Nokia unveiled the Lumia 1520 amidst great fanfare. It was their best shot at Apple and Samsung — the phone had the best company could offer in terms of hardware and software. Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2 GB of RAM and mind-blowing 6-inch IPS LCD screen.

With such an awesome spec sheet, there are very few areas in which the phone disappoints. One would be the size, as we pointed out earlier and secondly that it does not possess the shutter of the 1020 to give us those crisp images that we expected from a PureView Camera. Still then this was only in comparison to it elder brother the 1020. As compared to the rest of the crop of phablets out there, it’s the best.

But as most of us would not know, there are couple of software problems that users have discovered over time. Some of them include a screen sensitivity issue, phone freezes and a speaker overdrive problem, which appears once the handset’s volume has been cranked above 15.
Let’s hope the new update that has begun rolling out in Poland solves these problems. If you aren’t facing any of the above mentioned issues, we would still suggest you go ahead and update your device.

The update is supposed to bring in performance improvements and minor improvements to video recording quality as well.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia

Finally the Nokia Lumia Icon smartphone is about to make its mark this month. According WPCentral.com, a leaked Verizon inventory document suggests that the Nokia Lumia Icon will be making its way to the stores on February 19, and the sales are expected to start on February The site also claims that the pre-orders for the upcoming Nokia flagship will start as early as next week. The exact date mentioned is February 12, so the announcement must be coming in less than three days. Americans interested booking the Nokia Lumia Icon unit, would be required to deposit $50 for the booking.

Last month, the Icon was spotted on Verizon's official website. Going by that listing, the phone will feature a 5" HD AMOLED screen. A 20 megapixel camera with Zeiss optics and OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) technology. Processing will be handled by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. Moreover, you get a 2420 mAh battery with the convenience of built-in wireless (induction) charging. As far its aesthetics are concerned, this metal-clad phone looks blocky like Verizon's other exclusive handset Lumia 928.

TAGS: Nokia, Mobile Phones, Mobile

After the Lumia 1020, 925, 920, and 820, Nokia has started rolling out the latest Lumia Black software (WP8 Update 3) to popular budget handsets such as 720 and 520. Currently, the status of 620's update is "waiting for approval", which means the users will have to wait for another week or two. The new software brings numerous features and enhancements to the table including improved multitasking, app folder, rotation lock, improved glance Screen, and Nokia Camera. To find out more about new features, head over to this link.

If you haven't received the notification yet, you can manually check for update by going to ‘Settings’ - ‘Phone Update’. To make things easier, we have embedded a video that demonstrates this process.
 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Nokia Lumia 1520
Street Price: Rs 46,000

Samsung started the "phablet" trend, and now Finns have finally decided to follow. Let's hope that the rumours regarding Apple's oversized phone doesn't turn out to be true. The Lumia 1520 is special for being the biggest handset on Microsoft's mobile platform. Thanks to a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset, it's also one of the fastest phones available in market. But is it really good enough to justify its 46k price tag?



Design And Build
If you like pockatable phones, the 1520 is not for you. With a 6" screen, it's huge and unwieldy. Heck, it's even bigger than the Samsung GALAXY Note 3. Only monstrosities such as Sony's Xperia Z Ultra and Samsung's Mega 6.3 beat the 1520 when it comes to the odd size. Personally, I wouldn't want to be seen with such huge phone in public.

Yes, it's this big!

Design-wise, the phone is based on Nokia's fabula design language that debuted on the N9. With its unibody design the 1520 looks like an overgrown 720. One thing worth mentioning here is that the phone supports wireless charging. It packs in the induction charging coil in its 8.7 mm thin body, which is quite feat.

The 1520's construction is top-notch. There's not a single rough spot on the phone. Even the loudspeaker grille pores are machined with precision. The buttons placement is a standard Lumia affair. The screen along with the capacitive keys are covered by a layer of scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 2. It's worth noting that the Lumia 1520 is Nokia's first phone to adhere to nano-SIM standards. That's going to be helpful for those making a switch from the iPhone. The rest will have to get their SIM card changed.

Display
The 1520's 6" IPS LCD screen has pixel dimensions of 1920x1080. That takes its pixel density to around 365 ppi. No doubt, the display is very sharp, but what's even more impressive are the viewing angles. Even at extreme angles, the screen manages to retain legibility with minimal colour shift. Thanks to polarisation filters, the phone delivers relatively deeper blacks while eliminating the screen glare. Backed by the Assertive display tech, the screen offers excellent picture quality in various lighting conditions. The system comprises of a dedicated chip and software algorithm that controls individual pixels in real time. Similar to the current crop of Lumias, the 1520 comes with a super-sensitivity display. For those who like to experiment, there's an option to play around with the colour profile. So you can change the colour tone from natural to vivid.

Specifications
Apart from a 2.2 GHz quad-core processor, the phone features an Adreno 330 GPU. For multitasking, there's 2 GB of RAM. Internal storage is 32 GB, and you can throw in additional 64 Gigs via the microSD card slot. The phone flaunts a 20 megapixel camera with PureView branding. The 3400 mAh battery promises up to 5 days of music playback. The handset's network and Wi-Fi reception was spotless.

Software
The Lumia 1520 runs Windows Phone 8 Update 3 out of the box. After adding its own enhancements, Nokia packages it as Lumia Black. WP now allows you to close background apps. The much needed rotation lock is finally here. The Glance screen offers more options. As mentioned in 525's review, the Finns have also provided 'Folder' option to club similar apps on a single tile.

To make most of the big screen, the guys at Microsoft have added another column of tiles. So if you could fit in two standard size tiles on most Lumia phones, now you can squeeze in three live tiles in a row. That's a better approach than simply scaling the existing UI to fit the big screen. The Glance screen has also been improved. it now supports notifications from email, Facebook, Twitter etc.

The phone comes with Microsoft Office Suite and SkyDrive integration out of the box. You can edit the documents and spreadsheets on this 6-incher with ease. Additionally, you get Nokia exclusive apps including Here Maps+, City lens, PhotoBeamer, and MixRadio (earlier known as Nokia Music). Out of the lot, HERE Drive+ (Nokia Drive) is my favourite. The software offers offline voice-guided GPS navigation, which is as good as any dedicated car GPS system. Most of the top third-party apps are now available on WP platform. However, gamers will miss quite a many titles.

Work, play. Microsoft's Office suite and Xbox games.

Performance
We've seen that Windows Phone 8 devices run smoothly on a dual-core processors. On the 2.2 GHz quad-core processor, it's probably a split-second faster. It's the gaming where you feel the difference. Especially, Modern Combat 4 loads much faster on the 1520 compared to Lumia 925.

The Lumia 1520 comes with Nokia Music subscription offers unlimited free track downloads for six months. The phone's music output is excellent. Moreover, you can also play around with Dolby and equaliser settings.

The 6" Full HD screen is great for watching videos on the go. The handset supports 1080p MP4 and DivX videos without any problem. For subtitles and MKV, you'll have to grab MoliPlayer from the Store.

Camera
The 20 megapixel PureView camera comes with Optical Image Stabilisation. Similar to the current camera flagship 1020, this phone features dual-capture — saves pictures in 19 MP and 5 MP. The camera also offers an advance option to shoot in RAW DNG (Digital Negative) format. Good shutterbugs, who prefer high-quality unprocessed images. be warned though, these images go as big as 16 MB, so it's better to stick with compressed JPEGs unless you're good with professional post processing software. As far as the image quality is concerned, the 1520 isn't as great as the 1020. Especially, the difference between the two is pronounced in low-light. Having said that, the 1520 easily beats the competing Android camera phones. Click here, to view the untouched camera sample.

The phone comes with two apps to take snaps — 1. default WP camera 2. Nokia Camera. The first thing you should do after buying this phone is setting up Nokia camera as your default photography app. It gives total control over parameters such as shutter speed, exposure, white balance, and ISO. You can try out all the crazy stuff that was only possible with DSLRs a few months back. Then there's another interesting Lytro style camera app, Refocus. It allows you to take a snap, and set the point of focus later, or even better keep everything in focus. For more information, go through our Lumia 1020 review.

The phone can record 1080p video in MP4 format. Thanks to its quad-mic setup, the phone delivers directional stereo sound in your videos.

