02 September 2012

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

Video: Nokia JBL PlayUp Speakers Demoed

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 08:01 AM PDT

Clinton from unleashthephones got his hands on one of the newly announced Nokia PlayUp speakers at IFA, so check out the demo down below. The PlayUp is the successor to the PlayTo 360 except that the newer model is made in collaboration with JBL, the popular audio company. The PlayUp speakers are available in White, Black, Cyan and the all new Brilliant Yellow Color seen above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_qdlXM-QA&feature=player_embedded

*I didn’t even know Nokia were present at IFA, but I guess they released the PlayUp there to keep it from being lost amongst the rest of the amazing announcements that are coming on the 5th.

Lumia 900 now in KSA stores ( + mini rant )

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 07:03 AM PDT

Got tipped this the other day from Syed ( @spunkybloke ), about the Lumia 900 arriving in stores in KSA. I pushed the post back until I could get more information from him, and now we have it, as well as official confirmation, so I thought it was an appropriate time to post.

So as of Thursday, the Lumia 900 was officially available in Nokia Stores. It’s reportedly being priced at 2299 Saudi Riyals, which is approx. 614 USD. Not sure if that is a decent price for the device or not. Currently, the Lumia 900 is only released in Black and White. Below is an image of an in store display.

Here’s a quick peek at those pamphlets sitting behind the device.

 

Cheers Syed and anyone I may have missed in the tips section!

On to my rant:

I think this is plain stupid! First reason, WP7 lacks Arabic support, therefore a large demographic of the market is essentially locked out from the device (unless they speak English well enough). Second reason, it is 7 months after announcement. Some will argue better late than never though :p Third reason, WP8 devices are less than 5 days from an announcement, and they WILL have Arabic support. Fourth reason, still with regards to WP8, why pay a lot of money, for a device that has a successor in the very new future, plus, no upgrade path. (Sorry WP 7.8, you don’t quite count in my eyes).

*ends rant*

What do you guys think? Live in the KSA? We’d love to hear from you!

Michael

Video: Nokia 808 PureView Cinema Style

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 06:28 AM PDT

This is a beautifully shot 808 video shared with us by Christopher Westerholm.  He wanted to see what it would be like as a cinema camera and how the video codec would hold up when graded.

It looks wonderful. I love the smooth panning dolly shots, very cinema like indeed.

Remember to choose 1080p for highest quality! This is just a test I made for myself so I could see how a mobilephone could hold up as a cinema camera. I did a flatpicture profile in the phone by dialing down “contrast, saturation and sharpness” and under exposed some of the scenes to protect highlights. I also used a mattebox, and 4’4 polarizing, and for some of the brighter scenes a 4’4 ND filter 0.9. I later upscaled the fotage in premiere pro too later crop it for 2.35.0 aspect ratio. I colorcorrected quite heavely caused i think i pushed the contrast a little bit to much so it all looked very flat. Quite impressive latitude for a mobilephone and especially for a sensor that got 41 million pixel to downscale it to 2 million pixel without any moire or aliasing! Better downscaling than the GH 2! Impressive tech, Nokia! All was shot in 30 fps, then converted to 23,976fps to make a little dreamy slowmotion.

by 

Thanks Christopher for the tip!

Lumiappaday #290: App Highlights demoed on the Nokia Lumia 900 – filmed on Nokia 808 PureView

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 03:52 AM PDT

This Lumiappaday, App Highlights is recorded on the Nokia 808 PureView. I was unable to process this with the usual intros for some reason (perhaps 1080p was pushing it for my laptop – handled 4xHD sources yesterday though :/) so it’s a direct upload to YouTube.

App Highlights is a must to install for finding new apps. It isn’t updated as often as other similar app finding apps, nor does it show as many but it’s a must on the app list. You’ll find this at Nokia Collection if it isn’t already preinstalled.

Back to the 808 recording, you’ll notice it doesn’t echo like my Canon 60D. The continuous AF is also welcome (though I’m still yet to figure out how to make this more responsive). The only thing I find difficult in using the 808 for gadget recording is being able to simultaneously see the viewfinder. My 60D has a swivel screen for that. I guess I could just be behind the camera and not at the side as my set up usually is.

#290) App Highlights 

Price:  Free

Link: Nokia Collection

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP9x7UG4I7w

Developer Blurb:

n.a.

