July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

After missing out on Nokia’s Lumia Windows Phones for the past few years, Verizon could finally be getting one soon, according to the latest rumor.

Nokia’s next big smartphone, the Lumia 928, will reportedly land at Verizon Wireless next month, Bloomberg reports. If true, it would be the first Lumia Windows Phone to arrive on Verizon — so far Nokia has focused on AT&T and T-Mobile for the Lumia line.

Judging from the current batch of rumors, the Lumia 928 will likely sport most of the Lumia 920′s specs — a 4.5-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, and a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor. I’m hoping there’s some sort of internal upgrade, as those specs feel slightly outdated compared to current quad-core Android phones.

The big upgrade for the Lumia 928 will likely be its case. Bloomberg notes (and past rumors also support) that it could have an aluminum case. Meanwhile, the Verge reports that it could just have a thinner polycarbonate case like the current Lumia 920.

Whatever it’s actually made of, I’m hoping Nokia has figured out a way to make the Lumia 928 thinner and lighter than its predecessor. (Seriously, the Lumia 920 feels heavy enough to be used as a weapon.)

For the most part, the Lumia 928 seems like it mainly exists to tempt Verizon customers to Windows Phone 8. The company certainly could use all the help it can get to drive up its U.S. sales. Nokia is likely working on more dramatic Lumia upgrades for the end of the year.

Photo: Lumia 920 by Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

2013 is going to be a busy year for Nokia.

Rumors of a bunch of upcoming Lumias have emerged over the past few days, and the latest says we’ll soon see a Lumia called the “Laser,” which would be a flagship device for Verizon. The Verge reports that the device would essentially be Verizon’s answer to AT&T’s Lumia 920, which we thought was pretty solid.

If the report is true, the move is overdue. As the largest carrier in the U.S., Verizon has a whole lot to offer Nokia’s fledging Lumia line. To help the push along, Microsoft will put some marketing dollars behind the Laser when it debuts, according to The Verge.

The Laser is the third high-end Nokia phone rumored for a 2013 release. The others are the 41-megapixel “EOS” and a Lumia 920 replacement codenamed “Catwalk.”

The Verge’s report comes a day after Nokia announced a solid Q4 2012 operating profit of $585 million on $10.7 billion in revenue. Nokia also sold 4.4 million Lumia phones during the quarter, showing that maybe, just maybe, it’s finally found its smartphone groove.

The videos all start with the same message from Microsoft employee Ben “the PC guy” Rudolph: ”Hi, I’m Ben, and today I’m showing people why Windows Phone is a better match for them than iPhone and Android.”

In the spots, Rudolph — no red nose in evidence — shows up apparently unexpectedly, surprising iPhone and Android users, and showing them something better about his Windows Phone. Cheeky, but effective, at least in the spots that made it to YouTube.

Here’s one of the iPhone 5 segments, which uses the Nokia Lumia 920, which has an 8.7 megapixel camera to iPhone 5′s 8 megapixels. Yes, that’s the same phone that Nokia famously used in its faked ad — the ad that led users to believe it was shot with the 920, when in fact it was shot with a high-end video camera.

But the camera is, actually, quite good:

A quibble: Ben doesn’t use the iPhone 5′s built-in flash. He doesn’t with the Nokia either, but if the Nokia is optimized for low-light capability, that could be seen as something of an unfair competition. Or, from the other side of the coin, as an example of why you want a diversity of devices in your mobile collection, with differing capabilities for differing user requirements.

Rudolph runs the same script by a family which has a myTouch Android phone from T-Mobile, with a 5 megapixel camera.  This time he uses HTC’s Windows Phone 8X, which has an 8MP camera:

Again, predictably, the Windows phone wins.

How effective these ads will be remains to be seen.

What is clearly visible, however, is that Microsoft is no longer content to take a backseat in the mobile device market, and with Surface and Windows Phone 8 is making a major push to become a significant player.

photo credit: smallritual via photopin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is daring to dream when it comes to beleaguered Windows Phone sales.

“We’re still relatively small … I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly,” Ballmer told the meeting at a Windows 8 launch event in Israel this morning, according to Reuters.

Of course, it’d be a surprise if Ballmer offered anything less optimistic for Windows Phone. Microsoft just launched Windows Phone 8 last week in San Francisco, and hot new models like the Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8X will soon be available to tempt buyers. The company is likely planning a large marketing surge which, together with the launch of Windows 8, could finally spur on sales for Windows Phone.

Ballmer also noted something he’s said before: together with the strong work from its hardware manufacturers, Windows Phone has an “opportunity to create really a strong third participant” in the smartphone world. That may not sound too ambitious, but it’s a fairly realistic goal considering the massive head start the iPhone and Android have.

