Lumia 920 and 820 Brings Sexy Back for Nokia

Stephen Elop has just recently taken the stage to announce to the world that Nokia is here to cause "future disruptions" in the mobile phone market. Nokia's final swing in their fight for survival has been announced. The Lumia 920 will have a PureView camera with PureMotion HD+ and the ability to recharge the phone wirelessly. PureMotion HD+ will enhance the clear black display technology with sensors that adjust screen brightness and tone in response to the sun glare.

Location services and apps such as the augmented reality City Lens, will be part of the Nokia innovation that hopes to make some inroad on what is increasingly becoming the Android / iPhone duopoly. The battery will be a 2000mAh battery and a processor that will use the battery more efficiently. The battery has the ability to recharge wirelessly which is a first in the mobile phone technology race. Nokia is also working with various establishments to provide wireless charging stations for users in what may be a sign of things to come in the future.

The Windows 8 operating system will enable the live tiles to be resized, so that you can know more of what is going on in one glance. As the world starts to adopt Windows 8 on their computers, the natural decision would be to switch to the same operating system for their phones.

The ability to take a screenshot was demonstrated by Microsoft's Joe Belfiore and posted to twitter during the live webcast. There  you have the first ever tweeted screenshot from a Windows Phone 8 device.

The camera will also enable you to take a photo and then from the click of the camera shutter, upload the photo to the Skydrive and modify the photo whilst the photo is taken. The various "lenses" will help users do more with the camera then ever before.

From the design perspective, the Lumia 920 will showcase the latest in their polycarbonate casing, a stronger glass and the fastest and brightest LCD screen on a mobile phone with a WXGA display. The phone also has "super sensitive touch" which will help you to use the phone even whilst using your phone with gloves or mits! There's something you can't do with other phones on the market!

The technology built in the Lumia 920 camera is simply scary! The optical image stabilisation technology as well as a sensor that brings in more light than ever before in a camera phone. Something we can't really show you here because it probably has to be experienced to believe. There was just so much in the announcement that we can't cover here but suffice to say, the Nokia Lumia 920 has me very interested! It is something I haven't said about a Nokia phone for quite a while. Truth be told I am now using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7 tablet after using Nokia phones all my life.

After such a short time away, is it time to change back?

Ex-Nokia Staff Starting N9 Based New Mobile Company

The makers of the Nokia N9 and the brains behind the MeeGo operating system have only just recently walked out the door of Nokia Headquarters to an uncertain future. However, rumours are taking shape that a company called Jolla is going to continue developing and then launching a new MeeGo phone by the end of the year.

PR1.3 Soon Available for N9

Good news coming from swipe.nokia.com is that the new firmware update for the Nokia N9 will soon be available. They are rolling out the update to phones around the world starting with the unbranded ones. So if you have a N9, keep an eye on your events screen or go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications to monitor available updates.

Lumia updates on the way to WP8

It hasn't been long we've had Windows Phone 7 and now there is the announcement that Microsoft will bring out WP8. For existing Lumia users, there will be an update coming soon which upgrades your WP7 to WP7.8 which includes most of the new features found in the WP8 phones. Windows Phone 8 will include new NFC technology that is currently available in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and SIII phones. There will be a new start screen and multi-core chips in the phones. Microsoft also announced that soon Lumia users will be able to join everyone else in a game of Words with Friends or Draw Something, if that game is still being played at that time. Nokia Transport and Nokia Drive 3.0 are also on their way. You'll for example be able to see on your home screen how long it is going to take for you to get home based on live traffic data. You will also be able to manually adjust your route as you like.

Nokia Pureview Comes Out in May

Nokia today confirmed that the Nokia 808 PureView will start rolling out in select markets in May. The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature Nokia's award-winning PureView technology. PureView allows users to take photos using the insanely designed sensor and Carl Zeiss optics using Nokia imaging algorithms. The first markets to begin selling the Nokia 808 PureView unfortunately will not include Australia but will be in Nokia heartland - Russia and India.

