Mobile Updates: October 2012

31 October 2012

My Nokia Blog

First Lumia 920 Unboxing and Mini Review
Apps Comparison WP7.5 vs WP8
HTC Pointing Out Lumia 920′s Weight Problems
Lumia 920 Demo Shows off “Grouped Tile/Folders” Possible Nokia Exclusive?
WP8 SDK (Software Development Kit) Now Officially Available for Download
Nokia Possibly Holding Back Android Development by Owning Patent for Multiple Users on Phones.
Videos: Nokia UK Nokia Lumia TV ad (820/920)
Nokia Lumia 920 at EE UK (820 too)
Music File transfer over Bluetooth/WiFi-Direct on WP8
Rogers Canada to get Nokia Lumia 920 today

First Lumia 920 Unboxing and Mini Review

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT

Now that the Lumia 920 is up for sale at Rogers Canada unboxings and reviews can’t be far off; and the first of them has just arrived.

Unboxing & setup:- I’m really digging the black chrome around the camera, much nicer than the silver on previous versions; also the new Windows Phone splash screen looks more attractive, just wish they’d do away with the carriers name during boot.

There’s some very visible speed improvements, over the already smooth WP 7.5; especially switching between the start screen and menu.

Loving the new splash screen for Nokia Drive

Apps Comparison WP7.5 vs WP8

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:09 PM PDT

Here’s a quick video Dhruv from FoneArena posted comparing the official Facebook app running on Windows Phone 7.5 against Wp8. The point of this video was to show the differences in Active resume between apps; where in 7.5 tapping the live tile/application in menu would restart the app all over again and cancel any progress, while in WP8 re-entering the app from the tile picks up from where you left off rather than restarting. One other thing I noticed was the massive difference in application loading speed; the Facebook app for 7.5 is amazing, but it’s downfall is the super long loading time (~5 seconds); this seems to have been fixed with WP8 where the app loaded almost instantly.

Source

HTC Pointing Out Lumia 920′s Weight Problems

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT

Embedded image permalink

Nokia have been pretty active on the “toying front” with other phone manufactures, taking shots at Samsung, Motorola, Apple and many others; of course it’s only natural for other to retaliate, which is exactly what HTC have done. @HTC tweeted “The 8X is 20 pennies lighter than the “other” Windows Phone”; of course it says a lot when your only advantage against “the other” Windows Phone is a lighter body, but it is a valid point. Do you think the 920′s weight is a sales affecting factor?

besides everyone knows the 920 has a glandular problem.

@htc But “other Windows Phones” have a camera worth a lot more than 20 pennies. #SwitchToLumia @nokia @windowsphone

— Ali Al-Qudsi (@AliQudsi) October 30, 2012

Lumia 920 Demo Shows off “Grouped Tile/Folders” Possible Nokia Exclusive?

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:31 AM PDT

Well it seems Microsoft didn’t announce all the WP8 features yesterday, seeing as how a new feature was discovered in a video today; an eagle eyed viewer spotted a Lumia 920 with “Grouped Tiles” on the home screen, grouped into “Games” and “Media” ins a sort of pseudo-folder. Even more interesting is the fact that users who have gotten there hands on the HTC 8X (and fully reviewed it) failed to point out such a feature, so is it possible we’re looking at the first of Nokia’s Software Customizations of WP?

Check out the video below at the 9:35 mark to see the grouped tiles in action:

Thanks for the tip Peter L.

WP8 SDK (Software Development Kit) Now Officially Available for Download

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:07 AM PDT

Seeing as yesterday all of WP8 was unveiled (underwhelming to put it shortly); today Microsoft are holding a developer based event to give the goods to app developers and convince them to develop for Wp8; a critical step of which requires the SDK to be in the hands of the developers. The SDK tools are now officially available online at the Microsoft Site, HERE (requires Windows 8).

Source

Nokia Possibly Holding Back Android Development by Owning Patent for Multiple Users on Phones.

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 09:36 AM PDT

Yesterday among the hubhub of the Windows Phone event, Google held an event of their own, in which besides announcing the latest Nexus device (the Nexus 4 at a crazy unlocked price of $300) also announced JellyBean 4.2 for Android. Which carries among a set of new features the ability to have multiple user accounts on tablets; allowing each “user” to have his own account (like on PC’s) each account would have their own set of individually installed apps and settings.

The catch is that this feature is only available for tablets (which admittedly is where it’s more useful); Cnet have speculated that the reason phones have been left out is due to a patent held by Nokia under the name “multi-user mobile telephone”.

yet there has been no official word if the feature has been left out due to patent disputes or simply because it wouldn’t be as useful on phones.

Source Thanks for the tip @dkm1101

Videos: Nokia UK Nokia Lumia TV ad (820/920)

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:10 AM PDT

Remember a month ago we heard Nokia invited some people to film an advert for the new Nokia Lumias?

http://mynokiablog.com/2012/09/19/nokia-filming-new-nokia-lumia-920820-ads-in-london-uk-launch-just-around-the-corner/

I think this might be their ad. Maybe. Maybe not.

by nokiauk

Nokia Lumia 920 at EE UK (820 too)

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 06:44 AM PDT

I’ve been hunting around for Nokia Lumia 920 availability in the UK and the only solid lead at the moment seems to be with the new 4G Network (Orange and T-Mobile), “Everything Everywhere” or EE.

Their plans are somewhat pricey (and there’s not much leeway either to get a cheap plan. Supposedly it’s because it’s 4G). Their focus is mainly ‘Super fast’ internet (can we even get coverage?) and I’m happy to find out that they’re happy with tethering (something T-Mobile sucks at).

http://shop.ee.co.uk/nokia-lumia-920-black/pay-monthly/details/

I was on the phone for a while to an EE sales person who said they’ll be getting stock of the 920 in a ‘couple of weeks’ :/.

