Category: Nokia

Nokia Asha 210 goes on sale for Rs 3,999

Nokia Asha 210 has gone on sale in India for a price of Rs. 3999 for the single sim version. The phone was announced back in April and features a dedicated WhatsApp button and a full QWERTY keyboard along with a 2.4-inch LCD display that has 320×240 pixel resolution. The phone is a non touch variant in the Asha series, Nokia calls it the “most social most expressive” phone in the Asha Series.

The design is along the lines of the new design strategy of Nokia which matches the new colors and matte finish body of the Nokia device. The dual sim variant features a easy swappable sim slot and will come preloaded with social apps like social network apps for Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. WhatsApp is also preloaded, and can be activated by one touch of the WhatsApp button, while the app subscription remains free for life.

The large spacebar in the four row keyboard is also the hot key for WiFi access, for the Nokia Asha 210. The Asha 210 has 32 MB RAM and features a micro SD card that can support up to 32 GB micro SD card. Other features include a 2MP camera and FM Radio.

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May 22, 2013
Nokia’s new Smart Camera app adds filters, will come to every Lumia device with Amber update

Nokia has just launched the Nokia Lumia 925, the phone features a new Smart Camera app that adds to the imaging capabilities of the Lumia series.

The Smart Camera app has improved low-light performance and noise reduction, and will burst capture at 5-megapixels, with the full 8.7-megapixels available in single-shooting mode.

Nokia will be pushing out “Amber,” an update that’ll bring Smart Cam, amongst other apps, to the company’s wider range of Windows Phone 8 devices especially the recent high end Lumia Devices.

See some of the apps features below.

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May 14, 2013
Nokia Launches Aluminum body Lumia 925 in London, € 469, Available June

Nokia has launched the new Lumia 925 in London at a press conference today. While all Lumia phones till date have been plastic the new Lumia 925 has a completely Aluminum Frame. While most of the specs remain same and the phone has the same dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB RAM and 8.7-megapixel OIS camera of the 920, the Lumia 925 is almost 50 grams (1.8 ounces) lighter than last year’s Lumia 920.

Even with the 8.8mm profile, there’s an identical 2,000mAh battery but the Wiless charging has been removed to accomodate the profile of the new Lumia 925. For those who are disheartened, an accessory cover can be had which will re-enable said wireless features. The colors include red, yellow, black and white. The Lumia 925 model also sports an 4.5-inch AMOLED screen with the resolution of the Lumia 920 (1280 x 768px) it will enjoy superior black levels thanks to the Amoled tech in the display.

The display also has Gorilla Glass 2, with ClearBlack tech and a high-brightness mode for improved outdoor visibility and hopefully the same hyper touch tech that lets you use the Lumia 920 with gloves on.

The Camera is the same 8.7-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor, but Nokia has added another lens to make it a 6 Carl Zeiss Lens camera, this 6th lens element improves sharpness of images.

Lumia 925 Camera Samples

The Lumia 925 will launch in parts of Europe and China this June, priced at 469 euros (roughly $609 or INR 33500), India should see similar pricing and availability this summer.

[toggle title=”Read Press Release”]Nokia introduces Nokia Lumia 925

New interpretation of world’s most innovative smartphone captures the best low light images
London, UK – Nokia today introduced the Nokia Lumia 925, a new interpretation of its award-winning flagship, the Nokia Lumia 920. The Nokia Lumia 925 introduces a metal design and showcases the latest PureView camera innovation, new features and third party applications coming to the Nokia Lumia range.

The Nokia Lumia 925 includes the most advanced lens technology and next generation imaging software to capture clearer, sharper pictures and video, including the best low light images. The Nokia Lumia 925 also introduces the new Nokia Smart Camera mode, coming as an update to all Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Nokia Smart Camera offers an easy way to capture ten images at once and edit the pictures with options like Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus for creating the perfect high quality image.

Nokia also announced Hipstamatic will arrive on Nokia Lumia smartphones, allowing people to share their high quality pictures with like-minded enthusiasts on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram.

