Nokia's new mid-range, WP8-packing Lumia 822 coming to Verizon
Before the public unveiling of Windows Phone 8, Nokia on Monday introduced the Lumia 822 smartphone. Sporting the latest mobile operating system from Microsoft, the Lumia 822 will be exclusively available at Verizon Wireless.
The Nokia Lumia 822 will feature 4G LTE connectivity with up to 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload speeds. It has a 4.3-inch display with an 800 by 480 resolution, and a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM. On top of the 16GB of internal storage, the Lumia 822 comes with a microSD card slot which can offer up to 64GB of extra storage. As it usually happens with high-end Nokia devices, a Carl Zeiss lens is onboard for the dual-LED 8 megapixel back-facing camera which is capable of 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second. On the front, there is a 1.2MP HD camera that can shoot 720p video.
Nokia announces Lumia 510, the little guy of the family
Ahead of the public unveiling of the new Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system, Nokia has unleashed the Lumia 510. It's the Finnish company's entry-level smartphone, which surprisingly runs Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and is priced to take on less expensive devices, a decidedly different market from its bigger brother the Lumia 920.
With a suggested retail price of $199 (before any tax or operator subsidy) the Nokia Lumia 510 is packed with a 4-inch TFT display with an 800 x 480 resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor with 256MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel auto-focus back-facing camera with VGA video recording, 4 GB of internal storage. As far as connectivity goes, it comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, A-GPS, and HSDPA/WCDMA cellular radios. For the 1300mAh removable battery Nokia quotes 38h of music playback, 8.4h of 3G talk time and 6.2h of talk time using 2G networks.
Don't wait until October 29, pre-order Windows Phone 8 NOW!
In seven days, Microsoft launches Windows Phone 8 in San Francisco. But you need not wait that long. Some retailers are already taking pre-orders (and even postponing them). HTC Windows Phone 8X is available for $99.99 on AT&T, while Nokia Lumia 920 is $149.99. Best Buy offered both today, but the Lumia since disappeared, presumably sold out. It's available elsewhere, unlocked and contract-free, for considerably more.
The Nokia handset will be available in the United States exclusively from AT&T -- that is subsidized. Mobile City Online is among the retailers carrying the international version, there for $699.99. Note that international model is unlocked but has HSPA+ instead of LTE. T-Mobile and Verizon will also carry the HTC phone. None of the retailers I checked this afternoon list arrival times, which, based on earlier manufacturer product announcements, will be November.
Everything Everywhere launches 4G LTE on October 30
Six weeks ago, United Kingdom communications regulator Ofcom granted Everything Everywhere the right to roll out 4G LTE over its existent 1800MHz wireless spectrum. Starting October 30, the new brand along with its 4G LTE services will launch in the UK market.
The carrier will deploy 4G LTE in 10 cities, a number increasing by six before the end of the year, which equates to one-third of the UK population. Everything Everywhere also revealed a longer-term plan to reach 98 percent coverage by 2014.
Nokia takes a weak stab at iPhone 5 with latest Lumia 920 ad
Is the iPhone 5 a victim of its own success? After Samsung posted a new video ad from its "The Next Big Thing is Already Here" campaign, the former largest smartphone manufacturer, Nokia tries to pull the same trick with its latest video, marketing the company's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Lumia 920.
Named "Nokia Lumia 920 - Time to #switch," the cartoon-like ad portrays iPhone 5 future owners queuing to purchase the latest smartphone bearing the fruit company logo, which is similar to the Korean manufacturer's approach, yet unlike Samsung, who played the better featured/already have it card, Nokia uses colors trying to market its own product against the iPhone 5. Is color differentiation going to have an impact on Windows Phone and Nokia's fate in a market that has consolidated around Apple and Android smartphones?
