Nokia has brought what others have failed to deliver, a Windows Phone at a budget price. The Lumia 510 has been launched at a press event in New Delhi, the 510 has a 4 inch capacitive screen with a 480 x 800 pixel density. On the spec sheet of the Lumia 510 you will find a 5-megapixel camera at the back (no front-facer), an 800MHz Qualcomm processor, 256MB RAM and 4GB of non-expandable storage.
Nokia is targeting markets like India and China for this phone expecting it to penetrate the lower strata of Smartphone users shifting up from an Asha Phone to a smart phone. The price of the Lumia 510 is expected to be US $199, so expect it to hit the Indian market in the coming weeks for under Rs 9999.
Sales are planned to begin in November, starting with India and China, and followed closely by other Asia-Pacific countries and South America.
Windows Phone is different to other smartphone platforms thanks to Live Tiles, making it easy to see incoming messages and updates; People Hub, which brings together contacts and updates from across social networks into one location, and access to Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer 9 on the mobile.
The Camera Extras app provides exclusive digital lens functionality to go with the five megapixel camera and built-in autofocus. Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport also offer comprehensive smartphone location and navigation experience available.
Oh dear, Nokia had earlier confessed that it knows of the major battery issues plaguing its new flagship Lumia phones. The latest update (1600.2483.8106.11500) was meant to “enhance standby time as well as to bring an improvement to the issue reported by some customers in December. And indeed the update did bring some relief to our devices, But know Nokia has been hearing complaints about the poor audio quality and Camera related problems being faced by Nokia Loyalists.
[box border=”full”]
NOKIA:
We’ve seen your comments on the latest update for the Lumia 800 and wanted to take the opportunity to quickly address some points.
First of all, the primary target of the latest Lumia 800 update (1600.2483.8106.11500) was to enhance standby time as well as to bring an improvement to the issue reported by some customers in December, that their phone wasn’t able to access the full battery charge capacity correctly. We can confirm that we have successfully tested that those improvements are working. Additionally, we’ve noted your concerns regarding audio and camera settings and are going to address those in a series of future updates, ie. these will not be included in this specific update. It is also important to understand that only the Nokia Update for Lumia 1600.2483.8106.11500 will introduce the mentioned improvements. If you want to see what update you have installed or what software version you currently have on your Lumia 800, please check Settings>System>About and then tap the box for “More information”. The “Firmware revision number” shows 1600.2483.8106.11500 if you have installed the latest Nokia update for Lumia successfully. To make sure that your Lumia 800 is up to date and always gets the latest features, go to Settings > Phone Update and select “Notify me when updates are found”. Then, as soon as a new update is available for your Lumia 800, your phone will automatically display a notification.
Also always use the original Nokia Fast USB Charger AC-16 or the Nokia Charging and Data Cable CA-185CD that came with your Lumia 800, as they are specifically designed to charge the Lumia 800 as efficiently as possible. Only a charger with an output of 1000mA will fully charge your Lumia 800 battery. If you have several Nokia chargers at home, just check the respective labels or plastic parts as the product name is mentioned there.
Last but not least, the Diagnostic App was designed for internal testing purposes. In general, your battery is fine as long as the full charge capacity is more than 1000mAh. For the future, if you are checking your battery life, more useful information on the Battery status can be found by focusing on Settings>System>Battery saver. It will tell you both your remaining battery life in percent as well as the estimated time remaining, plus the time since you last charged your phone (as soon as you have disconnected your phone from your charger). If you have concerns about your battery capacity, please contact Nokia Care (phone numbers and locations can be found via www.nokia.com/support).”[/box]
Samsung has actually reigned supreme in the year 2011, and looks like the year 2012 will be in their hands too. The Omnia W is a representation of what a company like Samsung is capable of. The device is considerably cheaper than its competition but has excellent specs and usability. Here is our review on the Samsung Omnia W ( Wonder).
