Nokia Lumia 820
Street Price: Approx. Rs 26,000

Right from the time of its launch, the Lumia 820 had to dwell under the shadow of its older sibling, the Lumia 920. Thanks to the latter's pixel-packed screen and unmatched low-light photography (amongst other strengths), the 920 took its worthy place as Nokia's flagship, while the 820 hardly made any headlines. In my opinion though, the 820 has more potential than what one would assume from its underdog status. 

Design And Build Quality
Instead of following the current trend of slim and light handsets, the Lumia 820 aims for sturdiness. To accommodate a removable battery, Nokia has done away with the unibody design that was a signature of the Lumia 800, the 900 and the 920. The quality of materials used for the handset's innards and outer shell are top notch. The precision build and attention to detail is impressive, as always with high-end Lumias.

 

Nokia's affair with bright colours continues with the Lumia 820. The handset comes in glossy cyan, red, yellow, purple, and white. For those who prefer matte finish, the choice is between gray and black. Since the phone features exchangeable shells, you can buy extra panels if you get bored of the colour of the one that came with it. With the Wireless Charging Shell (not yet available, and to be bought separately), the Lumia 820 can take a power nap on Fatboy's charging pillow. Having used this feature on the Lumia 920, I can attest to the claim that it's a very convenient way of charging the phone.

 

Recently Nokia has released a 3D printing guide to print custom back panels for the Lumia 820. While 3D printers are not easily accessible in India, I'm sure this will open floodgates of shells made by Chinese companies. I find this idea a little more exciting since it brings back the nostalgia of my decade old Nokia 3200. Before moving on to the next point, I'll have to tell you that removing the back-panel is a tough job if you don't have long (and strong) fingernails!

Display And Specs
The 820 features a 4.3" screen with pixel dimensions of 800x480. The pixel density of 217 ppi isn't great by today's premium smart phone standards, but not bad enough to complain. In comparison, the less expensive Android based 4.0" Sony Xperia P has 275 ppi; then the 4.0" HTC 8S which is the Windows Phone 8 competitor to the Lumia 820, has 233 ppi (same number of pixels, but on a slightly smaller display). Since the Lumia's Windows Phone 8 UI contains mostly tiles and straight lines, the effect of lesser number of pixels is less pronounced to the user. The display is bright and makes the colours pop-out. More importantly, black levels offered by the Lumia 820's AMOLED display is stunning. Since Nokia has used full-RGB matrix, there's no blueish ting, as found on most AMOLED screens including that of the GALAXY S III. Thanks to Nokia's ClearBlack technology, the screen delivers outstanding sunlight legibility. It's also one of the brightest screens out there on a mobile phone. To put things in perspective, we compared the Lumia 820's screen with its closest rival HTC 8S, and here's the result. Note that, brightness is set to maximum on both the handsets.

Similar to the flagship Lumia 920, this handset features Nokia's super-sensitive screen. It's operable with gloves, fingernails, and any metal object. The display is protected by a hardened scratch-resistant glass, but that isn't manufactured by industry leader Corning, which makes the famed Gorilla Glass.

The phone's compute power consists of a dual-core Snapdragon S4 chipset clocked at 1.5 GHz and 1 GB RAM. Other bells and whistles include 8 GB of inbuilt storage, and an 8 mp camera. Full specifications are at the end of this review.

Software
WP8's live tiles look refreshingly different than the grid of icons (which have now got tad boring) found on rival platforms. I think it's the most elegant UI you can lay your hands on. As I've mentioned in earlier articles, Microsoft's mobile platform is as fluid as Apple's iOS and at the same time offers features comparable to Android; and in the case of social networking integration, is better than competition. Since the Lumia 820 has the same chipset as in the flagship Lumia 920, performance is top notch. Not once did it lag or display any signs of slowdown during our testing. The new Windows Phone 8 features include Children's corner, improved lockscreen, and resizable live tiles. These features have been discussed in greater detail in our Lumia 920 review.

 

The mobile version of Microsoft's Office Suite and IE10 are part of the software package, and more importantly, Microsoft's Store now has enough apps to get you going, and the catalogue is growing at a good pace. Considering the fact that OEMs can't customize the WP8 OS, Nokia is using its exclusive app suite as a key differentiator. Out of the lot, my favourite is Nokia Drive, an app that offers offline voice guided sat nav for free. Other Nokia apps that deserve a mention are City Lens and Photobeamer.

Multimedia
Nokia ships the Lumia 820 with its own Nokia Music hub. This app addresses the Windows Phone 8's shortcoming such as the lack of equalizer settings. There's Dolby enhancement for those who prefer extra bass. What's more, Nokia Music offers unlimited free track downloads for a year. The catalogue includes songs from India and around the world. Since the tracks are DRM-free, you can share them.

 

The device's sound quality is great, and the bundled earphones are of good quality too. Like other Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 820 misses out on FM radio. Backed by the Snapdragon S4, the handset takes care of MP4 and AVI videos up to 1080p, but refuses to play MKV videos. Lack of subtitle support is another small annoyance.
[Listen Microsoft, if you don't want to address these niggles, just help out the guys at VLC who're working hard to bring their app on this platform!]