“We keep innovating,” said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. “We’re advancing experiences on Nokia Lumia portfolio whether that means great new benefits for an existing Lumia owner, or bringing new showcase devices like the Nokia Lumia 925.”
The Nokia Lumia 925 introduces metal for the first time to the Nokia Lumia range, bringing appeal and unique benefits like increased robustness.

The polycarbonate back comes in white, grey or black. A wireless charging cover can be clipped onto the back of the phone to take advantage of Nokia’s extensive wireless charging accessories and ecosystem. Covers, sold separately, come in white, black, yellow, and red.
Leading Nokia services, such as the HERE suite of integrated location and navigation services and Nokia Music for unlimited streaming of free music playlists, add to the great proposition offered by Nokia’s latest smartphone.

Sales are expected to start in UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and China in June, followed by the US and a number of other markets. The Nokia Lumia 925 will be priced around 469 EUR before taxes and subsidies. Country-specific pricing and availability will be announced locally.[/toggle]

May 14, 2013
Nokia Lumia 925 Leaked in low-res Press Shot

Just hours before their official launch in London, Nokia’s Lumia 925 aka Catwalk has been leaked. Following along with the leaks of the past the design is fully metallic and appears to be much slimmer than the previous generation Lumia devices. The overall design of the back shell also appears to be a bit different compared to the existing Lumias, with the front to back taper towards the edges, The edges also appear to be more squarish compared to the usual rounding seen on Nokia phones.

Nokia will full Launch the phone in a couple of hours, so stay tuned for the specs.

Update : An image of the back panel has leaked too.

[via]

May 14, 2013
Nokia Chat Beta For Lumia And Asha Devices Released

Nokia has released the first public beta of its Nokia Chat app for Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 devices. Similar to software like WhatsApp, Kik, Kakao Talk and Facebook Messenger, Nokia Chat allows cross-platform messaging between Windows Phone, Asha, Symbian and S40 devices.

The first beta includes Canada, along with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Nigeria, South Africa and a few others, to ease the company’s servers into the load before opening to a wider audience. While the app likely won’t get much play in North America, it stands to be quite popular in countries with established bases of Symbian, Asha and S40 devices, of which there are hundreds of millions still in use.

Windows Phone 8 users can take advantage of lock screen notifications, but all WP users will receive toast push notifications and live tile updates. The app also integrates with Yahoo Messenger, but it would be nice if Nokia could integrate Google and Facebook, as the current solutions on the platform are pretty terrible.

For Windows Phone 8 users, the app can also take advantage of voice dictation, voice commands — example “Chat with Michael Jordan” — as well as lockscreen notifications. The last feature displays a counter informing you of the number of unread messages.

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone is available to download through Nokia Beta Labs.

April 26, 2013
Nokia To Unveil New Lumia In London On May 14, Will It Be The “Catwalk”?

Nokia is planning to hold a May 14 press conference in London to talk about where it is headed with its Lumia line of Windows devices.

Nokia Catwalk rumors have been looming in the air since a few weeks now, and this week, a couple of images had surfaced on the Chinese website Baidu, giving us an idea of how the smartphone might look like.

The Nokia Catwalk is expected to come with a 4.5-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels. The smartphone will be powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor paired with 1GB of RAM, just like the Lumia 920, but the Nokia Catwalk will comes with lesser, 16GB of internal storage, as opposed to 32GB on the Lumia 920.

The Nokia Catwalk is expected to sport a 8.7 megapixel f2.0 camera and a 2,000mAh non-removable battery. The dimensions of the upcoming device are expected to be 129 x 71 x 8.4mm, and it is expected to weigh-in at just 132 grams.

And though the company recently announced entry- and mid-range devices in the Lumia 520 and 720, it hasn’t launched a flagship model since the the Lumia 920 was unveiled in September. In the smartphone world, that is a very long time.

We’ve also heard rumours that Nokia might debut a Windows 8 tablet, and considering the length of the event — it’s set to last six hours — we wouldn’t be surprised to see more than one product announced.

Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft seems to be stronger than ever at this point, which would make a Windows 8 tablet — or even a Windows RT slate — a possibility.

