Software updates for Lumia 920, 820, and 620 on the way

Three of the fairly recent Nokia devices running Windows Phone, which include the flagship Lumia 920, as well as the Lumia 820 and Lumia 620, are set to receive software updates within the coming weeks.



The Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 firmware will be updated to version 1232.5957.1308.00xx, which will have the usual stability and performance fixes, as well as improved automatic brightness adjustment, and a fix for the occasional screen blanking during a call which some users were experiencing.

The Nokia Lumia 620 will be getting a bit more with its 1030.6407.1308.00xx update, including improved touchscreen functions, better voice quality over Bluetooth headsets, and enhanced camera performance when flash is used.

The update should roll out in phases within the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for notifications on your device.

Source | Via

Press image of Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless leaks out

A press image of the previously tipped, long-awaited Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless has made the rounds on Twitter. The Big Red's upcoming Windows Phone 8 flagship will likely be officially released by the end of this month.



As its name mildly suggests, the Nokia Lumia 928 will be closely related to the AT&T exclusive Lumia 920 - it is expected to share the same CPU and display. The Verizon offering however, will one-up its AT&T counterpart by packing a xenon flash in addition to the standard LED one. It is also expected to ditch the 920's polycarbonate unibody for an aluminum outfit.

Source

Windows Phone 7.8 update is now back seeding

Owners of older Windows Phones will be happy to know that Microsoft is finally seeding the latest Windows phone 7.8 update for their devices.

The Windows Phone 7.8 update was previously halted due to bugs with the newly introduced Live Tiles on the homescreen. Users were reporting poor battery life due to a constantly active internet connection by the active tiles on the homescreen.



It seems that now these issues have been patched up. If you have previously updated your phone to WP 7.8, then consider this a bug-fixing release for your phone.

The current Windows Phone 7.5 users however will finally be able to enjoy some new visual features, carried over from Windows Phone 8. The official WP 7.8 release log mentions the Live Titles, some new UI colors, and an updated lockscreen.

Source | Via

Nokia 808 PureView and 701 get a firmware update

If you thought the Symbian platform was already dead, you though wrong. Nokia has just pushed a "Telephony update" for the Symbian OS on Nokia 701 and 808 PureView.

The update is small in size and you can get it over-the-air.



According to the log, the update is called Telephony update and brings "quality improvements". There are no new features to come with it, but the fact that Nokia pushed it probably means you better get it. It will most probably fix those network-switching glitches that some people were experiencing.Source

Microsoft temporarily suspends Windows Phone 7.8 updates

Microsoft has stopped Windows Phone 7.8 updates for the aged Windows Phone smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 800, Lumia 900 and Lumia 610. The company is working to fix a software glitch in the release, but it's unclear how long the suspension will last.



The folks at CNET claim to have received a confirmation for the halt of the update from Nokia as well. According to a representative of the Finnish compnay, the glitch seems to be a minor issue in the Windows Phone 7.8 software and the roll out will resume shortly.

The latest Windows Phone 7.8 update comes with a refreshed home-screen and resizable live tiles. Unfortunately, this seems to be the last major update for the Windows Phone 7.x smartphones as Microsoft has already confirmed that these smartphones will not be getting to taste Windows Phone 8.x.

Source

Nokia announced dual-SIM Asha 310

Nokia has launched a new Asha phone, called the Asha 310. The phone slots in above the current Asha 309 and includes dual-SIM support lacking on the 309.



Other specs remain identical, including a 3-inch, 400 x 240 LCD, 2 megapixel rear camera, 20MB memory with microSD card slot (supports up to 32GB), WI-Fi, Bluetooth and FM Radio. The dual-SIM slot uses Nokia's Easy Swap method that lets you swap SIMs without switching off the phone and remembers profiles for up to five SIM cards.

The Nokia Asha 310 will go on sale in Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa and Brazil starting Q1 2013 for approximately US$102.

Source

Nokia Lumia 720 and 520 coming to the UK on April 1

The Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 got their announcement at the MWC only a couple of days ago, but you can already buy them in the UK.

The superior of the two - Nokia Lumia 720 - can be pre-ordered for £300 right now and is said to start shipping on April 1.