Camera
In the camera department, the Lumia 820 features an 8 mp Carl Zeiss lens and a dual-LED flash. There's no denying that this snapper is no match for the 920's Pureview tech. However, it does a fine job in its price segment. The resulting pictures contain fair levels of details. Colours look natural too. However, image noise is evident, but then, this issue is common across most mobile phone cameras. Click here, to download the untouched sample.

The Lumia 820 can record 1080p videos at 30 fps, mono audio, saving the clip in MP4 format. 

Similar to the Lumia 920, this phone comes preinstalled with Nokia exclusive lenses such as Cinemagraph, Smart shoot, and Panorama. To find out the usage of these camera plugins, go through our detailed article about Nokia's nifty camera tricks.

Telephony And Messaging
The People Hub integrates all your contacts from Facebook, Windows Live, Twitter, and LinkedIn at one place. The result is a seamless social networking experience that runs throughout the UI. If someone pings you on FB, the message shows up in your Messaging Hub. Similarly, photos uploaded by your FB friends are automatically made available to the Pictures Hub. Beyond question, it's perfect for social network addicts. The handset's call quality and network reception were good during our tests.

 

Battery
The 820's 1650 mAh Li-Ion battery provides sufficient juice for it to last from dawn to dusk during a normal work day. In our 720p video loop test, it lasted around 6 hours, 30 minutes which is quite good for a phone with dual-core CPU.

Verdict
The Lumia 820 is a solid piece of hardware, no doubt; and Microsoft has gotten its latest mobile OS right; which means, the fundamentals are covered. The bonuses come in form of the AMOLED display, multimedia performance, Nokia's exclusive navigation software, music service, and camera lenses (the software). If your budget for a smart phone is at the Rs 25,000 mark, and you are not stuck to earlier platforms, the Lumia 820 is the smartphone to go for [if you are an Android fan, you can only pick up a generation old flagship at this price].

Specifications:

• 4.3" AMOLED, ClearBlack screen (480x800, 217 ppi), 16.7 million colours, Polarization filter, High brightness mode, Sunlight readability enhancements, 15:9 aspect ratio, RGB stripe.
• 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chipset, 1 GB RAM.
• 8 GB internal storage, 7 GB in SkyDrive (online storage), MicroSD slot.
• 8 mp auto-focus rear camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, dual LED flash, F Number: 2.2, Focal Length: 28 mm.
• 1080p video recording @ 30 fps, Front 0.3 mp camera.
• NFC, Wi-Fi with hotspot and Channel Bonding (DLNA certified), Bluetooth 3.1, Assisted GLONASS GPS (with offline navigation support and voice navigation).
• Micro-USB 2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack (with Dolby headphone support), Noise-cancelling mic.
• Proximity sensor, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Orientation sensor.
• 1650 mAh battery, 14 hours talk time on 2G (8 hours on 3G), 330 hours standby time, 55 hours of music playback, 5 hours of video.
• Windows Phone 8 OS.
• 4.9" (l) x 2.7" (w) x 0.4" (10 mm) (d), 160 grammes.
• Package Contents: AC-50N micro-USB charger, BP-5T 1650 mAh battery, Charging and data cable CA-190CD, Headset WH-208, Product user guide.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

After seeing how a bunch of celebrities manage living under one roof, and after seeing quiz shows, dance shows, break-ups, and what not on 'reality TV', we are now set to have a nine-part reality show focused on mobile applications and it is slated for a February 9, 2013 take off. Nokia has been behind an app idea content (called "Your wish is my app") that ran as a precursor to the show, so we caught up with Gerald Rego who heads Nokia's Ecosystem and Developer Experience project, to know what this contest is all about.

Tell us about app idea contest
To create consumer-centric applications, Nokia launched the initiative, Nokia Lumia – "Your wish is my app". As the name suggests, the campaign gave consumers the opportunity to submit mobile application ideas that have the potential to be developed into successful apps. The best idea gets a prize of Rs 10 lakhs. The runners up will be presented with Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 2 lakhs each and three lucky winners will stand a chance to win the new amazing Nokia Lumia 920.

Was this campaign limited to Nokia Lumia smartphone owners only?
The campaign was open for any and every consumer, irrespective of which handsets they use. The winning app decided on basis of consumers and judges' votes, will be developed into a successful app for the Windows Marketplace, taking its benefits to a wider audience of consumers.

What is the reality show component of this campaign and how do you plan to take it ahead?
The Nokia Lumia – your wish is my app is going to be the world's first ever reality show on television, while giving us an insight into the type of apps that consumers would like to see developed.  As part of this campaign, the top 42 submissions with the most exciting apps suggestions, based on consumer votes on social media channel, would be called in to participate in the app reality show. The 9 episode reality TV show to be aired on NDTV will see consumers present their ideas in front of an esteemed panel of judges including Rajiv Makhni, NDTV Managing Editor & Tech Guru, Vishal Gondal, Managing Director, Disney UTV Digital, Raj Chinai, Venture Capitalist & Co-Founder, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, Vikas Khanna, New York based Michelin Starred Celebrity Chef and Bollywood actor and youth icon, Kalki Koechlin.