The phone is capable of a ridiculous 38MP!!! The camera is able to take photos very well even in low light which sets it apart from most phone cameras. Since the Nokia N8 came out, there still has not been a camera on a phone as good as the N8. Now, Nokia will continue to trounce the market with Nokia Pureview - the most exciting product to be announced by Nokia in a long time. Keep your eyes open for this one. 

Amazing Everyday begins in Sydney

If you happen to live in Sydney, you may have noticed new Lumia billboards beckoning at people walking past to experience a little Amazing today. 

These ads can be found at Martin Place, Pitt St, Darling Harbour, the Haymarket and Circular Quay. If anyone has noticed the recent announcements about Windows 8, the tile format will be sure to steer millions of mobile users into the direction of Nokia's WP7 phones such as the Lumia 800. 

Harvey Norman Offers 1 Month Trial of Nokia

In an interesting offer that shows the confidence Harvey Norman has in the new Lumia devices, customers are given 30 days money back guarantee that allows them to buy a Lumia and return it 30 days later if they are not completely satisfied with it. For those that are interested in having a go at the Lumia for 30 days, head to your nearest Harvey Norman store. They are currently selling the Lumia at $627.

What 12 Firmware Improvements Immediately Noticed in PR 1.2?

Australia now has PR 1.2 for the Nokia N9. I've just upgraded my Nokia N9 to the 1.2 release which took almost an hour to get all the updates installed. Here are some of the things I have noticed about the 1.2 update:

• The update did not wipe out my apps, phone calls or sms which is always good. 
• The speed of the phone seems to be the same as before
• Swype is MUCH faster than before
• Facebook icon on the top status bar shows up when there are Facebook notifications
• Twitter problems which were referred to in this blog earlier have been fixed. Before installing the 1.2 update, my twitter application was broken again and I hadn't gotten around to fixing it (again). Thank God for the 1.2 update then! 
• The new Nokia font doesn't get noticed.. UNTIL you look at your notifications screen in which case you think, wow, that looks so much better! 
• Sound effects added to the swipe down to close gesture
• Drive app now has an overview icon in the bottom right corner which gives you the ability to zoom out of your current view to see a context view of the map
• Maps app includes Favourites which allow you to "star" some of your favourite locations
• Front facing camera hasn't been tried out yet - can't enable it for camera
• Cut, Copy and Paste are available (see below)

So what have you noticed about PR 1.2?

What does the PR 1.2 for N9 changelog include?

According to Wikipedia, here is a list of improvements we should see in the 1.2 update for the Nokia N9 but the question is, which of these did you really appreciate? Would love to hear your thoughts. There are supposed to be about  3500 improvements including:

• fixed 122 bugs reported by users from all over the World in public bugtrucker
• DLNA support (for music sharing)
• folders on the "Home Screen"
• universal copy/paste
• faster codecs for video coded in H.264 standard,^[50]
• USB On-The-Go (AKA USB OTG) which will allow various accessories to be attached such as keyboards, mice, and external memory and many other improvements^{[citation needed]}
• quick change of flash LED in foto mode, also quick change of LED in video camera mode, w/o leaving application (camera)
• better playing H.264 video
• search option for Microsoft Exchange mailing
• VPN support
• bigger interliny for system fonts
• graphic element for confirmation informing that a software is to be closed
• improved Facebook client
• DropBox account support
• improvements in built-in browser
• improvements in camera supporting application
• improvements in Gallery application
• improvements in Nokia Music application

Here's the N9 1.2 firmware changes posted on Maemo.org


General
1 Folders. To rename a folder press and hold inside the created folder to see a space to type the name.
2 Default font changed. Including height and weight.
3 Contact Book has the 'Search' bar visible by default.
4 Each Contact Book entry now has wording "Synct to - MFE - <email address>". This isnt 'clickable' and seems odd as it takes up quite a bit of space without clear functionality.
5 IM Availability screen has been changed. It is now dark themed.
6 Searching for contacts has been optimised and now allows you to search in Skype from the same screen.
7 Swype keyboard now has bigger keys. Cant emphasise how great of an update this is. Also they seem to have fixed the "P" bug in swype. Previously starting a word with P in swype resulted in the keyboard being swiped. This no longer happens.
8 Turning off the device causes the LED to stay on. Once it goes off the device can be turned on again.
9 All UI menus have changed from white grey to black grey. 
10 Support for D-Pad arrows.

