The War On Innovation

 Nokia has been struggling for the past 2 or so years because of bad management decisions and increasing competition. They have released a lot of good phones that were either let down by software, hardware or even ecosystem. But now that they have got their act together. They have managed to surprise the world this September with a true gem. I'm talking about no other than the Lumia 920. A device that delivers on all fronts and even ups one or two at the tough competition. This is the first "complete" smartphone that Nokia has released in years, and I can't help but feel disappointed and even frustrated all thanks to a few well known tech blog reviews.

 It truly is a sad day when you finally see a device that ticks all of the right boxes get hammered by tech sites because of their lack of objectivity. On one hand, we have a device that offered nothing new to the table - with incremental improvements to the hardware components that gets praised like it was God sent. Not that the iPhone 5 is a bad device, but as a techno-geek who really loves fresh ideas and out of the box thinking, what's the big deal about the iPhone 5? Or more importantly, where's the innovation?

 The 920 is the first phone to come with Optical Image Stabilisation. Its one of the first devices to come with wireless charging coils built in. Its the first device to feature a 60 Hz refresh rate screen. Its the first device to offer a higher than HD resolution (1280 * 768). It's the first (or one of the first) device that can be operated using gloves, or anything really while having a capacitive touch screen. It's the second device (only after the 808) to come with Rich Audio recording which allows the phone to record audio to up to 140 decibels (you have to hear it to believe how much ahead of anything else it is) and yet reviewers are going out of their way to find any flaws and over exaggerate them in the readers' eyes. In the case of the 920, its the weight.

If you haven't had a chance to try the 920, I urge you to do so. The first thing you'll notice is that it is quite big and relatively heavy, but can be easily used without a problem and sits very nicely in the hand. But reading the reviews makes one imagine the device is almost impossible to operate because of the weight and might cause your arm to drop off in a few minutes! Ironically, the size of the 920 is barely bigger than the 900, and yet we didn't see complaints about that, despite the 920 actually being easier to hold! As a matter of fact, it has almost identical dimensions to the Galaxy S3  but is approximately 2 millimeters thicker, and we saw no complaints about the S3. Keep in mind that the 920 is made out of much better materials. If the 920 was made by a more favoured brand, a billion and one excuses would have been made, and the weight issue would have been downplayed or barely even mentioned while the review would completely focus on all the innovations that were introduced in this device. Just wait till Apple releases half of the things that are already found on the 920, and watch the reviewers bow down and endlessly praise their brilliance. Remember this last sentence very well, because in a year's time, you'll see it for yourself.

 I'd really appreciate that every device gets its fair review. Praise the (Insert any device here) all you like, but for some self proclaimed journalists to bash the Lumia 920 for ridiculous things - some without any fact checking and giving it bogus scores; I find that completely unacceptable. You love the lightening connector because its so convenient but hate wireless charging? You think no one should buy it because its too damn heavy? 185 grams is too damn heavy? (Yet your iPhone 4S had a case that made it weigh just as much). You didn't see any improvements in low light performance and video stabilisation and think its a gimmick? You think the Nexus 4's camera doesn't come close to the 920's but yet still give them the same score on camera?!?! I can find a lot more by simply reading through some of those reviews. Double standards at their finest.

 If Nokia fails, then no one can dare say it was because they didn't try. They have built a device with a list of innovations bigger than all of their recent competitors' flagships combined. But it seems like these days, no matter what you do, if you have the wrong logo on your device, you will not get the praise you truly deserve. A shame really, because we need devices like the 920 to raise the bar, and to make sure great companies don't rest on laurels.

Please gsmarena, don't disappoint me. 

What I learned from my short hands-on with the Lumia 920

Today, Nokia UAE on facebook posted pictures of their stand in JBR Dubai showing the Lumia 920. So, being the tech geek that I am, I just had to be there and check it out. So what did I learn from this short encounter?

1- The weight is not as much of an issue as some websites are claiming it to be.

