First Nokia Windows Handsets: W7 and W8

After all the noise around Mango and its upcoming features, many Nokia fans continued waiting for news on upcoming Nokia Windows Handsets. Eldar Murtazin was glad to comply.

The deices are as follows:

• Nokia W7, which will be out first aiming fr the holidays. This will be basically the Nokia X7 but with Qualcomm chip QSD8250 (as of now), and a WVGA scree. Eldar liked the screen quality and the device and saying it was updated regularly. This will also house an 8MP AF camera (hopefully Carl Zeiss).
• Other blogs are saying that the N8 will be the W8. According to the Eldar the successor to the N8, with the SAME awesome 12 MP camera but with an updated design and chassis will be the the W8. Depending on time restraints it will be rumored to have a new platform from Qualcomm, a dual-core processor and accelerator Adreno 320. Aimed for Jan/Feb 2012.
• Touch Screen QWERTY: like the E6 and E72. Aimed for March/April 2012.
• Last a cheap Touch Screen. This will be a cheap, reasonable cost full-focus camera.

In addition to this there will be 12, yes 12 new Nokia Windows Phones we can expect in 2012. That would be a total of 16 news phone to expect.

My thoughts on this are simple: FINALLY. Nokia has been King in hardware for a long, long time but its software has hindered its success. Now that the software is being done, they can focus on their core strengths.

We can look forward to many models from Nokia, unique, and ones that destroy the competition as they have been doing in the past. I am personally looking forward to the Nokia highend Windows phone that sports a QWERTY keyboard, if they make one like the Dell Venue Pro I would be very happy. Otherwise the W8 with a keyboard would be great.

I am wondering though, why the change from N series? I think people are familiar with it and recognize that as Nokia with its top end from N8 to N9. I think they should stick to their current naming scheme, they still could be and these are just internal names. Not changing the name will also ensure that it is seen as a transition as opposed to ending one and starting another group altogether.

This does spell me very curious though…what will the N9/W9 be? That will be the true flagship, the monster that on top of the W8, should give the competition a reason a notice. In terms of Windows itself we should get an updated version with Ovi Maps added and more personalization. I believe Nokia WILL customize to ensure some familiarity during the transition and I hope they have wallpapers etc. added.

Another thing is certain…Nokia is back in the news, and not because of bad news but because of what we can look forward to..much like the old days no?

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Multitasking Background is User Controllable

It turns out that users CAN control which programs run in the background and which remain open. That is the good news. However, the implementation is disappointing where each program is added to the list.

I would MUCH prefer the N900 way (shown below) or the Palm Pre way. It gives the user much more control, by making the choice so complicated I believe its a huge disadvantage and an oversight on the team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Windows Mango Demo

This video shows all of the additions to Windows Phone, and gives you all a more visual look. Joe goes through all of the improvements from the improved app search on the phone to the in app access to hardware.

Things to note is the pretty darn awesome Amazon App implementation which allows you to scan bar codes in the app itself, and then pin that function to the start screen. The multitasking looks good and if it does that its pretty awesome, it should mean that IM will be much more of a pleasant experience.

But the MOST impressive is the last 5 minutes, where he shows the Qantas App. The function in this app is ridiculously cool. Besides showing you the rudimentary things like your flight time, your ticket information etc. it actually allows you to specifically pin down that function of when your flight leaving. Then it will alert you if you are getting late and the time for your departure is approaching. If you are STILL not moving it alerts you that you need XX minutes to reach, based on your location. Pretty cool huh? Windows keeps pushing out apps like these that’ll be quite attractive to users and other developers alike, since it shows its potential.

Nokia Facing Steep Job Cuts – Bloomberg

According to Bloomberg Nokia could be cutting almost 6000 jobs which is 38% of the Devices R&D workforce. This would also be the steepest job cuts in 2 decades. These reductions are said to come over 12 months since Symbian products are still in the pipeline.

In effect they will be cutting $1 Billion Euro from R&D when the transition to Windows Phone is complete. While this is bad news, one must remember that had Nokia continued its current strategy with low profits, from thin margins + losses in the high end smart phone market, the impact on Nokia would have been far, far worse.