Homescreen/Standby Screen
1 LED now 'breathes' when the device is being charged.
2 Facebook/Twitter notifications on the home screen.
3 Swiping down to close an app now results in a dark shadow being cast on the open window. I suppose this is to indicate the swipe will close the app? Nice touch.
4 Closing an app no longer results in the app appearing in the multi tasking window for a split second before closing.
5 Disable Backgound connection for mobile data connection (ie. if you want to allow only WLAN to be used for bg connection).

Web
1 Copy and paste in the Browser.
2 Most visited links on the Browser now has the top 2 visited sites in Bold and same size. (see image)
3 Opening and closing a link from a browser sends you back to the original page as oppose to the multi tasking window.


Media
1 Video Calling (more details needed)
2 Camera improvement (Shortcut to enable/disable flash, New filters for video recording? and an option to turn on flash whilst recording)
3 Gallery Improvement (Face tagging)
4 Some new Wallpapers inserted in Gallery?
5 Media Sharing. Support for DLNA enabled devices (not tested)
6 More image editing options in the Gallery.
7 Selecting multiple files in the image gallery causes a purple haze to appear over the images. Previously only a purple outline was used.
8 Music. Now you can delete a music file straight from the media player.
9 Music Player supports Playlist making
10 Support for Dropbox

Email
1 Email. The words "up-to-date" now appear when a mailbox has been synced in the last 1 minute.
2 Threaded email.
3 Email. A failure to sync an inbox now shows a red arrow on the notification bar. 

Maps
1 Improved scrolling in most apps. Including the Ovi/Nokia Market. Though lag still appears unexpectedly.
2 Drive. The Drive App now has imported all the Favourites from the Maps application. Also the panning/zooming is much smoother. I also note that street names now re-flow with you to ensure you can always see the street names.

Bugs/lacking features that still annoy me
1 Twitter. Still unable to retweet in the official app. 
2 Facebook App still missing "Groups". 
3 After editing a photo it still takes a while for the "Share" button to appear for that particular image.

What improvements have changed the way you use your N9? what's left to do? 

N9 now has PR1.2

Word is spreading around the world as some countries report that their Nokia N9 has finally received the PR 1.2 firmware update. Finland, Brazil and Sweden Nokia N9 users have reported the firmware has appeared on their phones. No news yet from other Australian fans.

Not sure how to check if your N9 phone has the update?

Go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> tap on the bottom right icon -> tap on the top righ icon to refresh. 

Have you got the N9 firmware update? let us know what you think of it.

Meego WP7 then Ice Cream Sandwich

Well there seems no doubt that work is well underway to bring us an N9 with an Ice Cream Sandwich Android operating system which will add to the confusion people already have from the Lumia and N9 using the same phone design. Android developer Alexey Roslykov is single-handedly bringing to N9 users the option of installing the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system to their N9, creating a phone that can be turned on to Meego or Android. You can follow his progress here. Alexey has posted a video of the N9 running Android but it's still under development.

Nokia Australia Lumia Videos

Nokia Australia is preparing for a 2012 March into the Australian market with intro videos of the Lumia 800 already available as people are expected to youtube the Lumia 800 which is being released into the Aussie outback in just two weeks from today. Complete with an Australian accent, these videos seem to target those that are relatively new to smartphones, explaining the key features of the Lumia 800 as well as relating the features back to things that the viewer may be able to understand, like Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer which almost everyone is familiar with. What do you think of the videos?