HTC's new Windows Phone 8 smartphones mimic Microsoft's tile interface
Wednesday, longtime Windows smartphone maker HTC debuted two new flagship Windows Phone devices which were designed to showcase Microsoft's latest mobile OS Windows Phone 8. The new smartphones, called the Windows Phone 8X and 8S, carry the same bright external colors of Nokia's Lumia series Windows Phones, but use HTC's technology and design prowess to make the devices stand out on their own.
Similar to the HTC One X in the speed and power department (dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 8 megapixel camera), the Windows Phone 8X has a 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 display with Corning's Gorilla Glass 2, 16 GB of internal storage, and an improved 2.1 megapixel forward-facing camera with 1080p video capture and an 88 degree wide-angle lens.
Will you buy Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone?
Nokia's fortunes and the future of Windows Phone tie to one device: Lumia 920 running Windows Phone 8. The Finnish handset maker revealed the smartphone yesterday in a joint announcement with Microsoft. This is the Windows phone you waited for, or did you? Perhaps you already gave up and bought Android or iPhone. What I want to know on this sunny September day: Will you buy Lumia 920? If so, when -- and why? If not, why not?
Nokia and Microsoft need Lumia 920 and sibling 820 to succeed. Once the global phone leader, Nokia is now second to Samsung. During Q2, Nokia's global sales share fell to 19.9 percent from 22.8 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner. Meanwhile Microsoft's mobile platform share rose to 2.7 percent from 1.6 percent. But that's behind Samsung's Bada. Combined, Android and iOS have 82.9 percent share, forming a near impenetrable barrier of the likes Microsoft has never seen. Like Windows on PCs, Android and iOS command a broad ecosystem of applications, peripherals, developers, retailers and other services or providers.
Meet Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone
Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia on Wednesday morning announced the latest smartphone in the Lumia family, the Nokia Lumia 920, which is the company's flagship Windows Phone 8 device. The device bears a strong physical resemblance to the previous Lumia flagship devices, but this time around, Nokia has innovated in design rather than simply overload with more powerful specs, and it showed off its innovations today by unveiling some exclusive new apps and capabilities.
The Lumia 920 has a 4.5" (1280 x 768) WXGA display, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage and an 8.7 Megapixel rear-facing camera/1.2 Megapixel forward facing camera combo, the internal specs are good, but not insane top-of-the-market specs like those provided by Android smartphone makers.
Samsung is dateless and desperate on prom night
A soap opera. That's how I would describe this week's revelation that Samsung is cozying up to Microsoft and the forthcoming Windows Phone 8. Still stinging from its recent court loss to Apple, the South Korean juggernaut appears to be hedging its Android bets by embracing one of the two remaining underdogs in the mobile OS race (the other being Research in Motion).
No matter how you slice it, Samsung's executives are running scared. And who can blame them? Apple will do whatever it takes to crush the little green man from Mountain View (it's a Jobsian legacy thing). And the fact that its chief hardware rival is getting squeezed in the process is simply gravy.
Microsoft codename 'Schnauzer Spittle' revealed
Call it life imitating art. One of my favorite pastimes is watching technology trends catch up with popular science fiction. Whether it's smartphones and tablets presaging Star Trek's ubiquitous communicators and PADDs or iRobots and Roombas hinting at our Star Wars maintenance droid-enabled future, I enjoy connecting the dots between various technology developments to see how they point the way towards a sci-fi inspired future.
Take this week, for example. Three seemingly unrelated stories -- Microsoft patenting "life streaming", Facebook tweaking the performance of its iOS app and the announcement of a Nokia-led alliance to promote more accurate indoor location services -- may together lay the foundation for myriad fantastical future applications.
Nokia and Windows Phone are misfits
Some relationships aren't meant to be. That's how I felt about Microsoft and Nokia when they announced their partnership in February 2011. You've seen some of my missives: "Nokia does the Windows Phone death dance" (April), "Windows Phone can't save Nokia" (February) and "Windows Phone transition is killing Nokia" (July 2011), among others. Let's not forget the memorable "Windows Phone 7 Series is a lost cause", from February 2010.
