Nokia announced discounts on its latest Lumia 925 and Lumia 625 buyback offers

By Vijay @ 06:02pm

Nokia has extended the buyback scheme it had started with the Lumia 520 and Lumia 620, and has now included the Lumia 925 and Lumia 625. The company claims to now offer up to Rs 10,000 discount on the Lumia 925 and up to Rs 7,000 discount on the Lumia 625 when customers trade in their old smartphones. Under the scheme, the Lumia 925 is available for Rs 28,529 and the Lumia 625 for Rs 14,919. In reality however, the discounts are much lower.

The said discounts are exaggerated and are given on the phone’s MRP, which is much more than the MOP of these phones. Nokia mentions the MRP of the Lumia 925 to be Rs 38,529 while in India the phone was actually launched at an MOP of Rs 33,499. Similarly, the Lumia 625 was launched at Rs 19,999 and is already available for about Rs 16,000 at popular online retail stores. So the effective discount for exchanging an old smartphone against a new Lumia 925 or Lumia 625 phone would be Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively instead of Rs 10,000 and Rs 7,000 as highlighted by the company.

Nokia Lumia 720 and 520 getting GDR2 & Amber update in India Now

By Vijay @ 09:19pm

Nokia Lumia 720 and 520 are getting notifications that the Amber update is now available. The Nokia support site also confirms that Amber has been approved is rolling out in India.

Nokia’s firmware update enables new features like flip to silence, Glance Screen and camera improvements. When coupled with Microsoft’s GDR2 operating system update, users will also receive such features as Data Sense, FM Radio, default-camera selection, Lumia Color Profile, and Call/SMS filtering.

If you haven’t seen an update notification on your phone already, you can go to Settings > Phone Update > Check For Updates to see if you can get it.

Nokia had previously planned to bring Amber to all of its devices by the end of September, which is drawing near. So far they have made steady progress, but with one week left, they are cutting it close.

Source: Nokia; Thanks to everyone who tipped us!

Online store takes pre-bookings for Lumia 1020 before Nokia’s official India launch.

By Vijay @ 02:24pm

A couple of months back, Nokia announced its latest flagship called the Lumia 1020 at an event in New York. This WP is having a massive 41-megapixel PureView camera, and is set to arrive at our shores. Online retail store Snapdeal has started accepting pre-bookings for the Lumia 1020 and will ship the device in the first week of October.

The Lumia 1020 boasts a class-leading 41-megapixel camera with LED and Xenon flash, Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS), f/2.2 sensor and 3x lossless zoom. It uses a technique called oversampling that combines 7 pixels into 1 super pixel, to create 5-megapixel images that contain the details of a 41-megapixel image. This way the Lumia 1020 is able to not only capture incredible 5-megapixel images that give some point and shoot cameras a run for their money, but also facilitates lossless zoom.

In terms of specifications, the device flaunts a 4.5-inch AMOLED (1280×768 pixels) display and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor paired with 2GB of RAM. In addition to the aforementioned camera, it also includes a 1.2-megapixel front camera, 32GB of fixed internal memory, NFC connectivity and a 2,000mAh battery with support for wireless charging.

The Lumia 1020 runs on Windows Phone 8 Amber update and comes pre-loaded with a special camera app called Pro Camera and other apps like Nokia Music, Nokia Mix radio, Here Maps suite, Nokia Smart camera and Nokia Rich Recording.

There’s no word on any official pricing for the device yet…

Any guesses????

Nokia Lumia 1020 listed on Flipkart as coming soon

By Vijay @ 09:29pm

The Nokia Lumia 1020 started out as an exclusive on AT&T in US. Although it didn’t take too long before the device started appearing in other markets. First up was China, then other countries slowly gained the list. For example, a few days ago it went on sale in Germany (and it was the 64GB variant too!). Up next however, is going to be India. Details below.

Head on over to Flipkart and you’ll see the Lumia 1020 sitting there getting ready for you. The device has a “notify me” page set up for anyone interested in the device. Availability is listed as “coming soon”. Unfortunately, details are a bit scarce. There is no pricing on the page. It’s the 32GB model though, not the 64GB which is exclusive to Vodafone. You’ll have your choice of white, yellow, or black when the devices do become available.

We’ll of course let you guys and gals know when more information comes in. Any of our readers in India looking forward to the Lumia 1020? Let me know below in comments…

Source: Flipkart

Temple Run: Oz now available for Windows Phone 8, but only 1gb ram

By Vijay @ 09:44pm

Temple Run: Oz from Imangi Studios and Disney/Pixar is now available for Windows Phone 8. The game was released for Android, iPhone and iPad in March. The Temple Run: Oz based on the Temple Run 2 and inspired by Oz the Great and Powerful movie that released earlier this year. This game would let you Play as Oz outrun the shrieking flying baboons as you turn, jump and slide your way across the land. You can also explore different environments and complete weekly challenges.

The Temple Run: Brave from the Temple Run franchise was released for Windows Phone 8 back in January, 6 months after it released for Android and iOS devices. This one took less than 5 months.

Features of Temple Run: Oz

• Stunning environments inspired by the film – explore them all.
• Fly in a hot air balloon – earn even more coins.
• Explore different locations in Oz – follow sign posts!
• The environment changes as you run – test your reflexes.

Download Temple Run: Oz for Windows Phone 8 devices from the Windows Phone Store at $0.99 / Rs. 55

First images of Nokia’s upcoming phablet leaks named Lumia 1520

By Vijay @ 09:20am

Nokia’s upcoming phablet device, with an expected release at the yet unannounced September event has been making the news lately as the Lumia 1520 and it is expected to have a quad core processor and a 1080p screen. WPC have gotten their hands on some alleged images of the device that look very real to us, the device is placed next to a Lumia 1020.