Battery
The Lumia 1520 packs in a 3400 mAh non-removable Li-ion battery. That's a huge battery in every sense. To put things in perspective, the GALAXY Note 3 comes with 3200 mAh battery. With normal usage, the battery easily lasts for two days. In our 720p video loop test, the phone lasted for almost 13 hours. In all, the battery life is great.

Verdict
The Lumia 1520 is a powerful phone with an excellent screen. Its 20 megapixel camera is ahead of the competition. Things like offline sat-nav, Nokia Music subscription, and Office Suite add value to the package. Moreover, the phone's performance is spotless.

As mentioned earlier, the only and biggest problem with this phone is its size. Had Nokia fused this hardware with a 4.5" screen, it would have been a killer phone. But, the current screen size is not everyone's cup of tea. So if you're looking for a Windows Phone, the Lumia 1020 and 925 are better options, unless you give too much importance to specs. For "phablet" lovers, it's going to be a tough call between the 1520 and Note 3. We believe that if the built quality and camera are you priorities, go for the 1520. On the other hand, if you like the idea of using stylus, the Note 3 is the way to go.

Features: 4.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 3.5/5
Mojo: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Specifications:

• Operating System: Windows Phone 8 Update 3.
• Processor: 2.2 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800.
• Memory: 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal user memory; 7 GB SkyDrive cloud storage, micro SD card support up to 64 GB.
• Display: 6-inch full HD 1080p LCD, ClearBlack, High Brightness Mode, Sunlight readability, Super sensitive touch for glove and nail usage, Gorilla Glass 2
• Primary camera: PureView 20-megapixel Auto Focus ZEISS optics with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), 2x lossless zoom, dual LED flash, 1080p @ 30 fps full HD video with optical image stabilisation.
• Secondary Camera: HD 1.2-megapixel wide angle.
• 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 mm. Weighs: 209 grams.
• Connectivity: NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0.
• Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light Sensor.
• Battery: 3400 mAh (integrated) with built-in wireless charging (Qi compatible)
• Audio: Rich Recording with four microphones; Wideband Voice and multi-microphone noise reduction with four microphones; Dolby(R) Headphone, Graphic equaliser, Audio levelling; FM radio.
• Networks: GSM/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz; Speed: LTE 150/50 mbps, DC-HSPA 42mbps.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Internet is abuzz with rumours related to Nokia X (also known as Normandy) handset. It's garnering so much anticipation simply because many believe that it will be the first Android device from Nokia's camp. Realistically speaking, it seems like a far-fetched dream considering Microsoft has finalised the purchase of Nokia's devices business. That said, we can't completely rule out the possibility of Nokia going ahead with a modified version of Android stripped off all Google services. For instance, Nokia will replace Gmaps with HERE, Hangouts with Skype etc.

Moving onto its specs, "serial leaker" @evleaks has tweeted that the Nokia X will feature a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 5 megapixel camera, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, 1500 mAh battery, and dual-SIM functionality. The handset will sport a 4" WVGA screen. Nokia X will come loaded with Nokia Store. There will also be an option to access thrid-party repositories. So while theres no clear indication that the phone will run Android OS, the talks of side-loading apps drop enough hints. In line with previous leaks, evleaks claims that the phone will flaunt a Lumia-esque design and six colours.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Nokia

The Lumia 1520 is the biggest phone to come out of Nokia's stable. The 6-incher is also the first Windows Phone device to flaunt a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. Throw a 20 megapixel "PureView" camera in the mix, and you get the device that can take any Android flagship head-on. That said, the 1520's size is not everyone's cup of tea. Thankfully, the Finns seem to be aware of the situation. The first image of the so called Lumia 1520 Mini (codenamed 1520V) surfaced on Chinese website WPbar.cn last week. It clearly looked like a Photoshop job, so we decided not to carry that news. However now, another image of the phone has been spotted on the famous microblogging site Weibo.com. This image shows the upcoming phone besides what appears to be an iPhone 5/iPhone 5S. It's blurry like every other leaked image you see on the Internet.

The rumour has it that the 1520V will a 4.45" screen with 1280x768 pixels. Moreover, you can expect a 14 megapixel camera and 2370 mAh battery. With MWC 2014 taking place next month, you can expect Nokia to announce this handset in Barcelona.



 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

As mentioned in our review, the 525 is almost identical to its predecessor 520. While we liked its minimalistic design and compact form factor, the 525's glossy finish isn't everyone's cup of tea. I'm sure many users (including me) will prefer matte back-panels not only because they look good, but also because they offer better grip. Now what if you could swap the 520's cover with your new 525? Well, we tried it, and it works. Changing panels is straightforward, so don't expect us to write a tutorial on it. Plus, all the buttons work just fine after the cover swapping.

Left - Lumia 525 Orange, Right - Lumia 520 Cyan.

The Lumia 520 and 525 with covers off.

Lumia 520's matte cyan back-panel snapped on the 525.

It's somewhat disappointing that Nokia didn't come with a new design for the 520. At the same time, one can say that it was a clever move to retain the design and bring in variety to covers. Whether you own a Lumia 525 or 520, there are now plenty of colourful covers with matte and glossy finish to choose from.

Pro Tip:- Nokia Lumia is sold at wildly different rates for different colours. You can easily save money by buying the cheapest colour and then spending Rs 350 (approx) more for original Nokia back cover colour that you want.

Tags : Mobile Phones, Nokia, Lumia

Nokia Lumia 525
Street Price: Rs 10,200

The Nokia Lumia 520 was one of the last year's top selling handsets. It single-handedly disrupted the budget smartphone market, and helped the Windows Phone platform become a viable alternative to Android. To cash on the 520's success, the Finns have now rolled out its successor, the 525. This new phone is similar to the Lumia 520, but comes with a bumped-up 1 GB of RAM, which was only found in the high-end Lumia handsets till now. But, should consumers really bother about this upgrade? Is it worth spending more than 10k for 525 or 520 is still a better deal for Rs 8500? Let's find out.



Aesthetics And Hardware
The 525 is almost identical to the 520. The design is minimalistic, yet eye-catching. Being compact, it's ideal for single-handed use. The materials used in its construction are top notch. What separates the 525 from its predecessor is the glossy finish. However, if you prefer the matte finish, you can snap on any of the 520's back-panel on to the 525. No problem whatsoever!



Under the cover, the phone has a microSD card slot and the battery is user-replaceable. At 1 cm the phone isn't very thin, but the tapering edges make it look that way. Like every other WP8 handset, the micro-USB port is at the bottom. Volume rocker, Lock button, and shutter key are on the right side. A 3.5 mm jack sits at the top, while there's nothing on the right side.


Identical: Left - Lumia 525 Orange, Right - Lumia 520 Cyan

The Lumia 525 sports a 4" IPS panel with pixel-dimensions of 800x480. It's protected by a hardened glass. The picture quality is sharp and has decent viewing angles. The colour reproduction and contrast are good. However, unlike the Lumia 620, this phone lacks Nokia's ClearBlack tech, which means you're going to miss deeper blacks. The touch sensitivity of the screen is very good. In all, it's one of the best screens at this price tag.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with a 1 GHz dual-core CPU and Adreno 305 GPU. Other features include a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 8 GB internal storage, and microSD card slot (up to 64 GB). The only thing that has been changed from the 520 is the amount of RAM, which is now 1 GB. The phone has got most connectivity options covered including W-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G. The network reception is solid. The voice-quality too was loud and clear during the calls. The phone comes with a 1430 mAh battery, which easily lasts for a day and half with normal usage.

Software
The Lumia 525 ships with the latest Windows Phone 8 Update 3 with Nokia Lumia Black software enhancements. In its latest iteration the WP UI enables to close background apps. The much needed rotation lock has finally made it to the official build. Although the phone doesn't support Glance screen, you can double tab on its screen to unlock. Apart from these add-ons, Nokia has added an option to group similar apps in a single tile. The idea is good, but the folder doesn’t go well with the interface. And, takes over a second to load. So it’s not worth installing in its current state. Out of the lot, HERE Drive+ (previously known as Nokia Drive) is my favourite. The software offers offline voice-guided GPS navigation, which is as good as any dedicated car GPS system.