Rating:

Design: 8

Usability: 9

Performance: 9 

Price: 10

Elop Set to Take the Stage at MWC ’13

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 03:38 AM PDT

Even though Nokia World is still in 4 more days (the excitement is unbearable!), tech addicts like us are always on the lookout for the next big thing, and MWC is the holy grail of big tech things. Although we still don’t even know who”s going to be delivering the keynote on Sept 5th in NewYork, the official Mobile World Congress website has Stephen Elop marked down for a keynote speech next February (25th-28th to be exact).

My thoughts on this are the same as always, and as Jay has pointed out several times, Nokia have got to get their delivery keynotes in order, next week will ultimately determine the success of the new line of WP8 devices, but it’ll depend on how well Elop (or whoever is delivering the keynote) sells the consumers and carriers on the products themselves. In my opinion splitting Nokia World into two separate events will ultimately help sell the idea of whatever they have in store for us, as the NewYork event will be focused on the consumers at a large and is hopefully just Nokia demonstrating how amazing their products will be, preferably loads of demo devices, a cool atmosphere and allowing the media hands-on time to spread the word about the awesomeness that is the Lumia brand. While the more private Finland based even will focus on selling the carriers on the devices with numbers and stats (stuff normal people don’t really care about) and proving to them that with the right support WP8 will be a success.

Hopefully the keynotes at the NewYork event will be a bit more lively as Nokia are sharing the stage with Microsoft, who admittedly have alot more experience in this field and usually have a bit more excitement in their tones.

(Don’t forget to join in on the Pre-NokiaWorld excitement on our IRC Channel #MyNokiaBlog- server: Freenode)

Source Via

Thanks KF for the tip-off :D


Swagbag Video: Nokia 808 Accessories demo – Tripod Mount, HDMI cable-TV out, pocket charger and camera bag

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 02:40 AM PDT

In the 808 and accessories unboxing yesterday I didn’t get a chance to look at the accessories more closely. In this video, we look at them in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5H0u4BLOY&feature=youtu.be

  • DC-16, nothing much to it. Pocket portable USB/MicroUSB charger
  • Tripod Mount HH-23 – to connect your 808 to a standard tripod screw thread. Will work with other Nokias (and non Nokias, up to a certain width)
  • Micro HDMI cable – which I thought was in a retractable/roll up design but the cylindrical thing is actually a rubbery pouch. When connected, the Nokia Big Screen app automatically comes on to show your media. The 808 has a remote control interface. You can however mirror whatever is on the 808. It looks a little zoomed in on my screen because it had to be zoomed in for the other HDMI device I was using (it left black borders otherwise).

The camera bag can be worn as a monostrap rucksack. This is not an official Nokia bag, but specially created by Nokia_Connects. It’s a DSLR back but works very, very nicely for the 808 and its accessories. You can see my gorillapods fitting nicely (the DSLR megazoom one – standard DSLR version also fits).

I did not demo the Hama tripod as that’s just a generic tripod without Nokia branding. Perhaps next time for folks interested in it. I’ll do it at the same time my other more advanced tripod arrives next week.

Weekend Watch: Asha Stories – Mostafa, Fairuz and Amir in Cairo

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 01:29 AM PDT

 

The Asha and Me series continues with a triple instalment from Cairo.

http://nokia.ly/PqL3Ad owners around the world. These owners are cosmopolitan, highly social and aspirational. Mostafa lives in Cairo, Egypt and he thinks that Asha is fast, light and looks good.

 

 Fayrouz is a 20 years old student from Cairo and after her studies her dream is to work in Public Relations.

 

Amr is a 20 year old student from Cairo and Asha makes him feel very energized.

Rumours: Nokia PureMotion HD screen to blow socks off? Sunday sneak peek for PureView Lumia?

Posted: 01 Sep 2012 01:24 AM PDT

Seems the hype machine does not rest on the weekend. Three related stories.

First up, the Nokia Lumia 920′s screen is supposed to have something called PureMotion HD that will blow your socks off. Source? I can’t find one. I can’t see any tweets mentioning it though tipper Janimatik says it’s from several sources. Take this one with a pinch of salt.

Second, TomWarren from WinRumours and TheVerge seems to be in the know of the upcoming Nokia Lumia handsets. We’ve previously reported Tom’s comments with Nokia’s Dave Trevaskus, mentioning that he thinks it will blow the socks off ATIV-S from Samsung. Now he’s saying that for those interested in PureView Lumia should be online on Sunday (cheers Michael)

Finally, Nokia appears to be teasing about the upcoming colours for the new Lumia. First confirmed by the JBL PlayUp speakers and now…socks! (Cheers Vedhas Patkar)
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