Articles about Nokia

I have twice now written of my foray into Windows Phone 8, via the Nokia Lumia 928. During my last article I promised a deep-dive into the platform, but have since reconsidered this, as there is really nothing to say that has not already been written. You know of the apps and the lack of them -- you know the specs and, if you have used a handset, then you know where everything is and how to use it. In short, I would be wasting my breath...ahh...words.

I have resided in the Android world for sometime, first with a Droid X and most recently with the Galaxy Nexus. I remain there in the tablet world, currently owning an Asus MeMO, Kindle Fire HD and the new Nexus 7 -- the latter of which my son relieved me of. I love them all, but my phone of choice has changed.

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Verizon subscribers who are in the market for a free, on-contract smartphone now have two more options to choose from, as the US mobile operator just lowered the price of the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 928 from $99.99 to zero, when purchased alongside a two-year agreement.

It is worth noting that the Windows Phone 8X and the Lumia 928 join the likes of the LG Lucid, Pantech Marauder and Samsung Stratosphere II in being offered for free alongside a two-year contract with big red. Unlike the HTC and Nokia-branded devices, none of the other three handsets are high-end smartphones.

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Even with all the technological advancement in smartphone operating systems, minor features like call blocking are still absent on some modern-day devices. My Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone offers no such functionality, which would definitely come in handy when pranksters are calling in the middle of the night.

The reason for this oversight, in the case of the Lumia 920, is that Microsoft has not baked in a call-blocking feature in Windows Phone 8. But, thankfully, Finnish maker Nokia took matters into its own hands and just released an update for its exclusive extras+info app, which brings the basic yet important functionality, alongside SMS blocking, to part of its Windows Phone 8 lineup.

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When Nokia unveiled the Lumia 1020, during its "Zoom.Reinvented" press event held in mid-July, the Finnish maker announced that its camera-oriented Windows Phone will initially only be available in the US. Prospective international buyers would have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the new smartphone, with the provided estimate being Q3 -- pretty vague for a launch date -- for China and important European markets.

Good news! UK retailers Clove and Expansys have started taking pre-orders for the Lumia 1020, allowing interested buyers to get the new Windows Phone as soon as it is available -- according to the former, the first batch is expected to arrive in the first week of September. And, both UK retailers offer international shipping, which should come in handy for some.

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While Android users are tightly integrated with Google Search, Windows Phone 8 users are even more tightly integrated with Bing. Heck, there is even a button that is dedicated to launching Bing Search. Today, the Bing Team announces that the search engine-related functionality is getting a brand new makeover to improve the experience on Windows Phone 8.

According to the Bing Team, the company will "...roll out a set of global updates for Windows Phone 8 similar to recent upgrades we've made to Bing.com on Android and iOS. With this release, we're excited to provide people with more info they need on their mobile device, including additional instant answers and Snapshot entity information". While this update is appreciated, it is disappointing that Microsoft gave similar updates to Android and iOS first.

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Nokia has released a new video comparing the quality of the Lumia 925’s camera with that of the Apple iPhone 5. You don’t need to be a genius to guess which device comes out the clear winner.

Headed "Better Photos Every Day" the video might seem more than a little familiar on first viewing as it parodies Apple's iPhone 5 commercial and starts with a voiceover informing viewers that "every day more photos are taken on the iPhone than any other phone" before stating "at Nokia we prefer to build for quality not just quantity".

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A common complaint addressed to Windows Phone 8, which is coming from users of the tiled smartphone operating system, the tech media or those who like other platforms, is the lack of an official Instagram app. Even though third-party clients like Instance -- which now has over 330,000 users -- prove that the popular photo and video-sharing network has its fair share of fans on Windows Phone 8, Instagram has yet to be persuaded to build a homebrew app. Let's not even approach the rumors, none of which have yet to bear fruit.

In my opinion, the lack of an official Instagram app for Windows Phone 8 is an issue blown out of proportion. Instance is a competent third-party client and, by the looks of it, the upcoming 6tagram is shaping up to be an ever better offering than any other non-official app available for the tiled smartphone OS. I have been using 6tagram for the past couple of days -- it is still in beta at the moment -- to tell you what you can expect after the public launch.

