Archive for 'General'

We got our hands on a Lumia 900 last week and spent a day with it, trying to use it as our primary device. Windows 7.5 is an easy OS to use, though it is different enough from Android and iOS that it does take some time to get familiar with. Before we get into the pros and cons of the device, here is a little refresher about the specs of the device:

- 4.3″ AMOLED ClearBack glass touchscreen
- 1.4 GHz processor
- 16 GB Internal Memory
- 512 MB RAM
- 4G LTE Connectivity
- 8 MP Carl Zeiss camera; 1 MP front camera
- 5.6 ounces; 2.7 inches across, 5.03 inches tall, 0.45 inches thick
- Micro SIM

This phone feels sturdy in your hands, and while it has a little more body to hold onto than a lot of phones hitting the market today, we never felt like it was too big to use. Windows 7.5 (Mango) is a beautiful Operating System, and while using it we never hit an error or lag when moving between apps. Admittedly, it would be hard to transition to from an Android or iOS device with the lack of apps, but if you were taking your first steps away from a BlackBerry or feature phone, the Lumia 900 and Windows Phone in general, would be a great place to start.

The battery life was impressive, having just made it through the day without charging it while testing it extensively, it should be no problem with normal use. The mail and messaging applications are easy to use, and concisely show your messages. It was really easy to transition from Facebook chat, to text messaging, to Windows Live Messenger without skipping a beat.

The camera software was intuitive, and the Carl Zeiss hardware fantastic. The only complaint we (and every other reviewer on the Internet apparently) had was that the actual image files seem to come out with slightly different colors than how they looked when being taken.

Long story, the Nokia hardware is good, the Windows Mango OS is good, and if Microsoft can get the droves of developers that some of the other platforms have brought to the table on board, then maybe there really can be a third competitor in the Smartphone arena.

Latest news from Nokia Beta Labs today is that their Nokia Reader client has an update available, bringing the newest version for Symbian^3 devices. ONSP v1.1.11118 upgrade contains multiple fixes that provide improvements for Reader:

• Improvements for connectivity
• Fixes the bug that forced user to re-enter Nokia Account username and password
• Fixes the bug that caused Reader to stop from working on some devices, requiring Reader to be re-installed

These fixes are valid for Symbian^3 devices like the Nokia N8, C6-01, C7, and E7.  Try out Nokia Reader with this upgrade, and share us your opinion how Reader is working for you!

Next up, is news that Nokia Custom Dictionary has now been archived, and the Beta Labs team wishes to thank everyone who contributed to the experimental release..

Thank you all, for your support of Nokia Custom Dictionary. It will continue to be available in the Beta Labs archives using the direct link - http://betalabs.nokia.com/apps/nokia-custom-dictionary/

For all those who have requested an update for Symbian^3 devices, the application should work after your device is updated to the Symbian Anna release.

Saara over on the Ovi Blog has informed us of some impressive news. The Ovi Facebook page has reached a staggering 300,000 likes, and to celebrate, Ovi are running a challenging competition with a chance to win a Nokia N8.

To thank all our fans, we decided to run an interesting competition that is going to test your creativity and knowledge of the Ovi Store.

It’s almost summer, and the Nokia N8, with its great camera, seems like the perfect companion to go on holiday so, we want to hear from you:

Which 3 applications from the Ovi Store would you install on your Nokia N8 before going on holiday and what would you use them for?.

Head across to Ovi Blog today where you will find out everything you need to know about entering this Ovi Blog competition.

Here’s several Qt related videos for you’re viewing, and learning pleasure from NokiaDevForum that went live yesterday on their Youtube cannel.

In the first video, Christian D. Kamm, software engineer at Qt Development Frameworks, Nokia, introduces the new features delivered in the Qt SDK 1.1. Christian discusses the capabilities of Qt Quick and the Qt Mobility APIs. In addition, developers from Digia and Futurice talk about their experiences using the Qt SDK 1.1.

Next up, Alexander Kluwe, UI designer and project manager at Futurice, talks about the development of 90elf using the Qt SDK 1.1. 90elf is an application that enables users to listen to live commentaries on German football matches. The application took Alexander and a Qt developer 30 days only to create.

