Nokia Lumia 525 becomes official

Update: According to one of Nokia’s localized Facebook pages, the Lumia 525 should ”be available on 14 December at the suggested retail price of SGD249 at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solution Partners”. That translates from Singapore Dollars to roughly $199.

The first time we heard about the Nokia Lumia 525 was at the end of October when a certain contest announcement revealed its existence. Since then, we’ve seen the device leaked in press renders showing off future possible color options, and today, the Nokia Lumia 525 becomes official.

We’re expecting the press release to be published soon with details on pricing and availability. Until then, there’s the official product page which mentions the specs: four-inch WVGA display, the same dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1GHz and found on many other models, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), five-megapixel main camera (sans flash), and a 1,430mAh battery.

As far as color options are concerned, the Nokia Lumia 525 will be able to accept “glossy, changeable covers in dazzling orange, radiant yellow and luminous white”. More details can be found at the source link below, and in the embedded video.

Source: Nokia (YouTube, Facebook, Pocketnow)

Thanks everyone for the tip on pricing and availability!

Video Preview Top 5 Smartphones For Spring 2013

With so many questions day by day about viewers still considering a Galaxy S 4 or an HTC One, we know the ropes are complicated this spring if you’re close to being eligible for a phone-swap. 2013 has shown just how great technology can evolve in mobile, and there’s a lot to chose from.
Watch today’s Top 5 as we talk about our top picks for your next smartphone during Spring 2013. It’s been a very innovative year for some companies, but a very slow one for others. This list was crafted as a consensus between all of our Pocketnow Staff, so hopefully you’ll get a perspective as to what device we’re all getting this Spring along with you. All devices on the list have their pros and cons, so make sure you share your thoughts and comments down bellow.

                                                                                                                       Via: Pocketnow.com

AT&T Heavyweights: HTC One X vs Nokia Lumia 900 (Video)

If you haven't noticed, AT&T has really turned up the heat in advertising its latest smartphoneheavyweights. Now feeling the pressure from two other iPhone-carrying competitors, it's working hard to maintain a diversified smartphone portfolio, and it's doing a pretty good job of it, too. 

In line with that goal, AT&T has been heavily marketing its version of the HTC One X, as well as the Nokia Lumia 900. Of course, those of us who make the mobile industry our occupation, hobby, or obsession know the differences between these two high-end devices, but most people don't. So if you're an AT&T customer in the market for a great top-of-the-line smartphone experience, and you're weighing your non-iPhone options, what's the story on these beauties? 

Fortunately, thanks to the friendly folks at AT&T, we happen to have an HTC One X and a Nokia Lumia 900 here. Why don't we put them side by side and compare a few elements of the user experience on each? Better yet, why don't we roll a camera while we're doing that? 

I think we're onto something with this idea. 

Nokia Announces 808 PureView Launch Markets

Symbian may not have the clout of Android or iOS, but even with that choice of operating system,Nokia's still drawing a lot of attention to its 808 PureView thanks to the handset's beast of a camera. About a month ago, we saw the 808 go up for pre-order in Italy with an expected arrival of something this month. Today Nokia's officially confirmed that the phone will see initial retail availability during May, as well as just where the handset will first arrive. 

Rather than Italy, Nokia says that initial shipments of the 808 will have it going up for sale in Russia and India. The manufacturer didn't share the price points at which it's hoping to make the phone available in those nations, but the pre-orders we've already seen put it just a smidge under $800. It's also not clear just how quickly the 808 will move on to additional markets, and if it will indeed launch in any more before the end of May. 

In a separate announcement, Nokia reveals that it's renewed its agreement with Carl Zeiss, which makes the optics used in the 808. That ongoing partnership means we should keep seeing Carl Zeiss lenses in future Nokia phones, including when it eventually brings the 808's imaging tech to Windows Phone. 

