27 February 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog

HERE Updates Brings Updates to Maps and Apps – Not Just Rebranding

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:08 PM PST

You may have see Aliqudsi’s post yesterday about the rebranding of Nokia Maps, Drive, Transport, and City Lens to HERE Maps, Drive, Transit, and City Lens, but on further inspection, it looks like we are in for more, this update also adds some new features such as:

  • Battery status
  • Map Features – select exactly what you want shown on the maps (fual stations, hotels, etc)
  • Quick access to route settings before you start your journey
    • This was there before but I didn’t realise clicking the icons between the map and the route details took you to this menu!
  • Clicking the speed  in map view, gives you the option to change speed limit alert settings
  • updates to the offline maps
  • City Lens adds favourites tile (which in turn removes “famous”)
  • City Lens changes names of most tiles:
    • nearby –> All
    • food –> eat & drink
    • hotels –> accommodation
    • fun –> going out
    • sights –> sights & museums
  • possibly much more, this is just what I noticed so far.

To update your country maps (I found updates to my UK maps, other locations will be subject to availability):

  1. Open HERE Maps
  2. Click the … at the bottom right to get the menu
  3. Click “download maps”
  4. Click update current maps

Note: You will need to be connected to WiFi to update the offline maps.

Check out the changes and some screenshots below:

HERE (1) Updates HERE (2) Drive + HERE (3) Drive + HERE (4) Drive + HERE (5) City Lens

 

Twitter app for WP gets major update

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 01:43 PM PST

wp_ss_20130226_0002That not all interesting and great news comes from sunny Spain is proven by Twitter as they pushed out a major overhaul of their app for Windows Phone 8 today. It totally transforms the app and brings it closer to something far more native to Windows Phone than ever before.

Installing the update went fast enough and it would seem that there isn't much new to be had, yet I was amazed. The UI is a complete overhaul and looks really good. But as everyone knows, beauty alone doesn't make anything great. There are some pretty significant changes to the functional side as well. All usual Twitter functions are now easily accessable from mentions to trending topics to seeing your own profile. The usual WP8  improvements are also in tow, lockscreen notification and fast resume are now all supported.

See below for another screenshot of the new UI/UX. Be sure to look for the update in the store and try it out for yourself. One thing is for sure, the word update is used legitimately here.

wp_ss_20130226_0001

A small sidenote, this is the very first real productive piece made on my Surface RT. Apart from WP not showing screenshots in the Windows 8 app it was a breeze. But enough about Windows 8, go download the new Twitter app. You won’t regret it.

Nokia and FourSquare teaming up for its new Windows phone 8 app

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 12:15 PM PST

Rumors have been leaking from WPcentral regarding the new Foursquare app for Windows Phone 8 ecosystem. Yeah the application is already there for Windows phone 8 but the new application is predicted be very efficient and to have new interface.

The previous application by 4th & mayor was available for previous versions of Windows phone but Nokia released a self branded application for their own windows phone ecosystem.

The new application is due this summer, the application is supposed to be fast have better transitions, to have better NFC integration, speech integration for searches and navigation services.This new application is supposed to have the tighter integration with Nokia’s Here platform for the navigation, other surprised feature is having another surprising feature called Augmented reality.

So, there will be two applications for same platform(WP8) one for Nokia ecosystem and one for the other Windows phone ecosystem.

wpcentral
cheers heloo for the tip.

Treasure Hunt Across Barcelona With @Nokia_Connects #Lumia820

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 10:36 AM PST

Barcelona is a beautiful city, the only issue that MWC is indoors; and if you spend all day jumping from booth to booth you won’t really see any part of this gorgeous city. So @Nokia_Connects arranged a sort of treasure/scavenger hunt for the guys and gals telling us to use Nokia/Here maps to navigate from place to place across the city and follow clues to get to the final destination. So here’s a quick rundown of what happened :)

So they split us into two different teams and sent each one of us on our separate way

Clue #1-  We were given this at the Fira; and told to get started immediately

WP_20130226_046So after rushing out of the Fira we boarded the train that got us to the metro line; where we had some fun with some cinemagraphs,

From there we boarded the tram line which took us up to the top of Majestic park. Once there we tweeted Nokia Connects our cinemagraphs and they hooked us up with the next clue:

 

So once again we rushed off this time towards the Olympic stadium, where we had some fun at the field waiting for our next clue: Our next clue came in via email:

Hi Ali, Well done so far! Your next stop is the National Art museum of Catalunya! To get there, leave the stadium and turn left – carry on down the road. In between the two zebra crossings on the right hand trees you'll find a beautiful short cut. When you reach some escalators, go down and then head to the front of the Museum. The stunning view will let you know you're there! As you're standing outside the most famous Art Museum in Barcelona, we want you to celebrate the changeable, colourful cases the Lumia 820 comes with. Take an artistic photo of the colourful phones with the amazing view in the background. Tweet your work of art to @Nokia_Connects (use #Lumia820). Then wait for your next clue via Twitter! Good luck ^PC

So we quickly bolted off once again (carrying our extremely heavy back-backs, towards the pretty museum) and as instructed took some pictures of the 820 at the entrance: after which we had some fun waiting for our next clue-

The next clue arrived via twitter:

Since we had no idea where this Magical fountain was, and none of us spoke Spanish I fired up Nokia City Lens and used it to figure out the location:

Apparently we got there so fast that our “familiar face” still hadn’t arrived; but not to worry- it turned out we had the last clue of the puzzle on us the whole time, in the form of an NFC pen that Katie gave us earlier in the day; we simply scanned the pen which told us to take the tram and head back to Plaza reial and hope we were the first people there.