Coming to the subject of productivity, Microsoft’s Office and SkyDrive integration is superb. You can create and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint files without any lag or slowdown. The mobile version Internet Explorer is compatible with HTML5. The Office and SkyDrive integration is superb. We are especially impressed with Nokia Beamer software. It lets you beam documents, presentations, camera, or even homescreen to any HTML5-enabled screen by simply scanning a QR code on the screen. This is a neat tool for quick office presentations with almost no set-up required. On the flipside, the lack of front-facing camera means that you can’t make video calls using Skype.

The inclusion of 1 GB RAM means that you can run high-end games such as Asphalt 8 and Modern Warfare 4 on this phone. Since these games are the paid ones, Nokia has partnered with Gameloft to offer games worth Rs 2025 for free (for a limited time period till 31st March 2014). The games run smooth on the 525, but off course take more time to load compared to Lumia 925 and 1020. To avail this offer you need to be on Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance Communications, or Idea Cellular’s network.

Camera And Multimedia
The 525’s camera quality is similar to that of the 520, which we think is good for the price. Despite being an affordable phone, it comes with the Nokia Camera app (earlier known as Pro Cam). This app gives total control over parameters such as shutter speed, exposure, white balance, and ISO. It also encompasses the Smartcam and video recording features. What’s missing here is an LED flash, which means that the low light photography is out of question. Click here, to view the untouched sample, click here. At max quality, the Lumia 525 can record 720p videos at 30 fps. The clips are saved in MP4 format, and offer a smooth playback.

The Lumia 525 comes with six months of Nokia Music subscription that lets you download millions of songs for free. The bundled earphones are mediocre, but when paired with decent earphones, the device's sound quality turns out to be very good. The phone plays MP4, WMV, and AVI videos up to720p. For other video formats and subtitles support, you need to purchase the MoliPlayer app.

Verdict
The Lumia 525 is available for Rs 10,200. If you’re not bothered about a front-facing camera and LED flash, the 525 is the best sub-10k phone in the market. There’s no Android phone in this price segment that can offer such fluid user-experience, camera interface, maps and navigation. The phone costs Rs 1700 more than the 520. This obviously leads to a question as to which phone is a better buy? The answer is that if you enjoy gaming, you should go ahead with the 525 as it not only comes with upgraded RAM, but also Rs 2000 worth free games. Otherwise, it makes sense to get the Lumia 520 and save a few hundred rupees.

Features: 3.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Mojo: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5
 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

The Lumia Black update, which is built on Microsoft's WP8 Update 3 has started rolling out to globally. We have checked it (in India), and confirm the availability of new software for the Lumia 1020 and 925. The rollout will be in phases, and the next wave of devices to receive the update are the Lumia 920 and 820. Others need not worry though, as each and every Windows Phone 8 device including the budget 520 and 620 are eligible for the Black update. The new software brings numerous features and enhancements to the table. Some of its key highlights have been listed below:

App Folder
It's an option to group similar apps tiles in a homescreen folder. This interface element is missing in the Microsoft's Update 3, which means that App Folder feature has been developed by the Finns.

Improved Multitasking
One of the most requested feature in Windows Phone, the ability to close background apps has been added to the OS. Now you get a 'close' (x) button on the card-based multitasking menu. To make sure you’re closing the right window, the app name and icon are added at the bottom.

Rotation Lock
The much needed rotation lock has finally been added to the OS. A welcome addition, but makes us wonder why Microsoft took so long to implement such a simple solution.

Glance Screen
The Glance has been updated to support notifications from email, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Nokia Refocus
This software allows you to take a snap first, and then set the point of focus, or you can even keep every object in focus (which is ideal for landscape photography). You can share these interactive images via Facebook, Twitter, or simply embed them using HTML code. The Refocus app will come to all Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones with 1 GB of RAM.

Nokia Beamer
The Finns have taken the popular app Photobeamer a step further, and turned it into Nokia Beamer. No longer restricted to just photos, you can now beam documents, presentations, anything you like, to any HTML5-enabled screen by simply scanning a QR code on the screen. This software is compatible with WP8 phones with 1 GB RAM.

Nokia Camera
This app gives total control over parameters such as shutter speed, exposure, white balance, and ISO. It also encompasses the Smartcam and video recording features.

RAW DNG
Firt introduced on the Lumia 1520, RAW DNG support has now landed on the Lumia 1020. This will interest many shutterbugs who prefer high-quality unprocessed images.

You can manually check for the update by going to ‘Settings’ - ‘Phone Update’. In case, you're confused, check out the following video that demonstrates this process.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Price Update: Nokia's most popular handset, the Lumia 520 has been updated to 525 and is available today in stores for purchase Rs 10,200 with bill and warranty. So what you get for that extra Rs 2,025 spent is handset that can play high-end games with double the amount of RAM. Be a look out for the hands-on preview and review soon.

Nokia Lumia 525 has hit the Indian stores for Rs 10,400. As most of you already know, the new phone is very similar to the Lumia 520, save for the RAM upgrade. The inclusion of 1 GB RAM means that you can run high-end games such as Asphalt 8 and Modern Warfare 4 on this phone. However, these premium Gameloft games are quite expensive. To tackle this issue, Nokia has teamed up with Gameloft to offer games worth Rs 2025. That's roughly the price difference between the Lumia 520 and 525. So if you're split between these two handsets, the 525 is definitely a better choice.

Here's the complete list of titles available:

1. Asphalt 7: Heat.
2. Modern Combat 4.
3. N.O.V.A. 3.
4. Order & Chaos.
5. Shark Dash.
6. Earthworm Jim.
7. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles.
8. Let's Golf 2.
9. Brain Challenge HD.
10. Asphalt 8: Airborne.

The offers starts today and is valid till 31st of March. There's a catch here though: the scheme is valid only for select mobile Operators including Airtel India, Vodafone India, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Facing the "Go big or, go extinct" scenario, Nokia has already rolled out its first oversized smartphone Lumia 1520. After this 6-inch device though, the Finns are now going with a more acceptable "phablet" size. The company is ready to unveil its first 5" smartphone called Lumia Icon. The official announcement is expected at CES 2014, but the American network provider Verizon has already listed it on their website. The webpage has many missing links and images. The phone has been pegged $777, which definitely is a placeholder and not the actual price. From whatever information we can find from the website, this 5" phone features an HD screen. Its 20 megapixel camera has Zeiss optics and OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) technology. It's powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. The phone packs in 2420 mAh battery, with the convenience of built-in wireless (induction) charging.

The Icon will feature a metallic frame. As far its aesthetics are concerned, the phone looks blocky like Verizon's other exclusive handset Lumia 928. Coming to the subject of availability, there's a good chance that the Lumia Icon will release outside the US. However, we may get a better looking International variant instead.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

After launching its first 6-incher Lumia 1520 in December, Nokia has started its year by rolling out the Lumia 1320 in India. Unlike its bigger sibling, the 1320 is powered by a relatively low-end 1.7 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor. This phone sports a 6-inch HD (720p) IPS screen protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Like most Lumia phones, the 1320 also features Super-Sensitive touch support. Other features include a 5 megapixel camera, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal storage, microSd card slot, 3400 mAh battery. Coming to the software part, the 1320 runs the latest Windows Phone 8 Black (earlier known as Bittersweet Shimmer) out of the box. The phone comes with Microsoft office, Outlook, SkyDrive integration. Being a Nokia device, the phone will have free access to offline HERE Maps and Nokia Music.

Last year, Samsung's GALAXY Grand sold like hot cakes. Its successor, Grand 2 has been priced at Rs 24,000. And since Nokia is planning to grab some market share in the oversized phones category, the company has pegged the Lumia 1320 exactly at Rs 24,000. The phone is expected to hit the stores in a week or two. For more details about its hardware and features, follow this link.
 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Announced in November, the Nokia Lumia 525 has finally landed in India. The successor of a popular budget WP8 handset Lumia 520, packs in double the amount of RAM compared to its predecessor. With better specs, you can expect even high-end games such as Asphalt 8 and Modern Warfare 4 to work on the 525.

Apart from the RAM upgrade, the new phone is almost similar to the 520. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with a 1 GHz dual-core CPU and Adreno 305 GPU. Other specs include a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 8 GB internal storage, and microSD card slot (up to 64 GB). Being a Lumia device, the phone comes with a set of exclusive apps including Photobeamer, HERE maps, Nokia Mix Radio (earlier known as Nokia Music), and Nokia Camera. However, if you were hoping to see a front-facing camera, you're in for a disappointment.

