Nokia S60 News and Reviews

Nokia Lumia 520 FM radio to be enabled; network testing taking place mid-May.

2013-05-07T11:29:26-04:00

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is thought to be turning on the FM radio feature, in its new low-end Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone 8 device.

This comes care of the tech news website My New Machine, from a submission from one of it readers.

That person has contacted Nokia, through its website's live chat feature - entitled Nokia Care Chat.

They asked the Nokia representative about the FM tuner built into the Lumia 520, where the response was -

"In Windows 8 you cannot use the FM facility"

Followed by:

“But in future you may use in the Nokia Lumia 520"

Microsoft’s rumoured General Distribution Release (GDR2) update is supposedly going to enable this aspect within Windows Phone 8 - as we reported here.

This is along with double-tapping the screen to awake from standby, with Nokia improvements such as flipping the mobile to silence a ringing phone.

WMPoweruser has reported that carriers will begin testing out this update during this month, news of which was spotted in an Australian network's own forum.

Via: PhoneArena

Nokia updates Symbian mobile phones

2013-04-25T08:29:55-04:00

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has rolled out an update to its 2011 and 2012 Symbian handsets, bringing in a raft of all-new features.

These Nokia phones include the likes of the 808 PureView, with its 41-megapixel camera, which was the last ever Symbian device from the company.

This update is also for other Belle Feature Pack 1 and FP2 mobiles, over the past few years. The over-the-air software fix offers up new widgets to the OS, one of which was available before – but only in beta form. The latter is known as Webview.

That provides a window on a home screen, showing any live website of your choosing. Multiple versions of this can also be added, across many home screens. There is also a mirror add-on, which does exactly what it says on the tin - provides a mirror to stare into.

That utilises the front camera of the phone, and offers up a picture taking function, if so desired. Another addition is a toggle flashlight, which enables the LED flash on the rear of the handset to be used as a torch. The other new widgets are a stopwatch and contacts communication - for one-touch messaging.

Via: All About Symbian

Nokia: Instagram is on the way

2013-04-23T05:00:16-04:00

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has confirmed the popular photo-sharing app is coming to Windows Phone 8, according to a recent report.

Nokia has done this by posting a message to Facebook, replying to a customer’s enquiry if Instagram is coming to the Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia Lumia 920.

The response from the Swedish Nokia Facebook page was “Instagram is on the way but can't give an exact date right now".

This has been covered by Microsoft mobile OS news title Windows Phone Central, which has included a screenshot of the transaction.

That was a good idea it appears, as Nokia has subsequently deleted the post - possibly indicating an error in leaking the unauthorised info.

Nokia Sweden has previously posted a similar confirmation to Twitter.

In March, it tweeted "@WilliamSparf Dock to instagram is under development, but you can still floja your friends' feeds with #instacam :)"

This isn’t the first time we have heard of Instagram coming to the Windows Phone 8 platform.

The Verge noted Microsoft was testing this very app on its WP8 OS, in March this year.

That was in an article about the Nokia #2InstaWithLove app, which applies a type of Polaroid filter to images and comes close to being an Instagram app.

Nokia Lumia 920, 820 and 620 Get Official Firmware Update

2013-04-12T07:18:17-04:00

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has announced that it has released updated firmware for its recent Windows Phone 8 run Nokia Lumia range of mobile phones.

It has unveiled this through its own forums, in a post entitled "Update released for Nokia Lumia 920, 820 and 620".

This reads: "We have released some new software updates for Nokia Lumia 920 and 820!"

"Version 1232.5957.1308.00xx will bring: improved automatic display brightness adjustment; fix for intermittent screen blanking during a call; further performance and stability improvements."

"Additionally, we have published new software update for Nokia Lumia 620 version 1030.6407.1308.00xx, with plenty of reasons for you to update"

This is noted to be improved touch screen functions, including corrections in multi-touch actions and better voice quality with Bluetooth headsets that support echo/noise suppression.

Also, there is enhanced camera performance with corrected exposure when a flash is used in bright light conditions, and various improvements to system stability, performance, and usability.

Nokia has stated the updated will be gradually rolled out in the next coming weeks, with a notification appearing on a handset, when it is eligible.

People in the forum have already noted that it is being deployed, where an O2 customer with a Nokia Lumia 620 has received it.

Nokia Lumia 720 deals now available from O2, from £11 a month

2013-04-05T11:49:55-04:00

Former British Telecom mobile phone network O2 is now carrying the Nokia Lumia 720 handset, in the colour of red.

Nokia announced this phone at Mobile World Congress this year, as a midrange device - complimenting the Lumia series, only without 4G capabilities.

It has a 4.3-inch ClearBlack 800 x 480 display, which can even be used with a glove - thanks to its super sensitive touch screen technology.

Powering the mobile is a dual-core 1GHz processor, with 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. It is the first of the unibody range to be able to accept microSD cards, up to 64GB.

This boasts the title of being the slimmest Lumia to date, coming it at 9mm.

There is a 6.7-megapixel camera on-board, which has an f.1.9 aperture lens. That is said to be the largest found, in a phone at this price point.

O2 is retailing the Nokia Lumia 720 on contracts starting from £11 a month, with the handset costing £179.99.

It is also available without an upfront cost on a £22 tariff. That has 600 minutes, an unlimited text message bundle and a 750MB data allowance.

The network is also stocking the 720 on pay as you go deals, for £299.99

Check out Omio’s hand-on pictures from MWC 2013, along with the video walkthrough – from a product spokesperson.

Via: The INQ

Nokia Lumia-inspired Asha phones leaked?

2013-04-02T09:33:40-04:00

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has seen pictures leaked online of a yet-to-be-announced Nokia Asha range, with design cues taken from the Nokia Lumia series.

This photo has come from the infamous Twitter user @evleaks, which in the past as revealed accurate information - ahead of a company official unveiling it.

These are the possibly soon-to-be-launch HTC Facebook Myst handset; the HTC One press photos; Huawei Ascend P2 and name of the first BlackBerry 10 OS handset - to name but a few. Even the Samsung Galaxy S4 had its first outing on the popular user's account.

This latest piece of info has been posted to its Twitter account, in a tweet that simply reads -"Remember that Nokia Asha design language preview?".

That is accompanied with the picture above, which highlights the purported Nokia Asha phones - with a look of the Lumia portfolio.

Nokia has already started to incorporate a one-look-design philosophy, which we saw at Mobile World Congress this year.

That was with the very low-end and basic Nokia 105, which has the cost attached of just 15 Euros.

It isn’t inconceivable the Nokia Asha range will gain this look too, but we will just have to wait and see what is coming next from the Finnish.

Via: Cnet

Update brings FM radio capabilities to Lumia handsets

2013-03-26T11:54:36-04:00

Seattle based software developer Microsoft is prepping an update to Windows Phone 8 run handsets, which will offer access to those that have FM radios - which are currently dormant.

These are with mobile phones such as the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820, which ship with this disabled hardware – that we reported on here.

The update, thought to be called General Distribution Release (GDR2) for Windows Phone 8, will activate that hardware along with providing a new screen gesture.

That will be coming from Nokia, where Lumia 920 and 820 owners will be able to simply double-tap the screen to wake the device.

This is opposed to pressing the power on/standby button to reactive the mobile phone that has entered the standby-mode.

Tech news title The Verge has learned this information, from sources familiar with Microsoft and Nokia's plans.

It also adds that other improvements coming from Nokia are a flip to silence mode, and a Lumia colour profile setting for the devices.

The update is believed to be a minor one, and will be made available over the next coming months.