Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia’s Lumia 820 is here, after countless leaks, and the budget-friendly handset is exactly what we expected. We’ll admit we’re sad to see the rather singular design of its spiritual forebear, the Lumia 800, fall by the wayside, but we can’t complain about the build quality here. The usual attention to detail and materials we’ve come to appreciate from the Finnish phone maker is on full display. The flat glass panel on the front may lack the mystique of the curved display on the 920 and 800, but it’s hardly something that should factor into your decision to buy this handset or another. The ceramic volume rocker and lock button on the right side have a pleasant and satisfying click, though we’re sad to report that the camera button still leaves us wanting. Sure, any dedicated camera key is better than none, but its squishy response to our press was hardly encouraging. At least Nokia had the good grace to upgrade to a dual-stage solution. We were also a bit put off by the shine of the body. The Lumia series stole our hearts with its matte finish when it first debuted; now the glossy exterior is more likely to throw some glare and attract fingerprints. The new plastic also feels quite a bit lighter in the hand, which makes the 820 feel more like the midrange device it is and less like the premium handset it’s succeeding.

What’s under the hood certainly makes up for some of those shortcomings. The 1.5 GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM simply chewed through the lightweight Windows Phone 8, leaving us to wonder if Apple and Google can truly keep up. All of the UI animations were smooth and fluid, and apps launched with nary a hiccup. And, can we just say that Windows Phone 8 is an absolute pleasure to use. At the risk of angering quite a few people — there’s simply no mid-range Android phone or iOS device that’s as quick and satisfying to use as the Lumia 820, and much of that is thanks to the highly optimized Microsoft OS. It’s a pleasure to see that new features like the customizable home screen and background multitasking haven’t weighed down Redmond’s phone platform. And things will likely only get better as the final wrinkles are ironed out and bugs are squashed. But, as we all know, speed and smooth animations alone don’t make a device — Microsoft will have to convince developers to support its still fledgling platform.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on (update: now with video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on (update: now with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the Lumia 820, the Lumia 920’s little sister. It’s got the same polycarbonate unibody with softer lines. It’s also got a 4.3-inch screen, 4G LTE, and built in NFC, Nokia City Lens, and all the other exclusive Nokia apps. Not bad for the second child. More »

No matter your budget, Nokia’s got a Windows Phone 8 handset for you. While the Lumia 920 dominated today’s press conference, the company’s more modest Lumia 820 is planning to sneak in and capture the mid-range. The handset is packing the same 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 internals you’ll find in the 920, along with 1GB RAM and a 4.3-inch display.

While the handset isn’t unattractive, the design language of the 800 (and N9) that captured our hearts has been dumped in favor of something more symmetrical. The glass of its 800 x 480 ClearBlack OLED screen is flat rather than convex (poached by the 920) and the body’s finish is a little more shinier than the previous generation of Nokia’s polycarbonate.

Photography fans looking to get their hands on that PureView goodness will be disappointed to see that it’s also been reserved for the flagship (in some form). Instead, this unit comes with the more familiar 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics we’ve seen before, but at least there’s a front-facing VGA lens for video conferencing.

While the unit only has 8GB of on-board storage, it’s packing microSD support (up to 32GB, as per usual) and you’ll also get an additional 7GB of storage on Microsoft’s cloud service, Skydrive. The company’s including a series of protective cases in a variety of colors, including a set that add bundle QI-compatible wireless charging to the handset — at the cost of adding an extra 1mm to the handset’s overall thickness.

It’ll arrive in Red, Yellow, Grey, Cyan, Purple, White and Black, with separate LTE and HSPA+ variants shipping “later in the year,” but Elop and co declined to give a specific announcement on availability or price today.

Continue reading Nokia announces Lumia 820, a 4.3-inch, LTE-running, budget-friendly Windows Phone 8 handset

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia announces Lumia 820, a 4.3-inch, LTE-running, budget-friendly Windows Phone 8 handset originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been nearly a year since we spoke with Stephen Elop in New York City for the launch of the Lumia 800, a year that hasn’t exactly been full of success on the financials front. But, forget all that, because the new devices are here! We had the chance to chat with Stephen about the new Lumia 820 and 920 and ask him what he thinks the chances are of this version of Windows Phone will be the one that finally gains some traction in the market.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

The Engadget Interview: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia has just started unleashing the details on their upcoming Windows Phone 8 attack all starting with their new flagship Lumia 920. Along with plenty of other details we’ve seen throughout the week they also just officially announced Nokia City Lens Augmented Reality for Windows Phone 8 and the Lumia series.

Yup, Nokia has brought their ever expanding City Lens app and maps technology to Windows Phone 8 just like we reported on yesterday. To start they are showing it off on stage with their new Lumia, showing just how great the technology will work with their new flagship Windows Phone 8 Phone.

“Nokia City Lens provides the most intuitive way to explore the world around you.”

With Nokia City lens you’ll be doing more than just seeing directions or restaurants around you, instead you’ll be seeing them live all through the city lens which can be launched right from Nokia Maps simply by tipping your device up and looking upon the world. It was launched earlier this week in beta, and it looks like it will be arriving for more soon. With City Lens by Nokia you’ll be seeing more than the usual Augmented Reality app too. You’ll see names of restaurants, coffee ships and more, right on your Windows smartphones display.

That isn’t all either. Nokia also just announced that their popular and still growing Nokia Maps (in favor over Google Maps obviously) will indeed be combining augmented reality and City Lens. Nokia hopes that combining these technologies all to their new Windows Phone 8 options users can enjoy and explore their surroundings in a much more intuitive and human way.

We’ve seen City Lens before back when it was released in May so you’ll want to check out more details on it by clicking here. While we still aren’t sure if AR will ever hit the mainstream but for Nokia it is here to stay. Being officially announced and headed to Windows Phone 8 and more.

Nokia City Lens Augmented Reality gets official for Windows Phone 8 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
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