As for the Lumia 520 - it can be yours for £170 and will again ship to buyers on April 1.



And if you like a little up close and personal look at the two - here's our Lumia 720 and Lumia 520hands-ons.

As usual, we are not promoting a specific store, it's always wiser to shop around in search for the best deal.

Source

Lumia 720 and 520 are Nokia's latest smartphones

Nokia's event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is now over and the highlight is the announcement of the Lumia 720 and 520. Both devices pack a dual-core 1 GHz Snapdragon processor (Krait to be precise), run on Windows Phone 8 and share Nokia's many software advancements like Drive, Maps, software lenses, etc.
Nokia Lumia 720

The Lumia 720 sports a 4.3" ClearBlack display of WVGA (800 x 480) resolution with super sensitive touch, which works with gloves, nails, etc. The dual-core processor is coupled with 512 MB of RAM. There's NFC, the battery capacity is 2000 mAh, the phone is 9 mm thick and weighs 128g.

There are 8 gigs on on-board storage and there's a microSD card slot with up to 64GB support. Wireless charging is enabled too.

The camera on the back is a 6.7MP unit with a bright f/1.9 aperture and Carl Zeiss optics.



The device comes in a plastic body - in a variety of colors and exchangeable panels - red, yellow, cyan, magenta, etc. The device will launch in Asia (TD-SCDMA version for China) and in select European countries this quarter for a price of €249 (around $330). Since it lacks LTE, is will most likely skip the US market.
Nokia Lumia 520

The Lumia 520 is the lesser of the two smartphones. It also packs a dual-core 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM but the display is a 4" WVGA IPS LCD with super sensitive touch. The camera on the back is 5 MP, which does 720p video capture.



The Lumia 520 weighs 124g and is 9.9 mm thick.


The Lumia 520

The Lumia 520 will hit the shelves this Q2, too, for $183 starting with China. Later on it will hit the rest of Asia, Europe and T-Mobile in the US.

Source

Nokia announces 105 and 301 feature phones at MWC

Nokia has announced two new feature phones at the MWC, the Nokia 105 and the Nokia 301.
Nokia 105

The Nokia 105 is the company's most affordable phone to date and is priced at just €15. The phone has basic features such as a color display, FM radio, multiple alarm clocks, talking clock, and the mandatory flashlight - all in a dust and splash resistant body.



The Nokia 105 will be sold in black and cyan in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam and other markets in Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe this quarter.
Nokia 301

The Nokia 301 has a slightly more upmarket feel, with a 2.4" display, 3.2 megapixel camera with some camera goodies inspired by the Lenses feature on the Lumia phones. There's a Nokia Xpress Browser on board and 3.5G connectivity.



The Nokia 301 will be available in cyan, black, magenta, yellow and white for €65. The phone will be available in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Middle East and Latin America starting in Q2. There will also be a dual-SIM version of the device.

Source

Nokia to bring out a Lumia device with 41-megapixel sensor

Nokia's 41-megapixel sensor, which was showcased for the first time at MWC 2012, bought a whole new dimension to the cameraphone game. After its recent success with the 808 PureView, Nokia will be bringing its class-leading 41-megapixel sensor to its Lumia lineup.

New reports from The Guardian back up previous rumors that the 41-megapixel Lumia device will be dubbed EOS, and the smartphone is expected to launch in the summer in the US. Unfortunately, there are no confirmations on the specifications of the device yet.



The Lumia EOS is expected to capture images with about 5 megapixel resolution, using oversampling, just like the 808 PureView did in its default Auto mode.

The latest Nokia Lumia 920 comes out with a floating lens technology, which is actual optical image stabilization - a first for a smartphone.

Combining the two technologies could result in a smartphone too tempting for cameraphone lovers to resist, regardless of their opinion on WP8.

Thanks, Adil Usman, for sending this in!

Source

Windows Phone 7.8 is now seeding to Nokia Lumia handsets

The long awaited, highly anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 update has made its way to the first generation Nokia Lumia smartphones. Users of the aforementioned devices should be receiving notification for the new OS version's availability in the coming weeks. The update will be installed via Microsoft Zune desktop software.