Messaging
   


Nokia Drive - how to use navigation, check the map and leave reviews


 Browsing - features of Internet Explorer, sharing websites etc  


Microsoft Office - why you need a phone with Word, Excel and Powerpoint built in with Skydrive and sharing  


 Apps and Games
 


Music & Entertainment - with mix radio, how to buy tickets to concerts and camera features

Amazing Everyday in Denmark for Lumia

Once again another interesting marketing strategy out of the Nokia bag as they transformed a dull walkway in Denmark to an unexpected pick-me-up. Check it out. At least it would put a smile on your face :)

A Swiper's Guide to the Lumia 800

The swipe concept that we all love in the Nokia N9 has been a major talking point amongst users, so it is interesting to take a swipe at how the Lumia uses 'swipe' in its interface. 

Generally, swipe not been fully implemented in all it's glory on the Lumia 800. The main home interface of tiles can only be swiped to the left to reveal a more detailed menu of tiles. To get to the multitasking screen, you need to hold down the "Back Arrow" virtual button on the bottom left of the phone which reveals all the open applications or screens. However, many of the applications do use the swipe to get between various screens. For example: 

Swipe in People - This tile brings together your different social media worlds to one integrated view. The swipes give you the following views: 

What's New (tweets / facebook updates) -> Recent (calls / text) -> All (phone and facebook contacts)

Swipe in Messaging - In Messaging, you can swipe across from your SMS threaded conversations to reveal your online messaging such as facebook etc. This makes the integration between social media and real life text messaging much easier. 

Swipe in Marketplace - Swipe between 

Applications -> Games -> Music 

and within these options, you can swipe between applications that are 

Featured -> Categories -> New -> Top. 

Swipe in Camera Mode - When you are taking photos, you can swipe across to the right to see your previous photos / videos taken which makes it easier to review captured media without pressing buttons (which we now hate doing thanks to the N9). 

Swipe in Calendar - You can have a look at what your day looks like, then swipe to check out your agenda overview of your week, and then swipe one more time to check out your To-Do list. Much faster!

Swipe in Emails - Swipe between All your emails, Unread emails, and those classified Urgent. However swipe does not take you from one email to another which requires you to press the forward and back buttons on the screen. 

Swipe in facebook - This has  made Facebook browsing on the Lumia a little more interesting as you can swipe across from the News Feed to 

Photos -> Events -> Notifications -> Profile.

So there you have it, a quick overview of the future of swipe in Microsoft Phone 7 phones. There could be changes in later updates so a lot of that depends on your feedback. What swipes do you think must be included? 

Nokia Belgium Brings Amazing to Everyday Commuters

Imagine waking up on a normal work day and catching the same bus to get on the same train and again forgetting to have your breakfast. As your usual train reaches your usual stop, you get off in the usual way, pushing through the crowd and then you see this..


 Nokia takes its message about the Nokia Lumia 800 to the train station, concealing yummy cupcakes in Lumia advertising to promote Nokia's commitment to make every day amazing. This promotion has left many around the world asking for the sweet taste of a new Lumia phone promotion in their own city. Edit: Nokia Ireland have been seen giving out these Amazing cookies. What's happening in your city?

Lumia 800: A more practical look (ongoing review)

I've always said that if a phone is designed well, there isnt too much of a need for lots of apps. The Lumia 800 takes this theme to the test with a fully integrated social media experience that makes us wonder why not all phones are being designed in this way.

The Lumia 800 unashamedly looks very similar to the N9 but unlike the N9, this phone has the weight of a whole company riding on its back and is the flag bearer for Nokia's future with Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.

The start up time for the Lumia 800 is much faster than the N9 and the phone seems to utilize it's 1.4Ghz CPU well to keep the phone snappy and responsive. By now you have probably read the usual reviews about the Lumia 800 but here it is from a Nokia N9 user.


PROS - Little things that impress


The Tiles - there is a lot of potential on the first screen that you see with the Lumia 800. Each tile flickers with either information or photos. I haven't explored this completely but I the People tile seems to show photos of people in your contact list / facebook aand the Me tile shows you the most recent notificaiton from Twitter / Facebook relating to you. The Pictures shows recently taken photos.