Shortlisted ideas will be presented to judges for a detailed conversation with the contestants.  Judges' vote will depend on whether the idea presented focuses on parameters such as originality of the idea, relevance of the app, potential for the revenue, and the practicality of the app. It is imperative for the winning app to have catered to all the above mentioned parameters. The winning app basis consumers and judges' votes will be developed by Nokia and be made available in the Windows Marketplace. The 9 episode reality TV show will be aired on NDTV starting on the 9th of February, 2013.

What does this contest mean to the consumers?
With this contest we are taking a bottom-up approach to app development by including consumers into the innovation process. We believe that applications not only add to the device capabilities, but also give each consumer the opportunity to personalize their mobile devices to their needs and preference.  Considering that the finalists participating in the show will be chosen based on consumers' votes, and then be analysed for feasibility by our judges; we are sure the apps will be hugely successful when available on the Windows Marketplace.

Has Nokia organised such campaigns in other countries before?
India is the first country where we have launched this initiative.

Do apps sell well in India or do most users prefer free apps over paid?
Free apps clearly prevail over paid apps, this phenomenon is prevalent not only in India but globally. However, Nokia is already seeing a high uptake for paid apps based on its industry leading initiatives, converting into real opportunity for its app developers. For example, Nokia today is the only company to have partnered with 4 leading operators in the country – including Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance, and Vodafone – to provide its consumers with the convenience of integrated billing. These operators together account for over 70% of the GSM subscribers in India.

What are the types of apps that people have shown more interest in? I am asking about app trends.
Some of the most wanted app categories have been the following:

• Safety apps – women safety, reporting wrong doings, enabling the people to take action against such crimes are the common ideas.
• Health and fitness related app.
• Car pooling and Location Based Search services.
• Tracking your girlfriend / loved ones.
• Personalization of device.

Tags : Interviews, Nokia, Microsoft, Lumia, Windows Phone, Jayesh

Nokia 206, a low cost feature phone that was announced in November last year is now available in India for about Rs 3,600 in brick and mortar and online stores. Another of Nokia's “Low cost” mobile phones, the Nokia Asha 205 was launched in India last month.

Nokia 206 specifications: 

• 2.4 inch LCD QVGA with 320x240 pixels
• Dual SIM support ( GSM+GSM)
• 1.3MP camera that supports video recording
• 2G Network connectivity support along with GPRS, EDGE; Bluetooth 2.1 and USB
• 64MB internal memory, SD card support upto 32GB
• FM Radio with recording option
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Weight: 91 grammes
• 5-way scrolling keys

There is a Nokia Express Browser, Facebook and Twitter support and the Nokia Slam (a feature which allows sharing of content via Bluetooth without needing to pair with another device). The Nokia 206 is expected to provide a talktime of up to 20 hrs on 2G and a standby time of up to 680 hrs on 2G with its 1100mAh Li-Ion battery.  

Well, the Nokia 206 is certainly a low cost feature phone, and not meant to be a smartphone of any sorts. But it remains to be seen as to how the gadget fares in competition with various low cost touchscreen, Android phones that are already present. One example is the LG T300 full touch screen phone that is priced at Rs 3299.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Multi-SIM, Nokia, Rahul

Along with the recently launched Nokia Lumia 920 and 820, Nokia also gave us a teaser of its budget Windows Phone 8 handset — the Lumia 620. When released, this handset will compete directly with the army of budget Android phones. Earlier we took the Lumia 820 for quick spin now let's check out what the Lumia 620 has to offer.

Being a smaller device (as compared to the 920 and 820), the first thing you'd notice is its comfortable grip. With its well-rounded edges, the phone fits right into your palms. Flipping it over, you see the 5 mp camera lens and a small speaker grille located at the bottom-right corner. Similar to the Lumia 820, it features the volume rocker, power switch and camera button on its side. On the top sits a 3.5 mm audio jack and a micro-USB slot is at the base. The buttons on the side were quick to respond, a lot easier to press than those of the Lumia 820.

It features a 3.8" ClearBlack display with pixel dimensions of 480x800 and pixel density of 246 ppi. With a higher pixel density than the Lumia 820, the 620's display is sharper. Of course, the LCD's black levels are nowhere near that of the AMOLED screen on the Lumia 820, but you can't expect too much in a budget handset.

Again very similar to the Lumia 820, this one also features replaceable back covers, which are difficult to remove and attach. The back covers have been crafted with thick plastic and will certainly not easily break under normal use.

Moving on to the innards of the device, it is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core CPU coupled with a measly 512 MB of RAM, which shows in the handset's performance: It has a slight noticeable lag while browsing the UI. It comes with built-in 8 GB internal storage, and a micro SD card slot that supports up to 64 GB.

Being a budget device, it has a 5 mp rear camera, with no PureView tech to back it: Basically it is a run-of-the-mill camera. The close up shots we tried had good amount of detail, but there was also a noticeable amount of noise in most photographs.

