01 January 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

It’s 2013! Happy New Year from My Nokia Blog!

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST

FIREWORK

 

Happy New Year everyone! We’ve safely survived the end of the world that was to occur in 2012 and have arrived into 2013 (with a few stragglers over the pond of course).

Thank you, wonderful readers for sticking around with Nokia, with the Nokia community here at MyNokiaBlog! We really could not be here without you guys. Thanks for your huge support in keeping the blog alive, so much so that with your help, you even got us to Nokia’s home in Finland – Kiitos! Thanks so much for coming to read the blog, thanks to those who take part in the discussion at comments, thanks to you guys who share tips and ideas of things we can write about, thanks to those who share our stories and thanks to those that help us connect with products to try and review, and last but not least, thanks to the writers who keep the blog ticking.

What a year it has been for Nokia. Whilst there were a couple of disheartening moments (such as the dethroning of Nokia as the global sales leader in mobile phones, 14 years previously as number 1) we’ve had plenty more great moments.

In terms of mobile phones, Nokia’s surprised the world with PureView imaging. First and foremost, with the beast of a 41MP camera, the biggest sensor ever on a mobile phone (bigger than several compacts, even high ends) and a powerful xenon flash. The oversampling was a total dream to use, resulting in so many fantastic shots people disbelieve came from a phone. Stereo Rich Recording was a very unsung hero too.

It was nice to see some of the essences of the 808 translate over to the WP8 flagship, the Nokia Lumia 920. The first phone to have inbuilt PureView v2 optical image stabilisation (which stabilises the whole camera module) along with Rich Recording (though mono) resulting in some spectacular low light photography (sans flash). There were some other sweet innovations too, including super sensitive touch that allowed the use of gloves/keys/banana peels on the screen, PureMotion HD+ with Clear Black display for a stunning visual experience, as well as rekindling the convenience behind wireless charging. Altogether, the 920′s combined features presented itself as a more than worthy contender against the best the competition had to offer, inside and outside of the WP space. What’s even more awesome is that it wasn’t just Nokia fans feeling delighted with the 920 – according to various sources, there’s high demand of the 920 in quite a few places (though we have to wait for Nokia’s numbers to see if these reports can be trusted).

Over at NokConv, they call 2012 a BOLD year.

http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/12/24/2012-a-bold-year/

What we saw with the 920 was great. What we’ll see with it’s successor is rumoured to be something people would apparently climb over each other to get. (PureView 3? 1+2? :P )

2013 is going to be a great year

Without giving away what Nokia might have in store for 2013, it's safe to say that Nokia Conversations will continue to excite you with more great product news.

What’s been your Nokia highlights this year? Biggest stories, ups/downs? Expectations of Nokia for the coming year?

13, Unlucky for some. But hopefully the year Nokia’s fortunes turn for the (convincingly) better.

Happy New Year! onnellista uutta vuotta, manigong bagong taon, bonne année, feliz año nuevo, 新年快, С Новым Годом, szczęśliwego nowego roku, yeni yılınız kutlu olsun, gelukkige nuwejaar,unyaka omusha omuhle,  a gut yohr, عام سعيد, честита нова година, selamat tahun baru, ਨਵੇਂ ਸਾਲ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ, un an nou fericit, mwaka mzuri, あけまして　おめでとう　ございます, godt nyttår, سال نو مبارک, šťastný nový rok, Frohes neues Jahr, hauoli makahiki hou, שנה טובה, nav varsh ki subhkamna, boldog új évet, gleðilegt nýtt ár, selamat tahun baru, felice anno nuovo, laimingų Naujųjų Metų, srečno novo leto, สวัสดีปีใหม่, naya sal mubarak, Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới, blwyddyn newydd dda and 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

 

Video: Camera Comparison Between Lumia 920 & HTC 8X (Average user Test)

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:35 AM PST

Sam is back with round two (or is it three?) of his Lumia 920 vs HTC 8X comparison, this time he’s taking a look at the camera s of both devices; except that not from the usual sense of high quality photos; but instead what the average user sees/gets. Of course the 920 destroys the 8X but some people like to see it for themselves :D

Long Time Symbian App “CameraPro” Now Available for WP8

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:15 AM PST

Any of the Symbian users here are surely familiar with CameraPro, an app that gave the user extended controls over the camera settings in terms of increased zoom, ISO, camera modes, Autofocus etc. (very useful for N8). Well the app has now hit the Windows Phone marketplace (WP8 only :/ ). The included features are:

  • Fast access to camera features

  • Support for manual focus distances

  • Auto-, Macro-, Touch focus

  • Manual exposure times

  • Exposure locking

  • ISO up to 3200

  • Enable disable focus assistant light

  • Disable shutter sound

  • Custom image filenames

  • Front and back camera support

  • Overlays including virtual horizon/level meter, compass, grid

  • Camera modes: normal, timer, burst, time-lapse, anti-shake, bracketing

  • Windows Phone 8 Lens integration

  • Upload to Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter from CameraPro

You can get it for $2.49 at the marketplace from here: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/camerapro/ee7b9093-62ec-48f5-9364-1b192509c86f

cameraproqr

Check out an in depth coverage of the app at PureViewClub here: http://pureviewclub.com/2012/9235

 

Via thanks for the tip viipottaja

 

Nokia E7 for 199USD on Amazon.com

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:17 AM PST

Screen Shot 2012-12-31 at 10.11.11Speaking of QWERTY smartphones, let’s take a look back at this slider QWERTY, the Nokia E7. It’s on Amazon for just $199 – not bad after over 2 years from being announced (£123 GBP) though I’d probably be greedy and want it for even lower.

http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Unlocked-Touchscreen-Navigation-Camera–U-S.

I took a quick look on Amazon UK for comparison and it’s pretty much triple the price there as it’s a single handset from a private seller.

Cheers Sammy for the tip!

 

 

 

 

My Dream Nokia #78: Nokia Lumia 888 E QWERTY WP8 concept

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:56 AM PST

MNB6.2 MNB02

Edgar Mkrtchyan’s newest concept is the Nokia Lumia 888 E, a portrait QWERTY powered Windows Phone 8 Nokia.

The last high end QWERTY smartphones were the Eseries devices, and so it’s quite fitting it has an E to its name. The 888 moniker fits with the aim of the design to be shaped like an 8. Specs wise, it’s down to earth and realistic for this type of device.

Is the candybar QWERTY dead? No, not yet. BlackBerry still sells these (albeit declining) as do Nokia with their basic Asha QWERTY. It’s always nice to have the option, no? Now whether WP8 will work with QWERTY (especially portrait) is another issue. WP has had keyboard form factors before (albeit sliding).

Hello,
to introduce this concept, it is not the biggest not the most powerful, I just wanted to invent a phone with a physical keyboard reusing design my Lumia 707. To accompany these images I made a little video, but the concept is less beautiful than the pictures because the software simplifies textures …
 Mkrtchyan Edgar

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6u59FuCQUAMNB77 MNB55 MNB44 MNB33 MNB8

HTC Uses the JBL PowerUp Speakers To Promote Wireless Charging on Droid DNA; Nokia Logo Missing

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:05 AM PST

Screenshot (48)Nokia obviously didn’t invent Wireless charging, but in a sense they re-invented it by re-introoducing it to the masses and going all in with it, bring out multiple accessories, docks, plates and even having wireless charging spots installed in coffee shops and lobbies across the globe. And it would seem this time they figured out exactly what the next trend was (plus NFC) seeing how after the launch of the 920 multiple phones have come with wireless charging (Nexus 4, HTC 8X, HTC Droid DNA..).

The even bigger story here seems to be the charging accessories (which include the Fatboy pillow, the charging plate, the charging dock and the JBL POwerUp seen above). Yesterday I spotted the advertisement for the Droid DNA from Verizon/HTC (1080p screen, 5″, Android….)which seems to feature wireless charging; I noted that their accessory to show it off was the JBL PowerUp.

Around the 0:22 Mark:

Now I’m not exactly sure if the PowerUp is a Nokia accessory (in the terms that Nokia help make it/design it) and get a cut out of its sales; or if it’s just a “recommended” accessory for your Nokia phone (I’m pretty sure it’s an official item). Regardless in the press shots at Nokia.com the JBL powerUp has a Nokia logo in the middle of the charging area (can anyone with the device confirm if it’s on the speakers in real life as well?). But in the advert yesterday it seems the Nokia logo was missing (I had to play with the brightness a bit to get a clearer picture, but it doesn’t seem to be there).

Regardless of whether or not the JBL PowerUp is an official product from Nokia (the color selection helps make me think it is) it’s interesting to see that Nokia have been ahead of the pack in adopting wireless charging, and providing accessories for it; great job guys!

Edit: We reached out to Nokia to clarify whether they own the rights for the JBL Accessories etc. they replied that the PowerUps Much like the Monster headsetes are “Co branded between nokia and JBL/Monster:

Co-branding is an essential part of the Nokia Gear, seen with JBL speakers and also Monster headsets.

The colors are Nokia Exclusive, as are the Designs of the JBL accessories

So there you have it guys, HTC are using Nokia accessories to sell their products… pretty “interesting”

Nokia_ProductPage_JBL_2000x1000

Screenshot (50)
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