Yes, the Lumia 920 is a heavy phone. But the moment you hold it in your hand, it will not bother you. The weight gives the phone a very expensive feel and is distributed evenly on the device. This makes phones like the 808 PureView actually feel heavier when holding. The curved back and sides of the phone also make it fit nicely in the hand, and from my short time holding the device, it actually felt easier to hold than the 900, despite being bigger. ( Curved back to be thanked for that ). I even made my Galaxy S3-carrying cousin hold the phone and use it, and he had no complaints.

2- All the colours looked great.

If you've seen pictures of the phone, you might think some of the colours (yellow and red, I'm looking at you!) are a bit over the top. Not to say that they aren't, but in real life, they look nicer and not as bright as some of the pictures. I can't seem to be able to pick a personal favourite, but I'm going with yellow because its very unique to the Lumia 920. White, red, and black all looked fantastic too. Grey was nowhere to be found, unfortunately.

3-The matte finish has been improved over the Lumia 900.

If you go for black ( or grey, or even cyan if you're on AT&T ), the matte finish feels nicer than the one on the Lumia 900. Its smoother. Not as smooth as the N9, but somewhere in between both. I like it more than both. It's still a fingerprint magnet though, and fingerprints are much more obvious on it than on the glossy colours.

4-Windows Phone 8 flies.

While WP7.5 phones used to cover up the delay with animations, WP8 doesn't need that anymore. You can immediately feel the big difference in speed when opening any application. No more long waits to open some apps.

5-It has a gorgeous screen.

Blacks might not be as black as on AMOLED displays such as the one found on the 900, but the clarity and accuracy of the colours are top notch. The screen is bright, and the text is very crisp. Easily one of the best displays currently out there. PureMotion HD+ looks great in action.

6-Super sensitive display is very real.

For fun, I actually tried using my 808 to scroll on the 920's homescreen. It worked like magic!

7-Optical Image Stabilisation works

I tried shaking the device and moving it as fast as I can ( extremely unrealistic scenario ) and it still beat me. Blur was actually nowhere to be found. Impressive.


Overall, I have nothing but positive things to say about the device. All my expectations on hardware are met and I personally can't wait till my 920 arrives. A lot of issues might arise with day to day usage, but that can only be determined later.

Nokia desperately needed a special phone to fight the competition, and I personally think the 920 is that phone that will help them rise from the ashes. Its beautiful, its innovative, and its different. Thank you Nokia for restoring my excitement in new technology. The phone industry needs players like you.

Nokia 808 PureView... One day later

Introduction

The 808 PureView is one heck of a phone. With a 41 Megapixel camera on the rear, Symbian Belle FP1 inside, and a whole load of other significant features, it was most probably one of the most highly anticipated Nokia phones in 2012. So what are the first impressions after a day of usage? Keep on reading for the full details.

Hardware

If you are one of those people who saw a lot of 808 pictures since its official announcement at MWC '12, you'd probably be thinking this phone is a triumph of function over style. It does have a 41 Megapixel camera sensor on its rear after all right? Well, you'll be glad to know that this isn't the case at all. The phone in real life looks a lot better than in pictures. The front is dictated by a slightly curved 4" screen and a black finish on the whole front panel, and just like the N9, all the sensors and front cam are hidden very well thanks to that finish. There are also the 3 buttons found on most symbian handsets, and the phone has the breathing light functionality which informs you if you have a missed call or a new message as well as a low power mode clock on at all times. The sides of the phone are very smartly designed, hiding the real thickness of the phone and fitting the phone nicely in the hands. On the right side, you have the volume rocker with good feedback, the slider lock, and the camera shutter button which is one of the best I've used on a phone, despite its fairly small size. But the star of the show is the rear, with the camera bulge behind a beautiful metallic finish perfectly showing off the monster hidden under. You can immediately feel the camera is a special one. The matte ceramic finish feels premium too, and if you were disappointed in the exclusion of aluminum found on the N8, you shouldn't be. This phone is already a heavy weight champ at 169 grams. Metal would have increased that number, and probably made it uncomfortable to use. 