Build Quality
The Omnia W is well built, not the best build you would find in this price range, but definitely well built. The construction is all plastic and appears flimsy, but is actually quite good. The back panel has some shell/metal elements that have a brushed and painted look , to try and give the device a little more elegance than it actually deserves, that part may not have been achieved. Buttons are well raised and fairly easy to use. The front bezel is a hair higher than the glass front, protecting the display from flat falls. Overall the device should do well in day to day usage.
Specs
1.4GHz processor
512MB RAM
3.7-inch display
480×800 resolution
8GB storage
5MP camera
720p HD videos
1,500 mAh battery
Camera, Display and Multimedia
The camera on the Omnia is a 5 mega pixel autofocus camera, with impressive light capture, the camera is one of the best cameras in its class of phone. The autofocus is fast, although you have the ability to tap to focus aswell, images can be clicked almost instantly. Video on the other hand is capped at a 720p HD quality, we often wonder why companies do not design the cameras to deliver 1080p, either way, video capture will require a lot of ambient light and indoor video is poor. The front camera is only good enough for low bit video calling , and should solve the purpose unless your friend on the other side is viewing your video on a big screen TV, if so is the case you will look like a character from Minecraft.
The display is a beautiful Super AMOLED display is a Samsung PenTile display which means that two red subpixels, two green subpixels, and one central blue subpixel is placed in each unit cell of the display. In layman words, its an old technology developed by Samsung back in 1990, and is still used in some of their devices. The display matrix arrangement has often received critique, and is not appreciated well. We however, found that the display was able to reproduce color well and had good deep black levels. The display is excellent for viewing video and and playing games. If you have a thing for the “world wide web”, or a bookworm within, then the display is capable of crisp fonts / texts on the screen for easy viewing. Outdoor visibility is low-poor, due to the inherent problems in AMOLED screens.
With limitations to the kind of files that can be played back on the device, it does not compete with an Android device. Bluetooth is locked and file transfer denied, for most of the things. However, whatever Windows can play natively will work on the phone, and you can always sync up using Zune, or Windows Phone Connector. The speaker is loud enough for music and watching movies. The included earphones are above average, but will not satisfy the bassphile.
Phone and Messaging
A capable phone is what the Omnia W turned out to be. The earpiece and mic war loud and clear, and network connectivity was strong. In our standard 3 hour call test the Omnia dropped the call twice exactly at 1 hour 51 mins , both times. No network drop was faced in the overalll testing and we are quite happy with the result.
As we have already stressed enough, the WP7 keyboard is one of the best in the world, we don’t need to say that its really good on the Omnia W. It has predictive text and autocorrect, and it is a super fast keyboard, no complaints. The messaging and email capabilities are good, the OS is connected well to Facebook and Twitter and should serve you well.
Internet, Battery and Operating System
The internet is a domain which is not properly tapped on the Omnia, with limitations of the browser in terms of javascript and flash. That being said it is one of the fastest internet browsers out there. The screen is great for website browsing and even better to read daily news stories from iGyaan. With a host of apps from the marketplace you can actually find your fix for the web.
Battery life is impressive on the Omnia W with upto 2 days of standby and 5 hours of talk time. The battery fares well while gaming and heavy graphic games can be played for a good 2-3 hours. Music playback should last 10 hours while video lasts about 4-5 hours.
The OS is a different playing field in the world of iOS and Android, as we mentioned in our previous Reviews. The interface is one of the cleanest and snappiest out of the lot, and there is no crashing or lagging from the interface even when multiple tasks are running ( Surprising since Windows is the name attached). The marketplace is also ever-growing with a host of applications and games, the future of Windows Phone looks bright. With no access to file sharing over bluetooth and native file compatibility, the closed system may be a let down for some. Samsung has added Video Calling to the OS to make it a little worthwhile. Samsung also offers multiple apps to make the experience a bit better. The included AllShare will allow for you to stream media to other Samsung Devices.
Conclusion
One of the best phones available at the price range, if you are not happy with the Android OS. or the way it looks. Also to consider the OS is as fast and responsive as iOS if not faster. A good smartphone with inbuilt office documentation capabilities and one that supports Microsoft SkyDrive. If you are a true windows junkie, the interconnectivity will impress, the lack of script execution may limit the experience. But overall the phone is a complete mix of Phone, Smartphone and PMP.