Annnnnd! we finally made it!

WP_20130226_021

All in all it was really fun, and we got to see a lot of Barcelona (although we were out of breath most of the time) but it was a nice change from the indoor booths and exhibitions all day long.

Video: 3D printing with the Lumia 820 – a world first

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:17 AM PST

makerbotHere’s a video of the Maker Bot in action. I saw one in London a couple of weeks back but was told to pretend I didn’t see it for now. You’ve subsequently seen the shells made with this.

 

Lumia 920 Vs. HTC One Hardware/Design Comparison

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:15 AM PST

DSC02180No visit to the HTC booth would be complete without the obligatory comparison of the One vs. the 920. So here’s my take on it (more of a comparison gallery in video mode just to see what the two look like).

 

Lumia 920 Vs. HTC One Low Light Comparison

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:11 AM PST

920 one

I had a chance to pop by the HTC booth a while ago, where they were showing off their latest flagship; the HTC One with its fabled “UltraPixel”. I decided to try out the Lumia 920 besides it in a little dark booth they had set up; so watch the video below and judge the winner for yourself.

(sorry for the shaky cam, but I was free handing it as I mentioned in the video).

Once again like we saw in the Lumia 720 low light shootout the 920′s viewfinder is significantly darker before capturing the shot; since it relies on OIS rather than a larger aperture. I get goosebumps thinking of the results the 720 could achieve if it had a proper sensor (with or without OIS)-

If you missed it yesterday here’s a video of the 720 vs the 920 and Z10:

Android users in UK making the #Switch for Windows Phone growth in UK?

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:55 AM PST

ZDnet and WPCentral are reporting on Kantar Panel‘s findings that Android peeps in the UK are switching over to Windows Phone that powers Nokia Lumia.

30% of new Windows Phone users come from other platforms, 17% of which come from Android, 26% from Symbian, 6% RIM, 2% IOS with 47% first time buyers. Kantar says that “Windows phones are now selling in significant quantities.” Nokia is said to be spearheading this growth, with the Nokia Lumia 800 being the top handset. The 8X is apparently the third best selling WP in UK.

Cheers Arts for the tip!

Play to for WP8 released at Nokia Beta Labs #DLNA sharing

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 01:19 AM PST

Screen Shot 2013-02-26 at 09.16.38

 

Quick heads up on Play to for WP8. Share photos, videos and music from Nokia #Lumia WP8 smartphones to DLNA devices over WiFi.

Play To for WP8

With Play To you can share your photos, videos and music from your Nokia Lumia WP8 phone to your DLNA-capable devices over your WLAN network. This could be that new big screen TV you have or maybe just your Windows laptop and/or desktop or XBox.  Play To makes sharing easy.

 

This is the first release for Nokia Lumia WP8 devices. In terms of functionality, it has the same functionality as the Play To application for WP7 based Lumia devices.

 

Your feedback needed

We want to get this great app out in the Store for all Nokia customers to enjoy, but we want to make sure they have a great experience. Your feedback will make that happen. We’d like your help in verifying interoperability with different devices and network configurations. We also appreciate feature suggestions you may have.

Requirements

Play To application will require following firmware or greater in order to work:

  • Nokia Lumia 920 – PR1.1 (1232.5951.1249.0001)
  • Nokia Lumia 820 – PR1.1 (1232.5951.1249.0001)
  • Nokia Lumia 822 – PR1.1
  • Nokia Lumia 810 – PR1.1
  • Nokia Lumia 620 – Any firmware

https://betalabs.nokia.com/trials/play-to-for-wp8

via @markdurrant

Video: Interview with Marko Ahtisaari

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 12:54 AM PST

engadgetmyrimarkoThe lovely Myriam Joire talks to the brilliant Marko Ahtisaari.

  • Cutting through a noisy environment that people can recognise attributes; Pure, taking away the unecessary but it’s still always human through how it feels and how it’s formed. Colour is a part of that self expression.
  • We still want to be advanced. Whatever price point, we try to give the most compelling experience, packing as much tech in affordable packages.

I liked it when Marko talked about introducing a splash of colour to the sea of black and greys. When I had my exam last week, all the students had to put their phone in a tray. All a sea of black, and then a glowing electric splash of yellow as my 920 sat on top. :D

  • Note on future flagships that are thinner (well, much expected but can’t be taken for granted)

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/the-engadget-interview-nokia-head-of-design-marko-ahtisaari-at/

Cheers meh for the tip!

 
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