The phone will be launched around mid-February in India and there has been no official word on its pricing at the moment, but from what we've gathered it will be priced below Rs 15,000, making it the only Windows Phone 8 device in that price bracket. We like the possibility of customisable colours on the Lumia 620, which is seldom seen on other handsets these days. Moreover, it offers Windows Phone 8 experience (although not the best) at an economical price point. Whether, it can edge past hordes of Android devices in this segment remains to be seen. For more images check out the gallery below.

Tags : Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, Rizwan

It is quite evident that Nokia has been struggling to keep up its pace in the smartphone arena with respect to the iPhones and Android handsets. And after bleeding cash for several quarters, Nokia finally seems to be on a road to recovery. At least, that's what the company's Q4 2012 preliminary financial information suggests. The factors that helped the Finnish handset-maker achieved this "underlying profitability" includes better than expected results from smartphone division, cost-cutting, revenue from Nokia Siemens Networks, and a recent $65 million patent settlement payout from RIM.

According to reports, Nokia sold around 79.6 million cellphones. Of that, 9.3 million were full-touch Asha phones (like the 311). Number of smartphones sold accounted for 6.6 million units, including 4.4 million Lumias. Symbian OS also garnered 2.2 million sales, mostly boosted by the 808 PureView camera phone. Undoubtedly, the sales figures of Lumia are nowhere near that of Apple's iPhone or the Samsung GALAXY series. Having said that, the numbers are positive, considering the long-awaited Nokia WP8 phones were released around mid-November in select markets that too with limited availability. Now that the new range of Lumia phones have finally reached our country, Nokia's strongholds, India and China should ensure that the next quarter is even better.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

After much delay, Nokia's latest Lumia phones finally reached Indian shores. Since we have already reviewed the much coveted Nokia Lumia 920, we decided to spend most of our time with its younger sibling — the Nokia Lumia 820. At first glance, the Lumia 820 looks very similar to the 920 except for a relatively smaller screen and flat design. The device's glossy back cover doesn't help with the grip, and chances of the phone slipping from your hand is high. The right side of the device sports a volume rocker, power switch and the dedicated camera button. The buttons were quick to respond, however, they are slightly hard to press (the Nokia spokesperson was quick to point out that unlike the test units, the on sale handsets will be a lot easier to handle; we dont get the logic though).

 

The handset has an AMOLED display producing deep blacks. The pixel dimensions of 480x800 result in a relatively low pixel density of 217 ppi on its 4.3" screen. Despite this, images appear sharp. The Lumia 820 is powered by the same dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU as is the case with the Lumia 920, giving you a buttery-smooth navigation on the UI. Unlike the flagship Lumia 920 though, the Lumia 820 has a micro-SD card slot which expands the storage capacity to as much as 64 GB. Overall, the performance is great, and on-par with what we experienced in the Lumia 920.

The USP of the Nokia Lumia 820 is its removable back panel. Switching between shells is pretty difficult and chances of breaking it would have been high, had its construction not been sturdy. We noticed that the battery was loose without the back cover, and just flipping over the phone will make it pop out. The Lumia 820 doesn't ship with a wireless charging unit. But you can buy a wireless charging compatible shell seperately.

 

The phone's 8 mp camera offers images with good detail. However, since it lacks the PureView tech, low-light photographs contain a lot of noise.

The Nokia Lumia 820 has been priced at Rs 26,500 It is a good buy for those who want to customise their phone's appearance and can overlook the absence of the PureView camera tech. However, we'd advise you to wait it out till we do a in-depth review of the smartphone in the coming weeks.

Tags : Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, Rizwan

After months of speculations, Nokia's second wave of Lumia phones has finally hit the Indian market. While, an official announcement from Nokia is still an hour away, online retailer Saholic.com has already listed the Lumia 920. The website has priced it at Rs 36,500 and is offering free home delivery in 3 business days. Just to be sure, we spoke with the store officials to confirm availability and pricing details.

As many already know, Lumia 920 is based on Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8. The phone is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chipset, featuring a dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU and Adreno 225 GPU. It has an 8.7 mp PureView camera with dual-LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics, and Optical Image Stabilisation. Apart from that, you get a 4.5" IPS panel with pixel dimensions of 768x1280, 1 GB of RAM, and 32 GB internal storage.

Before you place an order though, don't forget to check out our Lumia 920 review. If you've found the camera and its specs impressive check out this article shedding light on its nifty camera tricks as well.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

Just days before the launch of Nokia's flagship Windows Phone devices, the operational facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai has been raided by Income Tax officials. Reports claim that around 20 officials raided the plant this afternoon on ground of unpaid taxes of Rs 3000 Crore (about $540 million) by the Finnish manufacturer. It was also confirmed by Nokia spokesperson.

Nokia has provided an update to TheNextWeb stating that "Nokia is fully cooperating to ensure they get the necessary information to help in their enquiry" and that the operations are "continuing unaffected".  The company has its roots in India since 1995.

TAGS: Nokia, Swagatam

Windows Phone 8 comes with something called Lenses. Lenses, in this context are generally plugins (and physical lenses that you would associate with DSLRs) , which can be integrated right into the camera's UI. While there are quite a few lenses available for WP8, the more interesting ones are developed by either Microsoft or Nokia. We briefly covered Lenses in our Lumia 920 review, but figured that this topic needs an article of its own.

