My Nokia Blog |
- Lumia 1020 Now Only $99 On Contract Via Amazon (Plus Camera Grip for $58 & Play360 Deals)
- At&t Version of Lumia 1520 to Lose 16Gbs of Storage & On-Board Wireless Charging
- HeadsUp: All Angry Birds Games Now Free for WP (Including StarWars 2)
- #NokiaWorld Roundup: Pt. 2 – Socialising
- #NokiaWorld Roundup: Pt. 1 – Products
- The Social Side of Nokia World, The People & The Outings
| Lumia 1020 Now Only $99 On Contract Via Amazon (Plus Camera Grip for $58 & Play360 Deals) Posted: 26 Oct 2013 05:24 AM PDT
Bonus, you can also grab the older wireless speaker model; the Play 360 for $72-$83 depending on the color you get; which is a nice discount from the usual range of $120-$150.
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| At&t Version of Lumia 1520 to Lose 16Gbs of Storage & On-Board Wireless Charging Posted: 26 Oct 2013 05:14 AM PDT
The other change At&t slyly added to the device specs list, was cutting 16Gbs of internal storage out of the device, leaving users with 16Gb total rather than the original 32Gbs, the reason? God knows. I’m just thankful they didn’t remove the Micro SD card slot while they were at it. Are any of these changes deal-breakers to you? Let us know down below.
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| HeadsUp: All Angry Birds Games Now Free for WP (Including StarWars 2) Posted: 26 Oct 2013 04:37 AM PDT
Via Reddit
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| #NokiaWorld Roundup: Pt. 2 – Socialising Posted: 26 Oct 2013 03:28 AM PDT
Figured I’d put together a little less formal of a post, just to let you guys know what I got up to whilst I was there. We stayed on Yas Island, right next to the Marina and Formula 1 track. This was my view at breakfast every day! If only it were next weekend, we would have seen some racing :p
I was separate from the other bloggers, being with the Media crew – got to meet a whole variety of comms/media folk from Nokia, as well as people like Sam and Daniel from WPCentral, Tom Warren from The Verge and THE Rafe Blandford. I arrived super early Monday morning, so after a little nap (an hour or so) I decided to start my day, by heading over to the bloggers’ hotel and say G’Day!  Jason (@Smashpop), Steve (@psychomania666) and Jade (@jadejavu) That night, we were taken into the city and treated to dinner at Quest in Etihad tower. This place was phenomenal! It was a dinner just for the media folks from APAC (both Nokia media and externals – like myself). Managed to get a pic with Alvin (APAC comms), Richard (Engadget) and Simran (PAN Asia comms). (Dress code was smart or UAE national dress and, well, Richard pulled it off if you ask me!)
Nokia definitely knows how to throw an event! Managed to get in there early, and saved the whole front row for a few other bloggers, such as Mark Guim, Ali, CJ, Jason and Lenny. Sadly I didn’t manage to snap any pics of the showcase area, but I’m sure you could find some if you wanted to. Here’s a pic of CJ and I.
Dean from Nokia Music was in the house, and we managed to snag a pic next to him, alongside @Psychomania666, CJ, Jason, Stephen Quin, Lenny (Nokia Innovation), Colm (Irelands Tech Blog) and Jimmy (Nokia News EIRE) – oh and another Nokia Music guy (I think his name was Mark – probably wrong though).
On the evening of the keynotes, we were treated to a night at a nearby beach club. Mini golf, fire dancers, volleyball, fireworks, DJ, food, alcohol – it had all! It was great to be able to relax after a long day, as well as interact with Nokia staff on a more personal level, especially after how hard they worked to get everything to run smoothly and get us all there.
Here’s a few pics of the fireworks from my Lumia 925.
Being separate from the other bloggers, meant we did different things. Whilst they visited the Grand Mosque, we were a little less humble – but it was definitely some amazing fun!
Nokia took us out into the desert, smack bang in the middle of nowhere. Sand running in every direction, as far as our eyes could see. We were greeted by 4WDs, and driven even further into the sandy abyss.
There, we had an authentic Arabic lunch, and take part in awesome activities. My favourite was definitely the quad bike driving around the sand dunes. Daniel Rubino and I decided to go for the pink quads – little did we know they were 200cc (vs the 125cc bikes everyone else had) – WOO!
They also had a few camels which we got to ride. It was a – umm – interesting experience. :p Here’s a pic Rafe Blandford managed to snap of me, then I of him.
Despite being uncoordinated as anything, I thought it would be smart to try sand boarding (snow boarding but on sand). This was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done! I did stack it more than once, but you just laugh, get up, and do it all again.
To quote looney tunes – that’s all folks! There are a few more pics we’ve got with some other folk, and we’ll update it when we can. Massive thanks goes out to Nokia for organising an amazing week, and for inviting us to take part!