The 820…no stock of that either. On a sadder note, EE will only get the ~~black apparently~~. I’m hoping the sales person is wrong. The black is nice and all (rather slick actually) but I’m quite set on the yellow. My bad, white is clearly available on their site. The sales person was wrong. Hopefully we can still get more colours later along the line.

Phones4U is another UK retailer with the 920 but no details from their end yet so it could still just be through EE.

Vodafone was noted before.

Music File transfer over Bluetooth/WiFi-Direct on WP8

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:11 AM PDT

BT file transfer, in addition to NFC initiated BT file transfer had already been noted prior to WP8′s official launch by hands on with WP8 devices that had this feature mentioned in the device.

You can share Music/Documents/Pictures via Bluetooth to another Bluetooth (or NFC BT) capable device or use NFC-WiFi direct (P2P without the need for access point) which would be a lot faster.

Either way, it might be a convenient method for some people to transfer information between each other if they’re in relatively close proximity. BT file transfer will be appreciated in various parts of the world, especially where WiFi access or mobile internet access is either not that widely available or too expensive.

So, BT file sharing and Drag and Drop. Nothing to go ranting and raving about, but it may come in handy for the select folks that insisted on this being there.

Source: WMPU

Cheers Viipottaja for the tip!

Rogers Canada to get Nokia Lumia 920 today

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:01 AM PDT

As well as Nokia France (via PhoneHouse), Rogers Canada will be having the Nokia Lumia 920 on sale today. It’s noted only black will be available AT LAUNCH. I’m not sure if this will be the same arrangement as Nokia France who mentions the other colours coming next week.

Source: MobileSyrup

Cheers Stylinred for the tip!

GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News

Huawei Ascend D2 5 Inch Phone/Phablet Unveiled, Battles Galaxy Note II
Mobiado Grand Touch Executive Is a New Luxury Phone, Made of “Hybrid Stone Material”
ZTE U950 Announced as $160 Quad Core Smartphone

Huawei Ascend D2 5 Inch Phone/Phablet Unveiled, Battles Galaxy Note II

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT

Samsung Galaxy Note II has a few interesting rivals, ranging from the LG Optimus Vu II to the Chinese Oppo Find 5 and now the Huawei Ascend D2, also from China. This phablet/phone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and it was recently unveiled in China. Its 5 inch screen offers a HD resolution and under the hood we’ve got a 1.5 GHz quad core processor.

The chipset may be a K3V unit, if I’m allowed to speculate, the same processor that powers the quad core Ascend D Quad handset from Huawei. At the back there’s a 13 megapixel camera, while at the front there’s a 1.3 megapixel camera and under the hood there’s a 3000 mAh battery. Ascend D2 will be released in early 2013 and it will serve as Huawei’s new flagship handset.

Seeing the photo below, I’m under the impression that this device is kind of similar to the Galaxy Note II. It’s actually very similar in design, but I doubt that Samsung will start a lawsuit… or will they?

Mobiado Grand Touch Executive Is a New Luxury Phone, Made of “Hybrid Stone Material”

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Mobiado just announced a new luxury phone today, a model called Grand Touch Executive, that was actually based on a concept from 2010. This device is the first handset to be created using a stone hybrid material. It also comes with a nifty SIM card mechanism, that looks like a fancy key of sorts.

This is more of an object of art than a phone and its design is influenced by industrial machinery and engineering instruments. Mobiado is already an internationally recognized brand and a very respected one. Back in 2010 Mobiado created a concept phone called CPT001 and that phone was crafted from a piece of solid marble. Inspired by that idea the Grand Touch Executive was born. The smartphone is CNC machined from solid materials and bonded into a solid piece made of aircraft aluminum composite.

The panel at the back is made from sapphire crystal, with a total of 50 carats and this back plate hides three windows: LED flash, camera and SIM card mechanism. At the front we find an aluminum edge, that’s visible as sort of a trademark. The specs include a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, a 4.65 inch 720p display (S AMOLED), 16 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM. As far as connectivity goes, we get GPRS, EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB 2.0. Sadly we have no price, but this model should be priced pretty high, if you ask me.

WEB_Grand Touch Executive - Burl BB 3.jpg

WEB_Grand Touch Executive - Marble BB 3.jpg

WEB_Grand Touch Executive - Burl closeup3.jpg

WEB_Grand Touch Executive - Marble closeup3.jpg

WEB_Grand Touch Executive - Cocobolo BB 3.jpg

ZTE U950 Announced as $160 Quad Core Smartphone

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:27 AM PDT

Chinese phone maker ZTE has just announced its brand new U950 Android handset, that features a quad core processor and the very low price of $160. The first 100k customers interested in it will be able to make an order on November 11th. ZTE U950 measures 9mm in thickness and packs a 4.3 inch display, plus it runs Android 4.0 ICS.

Its specs include a 1.3 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core chipset, 1 GB of RAM, a 5 megapixel back camera and front VGA resolution camera for videocalls. The device only offers 4 GB of internal storage, sadly. ZTE has been facing some problems lately, being accused of espionage for the Chinese government, so their image in USA is errodated. The US House Intelligence Committee recommends that ZTE and Huawei are to be avoided, saying that China has the motive to perform malicious actions through their products.

ZTE responded to the accusations, saying that they have set an unprecedented standard for cooperation by any Chinese company with the investigation on this case. Back to the handset, I say that it’s a pretty good deal, considering it’s a quad core device, but there’s always the more appealing and slightly more expensive Xiaomi Phone 2.