Windows Phone 7.8 brings a host of upgrades to the table. They include a brand new homescreen with more customization options, camera extras, and a host of performance enhancements for the first members of the Nokia Lumia lineup.

Nokia has released a promo video with the update. Check it out below.

The Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade will be seeding through February. Its exact availability around the world will be carrier dependent.

Source

Nokia Drive+ Beta now available for all Windows Phone 8 users

Nokia's much awaited turn-by-turn navigation application, Drive+ is now available for free to all Windows Phone 8 users in United States, United Kingdom and Canada.



The application is still technically a beta, but we have already had numerous chances to see that it's actually pretty great and little to no bugs. So as long as you live in one of the three countries above you now gain access to full turn-by turn voice guided navigation, offline maps, speed limit warnings and other conveniences such as day and night modes.

Nokia Drive + has been one of the key advantages of the Nokia Lumia lineup over WP smartphones from other manufactures, so this might have a significant impact on the balance of power in the Microsoft platform.

Nokia Drive+ can be downloaded from the official Windows Phone website. We are yet to hear anything about its availability for other countries, though.

Source | Via

Symbian is officially dead, 808 PureView is the last of its kind

We all knew this was eventually coming, but it's now official. Symbian on Nokia is dead.

Nokia managed to send off the once might platform in style. The 808 PureView will go down in history as the last Symbian device by the Finnish manufacturer.

Nokia announced the news alongside its great Q4 results today, which showed $585 million profit and $10.83 billion in revenue.

During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian. The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.

Symbian OS on Nokia devices has played a key part in the smartphone game over the past ten years, but its significance was severely reduced once the touchscreen revolution started. Some of the most notable phones to come out of Nokia were powered by Symbian - beginning with the 9210 Communicator. TheNokia E61 started a messenger phone hype that peaked with the E71, making Symbian OS the only viable competitor to the then-strong BlackBerry portfolio of messengers.

Then came the cameraphone era, which gave birth to devices like the Nokia N95, which was widely regarded as the king of the smartphone hill in its day. The Nokia N8 came at a time when Symbian was rapidly sliding into irrelevancy but still made a huge splash among camera-lovers with its large sensor and superb image quality. Heck we loved snapping photos with it and it's still the most popular smartphone in our database with over 25 million hits.

Nokia began a shift towards Windows Phone in the beginning of 2011 and starting now Redmond's mobile OS is Nokia's only smartphone platform.

Source (PDF) | Via

Nokia to release a 38MP WP EOS phone this year

The Nokia 808 PureView was the company’s first PureView smartphone and it still holds the throne as the best cameraphone out there, despite the Lumia 920 challenge. It seems that this is about to change though as the company's Windows Phone camp is going to get its own PureView device.



According to the information that The Verge acquired, the device will include a sensor similar to the one inside the 808 PureView and the whole device will be made of aluminum. The latter coincides with the rumor for another upcoiming high-end Nokia Catwalk that’s also going to be made out of aluminum, according to previous reports.

The EOS is going to a high-end Lumia device, but isn’t clear whether it’s the aforementioned Catwalk, that’s going to replace the Lumia 920, or if it’s going to be a completely different animal.

What sources familiar with the matter have confirmed, though, is that AT&T will be offering the EOS, which isn’t much of a surprise considering the carrier's close connections with Nokia. As far as the design of the device goes, it’s believed to keep the square edges of the current Lumia line-up of smartphones.

Source

Windows Phone 7.8 official rollout to start on January 31

We already lost count of all the rumors, confirmations and denials of the Windows Phone 7.8 update. The update itself got so overhyped that we are sure some users will be left disappointed, when it arrives.

Anyway, according to Windows phone Colombia official Facebook page, the Windows Phone 7.8 rollout will begin on January 31.



The date coincides with Microsoft's promised Q1 launch, as well as the fact that there are already updated Lumia smartphones with it, ones that are sold updated and even Samsung fans recently learned that the Omnia updates are complete.

