We’ve heard about the Nokia Lumia 928 off-and-on this year, reporting early in March that the handset had surfaced in Verizon’s inventory log, having been placed nearly two months earlier than that on January 17. A couple months later, it was tipped that the Lumia 928 would have an aluminum body and some other googies. Now an image of the handset has been posted by @evleaks.
The image isn’t accompanied by much data, except that it is black, destined for Verizon, and will be available this year. According to information that surfaced in March, the Lumia 928, which is an upgraded Lumia 920, will have an aluminum body, a Xenon flash for the rear camera, and its new name. It’ll support 4G LTE, and will be available to Verizon subscribers.
According to that source, the handset was set to launch in April some time, meaning there’s a chance we could see it roll out this month. There’s said to be a “slightly curved back,” with the thinnest part measuring it at a svelte 10.2mm, making it smaller than the Lumia 920. It is also said that the device will have a more squared shape akin to the Lumia 720.
You can see in the image above that the handset is, indeed, rather square shaped, and you can also see the rounded edges on the rear shot. The image shows Verizon branding on the upper-right side of the device’s face. Aside from an 8-megapixel rear camera, there’s not much else currently known about the device, but while we wait for it to be unveiled, you can check out our Lumia 920 review to get an idea of what to expect.
Nokia has a penchant for colorful smartphones, make no mistake about it, and I don’t suppose that they actually took a page out from Nintendo’s books, as the Japanese gaming company had introduced its fair share of colorful consoles in the past, and will continue to do so down the road. Well, with Nokia concentrating solely on Windows Phone as the mobile operating system of choice for its smartphone range, they have decided to fall on color options to help customers tell the difference between them and their rivals, who seem to lean more towards brushed metal, solid black or white shades.
Well, it seems that the flagship Nokia Lumia 920 is set to arrive in a spanking new color option, which could very well be the shade of Mint Green as you can see above. This particular image that you see above was posted on Facebook by Nokia’s arm located over in Jordan, and I would assume that the mint leaves have a whole lot to do with the potential name of the color, as it sure as heck has nothing to do with the smell or taste, right?
Skype has released a new Windows Phone 8 app update today. The new Skype for Windows Phone 8 version 2.4 brings HD video calling support for high end devices. These devices include the likes of Nokia Lumia 920, HTC 8X and the Samsung Ativ S. The HD video calling feature works on hardware acceleration on high end Windows Phone 8 devices, so low and mid range devices will be limited to VGA video. The high definition video relies on an Internet connection, this app will automatically select compatible video quality based on the strength of the internet connection. Microsoft claims that this new update improves video call quality on all devices, HD or not.
Apart from 720p HD video calling, the new Skype Windows Phone 8 app brings a couple of new updates as well. Skype contacts will now be included in the Windows Phone People Hub, thus eliminating the need to launch Skype app, as calls can be initiated straight from the People Hub. Users can now easily switch through multiple accounts as account switching has now been integrated in to the main menu of the app. The new app fixes bugs and reliability issues. The new Skype Windows Phone 8 app is now available as a free download from the Windows Phone Store.
This week the folks at Verizon and Nokia appear to be closer than ever to releasing a Windows Phone 8 machine to beat the rest – an upgraded version of the Nokia Lumia 920 with 4G LTE. This new model will have 4G LTE as the AT&T version did, but with Verizon backing it up it’ll have a whole new aluminum body, Xenon flash for its back-facing camera, and a new name, as well. Welcome today – unofficially, for now – the Nokia Lumia 928.
This tip comes from The Verge where they’ve got some sources familiar with Nokia’s plans. This tip also includes the notion that this smartphone will launch some time inside April and will be pushing up competition with the HTC One (not on Verizon quite yet) and the Samsung Galaxy S4 (to be revealed later this week). This machine will also be rolling out hard with an 8-megapixel camera not unlike the one included on the Lumia 920, PureView technology included.
Inside this device you’ll find a “slightly curved back” and a thinnest point at 10.2mm. This means you’ll be finding the Lumia 928 to be a lot less “bulky” than the 920 and, as it’s also been leaked, this device will be a lot more “squared”. In essence we’ll be seeing the power of the Nokia Lumia 920 in the body of the Lumia 720, another device we’ve just seen revealed this past month at Mobile World Congress 2013.
Have a peek at our hands-on with the Lumia 720 and be sure to kick back with our Nokia Lumia 920 review from a few months ago to get an idea of what’s coming to Verizon soon, and very soon. Meanwhile get pumped up about the rest of the top-tier offerings from Nokia and Verizon in our tag portals for each, and keep your eyes open for the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 for competition, too!