Nokia Commits to Wireless Hotspot Feature For All Lumia Models

 

Early this morning, we found out that Nokia had revealed a new feature for its Lumia 610 when publishing the phone's specs online, confirming support for sharing the handset's cellular data connection with other devices via a wireless hotspot. At the time, we wondered if this news meant that the extant Lumia models would see similar support via update one day in the future. Sure enough, that now looks to be the case, with Nokia mentioning that tethering will be making it to all of the Lumia-series Windows Phone handsets. 

The subject came up in a Q&A posted on the company's Nokia Connects site. There, the manufacturer confirms that the 610 and 900 will have hotspot functionality right out-of-the-gate, but more importantly that the 710 and 800 will both get the feature as part of an upcoming software update. 

As shouldn't be too surprising, Nokia didn't make any comment as to when owners of the 710 and 800 might actually see such an update actually delivered to their phones. Nokia's been pretty good with coming out with timely Windows Phone updates thus far, so hopefully we'll see tethering on all its Lumias before summer arrives. 

Nokia Lumia 900 Visits FCC With Its AT&T LTE Bands

In just a few weeks, we're expecting Nokia to launch the first-ever LTE Windows Phone handset on AT&T's network with its Lumia 900. Nothing's set in stone, but we've seen March 18 fielded as one potential release date. With the phone's release creeping on up, Nokia's getting a few formalities out of the way, like seeing to it that the 900 gets its FCCcertification. This afternoon the agency published the 900's documents, including a manual and an assortment of images. 

As a smartphone destined for AT&T's new LTE network, it's no surprise that we see the Lumia 900's documentation attest to LTE operation on the 1700MHz and 700MHz bands, as used by the carrier; of course, there's also support for AT&T's 3G frequencies. More interesting is the note that the 900 is capable HSPA+ on 1700MHz, in theory opening the door for operation on T-Mobile in the States. 

With the 900's rumored release date starting to close-in, we'll hopefully soon get confirmation on the full launch details, including the potential for a very low on-contract price. 

Will the Nokia 801 Introduce Symbian Carla?

Earlier this month, we heard about the Nokia 801, a rumored Symbian smartphone, but we really haven't been able to get a good read on the handset. At first, there was a rumor that we'd only see one new Symbian, so news of multiple upcoming models had us wondering where the truth really was. Then there was the mystery of what would be the follow-up to Nokia's N8, which is now looking likely to be the PureView 808. Lastly, we had the picture of the supposed 801 itself, which was clearly just compiled from pre-existing Nokia images. Still, there were some strong voices claiming that the 801 was very much real, so we resigned ourselves to await further news. Today, some new rumors surface around the 801, claiming to reveal some additional details about its release plans. 

Supposedly, the 801 would be the very first Nokia to graduate from Belle to Carla, the next revision of the once-Symbian OS. We've already seen evidence of work on Carla thanks to bug-tracker postings made on Nokia's developer site. According to today's news, Carla is still very much under construction, and that's why we haven't heard more about the 801 just yet, and why it's not expected for the MWC. To get a chance to see the handset, assuming it truly exists, we'll just have to keep waiting. 

Nokia Planning To Bring Its Social Apps To Android And iOS Too

Nokia has introduced its Pulse application in November of last year, a software bit which allows users to keep in touch taking advantage of the GPS functionality inside phones. With Pulse you can check in to places and share that info with only a closed group of other users. 

However, Nokia's plans go beyond Nokia devices and those powered by Windows Phone 7. "These are social applications. To be social, you have to be on every platform", said Basak Ozer, Nokia's Lead for social and location applications. As such, Pulse will be coming soon to Android and iOS users too, though an exact launch date was not unveiled. However, Nokia Pulse -- which is complementary to services like Facebook and Twitter -- is not the only app the Finnish company has in mind for its social and location offerings. 

Is the Nokia X7-Like Lumia 805 Render Real Or Fake?