Wilhelm Taht, marketing director, and Juha Turunen, senior software specialist, of Digia talk about the development of Flowd using the Qt SDK 1.1. Flowd is a location aware application that enables a social network for music lovers. The development took Juha about six weeks only, which included learning how to use Qt Quick from scratch.

Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian is a deployment solution that ensures that installed 3rd party applications have always access to the required versions of their dependent libraries. Lucian Tomuta talks how to utilize the Smart Installer in the Qt application.

And finally, Lauri Jääskelä from Forum Nokia gives you a kick-start with Qt SDK 1.1 and Qt Quick.

Simple test from mobile, sorry for the inconvenience while we get Nokiausers ready for daily Nokia news updates.

Work In Progress

As you may of noticed, there has been a few improvements to Nokiausers forums, and our site as a whole, this is in part our move to a relaunch of Nokiausers.

It was high time that we refreshed our content, and added features within the forums that our registered members deserve.

This is a test post via WordPress, but we are still working on our remote publishing, so please bare with us, and all will be back up and running very soon.

I would like to thanks Brandon, Nokiausers Admin for all his hard work, and efforts behind the scenes on renewing Nokiausers.

As you have seen with the video already shared with you all, the new Nokia E6, and X7 have been announced, and they come with Anna, Symbian^3. ·So what does Anna mean? ·Well, its the very last version of Symbian to come on any new Nokia device before we start to see Windows on Nokia handsets.

This version – which has been referred to previously as PR2 – is now known as Symbian Anna. It comes with a faster browser, improved text input, fresh, new icons and the latest version of Ovi Maps. Symbian Anna will also be made available for owners of the Nokia N8, C7, C6-01 and E7 in the coming months.

The most obvious and visible feature of Symbian Anna is the new icons.

Full details on Anna, and whether it will be available for your current Symbian^3 device can be found over at Nokia’s Official Blog, Nokia Conversations.

Nokia E6 is Nokia’s new high-resolution touchscreen business smartphone with compact QWERTY. At 10.5 mm thin, 59 mm wide, the Nokia E6 is very compact and has battery up to a month’s stand-by time.

Learn more: http://events.nokia.com/

In this video, Nokia E6 Product Manager Chris Probert discusses the device in more detail. Nokia E6 is a compact QWERTY and touch device aimed at business and general users who need to get things done while they’re on the move. Busy emailers rejoice — you can operate the phone single-handed.

I’m a big supporter of Ovi Life Tools, and having had the pleasure to meet one of the worlds leading experts from Lonely Planet, Frances Linzee Gordon whilst at Nokia World last year in Germany, I know all too well how important, and life changing Ovi Life Tools is.

Nokia/Ovi Life Tools has thus far saved many lives in remote, and isolated areas in third world countries, and has even brought a better way of life to many communities, and families too by bringing live, up to date data to users mobile devices which in turn has helped businesses get the best prices available for their farms produce.

Following on the steps of the very promising reception in both China and Nigeria, Life Tools will next launch its healthcare channel in India and Indonesia soon. The healthcare service topics varies from market to market but includes things like pregnancy and childcare, respiratory, hepatitis B, women’s health, men’s health, diabetes and general health and fitness. 

Think of the amount of people in rural areas of emerging markets without health facilities close-by – simple health awareness messages and information like these can help make a difference in their lives. And all this can be done without a packet data connection, as this service is based solely on text messages.

For further details on this latest Life Tools expansion, head across to Ovi Blog.  More information also available over at Nokia Conversations, Nokia’s Official Blog.

Having been lucky enough to visit Nokia House myself, I can confirm its an amazing place with really interesting architecture mainly consisting from glass, its beautiful.

My first visit was a memorable one, being a Nokia enthusiast, it was a longtime passion of mine to go to the Holy Grail of Nokia.

Nokia Conversations have recently published a series of new photos showing you more than just the public areas from inside the Holy Grail, showing you the Sauna, and exercise rooms which cater for Nokia employees. Each time I have visitied Nokia House, I always feel a relaxing environment.

Nokia House is located by the seaside and depending on where you happen to sit, you can admire either a gorgeous seaview or a congested motorway from its large windows. The majority of staff sit in open-plan offices and squabble over meeting rooms – there are never enough available!

Head across to Nokia’s Official Blog Nokia Conversations to see for yourself, the great Nokia House in all it’s glory.