13 August 2013

My Nokia Blog

My Nokia Blog


Alexander Stubb, Minister for Finland, loving his Nokia Lumia 1020 “best high quality photos ever!”

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 06:18 PM PDT

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Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland, Alexander stubb tweets some praise of his Nokia Lumia 1020. You can see some of those shots on his Instagram (though not really the best place to view ‘quality’ given the potato algorithms of those squares.

I will reveal a secret. Reason for quality photos http://instagram.com/alexstubb  – testing new @nokia Lumia 1020. Best high quality photos ever!

Cheers Sefriol for the tip

TimeTravelTuesday: Nokia N95 vs iPhone (Crickey, the N95 was sooo good!)

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 06:17 PM PDT

Screen Shot 2013-08-13 at 01.48.01

I read some of our comments mentioning the N95 and the iPhone (5) and whilst searching for a comparison I came across this little gem from way back when the N95 was fresh and the iPhone was a new toy.

We have Suzi fighting for the N95 and Jason for the iPhone. Funnily enough Jason argues about the battery life in the N95 when using GPS…First iPhone didn’t even have GPS, or AF camera, or video recording, or front facing camera. I laughed when they compared music and Jason tried to show off the speakers on the iPhone (N95 had some of the best loudspeakers on a phone, and in stereo!).

Even then we hear in terms of camera that function wise it’s “the most important subsidiary function”.

There’s three challenges. The second one looks at camera. 5MP, AF, Carl Zeiss optics vs 2MP potato. Here how Suzi, from the N95, stopped taking her digital compact around! Crickey! Sounds all too familiar. Whilst Suzi was super pleased with the n95 even in low light, Jason had to concede that the iPhone wasn’t up to the job of documenting a party. For video tests, the n95 had a night mode function (drop in frame rate to get more light). What did the iPhone do? Nothing! It couldn’t record video!

Unfortunately, despite the superior hardware and features of the N95 it wasn’t enough to sway the trend away from touch/iPhone. Sure the N95 sold loads! It sure as heck made Nokia too confident (slow/proud) in not getting with the times and seeing where the future lies – in handing over ‘smartphones’ to the general public (i.e. with a faster, more reliable, easier to use touch platform – at least that’s how some Maemo guys said in when referring to those in the Symbian team).

It’s things like this that make you remember precisely why Nokia was number 1 and why there were so many Nokia fans and Nokia fanboys out there. Whilst some have moved on, I bet they’ve still got soft spots for Nokia.

Suzi talks big about the removable battery, and how should there be any freezing you could just whip the battery out. Ha, kudos on the battery trick for them freezing situations. Not that the iPhone was immune to that.

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/challenge/challenge-n95-v-iphone-pt-1

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/challenge/challenge-n95-v-iphone-pt-2

Holy crap, I forgot that the n95 had 3G. The iPhone did not! :o Check out this GPS test. The iPhone doesn’t even have a GPS chip. Unfortunately for Suzi the N95 was not finding any satellites (I believe I also faced that problem when I used early iterations of maps. You just stood there, waiting for a satellite to be found. Nada. It did get better in future software updates but that wasn’t in the time frame of this test. A point there for ‘usability’ in terms of having features that easily and reliably work. The N95 still won with the iPhone causing Jason ‘endless problems’. Despite him really liking the iPhone the pressure got to him and he starts punching the iPhone.

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/challenge/challenge-n95-v-iphone-pt3

I remember earlier discussions either on this blog or on forums about how there will come a turning point for iPhone and Nokia. How iPhone will get stronger and stronger and how Nokia would face a very tough battle if they did not snuff out the competition in time. Ah well. We gots two problems now. :p

Lumia 1020 Vs. 920 Camera Comparison

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 02:42 PM PDT

MNB-IMG_0284920-vs-1020A reddit user (djrbx) posted a quick gallery comparison of the Lumia 1020 and 920′s cameras. The 920′s camera has never been a slouch but compared to the 1020 it looks like any other phone. It’s interesting to see the white balance in default mode has been fixed (all previous Lumia’s had some serious white balance issues); but it seems that there might have been some overcorrection, where it carries a slightly yellow tint (or perhaps it’s all relative?).

Of course the white balance can be fully controlled through the Nokia Pro cam app (so perhaps the white balance on the 920 will also be fixed once we get it).

Check out the full sample gallery here:

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=0f2df62400652756&id=F2DF62400652756%21192&authkey=!ALlXXkv_MGHhjbM

Source

 

 

“Jony Ive’s” redesigned Nokia 3310 – @Nokia says hands off!

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 12:41 PM PDT

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 20.36.44

 

This site has been referenced here before (via one of our commenters) but let’s share it again.

http://jonyiveredesignsthings.tumblr.com/ If you don’t get it, it’s in reference to the colour palette of the redesigned iOS7, that kinda looks like the colour choices from wordart. See the NSN logo.

