Hasta La Gadget!

Windows Phone has never looked this good. The latest update to Microsoft’s mobile operating system, known as Update 3, added support for 1080p displays, large smartphone screens and state-of-the-art processors. And now, these features are finally showing up on actual hardware. The first device to tick off all these boxes is the Nokia Lumia 1520, a 6-inch flagship with all of the trimmings we’ve been waiting to see on a Windows Phone device for three years now.

Because high-end Windows Phones have been limited to whatever specs Microsoft officially supports, we’ve felt that Nokia’s flagships didn’t differ enough in specs from the lowest-end Lumias to justify the enormous price difference. At least, they didn’t until now. The Lumia 1520 is the first top-of-the-line Windows Phone device that brings the best possible components. So, what’s WP8 like on hardware that isn’t behind the times? Let’s find out. %Gallery-slideshow122047%

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

Comments

AT&T is going to release the Nokia Lumia 1520 on November 22nd. The carrier is already taking pre-orders for the phablet which was originally priced $199.99 with a two year contract. For a limited time, the carrier has reduced Lumia 1520 price to $99.99 with a standard two year contract. The phablet is also available through the Microsoft Store and Redmond is offering free app credit with every purchase. AT&T’s newly discounted price gives the carrier a leg up over the Microsoft Store. It should be kept in mind though that this discounted price is only available through AT&T’s online store.

The reduced price is likely to entice customers who had been holding off on purchasing the Nokia Lumia 1520. AT&T’s online store states that this is promotion is being run for a limited time only and is likely to continue until stocks last. There’s no way of ascertaining when the online store will run out of stock, so its better to get your pre-order in if you’re serious about picking up Nokia’s new device. Earlier today we reported that some AT&T locations have already begun selling the Lumia 1520. Quite a few customers have already picked up units despite the fact that the official release date if November 22nd. One customer bought the Lumia 1520 off contract from AT&T for $540.

AT&T Lumia 1520 Price Reduced To $99 At Online Store original content from Ubergizmo.

Nokia’s Lumia 2520 tablet will set you back $500 if you want to buy it flat out. AT&T is more than happy to sell you one at that price. Pick it up with a wireless contract, and AT&T will knock $100 off that sticker.

But pick up a Lumia 925, 1020, or 1520 at the same time, and the price of the Lumia 2520 drops to $200. That’s an incredible decline in cost. I confirmed with AT&T that the phone itself would be subsidized, but subject “to a second agreement,” or contract, so the deal only works if you are ready to pony up for two devices and requisite plans.

So, for the sum of $300 ($100 for the Lumia 925, $200 for the Lumia 2520), you can buy into the larger Windows ecosystem of Windows 8.x and Windows Phone. Why would Nokia do this? You can’t really view Nokia’s hardware choices as independent anymore, but for kicks, the reasons would be simple: Device volume is key to the health of the Windows (et al. form factors) platform. This means that Nokia does more than help its short-term revenue when it moves devices, it sets up its future by supporting the platform that it needs to stand upon.

But Nokia’s hardware division is now all but part of Microsoft’s hardware business, making the above all the more muddled in the best possible way. Let’s do this in pieces:

1. Nokia lashes its tablet and smartphone hardware together, using carrier subsidies for consumers to bear the brunt of its margin pressure, to sell more units and help launch it into new hardware categories.
2. Windows and Windows Phone benefit from larger unit volume, which brings more users, more downloads, and thus more developer satisfaction.
3. Developers then in theory build more applications, which leads to happier customers, and therefore more customers, creating a virtuous loop.
4. Microsoft buys Nokia’s hardware business, which it wants in order to sell more smartphones.
5. Its new smartphone business is being used to sell tablets that compete with its own Surface line of devices.

So that’s fun, but the real issue here is that Microsoft (Nokia) has compiled a hardware package that it can presumably vend not at a loss that brings consumers onto its platforms (platform, depending on how precise you want to be), in twos instead of ones.

This is only a good for Microsoft if the Lumia 2520 is worth a damn. Early prognostications appear to be in its favor, though I can’t see why I’d prefer one to a Surface 2. But that doesn’t matter; Microsoft merely wants more RT devices sold, period. And that’s why the later points I think don’t matter to Microsoft: In the Game of Platforms, you either win or you become BlackBerry.

So to Microsoft, shaving Surface revenue in the short-term to bolster the somewhat tenuous Windows RT piece of the Windows empire probably makes sense.

Stepping back, moving units is Microsoft’s current problem, which is of course part of the same app problem that we endlessly discuss. The two are directly entertained. And Windows is bigger than Surface, meaning that it takes precedence.

Can Nokia (Microsoft) keep the deal up and not end up in a cold bath whilst ripping up hundred-dollar bills? (Margin pressure is a bitch). I don’t know, but I bet that Microsoft does. We’ll see if it keeps the gambit alive once the deal closes.

The Lumia 1520 is releasing on November 22 exclusively on AT&T, making it the first phablet smartphone to ever be released by Nokia. It looks like November 22 will continue being an important day for Nokia as AT&T has just announced the Lumia 2520, the first Windows tablet created by Nokia, will also launch on the same day.

(more…)

Nokia Lumia 2520 Launching On AT&T November 22 For $399 original content from Ubergizmo.

The other day we reported that a bunch of Nokia codenames had leaked, suggesting that we had a few more devices that we could expect from Nokia before they were officially bought up by Microsoft. Well the last we heard, some of those devices had their features revealed, such as Goldfinger which supposedly will introduce the “3D Touch” technology which basically allows users to interact with the phone without having to actually touch the display. Now thanks to @evleaks, we have additional details about the upcoming devices, although we’re not sure which particular device these features correspond to.

In any case according to @evleaks, it has been suggested that one of the devices will feature a Siri-like assistant, which is essentially a voice assistant software that allows users to perform tasks on their device by telling it vocally, such as setting an alarm, reading out a message, searching for things on the web and etc. The other rumor claims that another one of those handsets is expected to be Nokia’s next imaging flagship handset, which at the moment is the Nokia Lumia 1020. We have heard how a certain upcoming Lumia 1820 could feature a Lytro-like camera, so it certainly corroborates what we’ve been hearing lately. Take it with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more info.

Upcoming Nokia Phones Expected To Get Siri-like Functionality, New Imaging Flagship In The Works [Rumor] original content from Ubergizmo.