We’ll have to wait and see what Nokia has in store for us. But keep in mind that it is launching the product(s) the day before Google I/O begins, so expect big things from the company.

[TechnoBuffalo]

April 25, 2013
Nokia Announces The Asha 210, QWERTY Keyboard, Dedicated Whatsapp Button

Nokia teased those interested in a physical QWERTY the other day and promised they’ll show the world their latest handset today. Well, it’s the S40 Asha 210. A lightweight entry-level phone that has a full QWERTY keyboard and a dedicated WhatsApp button. The 210 is targeting the uber cost conscious crowd and has priced this at a measly $72 USD (Rs 4000/-) outright, aiming “to go on sale in the second quarter of 2013.

As for specs, the Asha 210 has a physical QWERTY keyboard, a 2.4-inch QVGA display (320×240 resolution and 169ppi), 2MP camera and no front-facing camera, “offers an astonishing battery life” that will garner you “up to 46 days standby with the Single SIM model; up to 24 days with Dual SIM.” The Asha 210 weighs 99.5 grams and will be available in yellow, cyan, black, magenta, white.

The highlights of the 210, apart from the physical keyboard, is the dedicated WhatsApp button for quick access to your conversations.

Not the biggest deal dealbreaker, but WhatsApp has also promised that they’ll waive the $0.99 yearly subscription fee for the Nokia Asha 210 user.

Pricing and availability for Indian customers has not been revealed yet. More to come soon!

April 24, 2013
Nokia Posts QWERTY Phone Teaser, Wednesday Announcement Expected

Nokia has released a teaser image today for an upcoming announcement, potentially revealing a new QWERTY smartphone, although all the signs point to this device falling under the Asha range of low-end quasi-smartphones, as opposed to their flagship Windows Phone Lumia line-up.

The teaser reveals rounded corners for the prospective device, showing a Z key and contoured Shift key.

The phone is apparently decked out in the vibrant primary colours that are the signature of Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia smart phone range. But a Qwerty Lumia is unlikely, and with Nokia’s mobile devices making the announcement it appears this will be a feature phone, perhaps an Asha phone.

You won’t have to wait long to find out.

On Wednesday morning at 7am GMT we will be announcing something new, followed by a Q&A session with Neil Broadley from our Mobile Phones team and a special guest.

Other than a yellow color option and a seemingly thin bezel, there’s nothing we know about the upcoming device. There should be more teasers until Wednesday, maybe even a leak so stay tuned!

There have been Windows Phone devices with QWERTY keyboards in the past, like the now- extinct Dell Venue Pro. It would be nice to have that option again.

Nokia’s new teaser ad comes close on the heels of the company’s 2013 Q1 results which reported a steep decline in Asha sales. “Asha full touch smartphones Q1 volumes decreased 46% quarter-on-quarter to 5.0 million units, reflecting intense competitive industry dynamics as well as lower seasonal demand,” said the company.

April 22, 2013
Nokia Reports $196 Million Loss In Q1 2013 Earnings

Nokia posted an operating loss of €150 million (PDF), or around $196 million, today on around $7.65 billion in revenue, with a total revenue for the quarter reaching €5.85 billion ($7.65 billion), which is down from €7.35 billion ($9.6 billion) during the same time last year.

However, despite the losses, Nokia Lumia sales have hit a record high of 5.6 million in Q1 2013. This is up from 4.4 million during the previous quarter. In the same quarter last year, Nokia only sold two million Lumia smartphones, so that’s less than double of what they’re selling now. Since shipping their first Windows Phone device in November 2011, Nokia has just under 20 million Lumias.

At the highest level, we are pleased that Nokia Group achieved underlying operating profitability for the third quarter in a row. While operating in a highly competitive environment, Nokia is executing our strategy with urgency and managing our costs very well.

We have areas where we are making progress, and areas where we are further increasing the focus. For example, people are responding positively to the Lumia portfolio, and our volumes are increasing quarter over quarter. Nokia Siemens Networks delivered another strong quarter and contributed to an overall improvement in Nokia Group’s cash position. On the other hand, our Mobile Phones business faces a difficult competitive environment, and we are taking tactical actions and bringing new innovation to market to address our challenges.

