12 July 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog


Congratulations Nokia, your Keynote was epic, your product was awesome and your people were fantastic.

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 03:44 PM PDT

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Today feels like a blur. Did what happen really just happen? I’ve expressed my opinions sporadically on the blog and on twitter but I thought I’d quickly share some of my thoughts before splurging on all the hands on demoes/galleries etc.

You know how much Nokia marketing has irked me. You know how much I will rant endlessly about Nokia’s effectiveness, or lack of it when communicating to an audience via adverts or keynote. I love Nokia’s products, their devices are filled with so much innovation. But I feel let down sometimes when Nokia fails to let others know just how awesome they are. First impressions are important and with most product launches, that first impression comes from your keynote.

We say this many times on the blog, whilst we praise Nokia when they’re doing great things, we also aren’t blind to when things aren’t so great and we make sure we try to let Nokia know. We are Nokia fanboys. We love the things Nokia do, but we also want to see Nokia improve in areas where we feel they could be better.

With the expected launch of the Nokia 1020, I brought some of these concerns and suggestions up in a recent post, wishing Nokia to do what seems to be almost impossible. Make a keynote that does justice to the blood, sweat and tears of the effort, ingenuity and innovation of the teams that make your product.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/09/dear-nokia-please-make-sure-you-explain-coherently-on-thursday-why-having-41mp-is-awesome-rant-keynote101

As I said, it’s all become somewhat of a blur but the gist of the post is that, Nokia achieved that impossibility. I will have to watch the keynote again to assess what bits I really liked, why and other areas to improve to be specific, but man oh man was a great job done today on your presentation. I’m not sure if it’s online yet. Hopefully you got to watch it on the livestream to know what I’m referring to.

Finally! It was rather emotional actually. And it seems I wasn’t the only one.

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 23.00.59It almost felt like a great underdog story, and overcoming adversity – at least when it came to the challenges in communicating through keynotes. It means so much more because it’s a topic we’ve called Nokia on time and time again. The disappointment of watching one poor keynote after another understandably gave fears that history would repeat itself yet one more time.

mynokiablog.com/2010/06/08/what-nokia-needs-to-learn-from-apple-keynotes-pointers-from-steve-jobs-iphone-4-announcement/

The introduction was superb. We had the same guy who had been narrating the previous videos that took us by surprise and also impressed a lot of our readers. It felt like it was done in the same humble, honest tone that really gave that trust back into Nokia.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/08/video-nokia-trust-quality-nokia-beginning-to-understand-ads-narrated-by-jony-ive-p/

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/04/nokia-impresses-with-the-latest-lumia-925-zeiss-lens-adverts/

The next bit I remember was the 3D CGI explosive demo of the interconnected parts inside the Nokia Lumia 1020. It just looked epic and it was really impressive. It instantly reminded me of that warm feeling when I first saw the Nokia N900 Maemo promo video which was filled with a huge sense of awe and wonder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbxyLnwFSvI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_2tExiW92Y

OK, so the intro was done. But who is going to present it? We need the right person for the right job. In the past presenters have been hit or miss. Mostly a miss. Whilst they maybe great in their day to day job at Nokia, presenting needs a different skill. It needs some charisma to be believable, some genuine but appropriate level of enthusiasm, and a manner about them that makes you believe they know what they’re talking about and you can trust them. We’ve always wondered why Stepehen Elop, who is great at talking in interviews, answering Q&As, and presenting to the public about Nokia directions, wasn’t the one presenting Nokia’s major product launches?

Another tick box for Nokia as Stephen Elop appears on stage. But wait, he’s not there in person. Quite impressively he’s there as a 3D hologram of sorts. Very cool.

But why isn’t Stephen there in person? Where is he and who is he going to hand the stage to so that they could introduce the 1020 in person? Uh oh.

Thankfully, the real Stephen Elop emerged on stage.

I’ve lost track of precisely what he said and how he said it but it was extremely well received.

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Great delivery, credibility, nice insertion of humour every now and again too.

I’m running out of time as I have to head back down for the after party so I’m going to rush possibly the bits that also deserve to be talked about.

Each feature that Nokia talked about regarding the imaging was presented in a way that the audience could connect with. And boy did the audience wow and applaud. One after another just when I thought Nokia was done, there was that ‘one more thing’ feeling.

As we said before, it’s not merely about chucking words into the air and spouting features. It’s about making the audience understand

  • why the feature is there, what problem is there to solve?
  • What new added benefit is there to the user?
  • How effective is your product at doing it?
  • How awesome is it that yours is the only one in the world that can do that!