Important notes on the Hardware

• The phone fits in my jeans' pockets nicely despite its thickness, but I would assume slipping it into skinny jeans might not be the best idea in the world. 
• The phone is heavy. But its not heavy to the point where you can't use it on a daily basis. 
• The screen's pixel density is disappointing. It just can't compete with HD screens. You will have to look at the phone from a close distance to see the pixels though, so it's not a deal breaker. I just wished Nokia would have had a screen with higher ppi. 
• The screen technology is fantastic. No problems what so ever under direct sun light. Colours are punchy and saturated. Clear Black Display technology really works. 
• The 3 buttons on the front are easy to press. Nothing like the 603. 
• The loud speaker is loud and clear. As a matter of fact, I compared it directly with my friend's Samsung Galaxy S3, and it beat it in loudness, hands down, and with almost identical clarity. 
• It lives up to its expectations as the absolute camera king!

Software

It runs on Symbian Belle FP1 ( Nokia Belle if you really want to follow Nokia's new name scheme. ). Its the quickest and smoothest I've ever seen symbian run, but thats not saying much. Its no meego harmattan in terms of smoothness, and no where even close to windows phone, but don't be too quick to call it a major flaw. It has a lot of built in applications that are actually quite handy. Big Screen, DLNA play, Vlingo, Silent Film maker, shazam and Joikuspot to name a few. It also does real time mutlitasking like a champ, has multiple customisable home screens with a lot of built in widgets, and a lot of setting to customise it the way you want. The Nokia Store doesn't have the largest number of apps, but it definitely has a few gems that are needed to make the symbian experience complete.

Important notes on the Software

• Fastest symbian phone. Feature packed to the bones
• Great customisation
• Still not as smooth as Nokia's own meego harmattan
• Camera software is fantastic. Perfect for a phone with a special camera like the 808.
• Not a lot of apps, but few great gems like gravity are ones you use daily and will keep you happy.
• Not enough usage to put a perspective on battery life
• I don't like the symbian keyboard. But you get used to it eventually
• Nokia social is still a joke. 
• Browser still behind all competitors, but usable.

Wrap up

To sum it all up, I really like this phone. I knew what to expect, and so I was pleasantly surprised with some things I didn't expect to like, such as the looks. The camera is fantastic. I'm no cameras expert so I wouldn't write a full review, but trust me on this; from the pictures I've taken so far in all lighting conditions, there is no camera phone even remotely close. It lives up to its expectations. So far, its whipping the floor with the N8. 

A Week With The Lumia 800

Introduction

As a long time Nokia fan, the Feb 11th announcement that Nokia will be focusing on Windows Phone was a bit of a shocker for me and many others. This meant that the platform we grew to love in the past years was going to be abandoned in favour of an OS that is still in its very early days. An OS that was by nature, the very opposite of what we as Nokia fans were used to. So naturally, I was completely against this decision especially after seeing the marvelous N9, running on an OS that could have been Nokia's bright future in its battle against iOS and Android. I went ahead and bought the N9. I simply couldn't resist the combination of killer hardware and a software that matched it. A few months later, I'm completely in love with the N9 but I'll get to that in another topic. I decided I wanted to try windows phone, before completely scrubbing it off my list. I wanted to see what Nokia saw in moving to this OS, that made them make it their main OS. So when my cousin told me he got a Lumia 800, I politely asked if I could borrow it just for a week to see what its all about, and boy did it completely change my views!