Cinemagraph
A picture is worth a thousand words, the saying goes. However, if you want pictures to get livelier, and actually do something, try Cinemagraph. This app allows you to capture "moments" as an animated image. True, people have been creating animated GIFs for a while now, but the 920 makes it so much more easier. To use the app, just start Cinemagraph, point your 920 on target, and hold your handset steady for a couple of seconds as multiple frames are required to generate an "animation". Once the photo is taken, the app automatically circles the spots that can be animated. If you're not happy with these suggestions, you can manually select the area via the edit mode. You can even play around with the speed and length of the animation. Check out some fun samples below:

Click on the image, to check out the original high-resolution captures.

Smart Shoot
Photography is all about the timing, and sometimes it can be rather difficult to get that right. For instance, if you're trying for a perfect group shot, at least one person will blink and prove the Murphy's Law right. Normally, you'd have to redo the shot, but Nokia's Smart Shoot lens let you actually fix it without going through it again. The process is simple: select "change faces" option and the software will detect and circle all the faces in the photo for you. Now select a face, and use the slider to choose the right frame. Once you get the desired results, hit the check button and then save the file.
Let us take you through the process frame-by-frame.

 

 

 

Assume that you're taking a picture of your friend at the Gateway of India, and a chanawala steps into the frame just when you hit the shutter button. Now usually, you'd cuss that poor guy, and delete the photograph. However, with Smart Shoot, you can remove that chanawala and save the photograph. The process is fairly simple, you only have to select the "erase objects" option from menu. The software will then draw a white outline around the person that might have accidently walked into your photo. Now simply tap on it, and he's gone without a trace. See the results for yourself: (No, I'm not putting up the pictures of the Gateway of India or my pretty friend).

 

 

 


Bing Vision
Bing Vision is a camera app, which is not related to photography per se — but uses your camera, nonetheless. This tool allows you to scan QR and UPC codes. It can also detect the CD covers (album art) and get more information about an artist. More importantly, it can translate text from one language to another, within seconds. To test this feature, I opened a Chinese document on my PC and scanned it using the Lumia 920. Here's how it detected and translated the Chinese text to English.

 

Later, I decided to try the Chinese to Hindi translation. To my surprise, the software had no difficulty with this task either. Unlike the other lenses covered in this article, the Bing Vision isn't a Nokia specific app — you can install it on Samsung or HTC's WP devices as well.

Panorama
Last, but by no means the least, Panorama is a must-have lens for your Lumia device. Since this form of photography dates back to 1843, I think everybody knows what it does. Compared to the earlier WP 7.5 version, the updated software features a much better UI. It's certainly better than the Wondershare or DerManDar (DMD) panorama apps available for Android devices, but you'll still need some photography skills to achieve a perfectly-aligned image. Comparatively, you can get same results on the iPhone 5 with less efforts and expertise. To check the full-sized sample, click on the image below:

Tags : Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

We've had a lot of discussions and reactions regarding the price, launch date, as well as pros and cons of Windows Phone 8 as compared to Android and iOS, since the company confirmed last month that the launch of the Lumia 620, 820, and 920 will happen in January this year. Now the folks at wmpoweruser have obtained a proper date for the launch of Lumia 820 and 920. The website has posted a screenshot of a Nokia Care Chat personnel stating that both these phones will be available from 11th of January. The same source also mentions that the Lumia 620 will come later in the fourth week of this month. However, take this news with a pinch of salt because similar screenshots were posted by the source last month too wherein it was claimed that all the three handsets will be launched in the first week of January.

Talking about the price point, it is being expected to be set around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 for Lumia 920 and it seems pre-order has already started with a deposit of Rs 2000. However Nokia is still mum on exact pricing for both the devices. The Lumia 820 is a mid-range variant and is expected to be priced at around Rs 20,000.

If you are thinking about heading out to the stores and pre-ordering one, you might want to read our review of Nokia Lumia 920 to know more.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Lumia, Nokia, Swagatam

Nokia's flagship Windows Phone handsets such as the Lumia 800, 900, and even the latest 920 have exteriors made of polycarbonate material (polycarbonates or PC, are a special type of plastic). Now, if the guys at TheVerge are to be believed, the Finnish manufacturer is moving towards aluminium for its next flagship, codenamed Catwalk. Despite the change of material though, you can still expect the next flagship to come in many colours. The company had previously used the aluminium unibody for the Symbian 3 based N8, and it was available in seven colours.

