Hasta La Gadget!

While most people would think that flagship devices are the most popular, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, it’s the budget devices that top the list, as is the case with Windows Phone. According to Windows Phone advertising company AdDuplex, the Nokia Lumia 520 is the world’s most popular Windows Phone handset.

Specifically, the Lumia 520 controls 13.3% of the total Windows Phone market, while Nokia itself owns a whopping 85% of the Windows Phone market, mostly thanks to the Finnish company’s big partnership with Microsoft. However, Windows Phone still has a long way to go before it catches up with iOS or Android.

However, that isn’t stopping Windows Phone sales. While the Lumia 520 hasn’t seen exponential growth, its sales have been doing nothing but rising since the phone’s release back in March. Sales numbers aren’t disclosed, since AdDuplex bases its numbers on app adoption.

Nonetheless, it seems Microsoft and Nokia have a hold on the budget device market, while Google, Samsung, HTC, and other big companies have a hold on the top-tier device market. However, Nokia is aiming their sights on that category as well. Their flagship Lumia 920 has been out for some time, and they just recently announced the 1020 with a 41MP camera attached.

As for other Nokia handsets, the Lumia 920 comes in second with 11.8% of the Windows Phone market, followed by the Lumia 620 with 9.6%. Six other Nokia Lumia phones make the list, but the HTC 8X gets sliver of the pie with 3.7% of the Windows Phone market share.

VIA: The Next Web

SOURCE: AdDuplex

Lumia 520 now world’s top Windows Phone as Nokia dominates market is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 PureView smartphone will bring its 41-megapixel camera to the UK in September, according to one retailer, potentially two months after the Windows Phone goes on sale in the US. The UK release has been tipped by the Carphone Warehouse – though the retailer warns that it’s subject to change along the way – as right near the end of Nokia’s promised “this quarter” sales schedule.

In the US, Nokia will offer the Lumia 1020 exclusively via AT&T. The carrier will being presales tomorrow, July 16, with the Windows Phone 8 handset shipping from July 26. It’s not an inexpensive device, though; AT&T’s subsidized price is $299.99, with a new, two-year agreement.

Pricing for elsewhere, however, hasn’t been confirmed. It seems Nokia is positioning the Lumia 1020 as a premium device – that 41-megapixel CMOS and the companion six-element lens obviously doesn’t come cheap – figuring it will replace not only your existing phone but a dedicated camera, too; AT&T is yet to discuss off-contract pricing, but we’d guess it would be somewhere in the region of $750.

Your money will get you perhaps the most innovative phone in Nokia’s line-up. From the front, the Lumia 1020 is a 4.5-inch Windows Phone 8 device running Microsoft’s OS on a dualcore 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. However, flip it around and you find the bulge of the PureView camera, which can simultaneously snap 5- and roughly 40-megapixel stills, offers a lossless digital zoom during both image and video recording, and allows for zooming and reframing even after the photo has been taken.

Nokia Lumia 1020 hands-on:

It’s a system Nokia first experimented with on the 808 PureView back in 2012, but that handset’s Symbian OS and chunky styling meant sales were pretty much limited to enthusiasts only.

We’ve contacted Nokia about official launch timescales for the Lumia 1020 outside of the US, but the company tells us it’s still sticking with its Q3 window. There’s more on the Lumia 1020 in our full hands-on.

VIA The Inquirer

Nokia Lumia 1020 UK launch not until September warns retailer is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It wasn’t too long ago that Instagram more or less confirmed that they were a no-show for Windows Phone devices at least for now, and this is despite evidence that Instagram have registered themselves as developers on the Windows Phone […]

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

Microsoft has revealed details of its next Windows Phone 8 update, GDR2, but fans of the platform shouldn’t expect a significant refresh of the OS until early 2014, new leaks suggest. The fast-incoming General Distribution Release 2 has already been detailed, even though the exact timescale of its availability is still a mystery, including tidbits like an FM radio, CardDAV/CalDAV support for Gmail, and greater flexibility for how the camera button is handled, but the bigger Windows Phone “Blue” update now won’t arrive until sometime the new year.

That, so sources talking to The Verge claim, is because various bugfixes have slowed Microsoft’s engineers down. The intention, so the leakers claim, was to be more proactive with firmware releases, but issues around new chipset testing, GDR glitches, and how unlocked, non-carrier devices register on networks have supposedly delayed that intention.

In between “Blue” and now will be a GDR3 update, released sometime before the end of the year. That will apparently include support for 5- and 6-inch Windows Phones, 1080p Full HD screen resolution, and up to quadcore processors.

However, it may also gain some of the features initially intended for “Blue” but, in an attempt to reclaim some of the lost momentum, packaged up into the General Distribution Release 3. That, the sources suggest, could include a screen rotation lock, though the new notification center, refined multitasking, and other leaked changes are still believed to be coming in “Blue”.

In the meantime, there’s GDR2 to look forward to. Microsoft says that will allow certain phones to set a Lens of the user’s choice to open as the default when the camera hardware key is pressed, and some phones – i.e. those with the right chips – will get FM radio support. Xbox Music will see more metadata during playback, and it’ll apparently be easier to select, download, and pin music.

There’s also a Data Sense app, which will track mobile data use (with compatible carriers), while Internet Explorer will benefit from improved HTML5. Skype, too, will be more stable, as will Lync.

Meanwhile, Windows Phone manufacturers continue to push their own software development. Nokia released its HERE mapping apps for other OEMs earlier this week, and is now courting developers to create custom apps for its PureView photography system in the freshly-announced Nokia Lumia 1020. In fact, it’s said, Microsoft has to some extent been deciding the included features of GDR3 and “Blue” according to what demands OEMs like Nokia have made upon it.

Windows Phone 8 “Blue” update delayed to 2014 as limp GDR2 detailed is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia’s new Pro Camera application may debut on the Lumia 1020 announced yesterday, but the software will also be rolled out to the company’s existing PureView Windows Phones, albeit after a firmware update to pave the way later this year. Pro Camera marks a considerable step up over the default Windows Phone camera app, overlying concentric controls for exposure, ISO, and more over the preview screen, and giving real-time feedback on what tweaking each of the settings will actually do.

Now, Nokia has confirmed that the Lumia 920, Lumia 925, and Lumia 928 – all of which are PureView branded – will also get the Pro Camera app eventually. It’ll require the “Amber” update first, however, which Nokia has previously said will be released sometime this month.

It’s not the first we’ve seen of Nokia ensuring that existing owners aren’t left behind when new features arrive. Amber will also bring support for the Smart Camera application we reviewed on the Lumia 925, offering features like combination shots coupling together elements from multiple frames, and object removal.

Meanwhile, Amber will also have an impact on the quality of photos, Nokia has promised. On the Lumia 920, for instance, the update will add a broader ISO range, among other things.

Of course, even with the Pro Camera app, there’ll be some things the Lumia 920, 925, and 928 can’t do that the Lumia 1020 can. The biggest is lossless digital zooming, which will remain the preserve of the 1020′s 41-megapixel sensor.

There’s more on the Nokia Lumia 1020, and the Pro Camera app, in our full hands-on. As for how the oversampling system in the Lumia 1020 works, check out our SlashGear 101 on the topic.

Nokia Lumia 1020 PureView hands-on:

Nokia Lumia 1020 Pro Camera app will get 925, 928 and 920 release is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.