This week The Guardian is tipping the world from one of their anonymous sources that Nokia may well be bringing their full-on Nokia 808 PureView 41 megapixel sensor to a set of standard smartphones in 2013. This tip comes from “sources close to the Finnish handset maker” and is indeed appearing to us to be just about as incredible as it may seem to you. What we’ll likely see instead is a continuation of the Nokia Lumia 920′s high-powered camera technology rather than the beast that is the lens configuration on the 808 – let’s have a chat about why.
The Nokia 808 PureView is a smartphone that’s meant to be used primarily as a camera. It’s got a massive lens configuration on its back that Nokia never intended to compete with the thin and light frames of the high-end smartphones we’re seeing throughout the industry today. Instead it was (and is) meant to show the world that Nokia can, indeed, deliver this camera power in a real market-ready handset.
What we’ve got with the Nokia Lumia 920 is a device that takes on the same “feel” for the brand that Nokia is pushing with “PureView”, this time in a more realistic package for the mass market. This device is not the thinnest smartphone in the world – not by a long shot – but it’s certainly ready to compete against the average top-tier smartphone in its overall package delivery. Nokia is banking on the idea that the camera brand PureView technology will push the rest of their handsets into the limelight.
SIDE NOTE: There’s also the possibility here that the Nokia EOS Windows Phone spoken about recently could be connected to a real-deal high-powered PureView sensor. Think about it!
With the tip you’re seeing here about the 41-megapixel sensor coming to the standard handset, it’s much more likely that a game of “telephone” is going on. That means that the original message was likely something more like “Nokia will bring on more high-powered PureView smartphones in 2013″, translated several times to come out to “Nokia PureView smartphones (started with the 808) will come to market in 2013.” The realistic way of looking at this situation is as follows:
Nokia will continue to push forth with PureView brand camera technology in the handsets they deliver that, first and foremost, deliver an overall solid experience in and of themselves. Another possibility is that Nokia is evolving as quickly as HTC and will deliver something wild like multiple layers of lenses sandwiched together to create a camera that, in the end, works with enough sensors that they’d have otherwise created a 41-megapixel photo.
Perhaps four layers of 10 megapixel sensors to create one beast of a photo? We shall see!
The BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 have yet to officially release in the U.S., but both devices have been available in the U.K. since last week and today, Canada is getting in on the BlackBerry 10 fun. For potential U.S. BlackBerry 10 owners, the anticipation of getting their phones is probably too much to bear, which is why some analysts is speaking out in favor of the Z10.
Barclays analyst Jeff Kvaal says the BlackBerry Z10 is already off to a better start than the Nokia Lumia 920 did at its launch.
“Our recent store checks suggest that initial sales of the BlackBerry Z10 are off to a solid, if not healthy start in the U.K. We believe BlackBerry’s Z10 is off to a better start than the Lumia 920. The solid initial demand is a positive step in our view, despite the number of challenges that remain.”
Both Microsoft and BlackBerry will probably be duking it out for the third place spot in the smartphone OS wars for some time seeing how Android and iOS have been dominating number one and two spots for years now. After spending some time with the BlackBerry Z10, we can tell you we wouldn’t be surprised if BlackBerry 10 becomes more popular than Windows Phone 8.
Nokia is readying the first Windows Phone to be truly worthy of PureView branding, currently codenamed EOS, new whispers suggest, with the 2013 handset expected to drop on AT&T later in the year. The Nokia EOS – the project name of which may well be a nod to Canon’s DSLR range – will pack a “similar sensor” to that of the 41-megapixel Nokia 808 PureView, according to The Verge‘s sources, as well as a new industrial design.
While Nokia has so-far used polycarbonate plastic in a variety of bright hues for its Windows Phones, the EOS will supposedly have an aluminum chassis. That won’t be the only aesthetic tweak; rather than the curved edges of the current Lumia line-up, the EOS will supposedly have “squared edges” as Nokia refreshes its design language.
Exactly what’s meant by a “similar sensor” to that of the 808 PureView is unclear at this stage. Nokia’s first PureView handset introduced an incredibly pixel-dense CMOS, though the chip was still oversized in comparison to the usual smartphone camera fare. That made the 808 a hefty handset, though allowed Nokia to do clever software tricks combining data from clusters of nearby pixels to create 5-megapixel-equivalent shots with considerably more detail than what might normally be produced from a phone.
One possibility is that Nokia could be more conservative in its oversampling, combining data from fewer clustered pixels and thus allowing for a smaller sensor overall. That would maintain the ethos of PureView technology, without contributing too heavily to bulk. Alternatively, Nokia could have developed a smaller version of its 41-megapixel sensor, which would help reduce the bulk of the EOS.