Nokia has been known to reuse its own designs making current and future phones look like some from the recent past. The Nokia N9, Lumia 800, and the Lumia 900 all look the same while the Lumia 710 and the C7 look very much alike, just to name a few.

The device rendered above -- dubbed the Nokia Lumia 805 -- looks exactly like the Nokia X7 we reviewed last summer. The image comes from Chinese forums and the specs attached to the render/concept reveal a 3.9-inch ClearBlack WVGA screen, 16GB internal memory, 1450 mAh battery and a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. As a quick comparison, the X7 packs a four-inch screen, eight-megapixel camera and 1200mAh battery.

We liked the design of the Nokia X7 back last year -- and many users wanted the same design running Windows Phone 7. The question is: did Nokia like it that much in order to reuse it for a Lumia Windows Phone? Let us know what you think: real or fake?

Nokia Lumia 800 Landing in the U.K. On November 16

Last week when Nokia officially announced the Lumia 800, first "real" Windows Phone", as Stephen Elop referred to it, we were told the phone will be available in November in select launch countries: UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands. 

According to recent reports it appears that there is an official confirmation of the November 16 date; it will be the date on which the Lumia 800 will hit the British market. For €420 (around $575) unlocked you'll get a design similar to the Nokia N9, with a 1.4Ghz processor under the hood, 512MB of RAM, a 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED WVGA display, eight-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-led flash, 16GB of internal memory, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, A-GPS, micro-USB connector and a 1450 mAh battery. 

Nokia Maps Coming Soon For Free To Any Windows Phone

In February when Nokia announced the adoption of Windows Phone as its smartphone platform of choice and principal strategy, among other things, we've heard that Nokia Maps will integrate with Microsoft Bing and become core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. We also heard that WindowsPhones manufactured by other than Nokia OEMs will benefit from Espoo's Maps offering. 

According to recent reports, Nokia Maps will be soon available for free in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Do not confuse this with Nokia Drive, which is a free voice-guided turn-by-turn 3D navigation Nokia offers for free only for its own Windows Phones. 

Nokia Maps is pretty much like Bing Maps or Google Maps but using Nokia's own mapping data (actually NAVTEQ) which seems to be more user-friendly and detailed for those countries and regions (like Europe and some more) where Bing isn't that much detailed. 

Given that there already was a placeholder uploaded for Nokia Maps in the Marketplace at the beginning of October, the application shouldn't be that far out, offering a nice alternative to the stock Bing-powered Maps. 

Nokia N9 Software Tour (Video)

Nokia has built the N9 without any buttons, capacitive or hardware. Having MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan at its core, the experience of the N9 is based on a simple gesture: the swipe. That's all you need to operate the device. 

It's not Android, iOS or Windows Phone but it definitely has a couple of accents and similarities with all the aforementioned operating systems. Overall the phone seems snappy but the biggest problem with MeeGo (aside from the fact that Nokia abandoned it) is the lack of applications in the Nokia Store. We take a brief look at the experience Nokia delivers on the N9 with MeeGo 1.2 on top of it. Don't forget to also check out ourunboxing video, hardware tour and camera testposts. 

Nokia N9 Camera Test (Video)

After unboxing and taking a look at the hardwareon the MeeGo-powered Nokia N9, we are now taking a look at the camera capabilities on thephone. We're looking at both imaging and recording. 

The Nokia N9 features an f/2.2 eight-megapixel auto focus camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and super wide 28mm lens, delivering 16:9 720p video recording with stereo sound. The camera is particularly interesting because it will be the same one Nokia uses on the recently announced Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone. Let's take a look at the samples below! Note: YouTube somewhat degraded the video quality in terms of occasional pixel blocks and framerate loss. 









Indoors, Normal, No Flash


Indoors, Normal, No Flash


Outdoors, Low Light, No Flash


Outdoors, Night, No Flash


Outdoors, Daylight, Auto


Outdoors, Daylight, Close-up


Outdoors, Daylight, Macro


Outdoors, Daylight, Auto