Since the massive AD campaign by Nokia for the Lumia series and limited availability, Windows Phone 7.5 based devices have seen a massive boost across the board of HTC and grey market Samsung devices. ConsumerReports states that there has been a 40 % boost in sales of HTC Radar since the announcement of Nokia Lumia devices.
A major cause of this is the high price and almost no stock of the units, Nokia has pushed devices to Nokia priority dealers and are selling the Lumia phones at MRP. With still a few days till stock arrives at major retailers, Samsung is all set to announce the Omnia W today. Lets see if Nokia is actually able to turn around the Windows Phone OS in the Indian market.
A new SMS bug has been found in the Windows Phone 7.5 devices, WP devices that receive a text containing a certain string of characters will reboot and return with a non-functional messaging client which can only be restored via a hard reset. The bug does not affect any particular device, but the OS. The funny bit is that the same bug message could be received via Facebook messenger or MSN messenger.
Android and iOS have had their fair list of SMS bugs, But never one that disables the messaging interface all-together.
There is a lot of buzz about the launch of Nokia Lumia Windows phones, and its possible that Nokia will announce them today at a secret even in the capital.
The Lumia 710’s Specs include
3.7-inch ClearBlack display
Colors :”stealthy black” and “crisp white”
Replaceable back covers
€270, or $375 (INR 18000) possible price
Windows Phone Mango
Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub inbuilt into the OS.
And the Nokia Lumia 800 is supposedly already hitting vendors this friday, we have reports of this phenomenon for about 3 days now.
The Lumia 800
Powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU
12.1mm (0.48-inch) thick polycarbonate plastic
ClearBlack AMOLED (800 x 480) display
Carl Zeiss optics-enhanced Camera
16GB of internal storage
512MB of RAM
25GB of free SkyDrive space
Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub inbuilt into the OS.
Nokia has also announced a Lumia 710 alongside the Lumia 800. It has the same 1.4GHz CPU found in the Lumia 800,
Specs include
3.7-inch ClearBlack display
Colors :”stealthy black” and “crisp white”
Replaceable back covers
€270, or $375 (INR 18000)
Windows Phone Mango
Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub inbuilt into the OS.
Lumia 710 will be available in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November and then Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan by the end of the year, with additional markets in the first part of 2012.
[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Signals new dawn with the launch of Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710, the first Nokia smartphones powered by Windows Phone
Introduces a range of stylish, smart mobile phones, superior Nokia Maps, partnership for co-branded accessories with Monster, and more
London, UK – At Nokia World, the company’s annual event for customers, partners and developers, Nokia demonstrated clear progress on its strategy by unveiling a bold portfolio of innovative phones, services and accessories, including the first smartphones in its Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia range. The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 brings content to life with head-turning design, Nokia’s best social and Internet experience, familiar Nokia elements, such as leading imaging capabilities and new signature experiences. The colorful and affordable Nokia Lumia 710 is a no-nonsense smartphone that brings the Lumia experience to more people around the world.
Nokia also launched four new mobile phones which feature stylish design, a rich social experience and location-aware technology. The Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201 blur the line between smartphones and feature phones, offering QWERTY and touch screen experiences, combined with fast and easy access to the Internet, integrated social networking, messaging and world-class applications from the Nokia Store.
“Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We’re driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “From the Nokia Lumia 800 to the Nokia Asha 201, we are bringing compelling new products to the market faster than ever before. I’m incredibly proud of these new devices – and the people of Nokia who have made this happen.”
“Since Nokia’s major strategic shift only eight months ago, the company has found a new energy. It has provided substantial improvements to Symbian, managed to differentiate on Windows Phone and it continues to build on its strong portfolio in mobile phones,” says Pete Cunningham, Principal Analyst, Canalys. “Nokia is delivering on its pledges, and is clearly demonstrating its path to future success.”
The first Nokia Lumia smartphones First two smartphones based on Windows Phone introduce a range of new experiences designed to make everyday moments more amazing.