Similar to the Lumia 1520, the 525 runs Windows Phone 8 Black (Update 3) out of the box. The phone has been priced at Rs 10,400, and is available for purchase starting from today. Click here, for more technical details about the Lumia 525.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Looks like the Nokia may (or may not… who knows?) be looking at attacking the dual-SIM and entry-level Android market soon, if Twitter leaker Evleaks is to be believed. The guys behind the twitter handle have put up new rendered images of the supposedly Android-based handset codenamed "Normandy" and a dual-SIM Windows Phone 8 device codenamed "MoneyPenny"

While Nokia Normandy was expected to be announced by early 2014, the picture caption suggests that it will be a reality in the next five-odd days of 2013. Another leak suggests the existence of the dual-SIM windows Phone 8 handset called Nokia Moneypenny. No specific hardware details of the two have been suggested, so we'll just have to wait for the drama to unfold.

Coming back to reality, Nokia has finally brought out its three Asha phones — 500, 502, and 503. Click this link for details. As for pricing, the Asha 500 has been priced at Rs 4500, and will come bundled with a special TATA Docomo offer for free WhatsApp for three months, after which you need to shell out Rs 17 every month for the next 9 months.

The Asha 502 has been priced at Rs 5970, and Idea users can stake claim to free 2G internet service of up to 500MB per month for 3 months. Finally, the Asha 503 with no data plan offers can be yours at an MRP of Rs 6800.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Nokia, Windows Phone, Android, Lumia, Asha

After unveiling the Asha 502 a few days ago, Nokia has rolled out 500 and 503 in India. Both these phones run Asha software platform 1.1 with swipe UI. The phones come pre-installed with Nokia Express Browser, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Moreover, you get 10 free games from Nokia Store.

Out of the lot, Asha 503 features a 3" curved screen with 320x240 pixels. The display has been protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2. It's also the only 3G phone among the lot. This dual-SIM phone has a 5 megapixel camera and 1110 mAh battery.

On the other hand, the Asha 500 sports a 2.8" screen. Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, FM Radio, dual-SIM support, 1200 mAh battery, and microSD card slot.

The Asha 500 and 503 come in Lumia-esque vibrant colours. There's also a layer of transparent plastic that makes these phones look like ice-candies. The Asha 500 has been priced at Rs 4500, while the Asha 503 can be bought for Rs 6800.

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

Nokia Lumia 1520
Street Price: Rs 47,000

Nokia has been one of the few companies that refrained from releasing oversized phones for a while. However, looking at the immense success of the GALAXY Note series, the Finns have finally decided to jump on the "phablet" bandwagon. With its 6" full-HD screen, the Lumia 1520 is the biggest Windows Phone 8 device in the market. Thanks to a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset, it can go head-on with any Android flagship device. Since the OS already runs smooth on dual-core CPUs, the powerful chipset is meant to attract specs-loving buyers from the dark side. During the launch event in Delhi, we got a chance to check out the phone, and here are our initial impressions about the same.

Design And Build
Make no mistake, the Lumia 1520 is huge and unwieldy. It's bigger than the Samsung GALAXY Note 3. The only phones less pocketable than the 1520 are Sony's Xperia Z Ultra, HTC One Max, and Samsung's Mega 6.3. Personally, I wouldn't want to slap a 6-incher across my face for making or receiving calls.

Moving on to its looks, the phone is based on Nokia's fabula design language that debuted on the N9 (which looks identical to the Lumia 800). The slim unibody and bold colours (especially, red and yellow) reminds you of the 720. Makes us wonder how Nokia squeezed induction charging coil in an 8.7 mm thin body. On the other hand, a slight camera protrusion is in line with the Lumia 925.

The 1520's construction is top-notch. There's not a single rough spot on the phone. Even the loudspeaker grille pores are machined with insane precision. While there are plenty of high-end phones in the market, the only other company to roll out such polished products is Apple.

The position of hardware buttons is a standard Lumia affair. The screen along with the capacitive keys are covered by a layer of scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 2. It's worth noting that the Lumia 1520 is Nokia's first phone to adhere to nanoSIM standards. That's going to be helpful for those making a switch from the iPhone. The rest will have to get their SIMs changed.

Display
The 1520's 6" IPS LCD screen has pixel dimensions of 1920x1080. That takes its pixel density to around 365 ppi. No doubt, the display is very sharp, but what's even more impressive are the viewing angles. Even at extreme angles, the screen manages to retain legibility with minimal colour shift. Thanks to polarisation filters, the phone delivers relatively deeper blacks while eliminating the screen glare. Backed by the Assertive display tech, the screen offers excellent picture quality in various lighting conditions. The system comprises of a dedicated chip and software algorithm that controls individual pixels in real time. Similar to the current crop of Lumias, the 1520 comes with a super-sensitivity display. For those who like to experiment, there's an option to play around with the colour profile. So you can change the colour tone from natural to vivid.

Specifications
Apart from a 2.2 GHz quad-core processor, the phone features an Adreno 330 GPU. For multitasking, there's 2 GB of RAM. Internal storage is 32 GB, and you can throw in additional 64 Gigs via the microSD card slot. The phone flaunts 20 megapixel camera with PureView branding. Backed by Zeiss optics, the camera assembly promises Optical Image Stabilisation. The 3400 mAh battery promises up to 5 days of music playback.

Software
The Lumia 1520 ships with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 Update 3. After adding its own enhancements, Nokia packages it as Lumia Black. The most important improvement here the ability to close background apps. Now you get a 'close' (x) button on the card-based multitasking menu. The interface hasn't been changed much. However, to make most of the big screen, the guys at Microsoft have added another column of tiles. So if you could fit in two standard size tiles on most Lumia phones, now you can squeeze in three live tiles in a row. That's a better approach than simply scaling the existing UI to fit the big screen. The Glance screen has also been improved. it now supports notifications from email, Facebook, Twitter etc.

We've seen that Windows Phone 8 devices run smoothly on a dual-core processors. So the absurdly powerful Snapdragon 800 chipset doesn't make much difference when it comes to the user experience. However, it's the gaming where you feel the difference. Especially, Modern Combat 4 loads much faster on the 1520 compared to the Lumia 925.

The phone comes with Microsoft Office Suite and SkyDrive integration out of the box. You can edit the documents and spreadsheets on this 6-incher with ease. I'm sure, it's going to be a killer feature for corporate users. Additionally, you get Nokia exclusive apps including Here Maps+, City lens, PhotoBeamer, and Nokia Music.

Camera
The 20 megapixel PureView camera comes with Optical Image Stabilisation. Similar to the current camera flagship 1020, this phone features dual-capture — saves pictures in 19 MP and 5 MP. The camera also offers an advance option to shoot in RAW DNG (Digital Negative) format. This will interest many shutterbugs who prefer high-quality unprocessed images. However, these images go as big as 16 MB, so it's better to stick with compressed JPEGs unless you're good with professional post processing software. The camera also comes with Lytro style camera app, Refocus. It allows you to take a snap, and set the point of focus later, or even better keep everything in focus. While we haven't fully tested the camera, we were quite pleased with the indoor test shots.

The phone can record 1080p video in MP4 format. During the event, Nokia demonstrated how its quad-mic setup delivers directional sound. In simple words, the phone prioritise the sound coming from the object in focus. It also cancels the background noise to a great extend. As a result you get impressive stereo sound in your videos.

In A Nutshell
Be it size or performance, the Lumia 1520 is a beast. Since the phone is huge, it's definitely not meant for normal users. However, those who love bigger screens will not be disappointed. Priced at Rs 47,000, it goes head-on with the similarly priced GALAXY Note 3. In fact, it's better than Samsung's offering in terms of aesthetics. At the same time, the Note 3 has an edge due to its stylus integration and truckload of apps. To find out whether the 1520 is truly a GALAXY Note 3 killer, stay tuned for our comprehensive review.
 