The Nokia EOS won’t be the first Windows Phone to bear the PureView branding – that would be the Lumia 920, which we reviewed last year – but it would arguably be the first to properly stick to how PureView was originally billed. The Lumia 920 used a relatively standard camera sensor, but mounted it in a special “elastic” framework which helped reduce camera-shake and allowed for longer exposures without blur.
Also rumored to be in Nokia’s pipeline for 2013 is the “Catwalk,” a Lumia 920 replacement that would also have an aluminum chassis. That new material will supposedly allow for a smaller, lighter device, addressing criticisms that the 920 was too heavy in comparison to rival devices.
Nokia is planning at least one top-tier Windows Phone using an aluminum body rather than the colorful polycarbonate of the existing Lumia range, with the handset – codenamed Catwalk – due sometime this year. Expected to be both thinner and lighter than the Nokia Lumia 920, the Nokia Catwalk will be part of a three device refresh, according to The Verge‘s sources.
Exact hardware specifications are unclear, though the Catwalk is tipped to have similar internal components as the Lumia 920 it will replace. That would suggest a roughly 4.5-inch display and dualcore processor, along with PureView camera technology and 4G LTE for high-speed connectivity.
Although the Lumia 920 was well received in terms of its overall abilities, the handset’s thickness and weight proved surprising in a marketplace of waifish phones. Part of that was down to the decision to integrate wireless charging, and use a clever suspended-lens feature for optical image stabilization, but the end result was a device that felt chunky and heavy in comparison to the iPhone 5 and other high-end devices.
A switch to aluminum – as Nokia has used before, to good result with phones like the N8 and E7 – would help make the flagship more competitive and add to a premium hand-feel. According to the tipster, the Catwalk will arrive with two other new Lumia devices, as a refresh to the company’s Windows Phone range, though no timescale for their release has been given.
The last time we spoke about a celebrity-like person working with a one certain kind of gadget or another, it was Kate Beckinsale with her LG flip-phone used during Total Recall – now it’s time to speak about Mark Cuban’s choices, starting with “the new Nokia with Windows” (aka the Nokia Lumia 920). Though the serial entrepreneur didn’t specifically mention the 920 by name, his several mentions of the hero devices from each series of smartphone – the iPhone 5, he Samsung Galaxy [S III] – make the 920 a rather safe bet.
Perhaps interesting beyond the idea that Cuban uses an Nokia Windows Phone device is the fact that he states how “it crushes the IPhone 5 [sic]. not even close.” The forum in which these comments spewed forth was a thread controlled by Cuban on the content sharing website Reddit – part of a series in which well-known or otherwise famous people are asked to speak to the users of the website in a very basic text-based thread of messages. This series of threads is called AMA or “Ask Me Anything” and resulted in the following questions and answers surrounding Cuban’s gadget use:
“1) When you buy something on Amazon or something, do you ever look at the prices? Or do you just buy whatever looks good and have it ship overnight?
2) Let’s say that you’re looking for a new mp3 player and earbuds and can’t decide which to buy, do you just buy whatever one you think is best? Or do you just go “fuck this, I’m a billionaire, and I’ll just buy everything & throw away the rest”
3) Speaking of which, what kind of laptop do you own? And mp3 player? Are they customized or are they whatever is on the market?” – ashton90
“1. i always look at the prices. And I belong to Prime to get better rates
2. I buy the one i like. I dont throw s*** away like that
3. I have a MacBook Air, but am trying the new Acer with Windows 8. I really, really like Windows 8 on my phone. I have 2 phones. first is samsung the 2nd was an Iphone5. THe new Nokia with windows replaced my Iphone 5″ – M.Cuban
The devices Cuban is speaking about can be found in SlashGear’s own series of reviews – these are, of course, not guaranteed to be perfect matches to what Cuban is speaking about because of his relatively general naming structure, but let’s give it a whack anyway! First he’s working with a MacBook Air 13-inch (mid-2012), then a fabulous new Acer Aspire S7 with Windows 8 and a full touchscreen interface. He had the Apple iPhone 5 and what we must assume was the Samsung Galaxy S III with Android.
For the Nokia Lumia device we’ve got several possibilities, even though we assume he’s speaking about the 920. He could also be speaking about the Nokia Lumia 810 from T-Mobile or the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon, both of them extremely similar to the most powerful of the Windows Phone 8 generation from Nokia, the Nokia Lumia 920. Have a peek at the whole lot!
In the smartphone universe you’re going to have some sorting to do starting with the carrier your gift receiver is working with. More than likely you’re a parent or a significant other if you’re purchasing a smartphone on-contract for that special someone, this meaning you’ve got a fair understanding of which carrier they’ll be working with. After that, it’s all about finding the best device for them based on their specific wants and needs.