It would be tough for Microsoft to realistically surpass the sheer volume of Android sales, or the hype surrounding the iPhone, to reach the number one or two spot. But there’s nothing wrong with being number three: That would make Microsoft the successor to RIM’s BlackBerry, and it would allow Windows Phone to finally become a sustainable business.

Photo: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Lies, damned lies, and product demo videos.

Nokia will conduct an independent ethics review of the now-notorious faked Lumia 920 video, the company told Bloomberg. In an effort to demonstrate improved image stabilization technology in the coming phone, Nokia shot video with a high-end video camera and allowed viewers to believe the video was from the actual 920.

Source: Fox News

The fatal cameraman reflection

That was the original infraction, caught by the Verge. Since then, it turns out that still images for the smartphone were also faked.

Oops.

Little cluetrain message, Nokia, for free: Save the dough, just commit to doing the right thing next time. A second free piece of advice? Don’t make the confession worse than the original sin.

A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that “it was nobody’s intention to mislead, but there was poor judgment in the decision not to use a disclaimer.” I’m sorry, but that is just not believable. When will companies — and PR reps — learn that when your hand is caught in the cookie jar, you can’t believably claim you were just checking how many were left?

The only reason to make an ad is to sell something. Making the image better than the reality is the name of the Madison Avenue game … quite literally in this case.

Just suck it up, own it, apologize, and commit to never doing it again. Cross your heart and hope to die.

Unless you really want to spend the money. I can always whip up a quick invoice for a few hundred K.

photo credit: PIX-JOCKEY via photo pin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

As impressed as we were by Nokia’s new Lumia 920 and 820 Windows Phone 8 smartphones, it’s a shame that the company didn’t having pricing or release details to share earlier this week.

Now, the Verge and Techradar are reporting that the phones will hit AT&T on November 2, while Reuters points to a European launch later that month.

While no solid Windows Phone 8 release date is available yet, we’re expecting the updated OS to launch at the end of October. If so, the early November timing makes sense for Nokia, especially since it’s the flagship handset maker for Windows Phone. Still, if the phones were coming so soon, it’s surprising that Nokia couldn’t reveal the release date at its launch event this past Wednesday.

Pricing details, unfortunately, are still up in the air. But I’d be shocked if Nokia priced the Lumia 920 above $200 (on contract). And given that both Nokia and Microsoft will be contending with the iPhone 5′s release, which we’re hearing could be around September 21, the company could entice consumers to the Lumia 920 by pricing it around $150. As for the Lumia 820, I expect that to cost around $100 on contract.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Nokia today announced its first Windows Phone 8 devices at a New York City press event, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820.

Even though some of the details about the phones were leaked last week, Nokia still managed to impress today as we learned more about the new devices. The PureView camera technology, in particular, could make consumers pay attention to the Lumia 920. Couple that with the many improvements in Windows Phone 8, including a revamped Start screen and camera apps, and Nokia could have a strong contender against the iPhone 5. (It’s just too bad Nokia isn’t divulging release information yet on its new phones.)

Unfortunately, Nokia only had a handful of prototype devices available at the event for reporters to touch and feel, but from my brief time with the Lumia 920 and 820, it definitely feels like the company has one-upped last year’s Lumia designs. The Lumia 920 feels more solid than the iPhone 4S (and it certainly helps that the rear is an ultra-strong polycarbonate, and not glass).

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 8 mobile OS will include the ability to capture screenshots and several new camera functions like panorama setting, the company said on stage at today’s big Nokia event.

Microsoft corporate VP Joe Belfiore (pictured) talked about new features for the Windows Phone 8, which will be included on the just-announced Nokia Lumia 920. One of the big features the Lumia 920 includes is a PureView camera that claims to be one of the best smartphone cameras ever made. In tandem, Belfiore decided to show off new camera features for WP8.

Here’s what he introduced on stage:

Screenshots — Windows Phone 8 will make it much easier to take screenshots, something developers (and phone reviewers) have wanted for a long while. Pressing the home button and power button will take a screenshot of what’s on your screen.

Pinch-to-zoom camera support — Inside the native Windows Phone 8 camera app, there is no more zoom bar. Instead, you can pinch-to-zoom like you do on other smartphone OSes.

Blink Lens app — This one’s pretty cool. The Blink Lens app, which was written by Microsoft’s research team, lets you get a great picture of someone’s face by snapping a ton of photos at once. It automatically picks the best photo, or you can go back later to modify it and pick one you like more.

Deep SkyDrive integration — Full resolution photos will automatically be uploaded to one’s SkyDrive account. Belfiore took a photo and it automatically showed up in the native SkyDrive app on a Windows 8 laptop, showing the connected state of SkyDrive to all devices. (Just don’t take any naked pics of yourself.)

