Hasta La Gadget!

You might have noticed a brouhaha over map accuracy in iOS 6. Nokia undoubtedly did, as it’s using the iPhone 5 launch to remind us that its strategy has been all about location lately. The crew in Espoo has pitted Nokia Maps from the Lumia 920 against both Apple’s equivalent as well as Google Maps — and to no one’s surprise, Nokia’s own platform comes out on top. In practice, it’s a relatively frank comparison that doesn’t try to win on every point. Nokia tends to use a liberal definition of the term “3D” that includes augmented reality, but it’s otherwise willing to emphasize its advantages in offline mapping and the sheer scope of its mapping coverage. Apple’s very young mapping effort struggles, while Nokia is willing to accept that it doesn’t have as much traffic coverage as Google. There is, however, the slight problem of the Lumia 920 not yet shipping: unless you’ve been blessed with a prototype of the Windows Phone 8 device, Apple and Google are the only ones that have their latest navigation software on a phone you can actually buy. Hit the source for the full, very tall chart as well as a few sly jabs at Nokia’s competitors.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Mobile

Nokia stacks up its maps next to Apple’s and Google’s, politely suggests it comes out on top originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s Lumia 820 was firmly stuck in the Lumia 920’s shadow — in fact it barely figured in Nokia’s big presentation. But one thing it holds over its bigger, publicity-hungry brother is the ability to switch covers, so while the 820 won’t get its wireless charging built-in, a specific case can add the same functionality. Well, we knew that already, but Nokia’s now revealed the phone’s own range of dedicated ruggedized cases. These covers, arriving in green, yellow and orange, will measure in at the same length and width as the others, but will protrude marginally more, offering some protection to that 4.3-inch screen when it comes into contact with surfaces. A “rubber-like” trim will afford some extra protection to those glossy corners too. Expect the toughened cases to appear alongside the Lumia 820 at launch — whenever that is.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia details new ruggedized shells for Lumia 820 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the Nokia Lumia 820 comes not just another Windows Phone 8 device, but a phone whose ready to bring you a variety of options on the outside as well as the in. We’ve already seen the standard case in our original Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on, then the Wireless Charging Shell in our extended hands-on. Now we’re seeing that Nokia’s plans don’t stop there, they continue on with the Active Shell being revealed today, complete with protective bits galore.

This rugged shell is made from the same PC/ABS material that the other two shells are made of, but here you’ve got a rubber-like material for full reinforcement. This shell is made to be a softer concoction with an added bit of cushion around the front and edges. It covers the back on the corners but also creeps around the front edges just a bit too to protect the edges of the screen and the corners of your device on the whole.

This new set of shells will be available at the same time as the Nokia Lumia 820 here in the USA and will be available in matte yellow, green, and orange with a black trim. The trim is TPU and will protect the heck out of your Lumia 820 even if you’re an often-dropper. Tuomas Reivo, Lead Designer on the Nokia Lumia 820, lends a bit of insight into the device as it stands here just before release.

“We’ve moved beyond just changing the colour of your phone. People can now decide how they want to use their phone, by doing something as simple as changing a shell to add a function.” – Reivo

With all of the shells you’ve got here for the Lumia 820 you’ll be working with materials that are colored in and of themselves – they aren’t just coated with color. Should you drop one of these devices with a Nokia-made shell you’ll not see off-colored gouges, that’s for sure. Have a peek at our hands-on collection with this device and the Lumia 920 as well and get pumped up about the final release rather soon!

[via Nokia]

Nokia Lumia 820 get bumpers-laden Active Shells is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tomorrow’s the big day, folks. Apple is set to hold an event tomorrow, and all signs are pointing to the reveal of the iPhone 5. Ahead of the event, however, came plenty of iPhone 5 news and rumors today. We heard today that iPhone 5 pre-orders will open up on September 14, and one analyst is saying that 10 million iPhone 5s will be sold this month alone. We also take a closer look at what we can expect in iOS 6 (which will be launching with the new iPhone) and we recap all of the news and rumors that have surfaced in this very long lead up to the reveal.

On the eve of the iPhone 5′s reveal, Samsung looks ready to pounce with an LTE lawsuit, and we received some new details about the new iPods that have been tipped for reveal alongside the iPhone 5. Pictures of what appear to be Vodafone Nano SIMs for the iPhone 5 surfaced today as well, and Samsung may soon be releasing a new advertisement meant to pull consumers away from Apple’s next iPhone.

Of course, all of the day’s news wasn’t exclusively about the iPhone 5, with Everything Everywhere holding its highly-anticipated 4G event in London today. We were there to see what all Everything Everywhere had to announce, and it turns out it was quite a bit, starting with the re-branding of the company to be named simply EE. 4G LTE service from EE rolled out in four UK cities today, and EE also announced plans for fiber service. We found out which phones will support EE’s 4G LTE, put EE’s network through its paces with a good old speed test, and found out that EE will be the exclusive carrier of the Nokia Lumia 920 in the UK.

Samsung gave us some new details about the Galaxy Note II’s Airview feature today, while Motorola and Intel began teasing a device which will deliver “edge-to-edge power.” Some new information about Google Glass surfaced, Nokia City Lens has left beta and is now available on a number of Lumia devices, and Lucid was seen showing off its new Thunderbolt external GPU today. Mark Zuckerberg took some time to talk about Facebook’s struggles in the mobile arena, and we found out that Terraria will soon be coming to Xbox 360 and PS3. Google has rolled out an update for Google Drive on iOS and Android, Apple’s Jonathan Ive has reportedly spent $17 million on his new mansion, and finally tonight, we heard that some retailers are opting not to restock BlackBerry devices.

That does it for today’s Evening Wrap-Up, but be sure to follow our liveblog of Apple’s press event starting at 10 AM PT tomorrow morning! Enjoy the rest of your evening, everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 11, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So far we’ve only had the chance to hear what Nokia’s sweet-sounding City Lens augmented reality app is capable of. If you’ve got a Nokia Lumia 900, 800, or 710 you can get a beta version of the app right now. More »