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Starting tomorrow, most Windows Phone 8 devices will be unable to sync Gmail calendar and contacts entries though new connections, as Google officially drops support for Exchange ActiveSync in its consumer-oriented email service. The search giant initially revealed that EAS would be ditched after January 30, but decided to give Microsoft a six-month reprieve, which ends today, to give the company time to implement CalDAV and CardDAV (the two protocols required for calendar and contacts sync, respectively) support in its tiled smartphone operating system, before finally pulling the plug.

New handsets, like the Nokia Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020, already ship with the Windows Phone 8 version (known as GDR2) which adds CalDAV and CardDAV support. However, the necessary update has yet to be rolled-out to the majority of older smartphones, like my Lumia 920 for instance (according to user reports, it is available on the unbranded HTC Windows Phone 8X), a delay which potentially affects most Windows Phone 8 users, if device market share is of any indication.

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Following ten days of pre-orders, the Nokia Lumia 1020 is now finally available for purchase at US mobile operator AT&T. Through its online store, the Windows Phone 8 handset can be had for $299.99, on a two-year agreement. Other plans are also available, including the new AT&T Next. The smartphone is not yet offered at the mobile operator's brick and mortar locations.

Subscribers who want to get the Lumia 1020 through the AT&T Next program have to shell out $33 per month, over the course of 20 months. Alternatively, folks can pay the fees and, in a year (or, every 12 months), trade in their existing handset for a new one.

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Starting today, the Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone is available at US mobile operator AT&T, with the GoPhone program. Subscribers can pick up the smartphone, without a contract, but on a pre-paid plan, for a mere $99.99.

The Lumia 520 is Nokia's entry-level Windows Phone 8 device, and offers pretty appealing specifications for the money: 4-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 480 by 800, 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 512 MB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, as the main highlights.

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Earlier today, following the "something BIG" teaser, Finnish maker Nokia took the wraps off a 4.7-inch, entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset, called Lumia 625. The new device features the largest panel that the company ever offered alongside the tiled smartphone operating system.

The Lumia 625 packs a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 480 by 800 (201 pixels per inch density), that can be operated using gloves, and is powered by a 1.2 Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 512 MB of RAM and a non-removable 2,000 mAh battery. The device comes with 8 GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot (can extend the capacity by a further 64 GB).

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AT&T GoPhone allows customers to pickup no-contract phones, including smartphones, on a pre-paid plan. Now the mobile carrier is adding the Nokia Lumia 520 to the program beginning July 26.

The handset, which was announced back in February, has a four-inch screen, 8 GB of storage and is running on a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor.

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On Monday, Finnish maker Nokia teased that "something BIG" will be unveiled tomorrow, on its blog, at 9 AM BST. At a first glance, the message can only mean one of two things -- either the company will announce a large device or reveal a pretty important upcoming app release.

Judging by the posted teaser (you can see the attached photo here), that is called "orange", the Finnish maker could also be hinting at an orange-colored version of one of its existing handsets.

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I have never had a single thing against Windows Phone, nor iOS for that matter, but I embraced the Android ecosystem early on, with much invested in apps. Alright, "much" may be a stretch -- I can not imagine it is more than $50 total, but paid software still means money spent, and I am not known as Mr. Big-Spender.

For the past month I have been taking the Windows Phone challenge -- my Nexus is put aside, SIM card removed and currently residing within the confines of a Nokia Lumia 928.

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After receiving constant criticism for betting its future on Windows Phone, instead of adopting Google's widely-popular Android, Finnish maker Nokia posts record Lumia sales, proving to naysayers that choosing Microsoft's smartphone operating system was not a bad call after all.

Nokia's latest financial results show that the company sold 7.4 million Lumias in Q2 2013. This translates to an 85 percent increase over the 4 million units which the Finnish maker moved in Q2 2012, and is 32 percent higher compared to the numbers -- 5.6 million -- posted by the company in the previous quarter.

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