During this transition jobs will be lost however, in the long term given they strategy succeeds they will be more flexible, which should allow them to react more swiftly to market changes. Moreover, if they are able to turn around building on their strong position in Asia, while making progress in NA there is no reason why Nokia will not be hiring again.

I would not blame the current management, but the past management which got us to this very situation. They have forced these tough decisions to be made.

I wish everyone leaving good luck and it is good that Nokia has provisions for workers getting laid off until they find another job.

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WINDOWS PHONE MIX 11: BACKGROUND MULTITASKING, FILE TRANSFERS (UPDATED)

FINALLY! Looking at the development of Windows Phone has been quite impressive. Being the latest to ship a new version of their OS they have been adding features and improving at a rate much faster than competitors.

This is not only true for features like Copy/Paste and Multitasking which took quite awhile to come for iOS&Android, but for the app store as well. The growth of apps in the marketplace is explosive, growing at a faster rate at any of the other competitors at similar times in the product life cycle. They also recently hit 13,000 apps.

Adding to that we get a glimpse of what to expect from Mango. They are adding:

• As we all know background, full-fledged multitasking which means we can finally multi-task on Windows Phone 7…which is welcome if anyone has ever needed to use Flory for Google Talk and various other activitiies
• Fast app-switching – similar to the Palm Pre cards, I hope the build on that and allow the USER to decide which app to close/remain open as opposed to the system doing it for you
• FINALLY file transfers ! Which means we can transfer audio and files via Bluetooth, which was a severely lacking feature. Coming from Symbian/Meego this is very welcome.
• Deeper phone integration for apps allowing them to leverage app tiles
• Access to hardware for developers like camera etc.

All these features are frankly very welcome and illustrate the effort Microsoft is putting into Windows Phone to ensure it remains competitive. I am sure the partnership with Nokia gave them the kick in the pants they needed to ensure that they live up to maintaining the platform, and ensuring that Nokia users can easily make the switch without feeling the obvious lack in features. I believe they are heading in the right direction, it is not just a ‘pretty’ UI anymore once these features are added, and at the end of the day they have huge resources to ensure that they will be relevant again in this space.

Will upload MOREof ‘Mango’, so stay tuned all !

Update 1: Other features expected are ring tone setting, phone app-search so you don’t have to scroll through a huge list (shown below), smart multitasking which confirms that the phone will manage if enough memory is there, and ANGRY BIRDS, SPOTIFY and SKYPE coming. Angry birds coming on the 25th of May.

Update 2: There seemed to be some awesome integration with apps and hardware given the new access developers have. Showcased an Amazon application which allows bar code scanning right in the app, and the ability to pin this specific function as a tile. Pretty cool.

Check the pictures below:

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Copy/Paste Comparison

The video above shows a quick comparison for all the copy/paste users out there. As is apparent Android is a pure copy of Apple, in terms of the method. Windows Phone 7 is similar yet different, especially the way text is selected. Symbian on the other hand is more apt for a physical keyboard, which is something that really needs updating.

In light of all the new Symbian devices launched, the Nokia E6, Nokia X7 this is disappointing. This in addition to the other limitations outlined by MobilesGuruji illustrate and emphasize that the move to Windows Phone was made simply because updating Symbian would cost too much time, effort and money. Had QT been ready earlier the market today would be very different.

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Nokia likely to ship Windows Phone 8

Nokia is likely (as most of us can guess) to ship its 1st Windows Phone device not with the current version, but a fully updated version presumably with new maps, better email integration and features that Symbian users are accustomed.

Nokia has already stated that in its current state Windows Phone is not very appealing to the masses, or “useless in its current state” according to a Nokia employee. This is evidenced by the sale figures of current WP devices anyway. Despite being a lovely experience it falls short on many features that I have written about before relative to Symbian.

On the upside Nokia can get into the US market since WP extensively requires data, unlike Symbian, which is what the carriers in NA love and hated about Symbian. This should grant them more traction in a market that has challenged them for years, and is also the most profitable in the high end market.

Until Windows Phone 8 is fully ready to hit shelves, with Nokia’s own custom add-ons that gives Nokia Windows Phone a unique experience, Symbian phones will continue to dominate and be pushed out.

This is good to know, that they aren’t rushing something out for the sake of it, but are actually going to get it out when it is ready and closer to shipping date. Both of which are not characteristics Nokia is very famous for. Guess the new management will speak for itself as the year progresses, so far they seem to be going in the right direction. Only time will tell.

