| Camera Comparison: Sony Xperia Z1 vs Nokia Lumia 925 in Low-Light Posted: 15 Sep 2013 07:01 PM PDT 
So a while back there were claims that the Xperia Z1 had the best camera on the market (apparently better than the 925 and 1020 according to satisfaction polls in a closed survey), coming straight from Sony. Luckily though, our friend Alvin has been one of the first to get his hands on Sony’s latest flagship, and is still currently rocking a Lumia 925 (which is the first Lumia he has liked out of all that have been released mind you). The results are impressive. While the Lumia 925 holds its own, there is no denying that the Xperia Z1 is definitely giving it a run for its money. Both devices have their strengths and weaknesses, which, in my opinion, puts them on equal playing fields.  Xperia Z1  Lumia 925  Xperia Z1  Lumia 925  Xperia Z1  Lumia 925  Xperia Z1  Lumia 925 Head on over to the link below and see some more comparison shots as well as some comparisons of the detail in full zoom. Source: Unleash The Phones |
| Lumia 920 Running Bittersweet Shimmer Shows Up Online Posted: 15 Sep 2013 08:37 AM PDT 
Another alleged device has popped up claiming to be running the latest WP update, Bittersweet Shimmer/GDR3. First off it appears that the third column of live tiles will be available for all devices, regardless of the screen resolution/ Second of all notice the battery percentage appearing on the top of the start screen, which is indeed a much needed feature. There’s also a weird “V” like symbol on the top of the screen, any guesses to what it is? (it is apparently always there, like the time in the current version of WP, rather than coming up when tapping on the top of the screen). WMPU make mention of their being a drop down notification center, but I see no evidence of that in the source article (which is in Vietnamese)  
Via / Source |
| Supposed Ex-Nokian Graphical Designers Speaks Out Against WP UX Posted: 15 Sep 2013 07:08 AM PDT 
Over on Reddit, a user claiming to be a Graphic Designer for Nokia until recently, has layed out a few “insights” into the flaws of the WP design and how Microsoft’s approach of UI Consistency comes at the cost of user functionality. I personally think it is a great read, as I’ve shared the same opinions from time to time. The problem with WP is that visual consistency doesn’t equal good usability. Usability should always trump visuals in the pecking order. Yes, WP looks consistent, but the design language and UX are riddled with flaws. I’m going to list a few. First and foremost: there’s no branching of users. Whether you’re a power user, a 90-year-old granny, a toddler or a Brooklyn hipster, you get the same UX. For proper usability, the UI should bend to the needs of all user groups regardless of their skill level. If you want to implement a one-size-fits-all solution, usability is critical. WP, however, skimps on usability to maintain visual consistency, and doing that while trying to implement an OSFA solution means the result is confusing for the toddler and frustrating for the power user. Secondly: the most used functions should be always accessible, period. When a user picks up a phone with a specific task in mind, his path to complete that task should be as optimized as possible. That’s why iOS has a quick access dock as well as most Android phones. WP, again, does not to keep a consistent look. You do get live tiles, but no dock, which means that if you’re using more than a handful of your phone’s functions you need to scroll down, making completing critical tasks slower. Thirdly (and this is my favorite pet peeve): the WP design language is directly opposite to Gestalt rules. The UI should use color, weight and visual cues to guide the eye and to assert a visual hierarchy. You need to be able to form an overview and the location of the most critical functions of the phone with a quick glance. This is usually done using color, continuity, contrast, focal points etc. WP disregards all of this. If you look at the live tiles, there are useless animations, complete disregard of visual cues and the focal points are all over the place. Why is the Red Bull app colored, thus stealing my attention, while the more important phone and message icons are not? Why is the Xbox Live tile green by default, making it the only one to stand out? Is the UI suggesting it’s really the most vital app of my phone? Why are the tiles moving without input, making it exceptionally difficult to form an overview of what I’m seeing? Why are my eyes being constantly guided to non-essential parts of the UI? Thanks to these things, the UI is crowded and it’s difficult to form a visual hierarchy of what I’m seeing. In most cases there’s also no distinction between call to action elements and plain text, making guiding the user through visual cues difficult. Fourthly: no folders. Only an alphabetical app list. For example, if you need to access multiple apps you often use together quickly, you can’t have them sitting next to each other on a folder. You’re forced to scroll up and down the list every time. Instead of having connected apps next to each other, you’re forced to make the connections in your head, which is cumbersome and needlessly taxing, once again all because of consistency. I’m going to save you some time and stop here. I’d have material for an average length thesis on exactly why the WP design is woefully inadequate and why it is clashing against hundreds of years of visual design theory, but let’s save some time and just say it sucks with the force of a thousand suns.