• Specifications:
• Operating System: Windows Phone 8 Update 3.
• Processor: 2.2 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800.
• Memory: 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal user memory; 7 GB SkyDrive cloud storage, micro SD card support up to 64 GB.
• Display: 6-inch full HD 1080p LCD, ClearBlack, High Brightness Mode, Sunlight readability, Super sensitive touch for glove and nail usage, Gorilla Glass 2
• Primary camera: PureView 20-megapixel Auto Focus ZEISS optics with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), 2x lossless zoom, dual LED flash, 1080p @ 30 fps full HD video with optical image stabilisation.
• Secondary Camera: HD 1.2-megapixel wide angle.
• 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 mm. Weighs: 209 grams.
• Connectivity: NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0.
• Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light Sensor.
• Battery: 3400 mAh (integrated) with built-in wireless charging (Qi compatible)
• Audio: Rich Recording with four microphones; Wideband Voice and multi-microphone noise reduction with four microphones; Dolby(R) Headphone, Graphic equaliser, Audio levelling; FM radio.
• Networks: GSM/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz; Speed: LTE 150/50 mbps, DC-HSPA 42mbps.

Tags : Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Nokia camera combines the Smart Cam, video recorder, and DSLR-like Pro Cam in a single easily accessible suite. It debuted with the Lumia 1020, after which the software made it to other PureView Windows Phones such as the 925 and 920. Those who own the mid or low-end Lumia devices had been left out of all this camera action. However, the company has now revealed its plans to bring this app to all Lumia handsets. Yes, Nokia has published the Nokia Camera in its Beta Labs website.

With this Beta programme, the Finns want to make sure that the app runs fine on WP8 devices with 512 MB RAM before going public. So if you're planning to install it, don't be surprised to face a few glitches. The company has promised constant bug fixes, improvements, and functionality add-ons, so it's worth giving a shot. And you can set Nokia Camera Beta as your default camera, so that it starts up with the hardware shutter button.

The app is compatible with the Lumia 820, 720, 625, 620, and 520. It's also said to be working with American variants such as Lumia 822, 810, and 521. Make sure your phone is running the latest Lumia Amber software release. You can check the firmware details from Settings - Extras + info. In case, you haven't received the Amber update yet, go to Settings, then click on Phone Update.

Those who wish to install the app head over to this page. Register, or sign in using your Nokia account, and you're good to go. To make your life easier, we have embedded the QR code. Simply scan it using your phone's Bing Vision.

TAGS: Apps, Downloads, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

The Asha 501's successor, has popped up on Nokia's official online store. Dubbed as Asha 502, this phone features a 3-inch screen (320x240 pixels) encased in Gorilla Glass 2. Now, we don't like big phones; but 3" display is quite cumbersome for typing. The camera has been bumped up from 3.1 to 5 megapixel, and there's an LED flash too. The phone runs Asha software platform 1.1 with swipe UI. It will come pre-installed with Nokia Express Browser, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. Similar to its predecessor, this dual-SIM phone supports EDGE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0. The lack of 3G will turn off many potential buyers. No word on what processor goes inside this phone. RAM is said to be 64 MB, and so is the internal storage. Thankfully, there's a microSD card slot to expand the storage up to 32 GB.

More than its specs and features, Asha 502's bold aesthetics will attract buyers. The phone comes in Lumia-esque vibrant colours, but what's unique is the layer of transparent plastic on it. Similar to the 501, you can expect this handset to be rock-solid. The Asha 502 is available online for Rs 5800. For this price, you can get a feature-packed Android phone from a domestic manufacturer, or add a couple of grand more and go for the Lumia 520 instead.

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

Nokia has finally jumped onto the large screen bandwagon. Skipping the 5" handset category, the Finns have decided to compete with 6-inch mammoths.

Along with boasting of the largest screen, this will be the brand's first handset with a 1080p screen and a quad-core processor powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset. To keep this this beast running smoothly, Nokia has added 2 GB of RAM. Along with 32 GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot, the device packs in a 20 megapixel camera with optics by Zeiss, and PureView tech with a promise of "superior low-light imaging".

The Lumia 1520 will run Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8 Black (earlier known as Bittersweet Shimmer) OS. The handset will join the ranks of Lumia 720 and 925, with snap-on covers in Red, White, Yellow, and Black that support wireless (induction) charging. Click here for more details on specs. The handset has been priced at Rs 47,000.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone

Nokia has just sent out an invitation for a key announcement on 16th of this month. The event will take place in New Delhi, hosted by Nokia India's Managing Director, Mr. P. Balaji, and Director-Smart Devices, Mr. Vipul Mehrotra, Nokia IMEA. If that wasn't enough to hint at the Lumia 1520 launch, the description of the event gives away all the suspense, "unveiling the next BIG chapter in the Lumia story". The emphasis on the word 'BIG' is clearly about the Lumia 1520's huge 6-inch screen. Along with the flagship phone, Nokia might also launch its budget phablet 1320 on the same day.

Apart from being the biggest Lumia phone till date, the 1520 is also the first smartphone from Nokia to boast of a full-HD screen and quad-core chipset. For more information on the Lumia 1520, follow this link. Similarly, click here for full-specs of the Lumia 1320.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Those who didn’t appreciate the over-grown and hideous Bluetooth on-ear headset, take note. Nokia has unveiled the BH-121; to add to its Bluetooth Stereo Headset line up. Available in Lumia colours cyan, red, yellow, and black, the Bluetooth-cum-NFC compliant headset packs in noise blocking in-ear headphones (WH-208). If you prefer any other earphones, then you can attach it to the 3.5mm audio jack of the "tile design" device that can be clipped on using a secure clip.

While the one button lets you answer calls and switch between music, other controls to toggle volume, Bluetooth, and track control buttons have been placed around the device's edges for quick access. The headset is NFC-enabled with multi-point support so you can connect two NFC-compliant devices to the headset at once. If your device doesn't support NFC, you can still turn back to good 'ol Bluetooth.

The headset also sports a battery-life indicator LED, but if you own a Lumia device, life can be easier, as you can pin the device on the Start screen with its very own Live tile. The BH-121 has been priced at €39 (Rs 3300) and will begin retailing later this month. Nokia hasn’t clarified which countries it will sell in though. We will keep you posted about its India launch.

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Accessories, Nokia

Nokia is leaving no stones unturned to market its Lumia 1020. Now, the Finnish brand has tied up with the Thomson Reuters Foundation for an international photography contest. Flagging off the contest via Facebook, the theme of the competition is women empowerment. The listing page describes the contests as "Photographers are encouraged to explore themes such as: leadership, courage, passion, opportunity, innovation, and motherhood. Women do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities everywhere. Tell us a story. Show the world a positive image to inspire and trigger change".

For the first leg of the contest, there is no mention of equipment to be used, so I assume you can use anything from a cell phone camera to a DSLR.

The contest will end on 11th February, 2014, and the 10 finalists will be announced on 5th March. These 10 photographers will then have to use a Lumia 1020 and create a portfolio on the same theme. The final winner, which will be announced on 2nd April, can stake claim the following goodies:
- The very first Thomson Reuters Foundation-Nokia Award.
- An all-expenses paid trip to attend a Mobile Journalism training course organised by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and led by professional journalists.
- A Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone.
- Exclusive opportunity to have your work published on Thomson Reuters Foundation’s award-winning website trust.org and across the Thomson Reuters Foundation and Nokia’s social media channels.
- Exclusive opportunity to have your work/portfolio reviewed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation multimedia team.
- Interview published on trust.org.

Last year the workshops were held in London, Buenos Aires, and Tbilisi, so we can expect some exotic locations this time too.

That is not all, there is a public choice award too; this one will be decided by public votes and stands to win a Nokia Lumia 1020, and the 2013 edition of the ‘Reuters Our World Now’ photobook.

The campaign is dubbed as "Click for Change", which most obviously means that you need to use the hashtag #click4change. Check out the video below for details.

TAGS: Contests, Nokia, Cameras, Culture

We’ve reviewed how good Nokia 1020 camera is in the past here (video review) and the amazing camera sample shots here. This got my colleague who is an ardent supporter of Nokia 1020 (Nokia Lumia phones in general) and me (I love my DSLR) talking about why bother with a different camera at all when one buys a Nokia 1020.

After much fervent arguments and ineloquent dialogues, we decided on a simple test that an actual person who knows nothing about cameras will use. Therefore we had to catch the lowest combination denominator for the Nokia 1020 test. A girl (name withheld for fear of my life) who doesn’t know and doesn’t even care about cameras, all that she wants are good photos (or selfies) that can click by themselves automagically. A Perfect Test!