Hardware

If you were a fan of the Nokia N9's design, you'll feel right at home here. The Lumia 800 is almost identical to the N9, offering the same brilliant single piece of poly-carbonate uni-body, curved screen and even colour choices. The differences are that the Lumia 800 has the 3 windows phone buttons at the bottom, which in turn make the display a tad bit smaller (3.7" vs 3.9"), a hardware 2 steps camera shutter key, and a different placement of the dual LED flash at the back, which is now aligned with the camera, as opposed to on top of it like in the N9. The device feels very premium despite its plastic finish, sits perfectly in the hand, all thanks to the rounded edges. It also feels much thinner than it actually is because of the tapered edges at the top and bottom.

You can't really complain about the hardware of the Lumia 800 as this is as good as it gets. But if I had to be picky, I'd say that the piece of plastic covering the mini USB port does feel fragile, so make sure you don't drop the phone while its open.

 Software


As I said above, the Lumia 800 runs on windows phone mango. This, along with the Lumia 710 are the first two phones by Nokia that run on the new platform. The OS is very basic and easy to use. You get the main screen which is filled with tiles that can be customised to your tastes and become more dynamic the more you use the phone, and by swiping from right to left you enter the applications list, where you will find all the apps you have on the phone, and have the ability to pin them as tiles. From the tiles that you have installed on windows phone from start up are two apps that shine. The People's hub, and the Me hub. The people's hub is where you can stay up to date with all you social networking contacts as you get a whats new page where everything is in order. Something like a combined timeline for both Twitter and Facebook. On the Me Hub, you can post your status updates on Twitter, Windows Live, and Facebook all at the same time, as well as a page for all your notifications from mentions on Twitter, to photo tags on Facebook. Its all very well integrated into windows phone and frankly, this has got to be the best platform for social networking. Other highlights of the device are the on screen keyboard which is also one of the best I've ever used when it comes to accuracy and speed, and the Xbox Live tile which has all your games and stats in one place, and connects to your Xbox Live account and has all your data. I would have added Local Scout, but unfortunately, that feature still doesn't work here.

What Nokia added to differentiate itself from the other Windows Phone OEMs is add Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive (Both whom unfortunately for the time being, require an internet connection. An update should fix that soon), as well as Nokia Music and a bunch of other apps (I'm not sure if those can be downloaded by non-Nokia devices) like contacts transfer which transfers all your contacts from other phones to your Lumia via Bluetooth, and Apps Highlights which shows you popular highly recommended apps as well as start-up apps that you can download from the market place.

MarketPlace


Despite being a new OS, WP7.5 has plenty of applications. In fact, I found all the apps I frequently use in the market place, and with 55,000 apps already on there, you will most likely find all you'll need. The good thing about Microsoft is that they have managed to convince many important developers to develop for Windows Phone despite the currently small user base. So the result is, many popular apps that are available on iOS also made their way to WP. Another highlight is the fact that all apps developed for the platform follow strict guidelines, and so all the apps you use will almost feel native to the device. They have the same metro look, as well as the same options.


Camera


The Camera on the Lumia 800 is probably the biggest disappointment on this phone. It's an 8 Megapixel Carl Ziess Optics camera, F2.2 aperture, Dual LED flash and a wide angle lens, but unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its specs. It can take photos pretty quickly, and in perfect conditions it does its job, but it just does not match other smartphones, including the N9 which has the exact same lens! I really hope an update comes that fixes the camera. The main grip here is with the autofocus which almost always gets it wrong, and the sup-par details it captures. HD videos are fine, but the focus problem gets in the way.


Battery Life


Although the some users are complaining about the battery life on the Lumia 800, I haven't had that problem. I've been managing to get about a day and a half with moderate to heavy usage (my phone automatically connects to 3G when I'm out). What I basically do is check my social networks very frequently, as well as use whatsapp quite a lot. I also frequently browse the web to look for information. Haven't been playing that many games. Overall I'm very pleased with the battery life. With similar usage, my N9 uses more battery. If you want to make sure your Lumia is using its full battery capacity, just check the Diagnostics app and make sure the full battery capacity is somewhere around 1500 mAh.