The first and probably most obvious place your mind should be wandering to is the iPhone. With this Apple hero device landing on three major carriers with the launch of the iPhone 5, it’s almost a given at this point in our western society that a person wouldn’t mind receiving an iPhone as a gift. If your special someone is out of the iPhone universe specifically for one reason or another, you’ll want to head down one of two paths: Android or Windows Phone.
With Windows Phone 8 came the launch and relative re-birth of Nokia in an extremely vibrant and fun-loving wave of devices that hit most major carriers in the USA. The biggest and the best of these devices is the Nokia Lumia 920 which is exclusive to AT&T at the moment. After that you’ve got the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon, the Nokia Lumia 820 from T-Mobile, and more than likely one or two more additions to the Lumia line before the end of the year. Another heavy contender in this space is the HTC Windows Phone 8X carried by AT&T as well as Verizon and T-Mobile.
As for Android, you’ve got a fierce battle going on between lines and heroes, with four titans making up the entirety of our selections for best-of-the-moment. The most recent big-name drop has been the Google Nexus 4, one of two of LG’s recent beast releases. LG also brings on the Optimus G with AT&T 4G LTE, a slightly more high-powered version of the hardware brought on in the Nexus 4, both of them working with one of the most powerful processors on the market, the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro. This Google hero phone is sold as a 2-year-contract-holding T-Mobile Nexus 4 and as a no-contract Nexus 4 sold online via the Google Play store – they’re both exactly the same device, just different prices based on data plan acceptance.
HTC came out swinging this year and didn’t let up all the way through to Fall with the HTC DROID DNA with Verizon 4G LTE, the current record holder for highest-definition-display on a smartphone. It’s backed up by the whole HTC One crew, leading off with the brand new HTC One X+ for AT&T, a a much more high-powered version of the original with a fantastic NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor in it – hot stuff! The original version is still out there as the HTC One X (without the +), exclusive to AT&T here in the USA. Next in line is the slightly smaller HTC One S carried by T-Mobile in the USA – this device has been upgraded to a much more awesome casing quite recently – a hot pick! The HTC One V is also floating around out there for those of you looking specifically for the HTC branding but not wanting to drop a ton of bills – though the One S is free at times, depending on when you’re shopping – good luck!
Motorola was purchased by Google earlier this year and since they’ve had that extra bump of influence, they’ve made some fantastic handsets that retain their hardcore hardware build and bust out with a newly refined user interface on the inside. The Motorola DROID RAZR M has one of the smallest bezels on the market, making it appear to be just a wickedly bright display sitting in the palm of your hand. The M’s bigger brother DROID RAZR HD sticks with the greatness that was the original DROID RAZR and boosts the processing power as well as the density of the display. The DROID RAZR MAXX HD crowns the collection with all that good stuff plus a massive, gigantic, beastly battery (and it’s still rather thin!)
Then there’s Samsung. If the person you’re buying a gift for doesn’t want an iPhone, chances are they’ll be entirely stoked to get either a Samsung Galaxy S III or a Samsung Galaxy Note II. The big difference is in the ultra massiveness of the Galaxy Note II, that and it’s build-in S-Pen for writing on the screen. The Samsung family of devices creates a friendly software and hardware compatibility ecosystem the lines of which you’ll only otherwise find at Apple – and that’s saying a lot. The Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II are available on most if not all of the major carriers in the USA and abroad – have a peek at the Galaxy S III here on Verizon as well as AT&T and T-Mobile. The Galaxy Note II we’ve also got several reviews of, hitting on the T-Mobile version and the Verizon version – and keep note that we’ll be taking another look at the Verizon version likely by the time this post is published to see how lovely its data speeds are – otherwise the differences between each of these devices on each carrier is relegated to the carrier-pushed apps and the costs inflicted upon your person. Also the Verizon version of the Note II has a massive beast of a Verizon logo on the front button – it’s fierce!
Another rather odd contender that will certainly surprise your gift-getter is the Nokia 808 PureView running Symbian – that’s not Android, it’s not iOS, and it’s not Windows Phone. This device also has a 41-megapixel camera – truly the most intense camera phone in the history of the world.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Nokia has a penchant for colorful smartphones, make no mistake about it, and I don’t suppose that they actually took a page out from Nintendo’s books, as the Japanese gaming company had introduced its fair share of colorful consoles in the past, and will continue to do so down the road. Well, with Nokia concentrating solely on Windows Phone as the mobile operating system of choice for its smartphone range, they have decided to fall on color options to help customers tell the difference between them and their rivals, who seem to lean more towards brushed metal, solid black or white shades.