All of these efforts are aimed at improving our financial performance and delivering more value to our shareholders

Nokia’s total smartphone volumes in Q4 2012 were 15.9 million units – 9.3 million Asha full-touch ‘smartphones’, 4.4 million Lumia smartphones and 2.2 million Symbian smartphones. That was noteworthy as it was the first that Lumia device numbers had exceeded those of Symbian.

[The Next Web]

April 18, 2013
Nokia Lumia 920 Edges Out Samsung Galaxy S4 In Video Stabilization Tests

The new hotness may be the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, but despite a massive 5-inch screen and 13 megapixel camera sensor, the device lacks one important feature: optical image stabilization. This disparity to Nokia’s flagship Lumia 920 was tested by the folks at WP7Forum.ru and as you would expect, the proprietors know their home court advantage.

Both devices were fastened to a remote-control car and towed around on an office floor, but only one, the Lumia, stays calm and collected throughout the process. The Galaxy S4 looks like its experiencing tiny tremors throughout the entire ride, exposing the limitations of non-stabilized mobile camera sensors for video capture.

Nokia had incorporated–one of the first for its kind–an optical image stabilization mechanism in the Lumia 920 that would allow for stabilized video recordings and great low light photography performance without the need for a flash.

While by no means a definitive test, it certainly shows just how far ahead the Lumia 920 is from the rest of the market when it comes to optical image stabilization. The ultimate test will be to compare it to the HTC One, which also offers OIS on its Ultrapixel sensor.

The video is in Russian, but if you don’t speak the language you’re not missing much (other than the reason the remote control car had to be towed manually, its batteries were out).

[WP7Forum]

April 6, 2013
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop Throws An iPhone On National TV, Calls It “Embarrassing”

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop decided to have some fun at a Finnish TV show, and what better way to entertain the audience than throwing the host’s phone on the floor?! Even better when the phone in question is an iPhone!

Stephen Elop faced some tough questions from a Finnish TV presenter this week, focusing on the upcoming Lumia 928 handset. In a show aired on commercial TV station MTV3 in Finland, Elop is repeatedly questioned about when the company plans to introduce its Lumia 928 Verizon flagship handset. Elop claims he doesn’t know what the Lumia 928 is because the company hasn’t announced it, before trying to divert the questioning to the recently launched Lumia 620.

As part of the interview the presenter asked Stephen Elop when he will release a product which would allow him to replace his iPhone. Finally, the host took out his iPhone and said that he doesn’t want to have an iPhone, but a Nokia phone, because he believes in Nokia (and he’s Finnish, so it kind of makes sense). Then Elop said that he can easily remedy this, took the presenter’s phone and threw it away. It didn’t become clear if the iPhone survived the fall, but a minute later Elop promised to give the host a new Nokia phone.

It’s not clear what phone would Nokia’s CEO give him. My bet goes for a Lumia 920.

Check out the part of the interview in question from the video below.

March 22, 2013
Nokia’s 2InstaWithLove puts pressure on Instagram for a Windows Phone App

In a bid to get Instagram to release an app for WIndows Phone, Nokia has formed an app called 2InstaWithLove. The app allows you to take a photo using the classic polaroid filter and automatically adds the hashtag #2InstaWithLove.

Most buyers today are sticking to Android and iOS, and stay weary of Windows Phone due to the lack of availability of apps like Instagram on the platform. This is Nokia’s one attempt to get the App developers (now Facebook) to develop for the Windows Phone Platform.

2InstaWithLove will only have one filter to begin with but will later add more, says Nokia, especially if they cannot get Instagram to play nice. We have tried the app and is quite nice, you can search for it on the Windows Mobile App store or follow the link below to get more information and download links.

[#2InstaWithLove]

March 18, 2013
Nokia Joins Apple In Bid For Samsung Ban

In a surprising twist, Windows Phone device manufacturer Nokia has filed a brief with US courts in support of Apple’s ongoing legal battle against Samsung.