Summary

Pros:
- Superb Hardware and Design
- Butter Smooth OS
- Best Social Integration on any platform
- Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive for free navigation.
- MarketPlace has most needs covered
- Very Stable
- Metro UI looks cool

Cons:
- Disappointing Camera
- No Bluetooth transfer
- Dependent on Zune
- Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive need to be better integrated together.


Verdict


So how am I finding it? One word: Brilliant. I never really thought I'd say this but, the Lumia 800 is the only phone I'd trade my N9 for. It does social networking integration so well, its butter smooth, and extremely easy to use. Unfortunately this phone is not yet ready for the Middle East, but once its ready, I'm buying a Nokia Windows Phone.

A Week With The iPhone 4

There is no point in denying that I am a huge fan of Nokia. As a matter of fact, since I got my first mobile phone 6 years ago back in 2006, I have owned exactly 9 Nokia phones. From mid range ones like the E70, N81 8Gb, and E66, to flagships like the N97, N8, and recently the N9. But life should never be viewed from a single angle. You will end up missing out if you stay sheltered from new things, and this is exactly why when my dear mother decided she wanted to sell her iphone 4 due to some issues she had with calling, I stepped in and kept it with me for as long as it would take to sell it. It stayed with me for seven days, and during that period, I used it as a primary phone. This was not my first encounter with iOS, as I am quite familiar with it because of how many ipod touch 4s we have here at home. But it was the first time I used it intensively and so I decided to share with you all what the iphone does brilliantly, and where it lacks, from my point of view at least compared to Nokia, and even android. I do have to mention that the white iphone 4 I used was running on iOS 5.01. So, here is my list.

What I liked:

- Build quality and Design
The iphone has a sleek industrial design. Made out of 2 layers of glass, with metal in between, theres no mistaking an iphone for anything else (Except for perhaps the iphone XL..err, I mean Galaxy S2 :p ) It feels great in the hand.

- Stability
Unless you are one of the very few unfortunate people, iOS remains stable almost at all times. No lag, no hangs, and barely any slow downs. Remains smooth through out the whole UI. Just don't jailbreak it.

- Wifi Coverage
The iphone 4 managed to get wifi signal in rooms no other phone I have used could, and that's saying something!

- Simplicity
iOS is the most simple smartphone OS in my opinion.  No home screens, just a scrollable grid of icons. Can't get any simpler than that.

- Endless sea of apps 
There is almost literally nothing you could possible think of that isn't available in the app store. With over 500,000 apps, there's always "an app for that!"


What I loved:


- Games
If you are a hardcore gamer, then the iphone should definitely be on your list. It has more games than any other platform, from basic addictive games like fall down, to graphically marvelous games like infinite blade 2, the app store has what you need. This is also possibly the only thing that could possibly lure me in to maybe one day owning an iphone. (j/k, I have amazing self restrain :p ) This is the biggest advantage the iphone has (at least for me).


What I hated: 


- Restrictions
There really doesn't need much explanation. The iphone is too dependent on iTunes, and customisation is extremely limited.

- Complete Dependency on Apps
Maybe I am a bit spoiled by Nokia, but the iphone doesn't come pre-loaded with a lot of basic things. You will literally have to download everything you need from the app store.

- Silly Little Things
Although iOS is very basic, it does feel sometimes stupid. The most annoying thing I personally found was that you can't mark all contacts to delete them. Same goes with messages. Why do I have to connect my phone to iTunes to do something as simple as deleting contacts?

- Slippery, Can't Withstand Drops
The fantastic design and build quality of the iphone 4 comes with a great cost. First, the ergonomics. The iphone does not sit very well in your hands due to the lack of rounded sides. It always feels like it might slip anytime, and the fact that its made of glass does not help its cause at all. Not only is glass slippery, it also shatters easily, and we have plenty of examples out there on the web if you would like to check them out. 

Verdict


The perfect phone for the common folks. Sleek, has no learning curve at all, and the apps cover all your needs. But if you're into customization, mods, features, look else where.