Nokia Lumia 1520

Between Nokia Lumia 1520 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which will you will buy as a gift this Christmas? Here are the specs and price range before you decide.

Aesthetics

Beauty is a matter of perception. Which between Lumia 1520 and Galaxy Note 3 is better? Aesthetically, this basically depends on your taste. The two gadgets both offer distinct designs. Lumia 1520 has a smooth polycarbonate unibody while Galaxy Note 3 has the classic leathery feeling, which remind you of a real notebook. Lumia 1520 is 162.8 mm x 85.4 mm x 8.7 mm in dimension. It is considerably larger than Galaxy Note 3 with a 151.2 mm x 79.2 mm x 8.3 mm. Lumia 1520 is available in yellow, white, red, and black. The Samsung phablet has more colorful choices: black, white, pink, merlot red, rose gold black and rose gold white.

Ergonomically speaking, Samsung's phablet is easier to carry than a Nokia. It is also lighter at 168 grams compared to Lumia 1520 which is 209 grams in weight.

Screen And Display

Lumia 1520 has a 6-inch screen while Galaxy Note 3 has a 5.7-inch screen. Both phones have full-HD resolution of 1, 920 x 1,080 pixels with Galaxy Note 3 having a slightly greated pixel density of 386 ppi compared to Lumia 1520 with 367 ppi.

Performance

Lumia 1520 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2 GHz processor with 2 GB RAM, almost the same as Galaxy Note 3's 2.3 GHz quad-core processor.

The big difference is in the operating system. Lumia 1520 is run by Microsoft Widows Phone 8 Black while Galaxy Note 3 is run by Android v4.3 (Jelly Bean). Critics still consider the Android OS as superior to Windows Phone 8. If you're into apps, Galaxy Note 3 is the better choice as Jelly Bean offers about 650, 000 apps in contrast to Widows which only offers only approximately 125,000 apps.

Camera

In terms of camera, Lumia 1520 has a whopping 20 MP camera unit. If you're a photo aficionado, Lumia 1520 is a better choice compared to Galaxy Note 3's 13MP camera. Both phablets has optical image stabilization, autofocus, face detection and panorama.

Battery Life

In theory, Lumia 1520 gives you a longer battery life with a 3,400 mAh than Galaxy Note 3 which only has a 3,200 mAh battery. More so, when it is run by Windows Phone 8, it consumes less battery life as compared to Android's Jelly Bean.

Extras

Galaxy Note 3's killer feature is its improved S Pen. By clicking the S Pen, you can now run the Note 3's Air Command for access to five key buttons: Scrapbooker, S Finder, Action Memo, Pen Window and Screen Write. Lumia 1520 does not offer a free stylus and the stylus available for Nokia does not have the features of the S Pen.

Price Range

Lumia 1520 is slightly more expensive at a price range of $629 to $925 in Australia. Galaxy Note 3's price starts at $614 up to $899.

Ultimate Decree

If we put the S Pen into the picture, Galaxy Note 3 would kick Lumia 1520's ass. Taking it out of the picture, Lumia 1520 will offer a good fight. If you're into apps, then choose Galaxy Note 3. If you're more of a photo person, then choose Lumia 1520. //ibtimes.com

Lumia 2520

The Lumia 2520 is Nokia's first attempt at building a Windows tablet. The device runs Microsoft's Windows RT, an operating system dropped by other hardware manufacturers who found little appetite for hardwrae running the OS; as a result, apart from Microsoft itself, Nokia is the only company left still making RT-powered devices now.

I've been using the Lumia 2520 as my everyday tablet for the last couple of weeks and I like it a lot. However, it seems to embody the issues that Microsoft has to tackle when it comes to tablets and the decisions it needs to make around operating systems and the future of Office. (Nokia's devices business will soon be part of Microsoft when its €5.4bn acquisition is complete, of course, and the pair have been collaborating closely on hardware for several years now).

