Smartphone industry is growing rapidly, every manufacturer seems to bring a phone that no one has ever seen, but its true that the era of buttons on a phone seems to be an old-fashioned. The word smartphone has transformed a phone with a piece of palm size touch screen. For a time back, Apple, Samsung RIM have been the favorite choice for customers while Microsoft was a bit slow, but surely they we attracting customers.

Today we have the new Nokia Lumia 920 with us to to review, the Finnish manufacturer’s first stab at smartphone which runs on Microsoft Windows Phone 8 operating system and a very-high end camera under the hood.

Nokia Lumia 920 Design:

Lumia 920, a phone that is available in vibrant colors, the reason was supposed to be as smartphone market which was dominated only with gray or matte black tones, or more if you go you could find a pebble blue, whereas as Lumia brand was introduced with colors and vibrancy. Likewise 920’s sister model Lumia 820 & Lumia 620 turned up to maximum factors as 920 is being available in eye-watering colors like yellow to red, white, gray, black. Lumia’s biggest fans might not have turned up with red yellow type colors but it still gives a good taste and people welcomes them.

The phone sits on a polycarbonate shell which not only has affected with the colors, but the internal display can also be adjusted according to exterior. On the phone icon’s turn to different colors scheme with an option of background in black on white only. I must say its striking design will surely get an attention when pull out in crowd.

Apart of the common smartphone design, Lumia 920 posses the same, with volume up down buttons on the right following up with a lock/unlock and a camera button, the large capacitive 4.5” Gorilla glass touch screen with windows button at the bottom of the screen. The charging & sync port right at the bottom of the phone. On the top of the phone is 3.5mm headphone jack along with Micro sim card slot.

Lumia 920 is little heavy and fat while holding. Along the Nokia’s recent line-up, this smartphone is build quality is fantastic and feels good to hold in hand – The Big Phone. The 185g phone is not at all slim & light in design and you can’t simply forget it in your pocket , but still it stands out of crowd.

Nokia Lumia 920 Better:

Nokia Lumia 920 is a 4.5” touchscreen model runs on state of the art latest Windows Phone 8 giving 1280×768 of resolution with PureMotion HD+, ClearBlack, Sunlight Readability Enhancement and Corning Glass 2,0. Although the phone is much big and bulky as compared to Apple’s latest iPhone 5. Overall, Lumia 920 offers best viewing and touchscreen experience indoor as well as outdoor. Alongside we tested the touchscreen  with gloves and yes it does work as advertised.

The 920’s is beating its heart on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Adreno 225 running on 1.5GHz processor speed which is quite efficient to fuel the overall smartphone functionality. 1GB of RAM comes on board, while the phone has 32GB of storage space with no space for extended memory (microSD card).

Nokia Lumia 920 Camera & Video Performance:

Now comes the most interesting part of the phone that was really worthy to review. Much could be written on Lumia 920 camera, However it does not have a 41-megapixel sensor or the oversampling technology which was made famous by Nokia 808 PureView, so we are not sure to which hardware of PureView technology has been advanced and put forward out here. But surprisingly, the camera stands out of the crowd compared to others.

The two majors things that Nokia Lumia 920 camera does better than other high-end smartphones out there is the photographs taken under low-light condition. The images really comes to better light through the powerful camera. In order to test these conditions we have taken side by side images with iPhone 5 and Lumia 920, results were in favor of Lumia’s low-light photography.

                                                      Image taken from iPhone 4

                                               Image taken from Lumia 920

The next part comes with image stabilization and we can sure that Nokia’s technology is lightyears ahead from others. Same comparison was carried out with a video made from Lumia and competition, whereas it resulted like day and night. Lumia 920’s optical assembly uses tiny springs across the lens which helps to absorb shocks and results are stunning. We normally take videos on the move, and the output feels like a shaky video, you will be surprised with the result video while on the move made with Lumia 920.