I was forbidden to use any “any DSLR tricks”. “What DSLR tricks?” I asked. After 30 mins of arduous blabber, this is what I could decode. Basically I was not to use any of the advanced PASM modes or setting changes. “But that doesn’t make any sense, we need to match certain settings for the test due to…”, I protested, but arguing with a woman...

So with a bit of planning, this is what we decided.
1. Everything must be set to Auto
2. I cannot make fun of her
3. It must be in normal everyday conditions; like outside in the broad daylight, in the office, and low light conditions

Cameras Used
- Nokia Lumia 1020 —The best that a camera phone has to offer
- Canon EOS-M (18-55mm lens kit) — Unconventional mirrorless camera that has an APS-C sized sensor like a Canon 550D, with a touchscreen in a small compact body.
Location: Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel and Techtree.com Office, Lower Parel

Armed with this, we went ahead to shoot the same shots with as much accuracy as we possibly could.

Shot 1: Water-freeze (indoor)
Our first shot is actually one of the most challenging to catch for a camera especially in low light conditions like these. The Nokia 1020 does quite a good job except for the colours which appears washed out. Canon EOS-M captures the colours closest to reality. This could be attributed to the focus of camera itself and the Auto white balance setting in reference to that. Nonetheless, this is the result we landed up with even after clicking multiple times.

Nokia 1020 - Shutter Speed 1/55 sec Whitebalance-Auto, Canon EOS-M – 1/35 sec Whitebalance-Auto

Shot 2: Detail in Broad daylight (evening time-shade)
The Nokia 1020 as well as the Canon EOS-M have caught excellent details. Though the Nokia 1020 does exaggerate colours and therefore is more attractive to watch, the real colours look like as represented by Canon EOS-M.

Nokia 1020 - Aperture F2.2, Canon EOS-M – F3.5

Shot 3: Colour Representation
Again we are in Full-auto here. The Nokia 1020 loves to exaggerate the colours. Check out the red logo behind on the pillar, it actually looks pinkish. Now, for photographers this would generally be a no-no, but honestly this photo will end up being on the phone and max on Facebook for sharing, it looks great overall and a lot more attractive than the EOS-M. After all, I would have to post-process the image to make the colours pop, Nokia 1020 does that job pretty much for you here. Nice!

Nokia 1020 - Aperture F2.2 (White Balance - Auto), Canon EOS-M – F4.5 (White Balance - Auto)

Check out the exaggerated reds
 

Shot 4: Zoom (outside in shade)
The Nokia 1020 has no optical zoom, where as the Canon EOS-M has 18-55mm a basic optical zoom. But 1020 has high 38MP sensor (+ 5MP as separate image), so we actually have a lot of "cheat" zoom, in other words digital zoom to play and reframe our shot with. No matter what tricks Nokia 1020 has, when you do a proper pixel to pixel comparison, you'll notice noise on the Nokia 1020 and the loss of detail in this evening shade shot. The Nokia 1020 does do digital zoom with a lot of panache though.

The actual shot and distance

Both at the same level of digital zoom
Nokia 1020 to the left VS Canon EOS-M 18-55mm full optical zoom at 55mm to the right

Shot 5: Sunlight (evening)
Evening and morning sunlight is a beautiful golden colour. This can give some beautiful shots but when we clicked with Nokia 1020, our first reaction was anything but beautiful. The Nokia 1020 blew the colours out of proportion, trying to focus on another point on the flower and fiddling with Aperture didn’t fix it, until EV (Exposure value) was brought down to correct this. Canon EOS-M did this beautifully without a blink.

Nokia 1020 - Aperture F2.2 everything else on Auto, Canon EOS-M – Aperture F5 (due to zoom) everything else on Auto

Nokia 1020 – Aperture F2.2, EV -1

Shot 6: Indoor Low Light (One Reflective light source)
This is where Nokia’s 1020 1/1.5 inch sensor VS the Canon’s much bigger EOS-M APS-C sensor is truly tested. The bigger sensor no doubt does a much better job with minimal grain. The Nokia 1020 does do a commendable job but with more grain though; check out the detail it can manage in low light. Impressive!

Nokia 1020 – F2.2 ISO-1000, Canon EOS-M – F3.5 ISO-800

Shot 7: Indoor Really Low Light (Faint light from LCD Monitor to the left)
For this test we had one light barely visible on the left side and that too coming from an LCD monitor. While shooting in such a dark environment, poor Nokia 1020 really struggled and we struggled even more as we could not keep the camera steady in such a low light in spite of using the table as a help. Therefore the shot has been taken with faster shutter speed to try and maintain steadiness with shaky hands. Without a Nokia camera grip to assist, these are real life troubles you can expect to have especially in low light, like in a low lit pub or dark corner. Mind you, its low light performance is still better than all other phone cameras that we have tested till date.

Nokia 1020 – F2.2 ISO-800 Shutter-1sec, Canon EOS-M F3.5 ISO-800 Shutter-4 sec

Conclusion
So what do I think of this little test we conducted? Simple, the Nokia 1020 is a fantastic camera phone. The sensor comes very close to 1 inch sensor cameras such as the Sony RX100 II. But you cannot beat bigger sensor with all your software or camera tricks, period. Where the camera phone excels is obviously the portability and the convenience part, even though Canon EOS-M beats all other DSLR’s in this department due to its compact mirrorless design, it still cannot beat a 1020’s size and convergence excellence. With a little bit of tinkering around, you can take amazing shots with it. Sigh, if only I had that kind of money to burn.

To sum it up, the Nokia Lumia 1020 is the best camera phone out there, but it is not good enough to replace a DSLR or cameras with APS-C sized sensors. So spend your 45K wisely depending on what you truly need.

Special thanks to our Videographer Khozema Agarwala who enthusiastically contributed to this article.

Tags : Cameras, Nokia, Canon

Thanks to the the spec-heavy handsets from domestic players such as Micromax, XOLO, and Karbonn, Indian smartphone buyers are spoilt for choice in the budget segment. To compete with these Sino-Indian companies, the International brands too have started rolling out featured-packed phones that don't cost a bomb. In this article, we're going to look at five sub-15k smartphones that are truly worth your money.

XOLO Play T1000
Price: Rs 14,000
XOLO is known for well-built devices, and the Play T1000 is no exception. The phone flaunts a vibrant 4.7" screen with pixel dimensions of 720x1280. The phone’s NVIDIA Tegra based quad-core processor is clocked at 1.5 GHz, and is coupled with a 12-Core ULP GeForce GPU. This makes the XOLO T1000 one of the few sub-20k smartphones to render the graphics-heavy games such as Real Racing 3 and Dead Trigger in full glory. Other key features include an 8 megapixel rear camera, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, and 2000 mAh battery. The only downer here, is that the phone is still stuck on Android 4.1.1. Read it's in-depth review here.

Nokia Lumia 720
Price: Rs 14,500
The Lumia 720 is one of the best looking handsets you can get without crossing the 15k mark. The handset features a 4.3" WVGA IPS screen with ClearBlack tech, which is known to offer deeper blacks. The 720 packs in a 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with Adreno 305 graphics, which offer a fluid Windows Phone 8 experience. The 6.7 megapixel autofocus camera offers incredible low-light photography. Other hardware features include 8 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, and 2000 mAh battery. To further sweeten the deal, the Finns have thrown in Nokia Music (free music download for a year) and Nokia Drive (maps). Check it's review here.

LG Optimus L9
Street Price: Rs 15,000
LG may have ditched the Optimus series, but the Optimus L9 is still one of the best Android phones under under 15k. It sports 4.7" IPS screen with 960x540 pixels. It features a 1 GHz dual core processor (Cortex A9), coupled with PowerVR SGX540 GPU. There's 1 GB of RAM to aid the device's multitasking capabilities. The 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash is capable of recording HD videos. Other features include Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS. 3.5 mm jack, 4 GB of internal memory, microSD card slot, and 2150 mAh battery. The Optimus L9 was released with ICS, but the Jelly Bean update is out and runs quite well on this phone. Though it doesn't feature a fancy quad-core processor, this phone is still a very smooth operator.