The Bing weather app looks great, as does maps (which I prefer to Nokia's Here), and there's an understanding across the device that big, sharp images play well on tablets. There's clearly a strong design principle behind the UI — the tablet as a next-generation magazine; beautiful, curated, interactive.

But it's striking that the 2520 is also still very much a PC experience, including the irritation of Windows updates. That 16:9 aspect ratio screen that makes it so good for watching video also means that I never felt any desire to use the tablet in portrait mode at all, while the lack of a rounded and bevelled corners (such as on the iPad) made holding it for too long quite uncomfortable and had me longing for a kickstand.

And, while an iPad doesn't feel diminished by the lack of a keyboard, to me the 2520 does — in the same way that the Surface only really makes sense with the keyboard attached. As such, there's something a little bereft about this device, almost as if it's mourning its lack of a keyboard, but soldiering on anyway. Still, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor keeps everything zipping along.

The Lumia 2520 runs Windows RT 8.1, which does a fine job of the basics. Unfortunately, just doing a fine job of the basics doesn't win prizes anymore. While the default apps are nice, the lack of variety available in the Windows Store (compared to Google Play or Apple's App Store) also reinforces the sense that deep down this machine really wants to be a PC.

One of Microsoft's issues is that Windows has never been a competitive advantage when it comes to selling hardware to consumers: for decades, for most people, it was the only choice they really had.

In the tablet world that's no longer the case: few care that their Kindles or iPads don't run on Windows, even fewer that it doesn't have Office.

Via: ZDNet

Motion Tracker beta for Lumia 1520

With the number of gadgets that have contributed to our sedentary lifestyles, it's always nice to see a piece of technology bent on getting people up and moving. After teasing the app a few months back, Nokia's finally debuting Motion Monitor -- well, the beta version, at least. The app's currently only available to Lumia 1520owners, as the handset maker notes that its feature set needs that specific hardware to function as intended. Once installed, the app is always on in the background, tracking your movement, an act the company says will have little impact on power consumption. You'll be able to view your activity on a timeline, by day month or year. You can also check out activity as a live tile on the lock screen.
Looking to ramp up your movement ahead of the holiday? You can try out the beta now in the source link below.

Via: WPCentral
Source: Nokia Beta Labs

Nokia Blocking U.K. Sales of HTC One Mini

A London judge said HTC couldn’t sell its One Mini phone in the U.K. from Dec. 6 after it was found to have infringed patents owned by Nokia Oyj.

While Judge Richard Arnold also ruled that HTC’s One phone contained microchips that breached Nokia’s patent, he delayed an injunction against the product so HTC could appeal. Blocking U.K. sales of the One would cause “considerable” damage to HTC, he said in a ruling today.

HTC One, released globally including the U.K. in March, is the Taiwanese company’s flagship handset for 2013 and was lauded by reviewers for its sleek metallic design. HTC One Mini and HTC One Max, smaller and larger variants of the device, were released in the second half of the year.

“Nokia is also claiming financial compensation for the infringement of this patent,” the Espoo, Finland-based company said in a statement. HTC has agreed not to import any more of the products into the U.K. pending the appeal, Nokia said in a statement.

Two calls and an e-mail to HTC public relations after Taiwan office hours weren’t immediately answered.

HTC had argued the microchips found to infringe Nokia patents were “a very small component” and didn’t justify a sales ban, Arnold said in the ruling. HTC sold about 715,000 smartphones worth about 221 million pounds ($363 million) in the U.K. between January and September, according to the judgment.

Nokia also sued Apple over the chip patent and settled the case in April 2011 after agreeing to grant Apple a license. In September, Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Nokia’s devices and services business for 5.44 billion euros.

Source : Bloomberg

A photo illustration shows the Microsoft logo displayed on a Nokia phone in Vienna September 3, 2013.

U.S. antitrust regulators have approved Microsoft Corp's deal to buy Nokia Corp's mobile phone business, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.

The approval, which was expected, was dated November 29.

The next step will be for the companies to win approval in Europe for the proposed $7.3 billion transaction.

Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on November 22 that the transaction was headed for unconditional approval in Brussels. The EU competition watchdog has set a December 4 deadline for its decision.