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US Judge Sides with Apple in Round 1

According to the WSJ a US trade panel judge has sided with Apple Inc, stating that technology used in Apples Iphones and Ipods do not infringe on the 5 Nokia patents they sued for.

The US ITC has 60 days to decide whether to adopt or review the decision. As we all know Apple counter sued in the US and Apple sued them in the UK. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but it could mean that the licensing Nokia is insisting Apple pays may not be paid out.

Things will get mighty interesting both in the marketplace and the legal spats between these two companies relatively soon as Microsoft jumps in.

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Nokia PR 2.0 on N8, Nokia Chat Sneak Peek + other enhancements

 

Nokia-Central managed to get their hands on a Nokia N8 with pre PR 2.0 loaded on it. I have to say it looks pretty darn good. Things you can glean from the video are:

• New loading screen for maps and I assume we will see more updates with this soon (a little birdie told me)
• Smoother scrolling throughout the menu system. Usually it is pretty smooth, but when there are many apps in the Applications folder it gets choppy while scrolling. In the video it seems to be rather smooth which is a definite improvement, hopefully it remains as smooth when your email inbox is full.
• Nokia Chat:  FINALLY, I have been waiting incessantly for this update and to see what it brings. Symbian 5th Edition phones have theirs, and if I had to hazard a guess, I would have assumed we did not get it due to PR 2.0 not being out yet. This app would have a split view keyboard, which is a huge deal when chatting. I hate using Fring and all the other chat applications for this reason. Plus they are not very elegant and do not have a widget for the home screen. The Nokia Chat application has support for all major chat accounts (Google, Yahoo, Ovi, Live) and has home screen integration. You can see who is online with the widget AND change your status. That is pretty dam welcome and it would feel far more ‘native’ to the UI than Fring etc (much like the N900 which is perfect in the chat aspect)
• New icons, coupled with the new font should make using a Symbian more eye appealing.
• Much smoother home screen swipes: unlike now, the home screen swipe follows your finger. This makes it much faster and easier to use than swiping and waiting, and then getting on. The reviewer goes on to show how smooth it is, and it is a definite improvement over the earlier sneek peeks. This again underlines how small UI enhancements can go a long, long way
• Full QWERTY  keyboard: this is expected. Due to most touch screens not being large enough, I prefer the T9 Alpha-Numeric style, which means larger buttons and personally faster input. I understand why people would like QWERTY but I agree with the reviewer, they could have done a much better job. They should not have so many symbols up there, get rid of the ‘left and right’ keys and come up with a less clunky way of getting the cursor between letters. The WP way or the Iphone way is not bad. Most of all, the biggest complaint is not having Multi-Touch. I am not even going to comment, it LONG past over due.
• New browser with a new UI: Not great, this part has been reviewed since the Nokia Astound. I do not even use the current, nor the future one. Having opera 11 and mini they set the standard.

Check out the video for all the action and all the other enhancements.

Availability is sadly said to be Summer, hopefully Nokia shocks us by not just releasing an update that significantly adds to the appeal of the phone, but that also actually gets out when they say so.

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Nokia Pure Exhibition – A New Nokia Font across 200 million smartphones

Typographer Dalton Maag is collaborating with Nokia to design a new font exclusively for Nokia. This font is supposed to come to more than 200 million devices, and will be exhibited in a 24th of March event. The font is absolutely beautiful and will give Nokia phones a more uniform look across every part of the device.

I wonder if this will come to Nokia Windows Phone as well? Perhaps this will be one of the unique things about all Nokia phones? Only time will tell and however small this might seem to some people (they do have bigger problems), this will solve the annoying problems of different fonts in different parts of Symbian.

Aapo Bovellan, Studio Nokia’s director of brand and marketing says:

Nokia Pure is a celebration of our Finnish design heritage. We wanted to give it a natural, flowing form, while creating something that is highly functional and neutral. Nokia Pure has a clarity of purpose and as little design as possible. It’s made to celebrate human creativity.

Thats pretty deep for a font, but hey it looks good. In addition, designers will create posters with this font and it will be sold at the exhibition to raise awareness for the British Dyslexia Association.

Hit the source for more details.

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