The metal clad body will enable Nokia to compete with the iPhones in terms of weight, and premium appeal too, some would argue. It's also said that the specs of the Catwalk will be same as that of the 920. I hope that includes the floating lens assembly and the hardware required for wireless (induction) charging. Otherwise, slimming down a phone just for the sake of it, and without other upgrades doesn't make too much sense. Considering that it's still only a rumour, let's just wait and see what Nokia has in stores for us. In a related news, the Lumia 920 is expected to launch around 15th of this month.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

Nokia Lumia 920
Street Price: Approx. Rs 35,500


Nokia's partnership with Microsoft could have gone either way; industry observers have been divided in opinion. Nokia's recent flagship devices have posed no real threat to the iPhone 4S / 5 and the myriad of Androids. But things look different now, with Windows Phone 8 and the latest high-end smartphone, the Lumia 920. Unlike Nokia's earlier top-of-the-line Windows Phone handsets, the Lumia 920 seems right from the word go. The spec sheet includes PureView camera tech, the tried-and-tested Snapdragon S4 chipset, PureMotion HD+ screen with high refresh rate, wireless (induction) charging, and more.

Review units were not available from Nokia at the time of launch, so we obtained one from the Netherlands.

The Bold And The Beautiful
There are no prizes for guessing that the Lumia 920 looks like an overgrown Lumia 800 — but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The phone's body is CNC-machined; each device is carved out of a single polycarbonate block. The result is a seamless unibody with no cuts or joints, save for the ports and buttons. The precision build and attention to detail is simply amazing. Another advantage of the coloured polycarbonate is that even if you manage to chip off a chunk from the Lumia 920, it will reveal the same colour underneath. This means you won't have to worry about your phone losing its colour.

 

With the Lumia series, Nokia brought back bright colours into fashion. HTC tried something similar with its Windows Phone 8X, but after seeing them both, I'd say the 920 is strikingly beautiful. Apart from the bold red (the piece we reviewed), yellow and white models sport a glossy finish. On the other hand, black, grey, and cyan (currently US exclusive) are matte.

 

After skipping the Lumia 900, the curved display is back with the 920, complementing the design. The use of metal near the 800's camera lens was tasteful, but with use, I found that it's prone to scratches. In the case of the Lumia 920, though, Nokia has retained the placement, replacing the metal with ceramic zirconium (the toughest ceramic commercially available). Nokia claims that this material is both scratch- and wear-resistant. 

 

Instead of concentrating on merely slimming down the device, Nokia has been looking at ergonomics. The phone is thick, but due to its curved edges, it fits comfortably in your hand. Weight-wise, it's on the heavier side at around 185 grams.

Display
The handset features a 4.5" IPS screen labelled as PureMotion HD+ display by Nokia. The display's 1280 x 768 pixels offers a 15:9 ratio that neatly scales the old WP 7.5 apps in right proportion edge-to-edge. On the other hand, the HTC 8X with a 16:9 screen runs some older apps with a thin letterbox (vertical bars that are used to fit images of one aspect ratio onto a screen of a different aspect ratio).

The 920's screen has a pixel density of 332 ppi, which is in iPhone 5 territory (325 ppi). Sharpness is not an issue; thanks to the high 60 Hz refresh rate, anything that the screen displays — be it scrolling text or fancy transitions — looks good. Being an IPS panel, the screen offers wide viewing angles.

Nokia's ClearBlack technology, consisting of a sequence of polarising layers, eliminates reflections and delivers sunlight legibility. The screen also offers better contrast ratio than most IPS panels. The levels of blacks on the 920 are comparable to AMOLED panels, except when set to full brightness. While it's one of the best IPS panels I've seen on smartphones, I would have preferred an AMOLED screen on this phone.

There's been a lot hype surrounding Nokia's super-sensitive screen. After using the phone for a few days, I can confidently say it's one of the most responsive touchscreens available. Just like the iPhone 5's screen, it never missed an input. Even better, it's operable with pen, gloves, keys, fork, fingernails, and even a nail! This ability can come in handy in the northern parts of our country, where gloves are a must in winter. Finally, like any other high-end smartphone screen, this one is protected by Gorilla Glass 2.

Package, Basic Specs
There's nothing special in the Lumia 920's retail package. You get a USB cable, charger, and IEMs that match the colour of your of handset. But wait, where's my charging plate, Nokia? Too bad — it has to be bought separately.

The phone is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chipset, featuring a dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU and Adreno 225 GPU. It has an 8.7 mp camera with dual-LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics, and Optical Image Stabilisation. Apart from that, you get a 4.5" IPS panel with pixel dimensions of 768x1280, 1 GB of RAM, and 32 GB internal storage. The detailed list of specs is at the end of this review.


Windows Phone 8 With Nokia Exclusive Apps
With support for multi-core CPUs, the Windows Phone platform now performs even better. Thanks to a Snapdragon S4 chipset ticking inside the 920, the experience is as smooth as that of the iPhone 5. As already mentioned in oooour review of the HTC 8X, Microsoft has removed the unused space, often referred to as the gutter, from the homscreen. Users can now customise Live Tiles with three sizes to choose from. Other functionality upgrades include the addition of the mass storage mode and Bluetooth file sharing.

 

Kid's Corner, as its name suggests, lets you create a separate homescreen with restricted access for children. This way, you can also let other people check out your cool new phone without compromising your privacy. Minor changes include an improved lock screen that can display updates from apps, and pull background images from Bing and Facebook feeds.