Finally the Windows Phone 8 has a different concepts of camera lenses, which lets you click your best shot in whatsoever light condition. Nokia Lumia 920 comes with Bing Vision, Cinemagraph most likely the Panorama and Smart Shoot lenses to capture different shooting moods  and requirements.

Closeup Mode on Lumia 920

Night Mode on Lumia 920

                           Day light photograph with Backlight Mode on Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920 Web Browsing:

The Nokia Lumia 920 web browsing experiences stands with Internet Explorer & search powered by Bing. A noticeable change for many users is the search bar placed at the bottom rather than the traditional bars at the top. Tabs, recent, favorites, refresh, back all buttons are found here. 

The browsing experience seems to be at the speed of light, the pages respond more quickly. The text displayed is quite sharp and crispy especially for white background page, although Lumia 920 does not support flash.

If you love Bing, then you might be impressive with its search, although like me if you are a Google fan then you have to dive into Internet Explorer settings and navigating to advanced settings and there you can change your default search provider. The choice remains all yours.

Nokia Lumia 920 Battery:

NFC technology is getting common nowadays and so does Lumia 920 also comes with NFC besides a Bluetooth. The battery is 2000mAh, as Nokia says it is enough for 400hours of standby, 6 hours of video playback and 67hours of talktime, with 10hours on 3G.

The notable feature is Lumia 920 charging mode, as its processor is so-called ‘Inductive charging’ which requires the unit to rest on a charging pad, rather than attaching it with a charging cable. So this is a unique feature and is quite charming getting user hassle free with charging cables and adapters.

Nokia Lumia 920 Price in UAE:

In Dubai Nokia Lumia 920 is going on sale for AED 2299/- There are many bundle offers running on the phone from retail shoppers, deals website as well from Etisalat & Du telecoms.

User comments on Nokia Lumia 920 Design:

Below are the comments collected from the users who had first time hand’s on experience with Lumia 920:

its quite big and heavy phone, the design of the phone is bulky where as there is some extra space beneath Windows button, if reduced would definitely help in getting a less weight and  more compact design.

I got shocked when I tried to fill Lumia 920 music gallery with my favorite songs and some of them was unable to play, while it was playing perfect on iPhone.

The phone experience some delay when changing the view between landscape and portrait under photo gallery.

Nokia Pakistan introduced the highly anticipated Lumia range powered by Windows Phone 8 in the country today. The device portfolio which was unveiled here consists of flagship device Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 620.With the latest range of Lumia Windows 8 devices, Nokia Pakistan is all set to lead the change for the Windows Phone ecosystem with its Lumia differentiators.

Speaking on the launch, Alessandro Lamanna, vice-president marketing – IMEA (India, Middle East, Africa) at Nokia said,

We are focused on redefining the future of smart devices and continue to invest towards delivering truly compelling experiences to consumers across price points. With the launch of Lumia Windows Phone 8 range, we aim to usher an era of unique innovations in the smart phone market. The announcement today is yet another giant leap in the remarkable progress we have made against our strategy announced in February 2011.” He further added, “We are working with partners across the board to take the Lumia experience to more and more consumers faster. The roll out of not two, but three devices marks not just our intent and agility, but also reflects our commitment to our consumers in Pakistan. With a range of accessories and partnerships to bring wireless charging outside the home, we are also boosting wireless charging into the mainstream. All this innovation adds up to one thing – it’s Time to Switch to Lumia!

Commenting on the occasion, Salman Siddiqui, country lead – Channel Sales, Microsoft Pakistan said,

With Windows Phone 8 we created a new way to think about smartphones, one that puts people at the center. With the same look and feel, the same technology core and cloud service, Windows Phone is built to work seamlessly with Windows 8, you can learn it once and use it everywhere. From Tablet to PC to phone, it is all there for you whenever and however you want it. Nokia has done a phenomenal work to bring Windows Phone to life with truly stunning hardware, there is a phone for everyone, these phones are colorful, different and diverse.