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I felt like it was one of the best keynotes ever. Not just by Nokia standards but by anyone.

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It made me feel really proud of Nokia that they seemed to have listened and taken on board where they had flaws and did something about it that exceeded my expectations.

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From the xenon flash demo, to zooming in to various parts of the picture, to reframing, to the camera pro demo to the long exposure session to the availability (holy moly, the same  week you can preorder and the same month from announcement you can buy it!!!! Ride the highs of the hype), each bit delivered on explaining clearly and coherently what it was, why it’s here and why it’s awesome (Great work from Juha and Kristina, being the experts on the scene).

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Despite the Nokia Lumia 1020 being leaked to the full with hands on videos, pictures, samples from senior execs and full tech specs, I was thoroughly amazed by how Nokia didn’t let that ruin their party. I feel that they still managed to amaze by sharing the experiences that can be had with the imaging on their new kid.

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Elop concluded the presentation on a high note. The stage background split in half and almost like a movie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be precise) and you saw the Nokia product managers and the Nokia teams in their booths (with servers in the middle with champagne and food and whatnot) with the central line appearing to mimic the layered section of the camera of the 1020.

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The folks on the demo areas were fantastic. i’m sorry I cannot talk about them in more detail but you will see when I upload videos (or you can watch videos made by others) that they did a great job there too, in exhibiting first hand what the presentation was talking about.

 Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 23.37.50

Bravo Nokia, Bravo. Onwards and upwards! Moooar please!

I’m so

Nokia Lumia 1020 produces sharper photos than the Nokia 808 PureView?

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 01:40 PM PDT

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Just a quick bit of info from the blogger session with Eero Salmelin and Juha Alakarhu. Juha noted that despite the Nokia Lumia 1020 being thinner, it will produce sharper pictures than the Nokia 808 PureView.

We have some a video to explain this a bit more when we get the chance to connect online (for a decent period – internet very slow). But the gist I’m getting from the product managers is that the Nokia Lumia 1020 will produce better quality pictures than the Nokia 808 PureView (BSI, 6 element lens, OIS).

Eero says Nokia reduced the module sizes despite producing images that were either as sharp as the 808, or sharper in some tests according to Eero. This should more than compensate for having a slightly smaller image sensor in the 1020 than the 808.

The capacitor for the xenon flash was redesigned. It’s now flat in order to fit in the 1020. Otherwise traditional capacitors would not fit. They said the flash was very powerful.

 

The magic explained: The science behind the Nokia Lumia 1020 – White Paper

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 10:43 AM PDT

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To explain everything there is to know about the imaging technology going on in the Nokia Lumia 1020, please check out the White paper available at:

http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/2723846/data/1/-/Lumia1020-whitepaper.pdf

I will talk more in depth about my response to the Keynote [spoiler, I loved it]. We did mention before that keynotes should deliver information clearly, and consumers shouldn’t have to read a white paper to understand it. I think the keynote today delivered and more so, but there was a moment where Stephen Elop had to refer to the White paper in order to explain the intricacies of Oversampling (I must watch it again, perhaps this should have had a little demo diagram?).

Thanks Joni for the tip

The Lumia 1020 Was Indeed Called Nokia 909 Once Upon a Time

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 09:30 AM PDT

imageWith the device hands on pics coming in we’re sure to discover some interesting facts about the amazing new Lumia 1020, the first of which isn’t really important; but is “interesting” to Nokia geeks like us. The Lumia 1020 was indeed set to be announced/released as the Nokia 909 not so long ago (given the fact that they didn’t have enough time to change the software to mimic the name change).

The change was probably done to avoid making the 1020 look like an inferior or older device, personally I think Nokia should keep the 1XXX range for those niche/abnormal devices, such as camera oriented devices, phablets and maybe even tablets; while keeping the 9XX range as the representative of the all rounder best device out there.

Thanks for the tip dietyyli

 

Official Vine app coming to Windows Phone

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 09:24 AM PDT

vine

Today is mostly just Lumia 1020 news so some other news is easily missed, like an official Vine app coming to Windows Phone. It was already somewhat mentioned in the Lumia 1020 presentation but now The Verge confirms that it is coming.

With the Lumia 1020 that makes for some very high quality Vine videos. Now if only there is some Instagram news that passed by everyone, that would complete the day.