One of the things I didn't like about HTC's 8X was its lacklustre maps app. In the 920's case though, you have the tried-and-tested Nokia Drive. The app allows you to download map data right on the device. Nokia offers maps for most countries; additionally, there's an option to download map data for an entire country as well as for individual states. For example, you can install the India (All) map, which is 553 MB in size, or opt for the Maharashtra/Goa map, that fits into 131 MB. Once you've downloaded the desired maps, you can avail free voice guided navigation in offline mode. The app is packed with features, and there's even an option to get voice instructions in many languages — including Hindi. The device's GPS performance is impressive; even in offline mode, it never took more than two minutes to lock onto satellites.

 

To top it off, Nokia offers an AR (Augmented Reality) app called City Lens that lets you find places of interest in a given locality. It helps you "see" where restaurants, theatres, train or bus stations, and shops are. It's like having HUD (Heads Up Display) in real life. What's more, it also displays the name of most residential buildings (at least in Mumbai)! 

 

PhotoBeamer is another interesting app from Nokia that allows you to display your pictures on any web-enabled device. Fire up this app, and open the image gallery on your phone. Then visit photobeamer.com on a device where you wish to display the photograph, and simply point the phone camera at the QR code that appears on the website. The photos on your device get mirrored on the other device instantaneously. It's the fastest and easiest way to share your pictures on a bigger screen.

Coming to the subject of apps, Microsoft's Office Suite is impressive. The mobile version of IE10 is blazing fast at page rendering. If you own an Xbox 360, then Smart Glass is a must have app: It not only works as a controller for your console, but also comes in handy for text input. Bing is no match for Google, agreed. However, Bing Vision feature on Windows Phone is superb. Using the phone's camera, this app can scan QR codes, UPC codes, and even album art to provide additional information. My favourite feature is its ability to scan and translate one language to another within seconds. If you're in China, you can at least read billboards using this functionality.

Microsoft's Store, previously known as Marketplace, has around 125,000 apps, and is getting busier each passing day. As far as I'm concerned, most of the essential apps are available for all platforms anyway. Still, going by sheer numbers, it has a long way to go before catching up with Apple and Google's app repositories.

Multimedia
WP8's default music player offers a neat and clutter-free interface, but there are no equaliser settings. Nokia's Music app however does offer equaliser settings, and also comes with Dolby sound enhancement. The device's sound quality is great, and the bundled earphones are of good quality too. Just like the HTC's 8X, the Lumia 920 lacks FM radio (surprisingly, Nokia's official blog confirms that the FM tuner is present on the phone; we'll update when we have a clarification). The Snapdragon S4 takes care of MP4 and AVI videos up to 1080p — but MKV videos are still a no-go.

Camera
The 8.7 mp camera on the Lumia 920 isn't the fastest one around, but it's definitely one of the best. It offers Lenses, which are actually photo apps that can be integrated right into the camera's UI.  For example, a lens app called Smart Shot captures multiple photos and then allows you to choose and save the best one. There's an option to tap on a face and pick the frame where the person hasn't blinked. What's more, you can even delete a stranger who accidently walked into your group photo. Check out the screenshots below to see how it's done.

 

With Cinemagraph you can animate certain parts of an image. In simple words, it's like those animated photographs you can see in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. For best results, you need the most basic photography skill: Steady Hands. Once you click the photo, the software gives you areas that can be animated. If you're not happy with those suggestions, you can select the desired portions manually. Click here to view a sample.

Panorama is duly covered, and it does what it says. Its interface is better than what competing Android phones offer, yet it isn't as intuitive as the iPhone 5's panorama app. Check the gallery below for panorama and outdoor photography samples.

The Lumia 920 is capable of recording 1080p videos at 30 fps.

Most cellphone cameras (for that matter, point and shoots too, generally) falter in low light. The Lumia 920 does better here, thanks to OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation), which allows for a longer shutter duration without risking blur caused by shaky hands. We did a quick low-light test of this Lumia against today's most popular Android, the GALAXY S III, and here are the results:

 
Low light photo comparison (without flash).

Telephony And Messaging
People Hub is one of the selling points of WP handsets. Thanks to deep social networking integration, you can access all your contacts from Facebook, Windows Live, Twitter, and LinkedIn in one place. What's more, the soft keyboard is extremely responsive and is designed to minimise typos. Finally, the Lumia 920's network reception and call quality were good during our tests. (Do note that these tests are quite subjective.)


Battery
The phone packs in a 2000 mAh Li-Ion battery. In our 720p video loop test, it lasted around 6 hours and 30 minutes. Not spectacular, but better than the GALAXY SIII's 5 hours and 30 minutes. The fatboy pillow works as advertised — just place the Lumia 920 on it, and see your phone take a power nap. While it's not a necessity, it makes charging very convenient.


Verdict
The Lumia 920's success is important for Nokia to get back in the smartphone arena. The company has put in a lot of effort, and it shows. Bold colours, beautiful design, and the outstanding camera set it apart from the current crop of smartphones. The UI is as fluid as iOS, and the number of features can be compared to that of any flagship Android phone. In short, with the Lumia 920, the Finnish manufacturer has delivered both style and substance. 