At the occasion, Arsalan Zia Qureshi, head of corporate sales (South), Mobilink, added,

Mobilink continues to remain at the forefront of bringing the latest in cellular technology to our customers. The launch of the Lumia series together with Mobilink adds to the long range of Nokia handsets that our customers have been able to reliably purchase from Mobilink’s selected business centers. Mobilink’s partnership with Nokia ensures that our customers have access to the latest cellular technology at competitive prices and bundled with the most attractive offers.

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920 includes the latest advances in Nokia PureView imaging innovation. Using advanced floating lens technology, its camera takes in five times more light than competing smartphones without using flash, making it possible to capture clear, bright pictures and video indoors and at night. It also introduces optical image stabilization for the clearest, brightest pictures and video even when shooting indoors or at night.  Additionally, Nokia Lumia 920 is the first integrated wireless charging smartphone, with the technology built right into the handset.

All of these features won numerous accolades for the handset such as Gizmodo Australia – Best Mobile Phone of 2012, Readers Choice Award, International Forum Design, Germany – if Award for Outstanding Design, Mashable – Top 25 Tech of 2012, The Next Web – Best Smartphones of 2012 among others. Nokia Lumia 920 will be available in yellow, red, black, and white.

Nokia Lumia 820

Nokia Lumia 820 is a stylish, mid-range smartphone that delivers high-end performance in a compact package. Microsoft’s unique productivity offerings also make Nokia Lumia 820 the obvious smartphone choice for any type of business.  While the Nokia Lumia 820 has the same uni-body look and feel as the high end Lumia smartphones, it comes with exchangeable shell covers in a range of vibrant colors, including the option to add wireless charging. Like the Nokia Lumia 920, the Nokia Lumia 820 also boasts the world’s most sensitive touchscreen and Nokia ClearBlack display technology, ensuring easy visibility in the brightest sunlight. Nokia Lumia 820 will come in red, yellow, cyan, white and black.

Nokia Lumia 620

More fun and more youthful, the Nokia Lumia 620 uses a new dual-shot color technique to deliver a variety of striking color and texture effects.  With five different exchangeable shells to choose from, people can adapt the look of their Nokia Lumia 620 to their own personal taste and style. With NFC support, the Nokia Lumia 620 can easily share and receive content by tapping with compatible devices. Nokia Lumia 620 will come in magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black.

Wireless charging

Nokia also announced a wide range of wireless charging partnerships and accessories, each designed to meet the needs of different people. These include:

• The quirky Nokia Recharge Pillow by Fatboy that provides the perfect place to lay down your Lumia for a power nap.
• The sleek and minimalistic Nokia Wireless Charging Plate and the Nokia Wireless Charging Stand that are extremely simple to use come in different colors to match your Lumia.
• JBL PowerUP for Nokia, the world’s first wireless charging docking station featuring NFC and Bluetooth connectivity in old-fashioned retro styling.
• The JBL Play UP Portable, a portable speaker specially made to complement Lumia smartphones. It uses Bluetooth and NFC to wireless stream music from a Lumia.

All the Nokia Lumia WP8 devices come packed with signature Lumia features that deliver the best experience on the WP platform.

Nokia Pakistan recently conducted a Nokia Developers’ Workshop at University of Karachi in partnership with P@SHA, which aimed at providing students an insight into the world of mobile app development and the rise in demand of apps in the local market. The workshop focused on inculcating app development skills for the S40 Full Touch devices.

The training was imparted by Syed Faraz Ahmed, Senior Engagement Manager, Lakson Business Solutions. On the occasion of the successful completion of the workshop, Faraz said, “It was wonderful to interact with such enthusiastic students and share with them the S40 background and provide hands-on training on the SDK LWUIT 2.0 available to work on mobile apps for S40 Full Touch platform. The students clearly understood why it will be beneficial for them and their community to contribute towards content development and they all took keen interest in the workshop.”