We already got our hands on the Lumia 510 officially running on Windows Phone 7.8 and we've extracted the new features we found so far for you.
Resizable Live Tiles
Bluetooth File transfer
Bing Picture for Lockscreen wallpaper
New theme colors
You can set Google as default search provider in Internet Explorer
New boot screen
Updated system and Nokia exclusive apps
Ringtone maker (also available in the Marketplace)
Counters app (also available in the Marketplace)

The full review is already in the works, while you should expect your phone to get the update itself in 10 days.

Thanks, Bhargav Pinni, for the tip!

Source | Via

Windows Phone 7.8 previewed on a Nokia Lumia 900

Hot on the heels of the leaked Windows Phone 7.8 features from a few days back, a short clip of the update has emerged online, running on Nokia Lumia 900. See it below.

The short clip surely doesn't reveal much, save for the resizable tiles, a la Windows Phone 8. In any case, Windows Phone 7.8 is scheduled to arrive in early 2013, so the wait for the Apollo treatment of your first-generation Lumia shouldn’t be too long.

Thanks to Redsteel for the tip!

Source

Nokia releases three promo videos for the Asha 205 and Asha 206

Nokia has just introduced a couple of new members of its Asha family today and, as the tradition goes in such cases, the company released a few promo videos to demo their strengths.

The QWERTY-packing Nokia Asha 205 had a single clip dedicated to it, while the Asha 206 got two videos. Check them out after the break.

Nokia Lumia 920 may have reached 2.5M orders worldwide

According to a Yahoo China report Nokia has received more than 2.5 million orders for the Lumia 920across the globe, which is more than the entire Lumia lineup sold in Q3 of 2012.

The report also says the Lumia 920 and 820 have been sold out in the United States, Germany, Australia and elsewhere, which goes in check with previous reports of the Lumia 920 being sold out in the US.



In other news Nokia's stock documented a 25% rise yesterday, which is probably mainly due to the positive sales figures of the Lumia range.

Marko Ahtisaari, head of Nokia's Design unit, went on YouTube to talk about the designing of the Lumia 920. Here goes the video.



Source (in Chinese) | Via

Windows Phone 7.8 features leak, release date still a mystery

As the Windows Phone 7.8 release is edging closer, leaks are starting to intensify. Beta builds, Windows Phone 7.8-running Nokia Lumia 510 and promotional materials for the latter – there are plenty sources to feed us with spicy rumors.

The Lumia 510 brochure is the most interesting piece, though it’s in Finnish. It does say the Lumia 510 will have a new Start screen with more available color themes, though. It also confirms the Windows Phone 7.8 won’t be the last firmware update you’ll get, probably to reassure the people who intend to buy the phone that it’s getting long-term support.


Windows Phone 7.8 leaks from various places

The guys over at Winp.ch managed to get their hands on a Windows Phone 7.8-running Lumia 510 and confirmed a few details as well. In addition to the resizable Live Tiles, re-designed system apps (Office, Xbox Games, Store, etc.), 10 new theme colors, we’ll also get a new boot screen matching Windows Phone 8 style and Live Lock Screen Wallpaper, which was previously introduced within Windows Phone 8. There is no info if that one will work with third-party apps though.

In case you are interested the build number of Windows Phone 7.8 is 7.10.8858.136. As the rumor has it, the update is already released to the manufacturers and it shouldn't be long before it starts seeding to the end users.

Source 1 | Source 2

Amazon offers discount off AT&T Lumia 920, 820 and HTC 8X

Amazon US just put up some great deals for three of the new Windows Phone 8-powered smartphones in the states. You can get the AT&T’s Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820 or HTC Windows Phone 8X at half their original asking price.

AT&T is charging $99.99 for the Lumia 920 on a 2-year contract, while Amazon is giving you the flagship smartphone for $69.99 (previously $49.99). The Lumia 820 goes for $49.99 in the AT&T stores, while Amazon wants just $0.01 for it.



Unfortunately Amazon offers discounts only on the 8GB version of the HTX 8X. Instead of charging you $99.99, Amazon sells the smartphone for $39.99.

So, if you live in the US and want to switch to Windows Phone 8, now seems to be a good moment to do it.

Source | Via