation becomes clear once you dig in.
You’ll use all of Nokia exclusive apps/services/lenses (Sans Glam me for the 520*) without any noticeable lags to speak of, and the 720/620/520 lumias won’t create a fragmented experience. you’ll only have fewer apps opened at a time**

All Lumias down to the 520 enjoy great camera experiences both hardware and software wise through amazing lenses.(Smartshoot,Cinemagraph,Panorama,Glam me and Burton’s Sequencer) + Microsoft’s own Blink and Photosynth.

You’ll have Nokia Music service that is free with no registrations with a Music+ option that goes as low as 4$ a month , along with cross-platform Xbox Music you’ll get a combo that can eclipse Apple’s music offerings.

You’ll enjoy what WP8 brings in terms of inter connectivity with social networks and SkyDrive goodies like photo sharing/file sharing/cloud document editing/music streaming and videos. .

You’ll have a people’s hub and schedules that travel with your MS account. anywhere (W8,W8RT,XBOX,otherWP8s)

You’ll be able to enjoy free Here location services on all of these devices regardless of the price point with all the offline voice guided navigation goodness, head turner Live sights (City lens) and useful Transit app. and with the hard push Elop is making to establish Nokia as the Here location service, Nokia/Here Maps are even on other platforms now to bring in even better POIs and amazing traffic data so your location experience will be simply Amazing.

All of those experiences will not share the same boring design , they’ll be enjoyed in a variety of colors and will not share the same rigid pricing nor the over pricing.

This is Elop’s plan for Nokia, to be an IOS/Androidish hybrid. a TRUE third ecosystem with truly innovative software/hardware that is distinctively Nokia.
Personally I think its a damn good one , it focuses on all ages unlike old people IOS or Collage and young kids Andorids.

was it a good plan ? sound off in the comments.
feel free to connect with me anytime @nabkawe5 .

*Nokia Lumia 520 I don’t think Nokia can’t just let the 520 use the back camera for the Glam me app , will know about that soon though.

** except in the case of power hungry games, but that's hardly bad considering the price points can’t really get you Androids that could run such games anyways. and the price points even for cheap Apple products are high enough to allow power hungry games to work.

HERE Transit updated to v3.5.1017.0

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 01:55 AM PST

Here Transit got updated on my 920 to v3.5.1017.0. I’m not sure specifically what is new. It says it was last updated 08-03-2013.

Lumia 620 Camera Samples; Surprisingly Good for a Phone That Won’t Break the Bank

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 01:51 AM PST

If there’s one thing that surprised me about the Lumia 620 in my two weeks trial with it, it would definitely have to be the camera; I didn’t in my wildest dreams expect such a budget friendly device to take such good pictures! I think this is were we can see Nokia’s real strategy towards the lower end; not only do they make devices that look good, get the job done and won’t kill your bank account; but they also prove themselves just as capable as the higher end devices in other manufacturer’s (such as the Lumia 720 for example).