Gallery Collection: Lumia 1020 Hands On Images

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 09:11 AM PDT

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For those of us who aren’t luck enough to get some real hands on time with the amazing Lumia 1020, we have to settle for the next best thing, hands on pictures. I’ll try to update this post with multiple images from around the web to give you a feel of the device so check back soon…

*off to hunt for some 1020 porn*

968808_10151475094427397_1481014602_n 14775_10151475094392397_1188270196_n (1) 1069268_10151475094297397_1362272044_n 1001193_10151475094292397_1694978720_n 533590_10151475094212397_1066320205_n 1069868_10151475093922397_281737470_nVia Nokia FB page

Nokia 808 - Nokia Lumia 1020 - Black  and cover - 1

Nokia Lumia 2010 - Camera Grip 2

Nokia 808 - Nokia Lumia 1020 - White Yellow Black - 3

Via pureviewclub.com

Via http://www.fonearena.com/

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Via UnleashThePhones

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Video Collection: Nokia Lumia 1020 Promos

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 08:54 AM PDT

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Here are the first set of Nokia video promos showing off the Lumia 1020, and its camera features:

official Nokia Handson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMNm9-dgJ0

(we’ll update all video related content to this post).

#TeamYelow Stephen Elop and his Yellow Shoes

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 08:35 AM PDT

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Just a quick heads up – check out Stephen Elop’s yellow shoes! Quite a lot of the Nokia peeps are wearing some form of yellow. I’ve got my yellow belt and yellow lego bag :p

Cheers for the tip, Josue

Lumia 1020 Official! Nokia’s Latest Camera Monster $299 on Contract, Available July 26th (Main Thread)

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 08:07 AM PDT

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After weeks of leaks, teases and speculation Nokia have finally announced their latest camera flagship the Nokia Lumia 1020. The phone packs the monstrous 41 Megapixel camera we’ve been waiting for to grace Windows Phone ever since the 808 was launched 16 months ago.

The Lumia 1020 will be available on At&t starting July 26th for $299, with preorders starting July 16th, the phone is available in MATTE White, Black and Yellow (YAY!).

The 1020 will ship out to China and Europe THIS quarter, with the Telefonica 64Gb exclusive version shipping to select markets

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As rumored the phone takes two images simultaneously, taking a 41 MP image and a second 5 MP image (where each single pixel is made of the best 7 pixels, thanks to oversampling).

The OIS in the phone is a combination of floating lens AND moving ball bearings keeping the lens stable (you can hear them moving!)

The xenon flash on the 1020 allows to freeze movement in the most difficult conditions (see image below)

xenon freezing

The Lumia 1020 with the Nokia Pro camera allows you to ZOOM OUT after you capture a picture!

“You can literally find a needle in a haystack.”

needle haystack

The Nokia Pro Camera app allows you to change all the settings on screen without intruding on your live view, and the changes are instantly applied!

Oh and can someone say long exposure shots!?

The PD-95G has its spec page up over HERE

Camera-Grip-for-Nokia-Lumia-1020-jpg

Here’s a video promo by 3 UK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ss7HqimliTY

So far the spec list includes (as rumored)-

The full spec page can be found here: http://www.nokia.com/us-en/phones/phone/lumia1020/specifications/#

  • 4.5″ Clear Black Display, Super sensitive AMOLED WXGA (1280 x 768) – Curved
  • 2 Gb ram, 1.5 Ghz Dual core processor
  • 41 Mega pixel Pureview camera, with 3x lossless zoom, rich recording (stereo) and Xenon flash, Optical image stabilization
  • Nokia Pro camera with the ability to change ISO, Shutter Speed, White balance and more
  • Weight: 158.0 g

Updating….

*Note: As many of you requested we’ll try to constantly update this post in order to keep it easier for you folks to carry out a conversation, so be sure to hammer that refresh button (or not, we don’t want to tank the site :P )

FlipBoard and Path Coming to Windows Phone; Marketplace Reaches 165,000 Apps UPDATE: VINE TOO!!!

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 07:17 AM PDT

Two big name apps have been announced, Flipboard and path will both be coming to Nokia Lumia devices.

Also announced is that the Windows Phone marketplace has reached the 165,000 app milestone.

UPDATE:

According to the Verge Twitter’s 6 second video sharing service, Vine will also be (officially) coming to Windows phone 8. There is no current release date, but that’s pretty huge news.

There’s no word on exactly when it will be made available, or whether Twitter itself is building the app, but a spokesperson says “we can confirm that Vine will be coming to Windows Phone.”

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/11/4514450/vine-windows-phone-8-app

Developing.

 

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