Features: 5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4.5/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Mojo: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

• 4.5'' PureMotion HD+ IPS panel with pixel dimensions of 768x1280 (332 ppi), Corning's Gorilla Glass protection, 60 Hz refresh rate, Polarization filter, 600 nits of luminance.
• Dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 chipset, 1 GB of RAM.
• 8.7 mp auto-focus PureView camera with dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss Tessar optics, 1080p video recording.
• NFC, Bluetooth 3.1, Wi-Fi with hotspot support, GPS with offline navigation.
• 32 GB internal storage, 7 GB in SkyDrive (cloud storage).
• 2000 mAh battery, 17 hours of talk time for 2G (10 hours for 3G), 67 hours of music playback, 6 hours of video playback.
• 3.5 mm jack with Dolby sound enhancement, Micro-USB port.
• Micro-SIM, Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), Quad-band 3G (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), Penta-band 4G LTE (800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600 MHz).
• Windows Phone 8.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

The speculation regarding Nokia's tablet has started doing rounds again. According to DigiTimes, Nokia had talks with its partner Microsoft, chip-maker Qualcomm, and Compal Electronics to manufacture a 10" Windows RT tablet.

A similar rumour made headlines earlier this year when Digitimes stated that Nokia was working a 10" Windows tablet based on a Qualcomm chipset. That rumour also stated that the tablet would be launched by November (of course, that hasn't). A few weeks later, Nokia's design chief, Marko Ahtisaari told a local magazine Kauppalehti Optio that he was spending one-third of his time creating a tablet. DigiTimes cites Nokia's partner, Microsoft's own tablet, Surface as a reason for Nokia to hold back its own tablet, and focus on smartphones instead. In other words, Nokia didn't cancel but only postponed its tablet development. Now that the company's flagship phone Lumia 920 has been a sell out in many countries, Nokia can finally shift its focus towards tablet market.

It's believed that the Finnish company will probably unveil the tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013 in February. Nokia's entry in tablet market will undoubtedly heat-up the competition, and it will be interesting to see how Microsoft's software and Nokia's craftsmanship fare against the iPad.

TAGS: Tablets, Windows, Nokia, ck

Dubbed the Lumia 505, the device features a 3.7” AMOLED screen with pixel dimensions of 480x800 and features Nokia's ClearBlack tech to deliver better sunlight legibility. For photography, it comes with an 8 mp camera (not Carl Zeiss optics). What's disappointing here is the non-expandable 4 GB of storage. On the software front is Windows Phone 7.8, which offers a few UI elements of WP8 on inexpensive hardware. While Nokia hasn't shed any light on the chipset, the phone is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon S1 clocked at 800 MHz. Detailed specs are given below:

• 4.6" (l) x 2.4" (w) x 0.4" (d); 131 grammes.
• 3.7" AMOLED screen with 480 x 800 pixels.
• Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
• 8 mp rear camera.
• 800 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM,
• 4 GB internal storage, no microSD card slot.
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS
• MicroUSB 2.0, 3.5 mm jack, FM radio
• Microsoft Windows Phone 7.8
• Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• 1300 mAh battery.

The Snapdragon S1 and 256 MB of RAM sound underwhelming, but then the OS doesn't need very powerful hardware anyway. The handset looks a lot like the Lumia 800, and comes in black, white, red, and pink. It's expected to go on sale in Mexico in the coming weeks. However, there's no information on its pricing and worldwide availability.  The crippled storage capacity is a bit disappointing, but whether the pricing can redeem this or not, remains to be seen.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia, ck

Forums and blogs has been flooding with questions about the availability of Nokia's Flagship Windows Phone 8 device Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 and 620, since their official announcement at Nokia World 2012, back in September 2012. And since then we have covered a whole bunch of stories related to the devices.

Now it is official that the devices will be arriving to the Indian shores this new year, starting with Lumia 920 and 820 being available in the first week of the New Year and Lumia 620 to hit the shelves during the fourth week of January 2013. The pricing of the devices are not yet confirmed but it is expected that the Lumia 920 will cost well over Rs 40,000 and Lumia 820 to be over Rs 30,000 and the budget handset Lumia 620 to cost around Rs 13,700 approximately.

The Windows Phone 8 devices are already available in European and North American countries and have been received well by the audience. It would be interesting to see how the Indian customers react to these pricey handsets.

The Flagship Lumia 920 packs in some competing features like:

• 4.5 Inch PureMotion HD+ Display
• 1.5GHz Qualcomm Dual Core Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 32 GB On-Board Storage
• 8MP PureView Camera
• 1.3MP Front Facing Camera
• 2000mAh Battery

Some of the key features of Nokia Lumia 620 are:

• 3.8 Inch CBD LCD Display
• 1 GHz Dual Core Processor
• 512MB RAM

and the Nokia Lumia 820 includes:

• 4.3 Inch Display
• 1.5GHz Qualcomm Dual Core Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8 GB On-Board Storage
• Micro SD Slot
• 8MP Camera
• 1.3MP Front Facing Camera
• 1650mAh Battery

Here is a snapshot of the conversation obtained by wmpoweruser where a Nokia Support Executive confirms the availability of the devices in India. 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, HTC, Swagatam