Expressing her views, Rabia Azfar Nizami, Head DX, Near East, Nokia said, “I appreciate the interest level of Karachi University’s UBIT students to learn and excel in their chosen field. Nokia has been organizing these kinds of workshops for developers in Pakistan since the past few years and this workshop was geared towards channelizing the strengths of these students and providing them a rich bundle of resources to develop more locally relevant mobile apps for Nokia devices which are most popular among the masses in our country. Recently, the Nokia App Store witnessed more than two million downloads of localized content and apps per week in Pakistan, which has given rise to the need for developers to make apps and generate revenue that cater to this segment of the market.”

The students were enthusiastic about learning hands on skills from a professional mentor and showed their interest towards the development of local content for the Nokia Store. At the workshop’s conclusion, certificates were distributed among all the participants.

Nokia today announced the Nokia Lumia 510, a smart and modern entry-level smartphone. Featuring a bright, 4-inch display, the Nokia Lumia 510 makes the unique benefits of Lumia and Windows Phone even more affordable.

"With the Nokia Lumia 510 we continue to meet our commitment to bring Windows Phone to new, lower price points," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. "People who use Windows Phone quickly realize how much more intuitive it is than other smartphone platforms, and Nokia Lumia is the best embodiment of the Windows Phone experience. With the Nokia Lumia 510 we’re looking forward to welcoming more people into the Windows Phone experience."

Following on from the success of the Nokia Lumia 610, this latest addition to the Nokia Lumia range comes in five vivid colors for a fun and personal way to enjoy Windows Phone.
Windows Phone is different to other smartphone platforms thanks to Live Tiles, making it easy to see incoming messages and updates; People Hub, which brings together contacts and updates from across social networks into one location, and access to Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer 9 on the mobile.

Unique Lumia experiences also make the Nokia Lumia 510 unlike any other entry-level Windows Phone. Downloading the Camera Extras app provides exclusive digital lens functionality to go with the five megapixel camera and built-in autofocus. Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport also offer the most comprehensive smartphone location and navigation experience available.

The Nokia Lumia 510 will be available in red, yellow, cyan, white and black. Nokia estimates the retail price for the Nokia Lumia 510 to be around USD 199, excluding taxes and subsidies. Sales are planned to begin in November 2012, starting with India and China, and followed closely by other Asia-Pacific countries and South America.

In addition to a large and vivid capacitive touchscreen, Nokia Lumia 510 boasts of Snapdragon processor along with 256MB RAM 4GB Mass memory and 7GB free Skydive storage.

Nokia Pakistan partnered with NED University to announce one-of-a-kind app development internship program for its students. The program, which is called Nokia AppCampus Internship Program and is being offered in partnership with P@SHA and djuice, is aimed at inculcating app development skills in students for accelerating and supporting promising app ideas for S40 devices.

The AppCampus Internship Program began on May 22, 2012 at Nokia Pakistan’s office in Karachi and since then has conducted many training sessions. The program has duration of 6 weeks in which students have to finalize ideas, develop the app framework, prepare coding and in the last phase, publish their app on the Nokia Store. The participants will undergo training throughout the course of the internship.

Commenting on the initiative, Usman Javaid, Director Marketing, Telenor Pakistan, in his message highlighted the significance of mobile phone application development as an emerging career option for youth globally. He said,

With increasing penetration of smart-phones and rising demand for quality apps skilled and creative app developers are set to flourish in this fast-paced and dynamic industry. Telenor Pakistan takes pride in joining hands with Nokia and P@SHA to provide Pakistani youth with the necessary techniques and tools for effective app development within Pakistan.

Speaking on the orientation of these bright young individuals, Rabia Nizami, Business Development Manager, EDX, Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan said,

The Nokia AppCampus Internship Program is another first by Nokia Pakistan in their commitment for the development of local content on Nokia Store. The students present a lucrative opportunity for the future and Nokia Pakistan has tapped into that same prospect to train them on S40 devices, which make up the largest share among Nokia devices in Pakistan.” She further stated that, “Pakistan is ripe with talent such as these students and Nokia wants this initiative to provide them a platform to development their skills in a professional environment under expert supervision.

The main purpose of this internship program is to spur local content for the Nokia Store by realizing the potential of these talented individuals, who have contributed some amazing app ideas to enrich the Nokia Store.