NSN

Nokia’s tweeted the picture saying to Jony, hands off!

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 20.39.35lol

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 20.40.45 Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 20.40.30

Lumiappdates: Domino’s Pizza and Flash Video

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 12:34 PM PDT

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A couple more updates today:

  • Domino’s Pizza (push notfications, fixed bugs) v1.1.2.0 (12/08/13)
  • Flash Video (Fixed Switch) v11.6.0.0 (11/08/13)

What I’d do for a Pizza right now! Shame I’m on low/no carb diet again.

Video: 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020 VS 16MP Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom – 1020 WINS! detail of 1020 sensor, unbelievable!

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 11:34 AM PDT

Ginormously ugly vs 1020

Ginormously ugly vs 1020. 

 

Here’s Danny Winget comparing the Nokia Lumia 1020 with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. He says that since CAMERA is one of the most important things when it comes to smartphone buying decision these are the ‘two biggest sensors on the market right now’ well, the 1020/808 if you consider the 808 on market. Anyway, here’s the video.

Danny finds that the S4 Zoom looks more like a camera, it doesn’t really look like a phone. That’s probably why Gizmodo found the 1020 to be that Eureka moment where there’s a fantastic camera on a great smartphone which wasn’t a ‘monstrosity’ or as per Engadget’s opinion, the S4 zoom being a ‘messy marriage’ of smartphone and camera. Wasn’t it TechCrunch that dissed PureView and thought the S4 Zoom would be the victor based on that look alone?

The 1020 apparently feels premium in the hand whilst the S4 Zoom is more like a P&S (or PoS? :P ) and doesn’t feel as premium.

Unlike the S4, technically as a Droid, the S4 Zoom is a ‘mid range’ device, 4.3″ 540 x 960 dual core vs the 4.5″ 1280×768, also Dual Core (but WP flies on lower specs where as you can still find lag in quadcore droids).

Onto camera

  • 1020 better colour replication than S4 Zoom
  • 1020 better bokeh
  • 1020 can get oversaturated in colours (when it comes to green things though it seems to vary)
  • Photos look better on 1020, much better contrast

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 19.18.50

  • The detail of this 41mp pureview sensor – unbelievable
  • 1020 shots apparently just look better, having a more cinematic look to them

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 19.21.10

  • Low light performance of the 1020 is apparently much better, 1020 picking up vibrant colours where as S4 zoom is overexposed and doesn’t look as good (somewhat dull)

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 19.23.06

  • props to the S4 Zoom for the zoom bit. The only thing really that warrants such a fat device. The zoom is different for both devices, Nokia’s Zoom is zoom reinvented, being able to zoom AFTER you’ve taken the picture (reframe and rezoom as much as you want). You cannot do this on any other device atm.
  • As a whole, Danny feels the 1080p video is better on the 1020.
  • 1020′s OIS is apparently better too.

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 19.25.24

  • Finally the pocket test. 1020 fits without a problem. S4 zoom, you apparently definitely will notice the difference because it’s really thick and chunky.
  • Verdict? Depends on what you want but 1020 has more consistent shots, Danny prefers the shots from the 1020 than the S4 Zoom. The 1020 is just that good and makes Danny want to take pictures of thigns he doesn’t usually take pictures of. It’s a great mobile camera.
  • S4 zoom gets a plus for having android and them apps.
  • On checks: Hardware better on 1020, camera better on 1020, screen is better on the 1020 but feels that it is lacking Android.
  • “If I had to pick a winner, I’m gonna pick the Nokia Lumia 1020″

 

The Nokia Lumia 1020 represents Nokia engineering, to make the best camera experience fit in a phone. The s4 ZOOM just kinda feels lazy. Here’s a camera, let’s put android and call capabilities: bam smartphone. Kudos at least for Sammy to understand the importance of the camera segment and push a competing device out there (that’s what Sammy does best atm, adapting super quickly and flooding the market with what they think will be the next trend).

PureView Competition: 41MP + Zeiss…in a Watch, and Sony’s Add on Lens thingy

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 10:59 AM PDT

 

 

Interesting to see Lumia in their product page

Interesting to see Lumia in their product page

As much as people try to downplay Nokia Lumia 1020′s achievements by belittling the importance of cameras, everyone else is still trying to beat Nokia at mobile imaging.

Here are a couple of interesting stories.

First up, what’s got 41mp and Zeiss. Nokia 808 PureView? Nokia Lumia 1020? Correct. But you’d apparently be missing one another: Hyetis Crossbow Smartwatch. Is it real? It’s apparently WP8 compatible (the site says WM 8) should you ever need another 41MP shooter to pair with your 1020 or perhaps some other Lumia.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/swiss-made-hyetis-crossbow-smartwatch-packs-41mp-camera-with-zeiss-optics-more-features-than-your-smartphone/

Next up, what happens when phones keep getting slimmer to the point where a decent camera just won’t fit? Stick a camera on it. Hmm. Intriguing, though I feel it defeats the purpose of camera phone being that one device that’s always with you that FITS in your pocket. Perhaps it’ll be a new category where we just bring accessories?

