This month’s all about technology launches.. Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Nokia’s Lumia Phones, Samsung ATIV WP8 Phones, iPhone 5, Amazon Kindle Fire 2, Apple iPhone 5, Apple iPad Mini (still rumored), iOS6.
Nokia announced it’s much awaited flagship Windows Phone 8 phones – the Lumia 920 and 820. Just like the Apple iPhone 4S, Nokia wishes to sell it’s new Camera capabilities (PureView) in these new phones.
The phone comes with a great dual core processor, 1GB RAM, wireless charging, PureView camera and a few other Nokia software.
The list of new features in the new Lumia 920 phones are.
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SnapDragon S4 Processor – Dual Core 1.5Ghz – an upgrade from the Lumia 900’s single core processor.
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1GB RAM and 32GB Internal Memory.
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4.5 Inch PureMotion HD Display (WXGA resolution – 768X1280)– Brighter and more sensitive that you can use your gloves with that (Ladies, no more trouble for you here).
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Bright and Interesting colors – Red, Yellow, Grey, White and Black.
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8.7MP Camera with PureView and Optical Image Stabilization – Nokia’s earlier PureView phone took 42MP pictures.
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Camera bundled with Carl Zeiss lens can take great pictures. With all the hype, it could probably take as good pictures as the iPhone 4S.
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Bigger aperture to capture more light at the same time using OIS to avoid blurry images/videos.
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Smart Shoot – Enables you to find the best picture from a series of pictures. Would also identify and remove moving people/objects from a picture. Can record Full HD videos with OIS too.
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Wireless Charging – Stuffed with tons of cables for different phones? Well that isn’t gonna improve soon, until Qi compatible chargers are every where. Till that time you’ll end up carrying this bulky Nokia wireless charging plate or carry around the default Micro USB Charger.
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2000mAh Battery – 10 Hours of 3G Talktime
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Nokia City Lens – Similar augmented reality that’s been around for quite sometime now via 3rd party applications like Layar. Don’t expect “interesting results” for India.
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Nokia Music – Free music, free downloads. A direct attack on Apple’s iTunes store revenues. Who wouldn’t like something free right ?
Here are the noticeable differences between the Lumia 920 and 820. For more detailed comparison, see this comparison.
| Feature | Lumia 920 | Lumia 820 |
| Screen Size | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Screen Technology | IPS LCD | AMOLED |
| Screen Resolution | 768×1280 | 480×800 |
| PPI | 332 | 217 |
| Front Camera | 1.2MP (HD) | 0.3MP (VGA) |
| Rear Camera | 8.7MP | 8.0MP |
| Battery | 2000mAh | 1650mAh |
| Wireless Charging | Yes | Optional (Not free) |
Despite really interesting new features, the release dates were not announced. Also the investors don’t seem to be as happy about not having a pricing or a release date. Nokia (NOK) stock went down 16% after the announcement.
After a “fake Pureview Ad“, Nokia apologized and released a new video shot using Lumia 920 Pureview OIS.
Detailed specifications for Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 are available on Nokia’s website. I personally liked the new features that were put forth by the Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices.
It sets a new precedence for other Windows Phone 8 devices and also sets “software expectations”
2012 is a good year, we get to see all the mobile operating systems mature enough to compete against each other. Keep watching for other technology news this month.
Let us know what you think about these phones.