The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature Nokia’s PureView imaging technologies, which bring together high performance sensors, exclusive Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia developed imaging algorithms. With a default resolution of five megapixels and the ability to capture and condense up to seven pixels of information into one perfect pixel (known as “oversampling”) the Nokia 808 PureView provides the sharpest images imaginable and startling HD video on the device.

The Technology:

PureView Pro imaging technology doesn’t represents a change in smartphones camera performance but Nokia 808 is the very first device of its kind featuring PureView Pro camera technology which allows people to take even better images and video footage than ever before.

The Output:

Unprecedented camera control and versatility, combined with truly spectacular-quality images and video. Nokia 808 PureView sets new industry standards — it will give you around 3x lossless zoom for stills, and 4x zoom in full HD 1080p. For video you get:

Video resolutions: Full HD (1920×1080) 30fps, HD (1280×720) 30fps, and nHD (640×360) 30fps. Nokia Rich Recording for stereo audio recording in video Frame rates supported for video capture: 15, 24, 25, 30fps

Technical Specifications:

• 41 megapixel camera sensor
• Fullscreen 16:9 viewfinder with easy on-screen touch controls
• Xenon flash with operating range up to 3.5m depending on conditions
• LED for video recording
• Lossless zoom:
  • Still images: 3x
  • Video: 4x1080p [Default], 6x720p, 12x360p

You might be interested in Nokia 808 Full Spec & Images.

Nokia 808 Imaging Capability

Low Light:

The Nokia 808 Pureview was however clearly superior low light performance (also thanks to the oversampling) makes it possible to take pictures on the Nokia 808 PureView even under the most challenging of lighting conditions.

Zoom:

The Nokia 808 PureView has lossless zoom. Zooming is done by sliding the finger across the viewfinder in a vertical direction, and you get magnificent zoom to your images without bursting out the original pixels.

Bokeh effect:

Background blur, or “bokeh”, is the appearance or feel of out-of-focus areas in portrait and macro imaging. The longer the distance between your subject and the background, the more powerful the bokeh effect. The Nokia 808 PureView offers SLR-quality bokeh due to its very long 8.02mm focal length. Standard mobile phone cameras have a focal length of just 4mm.

Video:

The 4x lossless zoom and bespoke PureView oversampling technology enables the Nokia 808 PureView to shoot video in Full HD. The handset also includes best in class low light performance, continuous autofocus, Nokia Rich Recording and Dolby Headphone audio playback (exclusively to Nokia).

How 41 MegaPixel Camera?

When I introduced the 41 megapixel Nokia 808 camera smartphone they just surprised and most of them refused to accept the fact. So there might me a number of people around to whom I would set a detailed explanation of what happens behind the lens.

The starting point is a super-high-resolution sensor. This has an active area of 7728 x 5368 pixels, making a total over 41 megapixel. Depending on the aspect ratio you choose, it will use 7728 x 4354 pixels for 16:9 images/videos, or 7152 x 5368 pixels for 4:3 images/videos as is shown in image below:

 Fig:The image circle and the 16:9 and 4:3 image areas.

What happens next depends on the settings and whether or not you’re using zoom. But to give you an idea, the default still image setting is 5Mpix at 16:9, and for video it’s 1080p at 30fps. Using these settings, the zoom is around 3x for stills and 4x for video. Conventional zoom tends to scale up images from a relatively low resolution, resulting in poor image quality. We were convinced there must be a better way, and we found it.

via Nokia Products

Nokia has now introduced its new Nokia 103 across Pakistan. The mobile phone happens to be Nokia’s most affordable product yet, but it certainly doesn’t cut back on its features for such a low price range. With a plethora of built-in functions, the phone is geared towards first time mobile phone buyers.