This features a 1/2.3″ sensor, smaller than that found in the 1020 and 808. Though it does have 10x optical zoom.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/12/4614442/sonys-lens-camera-rx100-ii-lens-sensor-photo-leak

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 18.51.58

Cheers Alvester and arts for the tip

BlackBerry considering sale of company?

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 08:22 AM PDT

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Whilst not directly Nokia related, the story of BlackBerry as a once dominant platform mimics Nokia’s journey in some ways. Both dominant in the past but one ditching their base OS platform for something new and another holding on to it for all it was worth. Now many love to reminisce at Nokia’s OSes (I love to do that for Maemo) and dream of a Nokia that could have been. Once BB10 was released, many wished Nokia could have held onto its own platform and be a strong comeback kid like BlackBerry seemed to be.

But as TheVerge says, the new OS hasn’t stopped BB bleeding marketshare, “both the dominant Android and the growing Windows Phone platforms are chipping away at what’s left of BlackBerry’s base.” Whilst the aim oF Nokia/MS wasn’t high initially, it was something attainable – getting to third position with the relatively unknown WP/Lumia. They’ve done that

A few weeks ago, Janne wrote an interesting piece.

http://mynokiablog.com/2013/07/28/mnb-rg-does-bb-need-to-die-in-order-for-nokiawp-to-live-is-it-a-zero-sum-game/

Better the devil you know.

Here’s the Press Release that details the committee that’s looking to explore BB’s options.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/blackberry-board-of-directors-announces-exploration-of-strategic-alternatives-nasdaq-bbry-1819770.htm Via: TheVerge

Who should buy BlackBerry? HP? We do love what they did to WebOS

Samsung? What’s happening to Tizen? Apparently Sammy wants to distance themselves from Android despite the strong position there. And I read somewhere of Sammy getting a BBM app.

Microsoft? Just to stop someone else getting BB. They already have Nokia to do what they need hardware wise.

Lenovo?

Google already has Motorola.

Nokia? Some say they should merge with BB but why. Nokia’s also just been on a spending spree with NSN. Though it would be somewhat nice to see those swipe things going back to Nokia.

From JoyOfTech (via TheVerge comments)

joy of tech

http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1571.html

Nokia’s position of growth maybe ‘mediocre’ (favourite word by some of our commenters) but at least it’s there. Nokia’s getting love and praise for their Lumia devices, most recently the camera in the 1020 is killing it out there. All we’re waiting for now is for Nokia to unleash the potential of WP. Easier said than done. But it’s still a possibility.

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

PureViewClub: Initial Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Nokia 808 PureView comparisons

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 01:49 AM PDT

Screen Shot 2013-08-12 at 09.43.46

A couple of posts from PureViewClub where there are some comparisons between the Nokia Lumia 1020 against the Nokia 808 PureView.

In the first shot the 808 is apparently set to ‘vivid’

http://pureviewclub.com/2013/15880

Macro

http://pureviewclub.com/2013/15927

Marc wants a bit more time with the Nokia Lumia 1020 to really take advantage of it, as he has learnt with his 808. But overall, he’s very pleased.

I feel quite sure you don't need me to come to your own conclusions, but to me in this case, most interesting fact is that you'll be able to zoom in quite a bit closer with the Lumia 1020 than with the Nokia 808 PureView.

Also, I'm really impressed with the amount of detail the crop of the Lumia's full resolution shot offers. I'm not saying which one "is better" however – I've written before I need much more time to get to know all the possibilities of the new Lumia 1020 (like if I know all of the 808 PureView…).

In these pretty basic shots, the results from the Lumia 1020 are very satisfying to me – it appears to perform better in detail in this case, but maybe less realistic in color. Please remember however, that the shots were not made at the exact same time, and there is a humble photographer behind each shot.

 

Lumiappdates: Amazing Weather (What weather apps do you use?)

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 12:29 AM PDT

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Received an update to Amazing Weather last night v4.2.1.5. I haven’t used it in a while since on my primary view homescreen I have a weather view live tile already. It still looks cool, what with those animated weather backgrounds in app. It’s got some nice customisations with the option to set how the front and back live tiles appear. It has some issues finding my home town back in Wales so Weather View it is for me. For a weather app, the update was surprisingly large at 58mb.MNB wp_ss_20130811_0002 lumiappdates MNB wp_ss_20130811_0003 lumiappdates MNB wp_ss_20130812_0001 lumiappdates

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