The device is rumored to be 6″ and ultra thin with a 20Mp camera; what we can see here is that the bezel is indeed quite small matching up to the previous screen leeks we saw a month or so ago.

Note the accessory which resembles an ipad smart cove, that can double as a stand for the device, I want! hopefully this is real, because my pockets have begun to itch!

*Note: the device above bears a striking resemblance to another alleged leak we saw a while back

Source

Nokia releases new ad shows Lumia Amber software update.

By Vijay @ 10:49pm

Nokia has released a short film to show off some of the new features included in the Amber update which is currently rolling out. Bundled with Windows Phone 8 GDR2 from Microsoft, Nokia has been able to add numerous enhancements and improvements to features and functionality boasted by Lumia hardware.

We’ve gone into some detail as to what’s available in both updates. Should you require reminding, Windows Phone 10327 (GDR2) is a minor OS update that brings FM radio, some enhancements to Xbox Music, WAV file playback for voicemail, fixed Other storage, and other minor bug fixes in addition to enabling the new hardware found in the Lumia 1020.

Nokia’s bundled Amber update (highlighted in the above video), which is what is causing the delays for release, allows the new Glance screen, flip to silence, Lumia Color Profile and an improved camera experience, making the combo of an update quite interesting for consumers. So who’s getting the Amber update? See below:

It’s worth noting the Lumia 625, Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020 are not listed because GDR2 and Amber are both pre-loaded. If you’re yet to receive the update, head on over to Settings > Phone Update and hit “Check for updates” to see if you’re next in line. Nokia has stated they expect to have the update rolled out successfully by the end of September so don’t freak out if you’ve not yet got the notification.

Source: YouTube

Pre-orders for Nokia Lumia 625 sell out on India’s Snapdeals

By  Vijay @ 08:28am

Nokia has had a big winner with both the entry-level Nokia Lumia 520. Now, it looks like the Nokia Lumia 625 might be following the same footsteps  The handset sporting the largest screen of any Lumia flavored Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 625 was being made available for pre-orders in India from online retailer Snapdeals and has already sold out. Snapdeals was asking for a down payment of Rs.1000/- with the remaining amount due upon the release of the phone in the last week of August.

Despite the large 4.7 inch screen, the rest of the specs are decidedly low to mid-range. The display’s resolution of 480 x 800 results in a rather low pixel density of 201 ppi. Under the hood is a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 with only 512MB of RAM. There is 8GB of native storage inside along with a 64GB capacity microSD slot. A 5MP camera on back captures video in 1080 x 1920 at 30fps and there is a VGA front-facing shooter. The 2000mAh battery keeps the lights on. You can get comparison here along with its previous models 520, 620 & 720.

India’s Snapdeals has sold out the Nokia Lumia 625 while accepting pre-orders for the device

source: Snapdeals via WMPoweruser

Amber update is rolling out across all Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones

By Vijay @ 03:05pm

Nokia has started rolling out its much-awaited Amber software update to all its Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones, which will now come with new and improved camera features and other apps.

The Amber update is Nokia’s initiative to build up on Microsoft’s latest update GDR2 to the Windows Phone 8 software, which brought a new FM radio player and improvements to Xbox music and the Internet Explorer browser. The Amber update will be available first for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in select countries as well as the Lumia 521, Lumia 810, and Lumia 928 in the US, and will be reaching out to all devices including Lumia 520, Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 or Lumia 920 by the end of September.

Features-wise, as expected this update brings improved image processing with better noise reduction, color reproduction, exposure control, autofocus, refined low light performance, and a number of other camera improvements depending on the phone model and its camera capabilities.

An interesting part would be the availability of Nokia’s Smart Camera app across the Lumia portfolio, which was restricted to the Nokia Lumia 925 only. After updating their phones to Amber, users will be able to download the app from the Windows market place. In addition to that, the update will also bring Nokia’s newly launched Pro Camera app for better video particularly for the Lumia 920, Lumia 925, and Lumia 928, starting from today.

Apart from camera related tweaks, the Amber update will also come with Nokia Glance Screen to set a clock on the device’s screen when the phone is inactive. This will also come with battery-level and an indicator for silent mode. This feature will be available in the ‘display and touch’ section in Settings menu, and will be available for all WP8 Lumia devices except the Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 625.

Along with this, the new update will allow users to make use of the flip to silence for an incoming call and double-tap to wake and easy unlock features, which are pretty popular on smartphones by other brands as well.

Official YouTube app for Windows Phone is back and now available for both 7.x & 8 devices.

By Vijay @ 01:12pm

Today, Google had released a new version 3.2.0.0 of youtube app which is now live on the Store for Windows Phone 7.x and Windows Phone 8 devices.

The new app looks a lot like the app that was pulled and even includes an upload feature for posting videos directly to the service. That should reassure customers who believe the app would be stripped of functionality (one feature that seems to be missing is downloading of videos).

According to the app description, the features include:

• Pin any video, playlist, channel, and search queries to Live Tiles
• Manage your YouTube profile with your unique My YouTube page
• Manage your playlists, uploads, and video lists
• Find channels, videos, and playlists with the quick access search bar
• Share videos to your social networks, e-mail, and text messages
• Let your kids watch safe videos in Kid’s Corner and keep their own profile

The app is now available for older devices too, which is a great win for legacy users who have felt left out lately from Microsoft’s releases.

You can download the now official YouTube app for Windows Phone here in the Store.