Nokia 103 boasts of a new powerful battery providing a talk time of 11 hours and a staggering stand-by time of 27 days, a stylish scratch proof cover and a dust resistant keypad. It is a mobile phone designed for people who find it difficult to afford a phone, but need one to progress economically and socially.  Other features included in the Nokia 103 area powerful front torch-light, a FM radio transmitter which works only with headsets (included), a speaking clock, MP3 grade ring-tones and the standard games.

“Nokia, as a company, aims to cater to the varying needs of customers from different social walks of life globally,” said Arif Shafique, General Manager, Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Of the world’s 7 billion people, 3.2 billion don’t have a phone yet. One of the strongest constraints is economical and we’ve been progressively lowering the entry barrier to the market while continually increasing the capability of our devices and delivering phones with contemporary, fresh designs. Nokia 103 combines a great experience for a first time user at an affordable cost.”

The mobile phone has been optimized for the needs of the Pakistani masses that are highly price sensitive with the above-mentioned features, and a price of around PKR 1500. The Nokia 103 is a mobile phone which will bring Nokia closer to its goal of connecting the next billion.

Nokia, today unveiled two new mobile phone models as it continues to accelerate its strategy to connect the next billion consumers to information and the internet. The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 have been designed to appeal to young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience.

Image: Nokia 110 

Image: Nokia 112 

Both devices are perfect for communicating across Facebook, Twitter and social media networks. The internet experience is also smooth thanks to the Nokia Browser. This innovative technology allows users to consume less data by up to 90%, by compressing websites in the cloud. Both devices offer direct access to Facebook and Twitter from their home screens. The Nokia 112 also features preloaded eBuddy instant messaging service right out of the box, so users can use popular chat services to keep conversations going 24/7.

In common with other Nokia mobile phones, consumers can choose from thousands of apps to download on the Nokia Store. With the upgraded camera, they can now customize their contacts with pictures and share them with friends via social networks and Bluetooth.

“Today’s mobile phone users want a quick internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends – but without being held back by high data costs.” said Mary T. McDowell, Nokia’s Executive Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia “The new Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 devices combine browsing, social media, apps, world-class entertainment and long battery life to create a great package for young, urban consumers who want to do it all.” Commenting of the consumer habits in Pakistan, Imran Mahmood, Vice President, Near East, Nokia said, “Our vision is to give the youth of Pakistan their first internet experience on a Nokia mobile device. And we are very pleased to have made great progress in this direction with our rich, affordable and power packed portfolio”

Above Nokia 110 (front view), below Nokia 112

Perfect for all-day and all-night entertainment

The devices all feature a generous 1.8” display optimized for a great gaming experience. In the coming months, the Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 will bring free* 40 key EA Games, valued at EUR 75 (PKR 8850) if bought separately, including well known titles like Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe. Consumers will be able to easily access the content by clicking on the Games Gift EA icon on their home screen which will take them to the Nokia Store to download the games. Once they have accessed the offering, they will have 60 days to download the games of their choice, keeping the games forever.

Both new phones offer an improved VGA camera for sharp and clear pictures with support for up to 32GB of external memory, enough for more than 6000+ songs or 90,000 pictures. Consumers can tune into their favorite radio stations and share their favorite songs with friends over Bluetooth. The phones have been optimized to provide a long-lasting battery life, with over 10 hours of talk time and nearly a month’s standby, meaning that consumers can stay in-touch and entertained all day long.

Dual SIM capability

The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 are both Dual SIM phones, featuring the benefits of Nokia’s unique and industry leading Easy Swap technology. This enables users to switch between SIMs quickly without having to remove their battery or turn off their phone. The Easy Swap technology can personalize and remember up to five different SIM cards, giving consumers full control over their costs.

The Nokia 110 will also be available as single SIM versions – Nokia 111 and Nokia 113, with this last one available in Europe and Eurasia only.

Price & Availability

Nokia 110 is expected to start shipping in second quarter od 2012, while Nokia 112 is expected from third quarter of 2012. The price for Nokia 110 & Nokia 112 (excluding taxes and subsidies) are as follows:

Nokia 110 – Rs.3800/- (approx)

Nokia 112 – Rs.4300/- (approx)