Nokia had in September agreed to sell its devices and services business and license its patents to Microsoft after failing to recover from a late start in the smartphone sector.

The purchase underscores Microsoft's push into the competitive consumer devices market, where it faces fierce competition from market leader Samsung Electronics and Apple.

Nokia shareholders in mid-November gave a thumbs-up to the sale of what was once Finland's biggest brand, at one point worth 4 percent of the national GDP.

Source : Reuters

CREDIT: REUTERS/HEINZ-PETER BADER

A Nokia Lumia 2520 eval unit arrived the day before Thanksgiving and two days later I am venturing out to purchase my own Lumia 2520 while my 3rd generation LTE iPad goes up for sale.

A couple weeks ago I bought an Apple iPad Air after Kevin convinced me to go look at one on MobileTechRoundup show #309. It wasn't enough of an upgrade over my existing 3rd generation to justify the $900 (I bought a $829 64GB model with tax) and I returned it two days later.

To be honest, I am a bit surprised there isn't more support for the Nokia Lumia 2520 when it is priced $230 less than the comparable iPad. There is even more value when you add in a microSD card for a third of what Apple charges to increase storage capacity. Nokia has a keyboard offer until this weekend too so that is another $149 savings, making the Lumia 2520 a great deal at $500 with no contract.

Given the large cost savings of at least $230, really about $300 when you add in a 32GB microSD and compare directly to the 64GB LTE iPad Air, and the free $149 keyboard/battery offer it is an easy decision to switch to the Lumia 2520 given my usage needs. My only decision now is whether I purchase a Verizon or AT&T model.
Source : ZDNet

Design
The Lumia 525 shares the same design aesthetic as other Lumia handsets. If you like how theLumia 1020 looks, the 525 is a smaller version, with the same bright yellow rear. Unlike the 1020, though, the 525's rear cover and 1,430mAh battery are replaceable. If you don't like yellow, there's a choice of four other cover colors you can swap in: blue, red, white, and black.

The volume rocker, power, and camera buttons are located on the left side; the Micro-USB jack is located at the bottom. It packs a 5-megapixel camera, but take note that the budget handset lacks a flash.

I wasn't too impressed with the screen, which is a 4-inch IPS display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. I especially wasn't impressed when it was placed next to the Lumia 1520. The display appeared sunken in, and not as vibrant. That said, you can use the display with your nails or when wearing gloves.

Features
While the Lumia 525 has the same specs as the Lumia 520, Nokia has upgraded it with twice the RAM. It now has 1GB, which should help with multitasking. The smartphone comes with 8GB of onboard storage, and has a microSD card slot for expandability.

The Lumia 525 is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and will launch with the Nokia Lumia Black update package, which includes the latest version of Windows Phone 8.

Other free apps include Here Maps, Here Drive, and Here Transit; Nokia says Transit now works for public transportation in Singapore, though real-time bus times are still being worked on.

Don't expect the stellar imaging prowess of the higher-end Lumia handsets, but the 5-megapixel camera of the 525 should be able to do well in bright daylight. As mentioned earlier, there's no flash, so if you need to light up your subject, you're out of luck.

Source : CNET

Image Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET

The Jolla phone - pronounced Yol-la - is powered by open-source operating system Sailfish, but can run most apps designed for Google's Android platform.

The company has paired with a major Finnish network, and hopes to set up a similar deal with a UK operator.

Industry analysts said Jolla faced a challenge in taking on a market dominated by Google and Apple.

Just 450 Jolla phones will be available at launch on Wednesday evening, with the majority going to customers who have pre-ordered the device.

Co-founder Marc Dillon told the BBC the company was in the process of ramping up manufacturing.

He said the phone's ethos was to provide a more "open" approach to how people used their mobiles, a contrast to the relatively closed systems used on the iPhone and, to a lesser extent, Android devices.

"There's different opportunities for people to get apps form different places, different stores," he said.

"We've created a world-class platform. Users will be getting more choice."