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| #NokiaWorld Roundup: Pt. 1 – Products Posted: 26 Oct 2013 03:27 AM PDT
So we’ve seen Ali’s take on things, as well as hands-on and demos from around the interwebs, but, as you may know, I was at Nokia World, so I got to experience the awesome stuff Nokia is bringing out.
Lets start with Asha.
Nokia announced three new Asha devices, the Asha 500,502 and 503. This brings a total of four Asha devices with Swipe UI.
These new additions definitely kick butt in their target categories. They are super small and compact, yet pack a pretty solid experience into a feature phone. Nokia has done well to blur the line between feature phone and smartphone.
I really like the “icy clear exterior”. Photos don’t do it justice at all. Not only does it feel pretty nice in the hand, but it looks awesome. Also seems to make the colours pop that bit more. Definitely a nice touch.
Speaking of Asha, what was nice was to get the chance to play around with the Asha 311 and Nokia Music. The team has done a good job on getting the features from Lumia’s Nokia Music app (eg. Mix Radio) and bringing it to these devices. It’ll be nice to see the Asha 500,501,502 and 503 get the same treatment hey?
Next we have the big kids of the announcement, literally!
The Lumia 1320 is essentially a Lumia 625 on steroids! Featuring a whopping 6″ display, and 720p HD resolution, you can see more, and see it with impressive clarity. It does feel rather large to hold, with a physical footprint bigger than the Note 3, but smaller than the Xperia Ultra. We also placed it next to the iPhone 5C.
The greatest thing about this device is the price! At only $349, it is truly remarkable. The removable cover and SD slot were a great touch. Running on a 3400mAh battery, a 1.7ghz Dual-Core Snapdragon S4 processor, the 1320 is quick, but should last the better part of a day.
Lumia 1520, the 1320′s older, but not bigger, better looking brother definitely impressed! Still sporting a 6″ display, the Lumia 1520 is Nokia’s first smartphone to feature a 1080p screen.
That screen is really something though! Nokia hasn’t just packed a hi-res large screen into the Lumia 1520, but they’ve also managed to enhance visibility in some pretty tough conditions, which in-turn, lends itself to have great viewing angles. You can see the kind of profile it has when its in someones pocket. I admit, I’m not crazy tall, and the pockets weren’t super deep, but the Lumia 925 doesn’t “peek” if thats anything to go by.
The 32gb on-board storage, with the option to expand via MicroSD card was a fantastic touch. Extremely glad that a high end Lumia finally has support for expandable storage. Interestingly though, the Lumia 1520 uses Nano-SIM technology.
The case that was launched alongside the 1520 is similar to Apple’s iPad cover, allowing you to fold it over and use it as a stand. Perfect for watching videos on that amazing screen. Like the Lumia 1320, the Lumia 1520 packs a 3400mAh battery, but is the first Windows Phone to run on Quad-Core, and its clocked at 2.2GHz, to provide a lightning fast experience.
Its nice to see that Wireless charging has made a comeback to the high-end with the Lumia 1520 including it as standard. No need for a shell. The 20MP PureView Camera, with OIS and Over sampling is a very welcomed addition also. Personally, I think its been long over due, so I am extremely glad Nokia brought the tech into a more realistic sensor, without compromising on a “sensor bulge”.
Expanding on the imaging side of things, Nokia announced that the Lumia 1020 and 1520 will get RAW support. For most people, it means very little, but for those who have even the slightest passion in photography on these devices, and are wanting to get the best possible images off their device and onto their computers, this was amazing news!
The last device to discuss is the Nokia Lumia 2520. Its not the first time Nokia has technically done a tablet, but it is the company’s first (and possibly only) Lumia Windows tablet. Running on Windows RT 8.1 out of the box, the Lumia 2520 is definitely aimed to be a tablet competitor.
Many wish that Nokia had gone with full Windows 8, but logically, RT was the only appropriate choice. Especially since the device is designed to target the iPad, and Android Tablets, and not the touch based ultrabooks and netbooks. It makes sense as well from a production side, as Lumia devices run on ARM chips, so keeping their tablet to run on the same chips is the obvious choice. Seeing as there has been rumours of the merging of Windows RT and Phone eventually, it is also a solid reason in supporting Nokia’s choice.
The Lumia 2520 features an impressive 10.1″ 1080P HD display, MicroSD and LTE support, powered by a Quad-core Snapdragon 800 clocked at 2.2GHz, the Lumia 2520 is definitely a strong contender on paper. It feels marvelous in the hand. With a Lumia 720 like design, the tablet doesn’t feel awkward in any way.
A special accessory, the Power Keyboard, was announced alongside the 2520, increasing its battery life from approx. 10 hours, to 15 hours, as well as bringing a full keyboard and two USB 3.0 ports. The cover also magnetically folds around the product, protecting it from damage while on the move. Unlike the Surface RT, the Lumia 2520 doesn’t have a built-in kickstand, but frankly it isn’t needed. The power keyboard has a solid magnetic connection that allows the device to be propped up for use with the keyboard, video calling, or really, just all-round general use!