Nokia Lumia 710 The purposely built, no-nonsense Nokia Lumia 710 can be personalized with exchangeable back covers and thousands of apps to bring the Lumia experience to more people around the world. The Nokia Lumia 710 is designed for instant social & image sharing, and the best browsing experience with IE9. It is available in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers. With the same 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the Nokia Lumia 800, the Nokia Lumia 710 delivers high performance at an affordable price. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Lumia 710 will be approximately 270 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies.
Both smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface; and Nokia Music introducing MixRadio, a free, global, mobile music-streaming application that delivers hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music. In an update delivered later this year, Nokia Lumia users will also gain the ability to create personalized channels from a global catalogue of millions of tracks. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, providing the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets also coming in the Nokia Music software update delivered later this year.
Completing the ultimate mobile audio offering, Nokia also introduced the on-ear Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster and the in-ear Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster, co-designed and co-developed by Monster, a recognized leader in high performance audio. Both products provide a fresh listening experience and are the first output of the exclusive long-term partnership between Nokia and Monster, intended to introduce a range of premium audio accessories to reflect the outstanding quality and bold style of the Lumia range.
The Nokia Lumia 710 is scheduled to be available first in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year alongside the Nokia Lumia 800, before becoming available in further markets in early 2012.
Nokia also announced its plans to introduce a portfolio of products into the US in early 2012 and into mainland China in the first half of 2012. In addition to the existing products, which include coverage for WCDMA and HSPA, Nokia also plans LTE and CDMA products to address specific local market requirements.[/toggle]
Microsoft has finally made India an official country in the list of Windows Phone Selling countries supported by the company. People who bought WP devices earlier were plagued with activation issues and had to call up Microsoft in the Uk to get activation keys. No longer is the case, even-though almost a year later than its official launch , Microsoft has brought the Mobile OS into our country and with 3 handsets in tow.
The three devices avaiable at launch are
HTC RADAR
SAMSUNG OMNIA W
ACER ALLEGRO
The devices will be available to us soon, and we will have the usual iG business with them.
Nokia had already declared the release of its new lot of Windows Phone 7 devices by the end of the year and looks like it might just hold true to its word. The device also know as the Nokia Sun has been spotted in ad campaign materials by Pocketnow and are now floating all over the internet. Stating “Take, tag, sort and share. All in a flash.” it shows that the devices will be targeted at the socially active youth.
Microsoft has already started seeding the Mango 7.5 builds of Windows phone to existing device holders. The company’s eager to do a much more efficient job , considering they wern’t able to do it properly during the NoDo update.
As far as supported devices go, According to MS almost all phones are covered in their update schedule. The new update brings over 500 new features and additionally allows users to install apps from third party developers without the need of sideloading them. Microsoft confirmed that Internet Sharing — the long-awaited mobile hotspot functionality — will not be available for existing devices. Which may be a big deal breaker for some users.
According to Microsoft’s official Windows Phone Blog, the Windows Phone 7 Mango Update should be available to all existing WP7 devices within another week or two. The Windows Team indicates it won’t be pushed to your phone OTA when the time comes, so you’ll need updated versions of the Zune for PC or Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac installed on your computer.
Looks like this time around the Update may come out the same day, unlike with No-Do when it was over several weeks.
While at the Japanese Microsoft Developers Forum, Microsoft’s CEO confirmed that the next Windows Phone update, codenamed Mango, will add “over 500 new features” to the mobile operating system. Microsoft had earlier detailed the new Mango Update showcasing the basic new features including
Bing Audio
Bing Vision
Turn-by-turn navigation in Bing Maps
Native podcast player
Speech recognition
To name a few, Check out the Video of Steve Ballmer, at the Forum below.
Microsoft’s upcoming “Mango” update is the next exciting thing for all Windows Phone 7 users. Windowsphonesecrets.com revealed the new features of the upcoming update and they seem to be adding quite a few interesting things.
Bing Audio, which will identify songs by listening to music
Bing Vision, which will provide barcode scanning + Camera assisted search