Gionee Elife E3
Price: 13,800
The Chinese manufacturer Gionee has been churning out quite a few good phones for a while, and the E3 is no exception. The phone sports a 4.7" IPS screen with 1280×720 pixels. It's powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor, and PowerVR Series5XT GPU. Then there's an 8 megapixel rear camera, 2 MP front-facing snapper, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, and 1800 mAH battery. It's equipped with the dual-SIM support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 3G connectivity. The phone comes with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and for further updates Gionee has OTA in place. Much like Nokia's Lumia series of phones, the E3 comes in Blue, Red, Black, and White.



Samsung GALAXY Grand Quattro
Price: Rs 14,800
If XOLO or Gionee doesn't cut it for you, here's one Android handset from the world's biggest smartphone-maker, Samsung. The Grand Quattro features a 4.7" TFT LCD screen with 480x800 pixels (don't they love that low resolution screen?). It's the cheapest quad-core phone from Samsung's stable. But it has a Snapdragon 200 chip with dated A5 cores and Adreno 203 GPU, so don't get your hopes too high. Moving along, there's a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with an LED flash. Other specs include 1 GB RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, microSD slot, and 2000 mAh battery. The phone runs Android Jelly Bean out of the box. There's nothing new in the design department. But on the bright side, it looks much like the S4, so it does have some flaunt value doesn't it?

We included this one specially for the brand conscious buyers. Though it gets most of the job done, don't expect miracles from it just because it's a Samsung. However, it's a much better buy than the bigger Grand from the same company.

Tags : Mobile Phones, Android, Windows Phone, Nokia, Samsung, LG, gionee, xolo

While Nokia's Lumia 520 is doing great in India, it's still off the radar of many value buyers due to the lack of dual-SIM support. Yes, no matter how annoying it is to operate a dual-SIM handset, for us Indians, it is always "more the merrier". Cluttered WP interface is the last thing Microsoft wants, however, the software giant now has no option but to offer what people are looking for.

Nokia has expertise in dual-SIM hardware, but it was held back only because of Windows Phone software. Now if @evleaks is to be believed, the Finns are planning to unveil a dual-SIM handset codenamed "Moneypenny" built on the upcoming iteration of Windows Phone platform "Blue" (a.k.a. 8.1).

There's no word on when the device will go official, but we expect this to happen next year somewhere around February 2014. There's a high chance that this upcoming phone will fall under Lumia 5xx or 6xx series. With Lumia 525 and 625 already in existence, we expect the phone to be called something like Lumia 522 or maybe Lumia 622.
 

Nokia planning a dual-SIM version of Windows Phone Blue-powered Moneypenny.

— @evleaks (@evleaks) November 27, 2013

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Multi-SIM, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

As we had reported earlier this month, Nokia has announced the successor of its highly-popular budget WP8 handset Lumia 520. Dubbed as the Nokia Lumia 525, the new phone packs in double the amount of RAM compared to its predecessor. With 1 GB of RAM, you can expect even high-end games such as Asphalt 8 and Modern Warfare 4 to work on the 525.

Apart from the RAM upgrade, the new phone is almost similar to the 520. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with a 1 GHz dual-core CPU and Adreno 305 GPU. Other specs include a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 8 GB internal storage, and microSD card slot (up to 64 GB). However, if you were hoping to see a front-facing camera, you're in for some disappointment. Seriously, Nokia and Microsoft, why not make Skype available to more people?

Coming to the subject of software, the 525 runs Windows Phone 8 Update 3 out-of-the-box. Being a Lumia device, the phone comes with a set of exclusive apps including Photobeamer, HERE maps, Nokia Mix Radio (earlier known as Nokia Music), and Nokia Camera. Yes, it's the same camera app that we've seen on the Lumia 1020. That possibly explains why Nokia has opted for 1 GB of RAM. There's no official word on the device's pricing and availability in India, but considering that the Lumia 520 sells for around Rs 8000, you can expect its successor to be priced at around 10-12k.
 

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia

Following are some snippets from the market.

As per the dealers, these are the top 3 highest selling handsets in this category over the past month:

1. Samsung GALAXY S4
2. Apple iPhone 5S (16 GB)
3. Samsung Galaxy Note III

Blackberry sales are at the lowest followed by LG and Sony.

Nokia sales have started picking up in the last quarter.

Response to the Google Nexus 5 in the grey market has been very good in the last week. They are still selling for a price higher than its listed price on Play Store India.

The Apple iPhone 5S sales have been good especially after the iPhone 5 got discontinued. Customers have been inquiring a lot about the Gold iPhone 5S.

TAGS: Mobile Phones

After unveiling as many as six devices at Abu Dhabi last month, looks like there is a lot more still left in its kitty to sell to the world. Serial leaker @evleaks has tweeted about two more Nokia handsets, possibly from its Asha feature phone family.

While one has been codenamed Nokia Normandy, and looks like it’s taking design cues from its Windows Phone (Lumia) sibling (or it may be a Lumia too; who knows), the second one is without a doubt based on the Asha platform. Although nothing is being said about either phones’ innards; the probability of the second one making it to Indian shores before anywhere else in the world seems high.

Until more details come to the fore, check out evleaks’ tweets below. In the meantime, watch this space for more details.

A real Asha. Or Lumia? The Nokia Normandy. pic.twitter.com/Q4jpPNte1l

— @evleaks (@evleaks) November 25, 2013

What is This Thing? Nokia Asha edition pic.twitter.com/feyX8QBeKq

— @evleaks (@evleaks) November 25, 2013

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Nokia, Asha

The popular mobile chatting app WhatsApp has finally made its way to the Asha platform now. The app is available free of cost for Asha 501 users via an OTA software update. Nokia, on its official blog has further stated that the app will come preloaded on its Asha 500, Asha 502, and Asha 503 Dual SIM handsets, when it starts retailing by the end of the year. Once loaded, the software is said to “automatically find and add contacts who are already using the messaging service”. The app will offer support for emoticons, photographs, videos, and audio files. Ok, you already know everything about WhatsApp.

Notifications will be shown via Fastlane, which Nokia describes as “the second home screen that acts as a shortcut to favourite apps and content, and features on all Asha Platform devices”. For a secondary phone, Nokia’s Asha line up does seem to dangle some really juicy carrots.

TAGS: Apps, Internet, Culture, WhatsApp, Nokia, Asha

Nokia Lumia 1020
Street Price: Rs 46,000

The 808 was a breakthrough in mobile phone photography, and a fitting tribute to Nokia’s Symbian platform. Its 41 megapixel camera backed by Zeiss optics offered incredibly detailed photographs in daylight. However, there was plenty of room for improvement in low-light photography. Nokia then, started working on PureView Phase-II, which made it to the Lumia 920. This Windows Phone device was the first smartphone to incorporate Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) along with Back Side Illuminated (BSI) sensor. The 920 pioneered the low-light imaging, and many manufacturers including Samsung, HTC, and LG followed suite. Little wonder then, Nokia fused these two camera innovations in its latest flagship, Lumia 1020. Let’s find out how good it truly is.



Design And Construction
On its face, the Lumia 1020 is hard to tell apart from the 920. It’s made of a single-piece polycarbonate shell that doesn’t lose colour even when scratched. The phone feels every bit premium as its predecessor. However, the 41 megapixel camera sensor protrusion on its back is hard to ignore, and Nokia doesn't want to hide it either. The Finns have actually highlighted the lens assembly in the White and Yellow variants. No way this protrusion looks good, but those who admire 1020’s camera performance would definitely want to flaunt it. Think of it as a muscle car with a massive bulge on its bonnet (known as hood scoop), which is not only a necessary design decision, but also gives the car its distinct identity. In 1020’s case, you should also take into consideration that the camera contains over 130 individual components. Squeezing in a 1/1.5” 41 megapixel BSI sensor, mechanical shutter, barrel shift actuator type Optical Image Stabilisation, Zeiss’ six-lens assembly, and Xenon flash in a little over 1 cm of thickness isn’t something any other phone or camera manufacturer has managed to do so far.

The construction is top-notch and the handset feels solid in hand. Nokia's decision to go with matte finish is a welcome one. Because however sturdy it is, I don't think anyone would want to drop a spanking new phone. Another good thing is that the phone sports a lanyard slot. Despite a sensor that's four times the size found on its counterparts, the Lumia 1020 fits well in your pocket. By ditching the wireless charging components (found in 920), the 1020 has turned out to be 27 grams lighter than its predecessor. The button placement is a standard Lumia affair. The Volume rocker, Lock button, and shutter key are on the right side. A 3.5 mm jack is at the top, while the bottom houses a micro-USB port.



