Hasta La Gadget!

Word has it from the land of Hungary that the Nokia X, also known as the Nokia Normandy (which is the first Android-powered device from the folks over at Nokia), has already passed its testing phase with flying colors and is currently in production over at Nokia’s factory which is located in the city of Komárom, Hungary. The source has also “confirmed” that this Android-powered device which closely resembles the Windows Phone siblings will not arrive with support for Google’s Play Services and Play Store. Needless to say, there is still the option to perform side-loading, unless both Nokia and Microsoft actually go out of their way to play nice with Android.

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Nokia X Being Produced In Hungary (Rumor) original content from Ubergizmo.

A little over a week ago, Nokia announced the Lumia Icon handset which has been rumored and leaked for quite a while now, making us wonder why it took them so long to announce it. The device was also announced as a Verizon exclusive and would see a release on the 20th of February. The good news is that it is now the 20th of February so for those of you guys who have been eyeing the handset for a while now, you will be able to hit up Verizon’s website to place your order.

The handset will be priced at $199.99 along with a new two-year contract with the carrier, but for those who’d rather not be tied down and wouldn’t mind buying the handset outright, expect to fork $549 for it, which admittedly isn’t such a bad deal given its specs. For those who missed our coverage last week, the Nokia Lumia Icon is essentially a smaller version of the Nokia Lumia 1520. Instead of a 6-inch display, the Lumia Icon will pack a smaller 5-inch display while maintaining its Full HD resolution. It will also be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, and will feature a 20MP Carl Zeiss camera with PureView technology. Not too bad, huh?

Nokia Lumia Icon Now Available From Verizon original content from Ubergizmo.

The Nokia Normandy/Nokia X is pegged for a possible announcement at MWC 2014, and so far based on what we know about the handset, the device is definitely not Nokia’s most powerful smartphone to date. Heck, amongst its Android peers it’s not even that powerful and would be considered to be a low-end device. In fact according to the rumors, the Normandy will be packing a 5MP rear-facing camera, and yes while we know that megapixels do not define a good photo, a 5MP camera is hardly considered marketing material.

For those who were hoping otherwise, sorry to disappoint but as it turns out, the Nokia Normandy will feature a 5MP camera after all. This is thanks to a sample photo that was taken by a certain Nokia A110, which is reportedly the model number for the Nokia Normandy/Nokia X. Based on its EXIF data, it has been revealed that the handset will indeed pack a 5MP sensor, but hopefully where it lacks in megapixels, it will make up with in great software and image quality, which to be honest is really what everyone wants from their cameras. The EXIF data has also revealed the camera’s aperture to be f/2.65 which isn’t exactly the brightest, so don’t expect anything amazing when it comes to low-light situations. Either way be sure to check back with us during MWC 2014 where hopefully all the details will be revealed.

Nokia Normandy 5MP Camera Confirmed In Sample Photo original content from Ubergizmo.

Nokia has unveiled a new accessory designed to make sure users of its Lumia smartphone are never parted from their handset. Or at least, that when they leave the house with their tagged keys or bag, they’ll be reminded to pick up their phone too. Or vice versa.

Called Treasure Tag, the smart fob can be paired via NFC or Bluetooth 4.0 with a Lumia smartphone running the Lumia Black update to link the two devices — so that if either one moves out of range of the other an alarm sounds on both to alert the user that all is not well with their favourite gadget.

Now there are scores and scores of startups building lost and found gizmos. One of which, Tile, which we covered last summer, managed to amass $2.6 million in crowdfunding before the field started getting insanely crowded. And now Nokia has thrown its hat into the ring — although most lost and found startups aren’t going to see the Treasure Tag as any kind of competition.

For one thing, Nokia’s system is currently* a closed one, limited to use with a sub-set of Lumia smartphones, rather than allowing the ability to tag any kind of treasured possession (inanimate or otherwise). (*Nokia does say there will also be third-party apps for Treasure Tag to support Android and iOS devices in future.)

Nokia’s tag also offers a very limited feature-set vs some of the more elaborate tracker tag concepts out there. Whereas Tile’s plan, for instance, is to build a distributed network of other Tile users so that the community  of users can expand its location-pinpointing range, Treasure Tag is not so smart, with only the paired link between phone and tag to go on.

So expect its alarm to sound when you’re popping to the toilet with your keys in your pocket but not your phone, for instance. (The alarm can be muted or put to sleep via the corresponding app, or you can long press on the tag itself to deactivate it — all of which sounds like a fair bit of hassle.)

The Treasure Tag system also supports locating a lost tagged item, such as your keys or bag, on a map within the app — or it will if you are within range of it. It can only report the last known location, so if the item has been moved since it’s not going to turn up.

And if you want to tag multiple items to link them to your phone, you’ll need to buy multiple Treasure Tags. Up to four different tags can be simultaneously connected to the handset — with the ability to assign ready-made icons to each (such as a keys icon), or use a photo, to try and make the managing multiple tags scenario less confusing.

Either way, with the tags themselves being relatively large vs some of the tracker startup competition — each Treasure Tag is a roughly matchbox sized 30 x 30 x 10mm — it’s not exactly an elegant solution to forgetfulness. Forget slipping a tag inside your wallet, for instance, as you can with the likes of Protag Elite.

The battery life of each Treasure Tag is pegged at ‘up to six months’. A standard coin cell type battery that’s user replaceable powers each tag.

Nokia said it expects the Treasure Tag to go on sale via global retailers in April, costing €24,90 ($29.90). Colour options are the bright yellow and cyan that Nokia also uses for its phone range, as well as white or black.

Nokia has gone official with the introduction of its latest gadget called the Treasure Tag. We talked about the Treasure Tag device back in July of last year when the … Continue reading