Swipe - In some ways, the Nokia Lumia 800 has applied swipe gestures more in the applications but less in the general interface of the phone. Perhaps Microsoft wanted the Microsoft button to do something central in the Lumia to signal their new role in the Nokia phones. Anyway, we'll talk more about the swipe in the Lumia another time suffice to say it seems like two steps forward and one step back in the use of swipe.

Group SMS - you can create a home tile which has a group of friends. This allows you to tap the tile and text everyone in the group at the same time. When the sms is sent out, the phone does not create 5 versions of the same SMS to appear for each contact but lists the recipients at the top of the one text in the same way emails do normally. This is one step forward in the right direction.

Navigation - The Nokia Map and Drive applications look very similar to the N9's version except the Lumia 800 doesn't allow you to rotate the map in the way the N9 supports. The drive app is very easy to use and those that have never had a look at the Nokia navigation system will be blown away. This will put Tomtom Garmin and Navman all out of business!

CONS - Little things that disappoint 


Contacts Transfer to Lumia from N9 - Had some problems with the Lumia's contacts transfer thinking that the N9 and Lumia would talk to each other pretty smoothly. Instead, the sync failed three times half way through leaving me some of my contacts not copied over and a plethora of <unnamed> items in the phone book. Add to that the fact that there is no "delete all" function in the Lumia, I felt this was a bad start.

Google v Microsoft - One concern that keeps coming up for me with Nokia is this insistence that users choose their allegiance, either you go Microsoft or Google. Google or Bing. Gmail or Hotmail. The Lumia 800 calendar allows you to add your Google account but it doesn't give you the chance to bring in all the calendars in your Google account. Google Docs doesn't seem to work well either and forget about Google Maps when you use the Lumia 800. If Nokia wants to beat Google, they need to accept the fact that people are using Google and transition them over to Nokia's ecosystem.
Eg - allow importing Google Docs to Skydrive, Google Maps to Nokia Maps, Gmail emails checked by Windows Live. At the time of writing, I still had difficulty bringing in my Google Calendar entries into the Lumia 800.

Nokia Maps - Perhaps it will take time but it seems that the search engine for places in Nokia Maps is quite lacking. I searched for a famous cafe in Perth The Imp and it ended up calling the same restaurant Lmp. Perhaps in the future the search results can link to websites like Urbanspoon etc to keep information on the maps more current.

Camera - Full focus (or touch focus as it's called) camera, not auto focus. Photos will be taken faster but not as clear as say the Nokia N8. Full HD 1280 x 720 30 FPS video recording is a lot of fun!

So what do YOU think? Are you a N9 user, looking to buy a Lumia or recently got one? I'll add more to this review but for now leave your comments below and give you an opportunity to shape my next chapter. Stay tuned.

How to update firmware on N9

To update your N9's firmware, all you need to do is head over to your notifications screen on your phone and click on DEVICE UPDATE. This will give you an opportunity to create a backup before you install the new firmware. Then press Update Device Software. If the update does not appear on the notification screen, it's not yet available to you.

Lumia 800 arrives in Australia in March (but we'll have it next week)

Nokia's first big launch of the Lumia 800 in Australia will be in March 2012. For those that own a Nokia N9, the Lumia 800 is the Windows Phone 7 version of the Nokia N9. The Lumia 800 incorporates the best OS that Windows can offer with what you all know to be the best hardware build for a mobile phone in the Nokia N9. 

We'll be trialling the Lumia 800 and comparing it with the N9 as well as the Samsung Galaxy S2 so stay tuned!

N9 not Getting out of Standby

After a while of inactivity, we all know that the phone goes blank and shows the standby screen. I chose to have the standby screen off. However, occasionally when I press the power button to re-activate the phone, it does not respond, leaving the display completely black. I presume if you had the standby screen, the clock and the black background would remain. The only solution to this I've found was to plug in the charger or usb cable as this somehow wakes up the phone. However, obviously the usb cable is not always on hand in which case, I hold the power button down for a long time to turn the phone off and then turn it back on. 


Has this happened to you?