Hasta La Gadget!

It was only this past spring that Nokia crashed onto the US smartphone scene to stake its claim and make inroads into consumers’ minds and hearts. Now, just five months later, the Finnish company’s poised to overtake the buzz of its fledgling, former Windows Phone flagship, with what many consider to be a true high-end contender: the Lumia 920.

As one of the first Windows Phone 8 devices to be officially announced, this device augments Espoo’s line with a larger, curved 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display, dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2,000mAh battery, NFC, integrated wireless charging and an 8-megapixel rear PureView camera capable of 1080p video. The display packs WXGA (1,280 x 768) resolution, is 25 percent brighter than the next best panel on the market and it’s the fastest LCD that Nokia has ever shipped on a smartphone. What’s more, the screen also boasts what Nokia calls “Super Sensitive Touch,” which promises to let you use it even when wearing gloves or mitts.

As you can tell from its humpless back, this PureView is not that of the 41-megapixel variety — it’s merely all about the branding, as the moniker will now ring synonymous with “high-end cameras.” Despite that fall from 808 grace, Nokia’s Head of Imaging Damian Dinning has assured detractors the magic is in what’s done with the optics and pixels and not sheer gargantuan sampling size. To wit, the 920 employs a “floating lens,” which, in layman’s terms, translates into hardware image stabilization and also packs impressive low-light capabilities — an area the company’s seems squarely focused upon.

In a true return to form, the 920 also hearkens back to the Lumia that started it all, opting for the “sinuous tapering” that debuted on the 800 with glass edges that blend gently into the polycarbonate hull. Unfortunately, not all of that design language has made the transition, given its chassis now appears glossier and more polished, distancing itself from that premium matte finish. Still, as looks go, the handset’s keeping to its 900 origins, appearing nigh indistinct from its predecessor save for that attention-grabbing mellow yellow hue.And as a bonus, Nokia’s imbued the device with integrated wireless charging, based on the Qi standard, which corroborates those leaks we saw just last week. The Lumia 920 will arrive in pentaband LTE and HSPA+ variants and both are expected to ship “in selected markets” later this year.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 920 official: Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 8MP PureView camera, Windows Phone 8

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Nokia Lumia 920 official: Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 8MP PureView camera, Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you looking forward to what Windows Phone 8 can deliver in terms of smartphones? If you have answered in the affirmative, then you will definitely want to take a closer look at the Samsung ATIV S which was first introduced to the world at IFA 2012 in Berlin, Germany. From what you can see above, the Samsung ATIV S does seem to shape up to be one slick looking handset, where it will not compromise on its processing power, merging both form and functionality into a single device.

Just how thin is the Samsung ATIV S again? Well, we are looking at a brushed aluminum chassis that measures just 8.7mm, and yet despite that, it is still capable of housing a rather massive 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display which is made from Corning Gorilla Glass 2, nudging it nearer to phablet territory than ever before. Gorilla Glass’ claim to fame would be being super tough, so the “sequel” to this material will exhibit a certain degree of toughness without weighing down your smartphone.

Underneath the hood, you will find a rather zippy 1.5GHz dual-core processor, where that will be accompanied by 1GB RAM, an 8-megapixel camera at the back with autofocus capability, a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, with a choice of either 16GB or 32GB of storage space. I know that some of us are media junkies, which is why Samsung has thrown in a microSD memory card slot for good measure.

To make sure that everything runs just fine and dandy, the Samsung ATIV S will be powered by a rather huge 2300mAh battery which should last you the entire day. No idea on just how much this puppy will cost nor when will it hit the market, but “soon” should be a good time frame to fall upon. After all, Windows Phone 8 has been rumored to be released this coming October 29th.

Press Release

[ Samsung ATIV S announced at IFA 2012 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The video out feature in Windows Phone 7 is reserved for select Microsoft employees, and now one enterprising member of the XDA Developers forum. With certain files ripped from an LG Panther 7003 ROM, the help of someone on the inside and many months of work, forum member marsrogers succeeded in pushing video from his Samsung Focus to a companion PC app. Don’t get too excited though — this particular trick will not be released to the masses so the MS confidant involved is not exposed. However, it’s not all bad news, as marsrogers’ source reports that Windows Phone 8 will have remote desktop capability straight out of the box. Sadly, for those of you carrying around current-gen WP devices, there’s still no hope.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Video out enabled on Windows Phone 7, just not for you originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you thought the Apple and Samsung legal tussles weren’t getting interesting enough, another filing has revealed that the father of all smartphones Galaxy has at least two Windows Phone 8 devices in the pipeline. According to the filing that’s been unearthed by The Verge, both are running on a dual-core 1.5Ghz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset — which is currently Samsung’s chip of choice for LTE regions. The Odyssey looks set to be Samsung’s high-end Windows Phone, with a 4.65-inch high-definition Super AMOLED display and NFC ready for Microsoft’s own mobile payment plans. Meanwhile, the Marco will apparently forego the near-field delights and house a humbler 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED screen, for a presumably gentler price. According to the legal documents, both devices are gearing up to launch in Q4 of this year — after we’ve seen Windows Phone 8 in its entirety.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung spills details on Odyssey and Marco Windows Phone 8 devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 04:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Financial Times has reported that Nokia is in “exploratory” talks with several European carriers to share revenue for its upcoming Windows Phone 8 handsets in exchange for dedicated support. This would be a shift from its normal modus operandi, which is to sell as many phones as it can across all carriers at once, in favor of an approach which resembles Apple’s deal with AT&T for the iPhone in 2007. The Finnish company could be hoping to create the same level of excitement for its WP8 phone that Cupertino did back then — and may also be trying to offer a more profitable carrier alternative to Apple and Samsung, who use their dominance to grab the lion’s share of handset revenue. While operators like France Telecom (Orange) and Deutsche Telekom are said to be involved, all parties have declined to comment. So, take this for what it is — just a rumor at the moment — but based on deals it made in the US with AT&T and the Lumia 900, it wouldn’t be a shocker for Nokia to at least consider it.

Filed under: Cellphones

Financial Times: Nokia mulling revenue split with carriers for Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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