The problem is simple: Microsoft's usage philosophy around Windows Phone is fundamentally flawed and doesn't jive well at all with Nokia's enormous install base. As such, Nokia should never have cut the deal with Microsoft that replaced Symbian with Windows Phone. Symbian was the most widely used mobile operating system in the world when the companies cut the deal -- and in many geographies where Nokia remains market share leader, it still is. Seventeen months ago, new CEO Stephen Elop should have fretted more about holding onto existing customers -- how to move them to new Nokia handsets -- rather than compete with iPhone. The ex-Microsoft president doomed Nokia, instead.
Why isn't Windows Phone more successful?
As Nokia reports its earnings, I can’t help but feel bad for the company's efforts here in the United States. To me, 600,000 units in North America (and supposedly that includes other devices besides Lumia 900) is not exactly what I would call a win.
But that’s just me. I’m a Windows Phone user. It’s a fantastic platform. The interface is gorgeous, and the OS is fast. I haven’t had issues with Windows Phone that I have had with Android. So in my opinion, the platform deserves a spot at the table with Android and iOS. So why hasn’t it been very successful?
Nokia Q2 2012 by the numbers: Losses lessen, Lumia lights up sales
It’s tough to be in Nokia’s shoes right now, with so many people expecting them to fail. Today, the Finnish phone manufacturer released second-quarter financial results and, despite public expectation, financials aren’t what we might expect. If we're to believe all rumors posted on the Internet the past days about Nokia’s financial state there wouldn’t be a need to read their press release. Reality is different. Phone sales increased quarter on quarter and year on year, with Lumia Windows Phone exceeding predictions.
Let's kick off with the numbers: Nokia’s operating loss amounts to EUR826 million ($1.01 billion). The Finnish manufacturer reduced its operating loss from EUR1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) over the previous quarter, which surpassed predictions of a bigger financial loss. At the end of the quarter they’ve got EUR102 million ($125.5 million) in net cash, far better than the EUR590 million ($724 million) deficit of last quarter. Nokia posted net sales amounting to EUR7.5 billion ($9.2 billion), up EUR0.1 billion ($122 million) from the previous quarter.
Nokia Lumia 900 is twice as nice for half the price
In a very bold move, AT&T slashed the price of the Nokia Lumia 900 in half. That means that if you’re into discounts, the flagship Windows Phone device is the right device for you today. With a two-year contract, Lumia 900, currently one of the best WP 7.5 offerings, is available for just $49.99. The price cut makes Lumia 900 considerably more attractive compared with fellow Windows Phones.
But there's a hidden price to pay, and it's not about money. Let’s assume you’re interested in getting the Lumia 900. So what’s the future hold for your new shiny piece of tech? Microsoft announced that current Windows Phone 7.5 devices will get some features of Windows Phone 8, but not all of them so to make it sound like a big improvement over its predecessor they’ve named the new operating system Windows Phone 7.8. That’s a great marketing strategy to throw current owners and buyers a bone, a slight taste of what’s to come, but to also force them into getting a new device if they want the full blown experience that Microsoft has in mind.
The 808 PureView accentuates Nokia's downfall
How would you like to spend $700 on the most amazing smartphone, one which truly replaces your digital camera and makes iPhone look like horse and buggy compared to your Porsche. The handset has style and finesse, and is teched-out to the nines. There is but one little problem: The software is outdated -- abandoned -- before the phone's release. The hardware is amazing but the operating system is dead on arrival.
Nokia 808 PureView is the latest smartphone to come to the United States from the Finnish manufacturer. Nokia's USA website lists the 808 PureView as "coming soon", but Amazon will sell you one right now, for $699.99. There the lone reviewer, Tor Slettnes, rates five stars, writing: "This phone is nothing short of a dream come true for any remaining Symbian fans -- all 3 of us!" There you have it. Everything that's right about the mobile shows what's wrong with Nokia.
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