Acting as an amicus curiae (friend of the court, a party who offers information to a case they are not directly involved with), Nokia has filed a brief on behalf of Apple to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit this week.

In the brief, Nokia asked the court to permit permanent injunctions on the sale of Samsung phones that were found to infringe Apple’s patents.

As part of its ongoing legal battle with Samsung, Apple has repeatedly requested the courts to impose an injunction on the sale of Samsung products that have infringed on the iPhone maker’s patents.

As noted by Reuters, the brief itself is currently sealed, but an accompanying motion supplies an overview of Nokia’s argument. The company questions Judge Koh’s December ruling requiring a patent holder to first establish a “causal nexus” between a patented feature and customer demand before securing a permanent injunction against offending products. If such a precedent were set, Nokia asserts, the ability of patent holders to obtain sales bans would be crippled.

[quote]The “causal nexus” requirement as applied by the district court here, making the evidentiary standard for obtaining a permanent injunction so burdensome and strict that it may rarely, if ever, be met, will essentially lead to a compulsory-licensing system wherein patent holders are forced to license patented technology to competing firms, which could in turn harm incentives to innovate.[/quote]

In her ruling late last year, Judge Lucy Koh said that sales bans on Samsung products will not be given, and they can only be removed from sale if the feature deemed to infringe on a patent is one that is solely responsible for consumer demand for the product.

[Apple Insider]

March 7, 2013
Windows Phone Store Crosses 130,000 Apps

Microsoft announced some new Windows Phone app statistics today as part of its Mobile World Congress press push. One of those stats concerns the total number of apps worldwide. Microsoft now says there are 130,000 apps available for download in the Windows Phone Store.

Making the announcement on behalf of Microsoft, manufacturer Nokia, which utilises the Windows Phone 8 platform for its flagship Lumia range, including the newly unveiled Nokia Lumia 720 and Nokia Lumia 520, confirmed the Windows Phone 8 app milestone during its MWC 2013 press conference.

[quote]“Today we are proud to announce that we have achieved the level of 130,000 Windows Phone applications,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said. “That’s 130,000 applications tailor made for the Windows Phone experience.”[/quote]

Microsoft said that the number of downloads of its Windows Phone 8 SDK has now exceeded 500,000 since its launch nearly four months ago. It added that Windows Phone developer registrations were up by over 40,000 users, 90 days after the Windows Phone 8 launch.

Microsoft is also launching its new Dev Center app, which allows app developers to see how their apps are performing.

Microsoft is still a long way behind rivals such as Android and Apple in the apps market, both boasting over half a million apps.

Nevertheless, the rise will be welcomed by those at Microsoft and used as evidence that while it has been slow to enter the mobile market it’s moving fast to catch up with its rivals, with most high-profile apps now available for the operating system, such as Spotify.

February 26, 2013
Leaked : Nokia Lumia 720, Lumia 520, Expected To Be Announced At MWC

Days before Nokia has a chance to unveil its Mobile World Congress lineup, apparent leaks of its two upcoming smartphones, the Lumia 720 and Lumia 520, have already surfaced to go along with some bubbled-up specs.

While we can’t tell specs from the official renders provided by @evleaks, it’s a safe bet that these phones will be announced next week at Mobile World Congress. It’s also safe to assume that the Lumia 720 will have slightly toned-down specs from the 820, but will maintain its colourful heritage. Nokia appears to have done away with removable back plates on the Nokia Lumia 720, making for a thinner and likely lighter smartphone.

And though we can’t tell scale from this particular photo, a 4.3-inch 800×480 resolution ClearBlack screen is in the cards, alongside a 1Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus SoC, 512MB RAM, 8GB internal storage, an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera.

Rumoured specs of the Nokia Lumia 520 put the device at 4-inches, with 512MB RAM, 8GB internal storage and a 5MP rear camera.

The two devices should slot in directly above and below the Nokia Lumia 620, leaving Nokia with a full spectrum of Windows Phone 8 devices at every price point. However we are still waiting for the launch of the Lumia 620 in India!

[EVLeaks]

February 23, 2013