Display
The 1020 has a 4.5" AMOLED HD screen with pixel dimensions of 1280x768. At 332 ppi, the screen is very sharp. To put things in perspective, the iPhone 5 has a pixel density of 325 ppi. If you find the colours on the AMOLED screen oversaturated, you can tone it down using Lumia colour profiler settings. Nokia has implemented a sunlight readability mode that changes the screen’s contrast automatically to retain legibility even under direct sunlight. This is helped further by Nokia's ClearBlack technology that comprises of a sequence of polarising layers that eliminate reflections. As seen in recent Lumia phones, the 1020 comes with super-sensitive screen that can be operated even when using gloves. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.



Specs
The phone is powered by 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chipset with 2 GB RAM. Internal storage is 32 GB, but there's no microSD card slot. Other features include 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm jack (Dolby enhancements), GPS with voice guided satellite navigation, FM radio, and 2000 mAh battery. Detailed specs are given at the end of this article.

Software
The Lumia 1020 ships with Windows Phone 8 Amber (GDR2). The new iteration doesn't bring much changes to the UI, but add some usability features. As mentioned in many reviews, the WP platform offers colourful Live Tiles that bring information right on your homescreen. An optimized OS coupled with a tried-and-tested Snapdragon S4 processor ensures fluid UI. The Amber update has introduced Glance screen that makes use of AMOLED screen’s selective pixel illumination. By the way, Nokia had decided to name this phone Lumia 909. The phone went to the production line with that name, and it was a probably the last minute decision to call its a 1020. Wondering how can I be so sure? Well, the retail unit still shows model name as Nokia 909. Check out the screen shot below.

Coming to the subject of apps, you get Microsoft Office Suite and SkyDrive integration out of the box. The Finnish manufacturer has also thrown in its exclusive suite of apps that include Nokia Music, Here Maps+, City lens, and PhotoBeamer. Of these, Here Maps+ adds great value to the package with its offline GPS navigation. On the other hand, the platform is still no match for the iOS and Android when it comes to the number of apps. To quote numbers, there are over 1 lakh 50 thousand apps in WP marketplace, compared to Android’s 1 million. Although it’s worth noting that most of the popular apps are duly covered. The only major app missing for now is the official Instagram app, but the third-party 6Tag works like a charm. The Xbox gaming scene is also showing signs of improvement with the launch of some big titles including Halo: Spartan Assault, FIFA: 2013, Mass Effect: Infiltrator, and Dark Knight Rises. However, if you want to play Temple Run 2 and Subway Surfer, you’re out of luck.

Since the USP of this phone is its 41 megapixel camera, let's quickly move onto that segment.

Camera
The Lumia 1020 isn’t all about the 41 megapixel sensor, but how Nokia taps into its full-potential with a thoughtfully designed Camera app. This app gives total control over parameters such as shutter speed, exposure, white balance, and ISO. The interface is so convenient that we wonder why Canon or Nikon couldn’t come up with something like this.

The phone comes with a feature called dual capture. When enabled, it takes a 34 and 5 megapixel pictures simultaneously. The high-resolution image can be used for further editing. Not only zooming in and out, you can reframe or even change the aspect ratio of the images right there on the device. On the other hand, the 5 MP shots are meant for quick SNS updates.

The camera’s image quality is brilliant. Each picture shot using Nokia Camera app contains insane amount of detail. In low-light too, the phone is way ahead of the competition. Thanks to the Xenon flash, you can take snaps in pitch dark conditions. To help you take full advantage of this phone’s imaging skills, there's a Camera Grip accessory that offers a two-stage camera button, tripod compatibility, and 1020 mAh battery pack. You can achieve some amazing results by tinkering around with manual settings. Here are some of the sample images:



No-light photography: Shot in pitch-dark room using Xenon flash.



Low-light photography: shutter speed set to 1.3 seconds.



It's a bird, it's a plane...



No! It's a dragonfly!

Nokia's Lytro style camera app, Refocus, which was first demonstrated on the upcoming Lumia 1520 has landed on the 1020. Apt to its name, the software allows you to take a snap first, and then set the point of focus, or you can even keep every object in focus (which is ideal for landscape photography). You can share these interactive images via Facebook, Twitter, or simply embed them using HTML code. Check out the image we've added below. Click on any point to change the focus, or click on the three boxes on the right side to keep everything in focus.
 

As you can see from the images, the 1020 not only lives up to the hype, but exceeds the expectations. Click here, for more sample shots. In daylight situations, it can even stand its ground against DSLRs. Similar to its still photography performance, the 1020 also excels in video recording. It records full-HD MP4 videos at 30 fps. While each and every flagship phone these days can record 1080p, nothing comes close to the resolved detail offered by the 1020. However, the phone’s shot-to-shot time of three seconds can be annoying at times. So if you want to capture the images quickly, better switch to the Smart cam app. Overall, it's undoubtedly the best camera phone in the market, and in all probability will hold this title at least for a year.

Multimedia
The Lumia 1020 comes with Nokia Music that offers unlimited free track downloads for a year. The sound quality is great. You can also play around with Dolby and equaliser settings. The FM radio has also been duly covered. The only downer here is that the phone ships with the same earphones as found in the Lumia 820 and 920. For phone this expensive, Nokia should have thrown in the Coloud Knock On-the-ear Headset. Coming to the subject of video playback, the handset managed to handle 1080p MP4, WMV, and AVI without an issue. The MKV files are a no-go, and I think it’s about time Microsoft looks into this problem.

Telephony And Messaging
People Hub offers deep social networking integration. It puts all your contacts from Facebook, Windows Live, Twitter, and LinkedIn at one place. The phone also features ‘Call + SMS filter’, which is a nice way of keeping spam calls at bay. The keyboard is very responsive and is designed to minimise typos. And as you'd expect from Nokia, the signal reception and call quality were top-notch.



Battery
The phone packs in a non-removable 2000 mAh Li-Ion battery. In our 720p video loop test With brightness set to ‘Medium’, it lasted for a whopping 12 hours and 20 minutes. That's 2 hours more than iPhone 5's battery life. In general usage, the device can easily last over two days on a single full charge. So while the battery capacity may not look overly impressive on paper, it delivers impressive performance.

Verdict
The Lumia 1020 is undoubtedly the best camera phone in the market. Not just the great optics, but Nokia has done an excellent job with the camera software. Apart from that, it flaunts an excellent screen, great sound quality, sturdy construction, and a bunch of productivity apps including Microsoft Office suite. It’s also refreshing to see a manufacturer bringing something unique to the table, when most companies are busy putting absurdly powerful chips and gigantic screens on their phones. On the other hand, there are a few annoyances such as three seconds of shot-to-shot time and relatively low count of games. All in all, the 1020 is a premium smartphone with an extraordinary camera that fits in your pocket. To get great results though, you’ll have to let your creativity run loose and be ready to experiment a lot.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is available for Rs 46,000, making it one of the more expensive smartphones in India. So if you’re interested in creating content, the Lumia 1020 is the right tool. However, if content consumption tops your priority list, you’re better off with the iPhone 5 or LG G2.

Detailed Specifications:

• 4.5" AMOLED screen with Clearblack tech (768 x 1280 pixels), Pixel density: 334 ppi.
• Display features: PureMotion HD+ (Refresh rate 60 Hz), Curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Sunlight readability enhancements.
• Touch screen technology: Super-sensitive touch.
• Main camera sensor: 41 megapixel auto-focus.
• Camera resolution: 7712 x 5360 pixels.
• Camera features: Optical Image stabilisation, PureView, Backside-illuminated image sensor, 6-lens optics.
• Sensor size: 1/1.5 inch, f-number/aperture: f/2.2, Camera focal length: 26 mm.
• Flash Type: Xenon flash, Flash operating range: 4.0 m.
• 3.5 mm audio connector, Micro-USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth 3.0 Wi-Fi, GPS.
• Battery capacity: 2000 mAh, Wireless charging: Yes, with accessory cover.
• Chipset: 1.5 GHz Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 2 GB of RAM.
• 32 GB internal storage, Lacks microSD card slot.
• Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Magnetometer.
• Platform: Windows Phone 8 GDR 2 (Amber).

TAGS: Mobile Phones, Windows Phone, Nokia, Lumia