Good questions. It’s 6 in the morning here, so I’ll answer more thoroughly tomorrow, but briefly: A dock is un-necessary on WP. when you arrive at the home screen you’re always scrolled to the top. So if there is a group of options you want to quickly access it’s always in the exact same spot when you press the home button.
A dock is only one example. When you take into account Android’s notification dropdown menu, you get a lot of quick functionality (wifi toggles, status notifications, brightness toggles etc.) which takes tens of times longer to do on a WP device. Android also has folders, so your access to app functionality is faster too. On your third point, I don’t think its fair to condemn the OS by what third party apps do.
They’re using the functionality given to them by Microsoft. They’re not abusing the UI, they’re doing exactly the thing Microsoft wants them to do. Microsoft is in charge of the UX and UI. The problem is in Microsoft’s implementation, not with 3rd parties. Your eyes are drawn to whatever part of the UI you find important since you control the size of the elements.
No. Size is a weaker signal than color. If you want to do an experiment, draw a bunch of large grey balls and one small pink one and see which one stands out. How is a folder functionally different from creating isolated groups?
Let’s put it this way. Let’s take four folders from my iPad homescreen: one for my video apps, one for my audio apps, one for ebook readers etc. and one for random stuff. Each folder contains 15-20 apps. That makes 60-80 apps in total. How would you group those using WP live tiles? And that’s with only four folders.
You can see more over at the comment thread on Reddit Source: Reddit |
| New Nokia phone on Monday? Importance of first – why Nokia cares about super affordable mobile phones Posted: 15 Sep 2013 05:53 AM PDT  Whilst the world rushes to be all about smartphones, Nokia is keeping their commitments to the bread and butter of their business – the mobile phones. Yes, Nokia has transitioned more towards smartphones too but they’ve not forgotten about mobile phones, recently launching the Nokia 515.
In the post below, we hear why Nokia cares about super affordable, entry level mobiles and hints about a new launch for Monday. "Together with the Nokia 105, the Nokia 106 and 107 mean that we are well on our way to completely renewing our entry-level products in just over six months. We haven't finished yet though," Neil concludes, "so watch this space!" That's right: check back on Monday to be the first to know what's next… http://conversations.nokia.com/2013/09/13/importance-of-first-why-nokia-cares-about-super-affordable-mobile-phones/
Cheers Muerte for the tip! |
| Weekend Watch: Making of hit, Nokia Lumia 1020 commercial, “The Recital” Posted: 15 Sep 2013 05:45 AM PDT 
With almost 8 million views, the Nokia Lumia 1020 promo by MS has been quite a hit. Here’s the behind the scenes look at how it was made. LOL at “Go Fffffaace time yourself”. The kids are cute, they’re like “we don’t know what MP is, we don’t even know how to pronounce it”. A brilliant sequel to the wedding.
Cheers all for the tip! |
| Nokia Lumia 1520 shows up in white, buttons on show Posted: 15 Sep 2013 02:51 AM PDT 
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is seen above in white. Note the placement of the buttons, due to the large display they look oddly placed but may be more comfortable for the user if they’re not in their usual proportions. Source: Ctech Via: newcellphonesblog Cheers Alvester for the tip! |
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