Devices weren’t the only thing announced though. We saw several new apps and services introduced across the portfolio of devices. A concept I like is that Lumia phones and the tablet, will work cohesively to extend particular experiences. For example, Nokia Music will come pre-installed on the Lumia 2520, and have the same features that a Music + subscription would have on other Windows 8/RT based devices, but at no extra charge.
As mentioned, the idea of extending experiences across devices is also in Nokia Music. You can favourite tracks and artists on either device, but receive and sync notifications on both. It is super handy for those who swap devices constantly. Sadly though, getting a Lumia 2520 won’t provide your Lumia phone with Music+ features.
Another app that was announced with this “companion” support, was Dragon Adventures, an app designed by Dreamworks in partnership with Nokia. We got a few minutes to interview Dreamworks about how this companionship works and their vision is truly remarkable. Not only do they want to create a new experience for families when it comes to app interaction, but they are also taking a bold step in the commercialisation of their product.
What I really like about the app, is that you set-up your “family” and you can interact with each other, and influence the experience. You can be anywhere, so long as the devices are connected to the internet. Dragon Adventures also features real-time map adaption technology, which gathers information about your surrounding (non-identifiable) and will render a virtual world based on that. As the area you are in changes, so does the experience you get. The phone portion of the experience is also voice activated! Let’s hope this notion of connected screens to extend and enhance experiences becomes more widely adopted.
Nokia also dropped some big app titles into the mix, announcing Vine, Instagram, Temple Run 2 and Flipboard, will be officially coming to the platform by year’s end. Alongside these popular services, they launched new software experiences of their own, including Lumia Black, a Nokia specific update adding to Microsoft’s GDR3 update for WP8.
Check out a demo of flipboard below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChn8lwXRd0
Lumia Black brings enhanced Glance Screen capabilities, such as a Glance Background (seen already as a standalone Beta Labs app), notification support (mimicking the notifications you set on the Lock Screen), and a feature in which the top half of the Glance screen, if no image is set, will show either custom text, or the detailed information provided in Lock Screen settings, such as Calendar. Lots of imaging enhancements and other features/fixes are on their way too! Nokia Beamer, a remote screen sharing application, similar to the company’s Photobeamer app, will also get support, but only for devices with 1gb RAM onwards. Storyteller, a location aware photography experience, allowing you to tell a story through your photos and get additional information, will come to the whole Lumia range (including the Lumia 2520). We did have a great video demo of this, but technical issues meant it, and pretty much all the others we captured.( Pro tip: don’t upgrade to OSX Mavericks if you use REFIT to multi-built into Linux or Windows – caused a bootloop and needed to reformat. Hopefully some is recoverable). Nokia set up a “Wonder wall” in the showcase area also, that had a whole range of devices and accessories in their colourful glory. Thought you guys may like to take a look!
Thats just a quick sort of summary on everything that was announced at the event. There were a few other little things too, but these were definitely the most memorable and headlining topics. |
| The Social Side of Nokia World, The People & The Outings Posted: 26 Oct 2013 02:12 AM PDT
Now that we’re unfortunately home from the excitement and entertainment of Nokia World 2013 in Abu Dhabi, here’s a quick look at the places we went (besides the show room venue) and the people we saw. Up above we have from the right to left: Paul from Nokia Connects, Jade, Mark Guim, Jason Goh/Smashpop and me. Nokia gave us the awesome T-shirts that showed off some of the large impact devices in Nokia’s past; can you name some? Edit: Here’s a quick rundown of what our schedule looked like:
Above is the hotel we stayed in, “Dusit Thani” hotel; pretty awesome place and very fancy (I posted about the room earlier).
Also staying at the hotel with us was Tnkgrl/Myriam Joire, the former Engadget editor and now Pebble product evangelist.
And of course C-J/Clinton Jeff of unleashthephones was also present!
Above is Thomas Messett, another awesome Nokia person; who occasionally tweets from the official @Nokia account (usually when it involves dissing apple or Samsung)
And here’s us + Lenny from Nokia innovation.
Here we are, me + Jason & Mark minutes before Nokia World kicked off.
Ness, from Nokia Music; one of the coolest people around!
Blogging from the same table as Tom Warren (the Verge) and Myriam Joire!!!
Chris Weber, Executive Vice President of Nokia, posing with the new phones for some shots.
We also hopped down to Dubai and took some shots with the tallest building in the world, the wide angle lens on the front facing camera of the 1020 proved to be useful here. (With Tomi/GadgetsBoy & Jade). We also headed over to the “Sheikh Zayed Mosque” in Abu Dhabi, and took a bunch of pictures. There was also an amazing beach-front party the day of Nokia World, with some amazing activities such as fire dancers on the beach, and lighting up the skies with fireworks; check out the video and images below taken with the 1020). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvipibUBM64
Also at the party was the amazing Juha from Nokia’s imaging team, who gave me some pointers on taking the perfect selfie Trying to write my name with a light, using the long exposure on the 1020 |
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