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

NEW YORK CITY — It’s been almost a year and a half since Microsoft and Nokia announced their controversial partnership, and while the union hasn’t been completely successful, it has inarguably led to the most interesting Windows Phone devices in Nokia’s Lumia line.

Today, Nokia is launching the Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 920 and 820. They’re bigger, more powerful, and more refined than Nokia’s last Lumia phones, according to last week’s leaked information. But as impressive as they seem at first glance, they leave a couple of key questions unanswered. Can Nokia and Microsoft make up for their mistakes with the Lumia 900, which left early adopters stuck on Windows Phone 7 (albeit, a slightly upgraded version)? And most importantly, can Nokia pry consumer attention away from the endlessly hyped iPhone 5 and the plethora of geek-friendly Android competitors?

One thing is abundantly clear to me today: Nokia can’t just impress us, it has to convince us.

Even though Samsung stole Nokia’s thunder last week by announcing its Windows Phone 8 device first, the unfortunately named Ativa S, Nokia is still carrying much of the burden the new platform. Windows Phone 8 sports a completely redesigned start screen, support for multicore processor phones, and it’s also running Windows 8′s kernel (which makes it easier to port apps from desktop to mobile).

On stage today, Nokia’s president and CEO Stephen Elop (above) reiterated the mantra that the Lumia 800 was the “first real Windows Phone.” He boasted of the awards Nokia’s Windows Phones have won and how the company helped lower phone prices and bring the platform to China (which is growing to be the largest Windows Phone market), India, and other countries.

“Across all of our strategy, we said Nokia would differentiate, we said we would create a very distnctive Nokia experience,” Elop said.

Jo Harlow, executive vice president at Nokia, finally showed us what we were all waiting for: the new 4.5-inch Lumia 920 (in yellow, of all colors). A loud presentation gave the phone a dramatic entrance, though a failure with a sound system took away from some of the impact.

She talked up the phone’s PureView camera technology, which first appeared on the PureView 808. Don’t hold your breath for the 808′s 41 megapixel shooter, but other aspects of PureView technology will allow the 920′s camera to perform better in low light.

The Lumia 920′s camera captures five to ten-times as much light as other smartphone cameras, Harlow said. That’s because it sports floating lens technology, which she says works better than optical image stabilization in most DSLRs.

“The technology reacts to minute movements in your hands to balance the lens, so the shutter can stay open longer,” Harlow said.

She moved on to chat about the Lumia 920′s location features. The phone sports true offline maps, not just offline caching. A new Nokia City Lens feature gives you augmented reality capabilities: Simply hold the Lumia 920 up to any street, and you’ll see the names of restaurants, shops, and the like on your screen.

The Lumia 920 features Nokia’s best display yet, the PureMotion HD+. Harlow boasts that it has “better than HD resolution,” and a fast refresh rate to keep things moving smoothly on the screen. The display is so bright, you can even view it in the desert, Harlow said.

Nokia’s latest flagship is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, which Harlow notes is faster and more energy efficient than some quad-core processors. (We’ve seen the Snapdragon on some of the best Android phones released this year.) As expected, the Lumia 920 also features wireless charging capabilities. Harlow showed off a Fatboy wireless charger.

Microsoft corporate vice president Joe Belfiore hit the stage next to remind us of the improvements in Windows Phone 8. He showed us just how personalized you can make the new start screen by including instant updates from your closest friends and family and using an extra-large CNN tile to keep up with news.

Belfiore briefly showed off a new Windows Phone 8 feature: screenshots. Now you can easily snap a screenshot from anywhere in the OS and share it with your friends.

We also got to see the revamped Windows Phone 8 camera, which now supports zooming through pinching, as well as a variety of new photo apps from third-parties (like CNN iReport and Bing Vision). Intriguingly, Microsoft has included a filter for its panoramic picture technology, Photosynth.

“Third-party software developers can write unbelievable apps that create amazing experiences and high-quality photos,” Belfiore said.

Kevin Shields, senior vice president at Nokia, gave us more details on what makes the Lumia 920 tick. Its “construction is even sturdier, the glass is even stronger [than past Lumias],” Shields said. “No squeeks, no cracks, certainly not a phone falling apart in your hand.” (That sounds like a dig against many Android phones, which don’t typically handle wear and tear well.)

He showed off some of the intriguing capabilities of the Lumia 920′s PureView camera. The 920 can capture incredibly stable video, and take night shots that are practically impossible for other smartphones, all thanks to its floating lens.

An hour after the launch event started, Shields finally showed off the Lumia 820, a 4.3-inch smartphone that serves as a more streamlined alternative to the 920. The phone doesn’t feature the same unibody design as the Lumia 920, but you can replace the colors of the rear covers to your liking. One set of the Lumia 820′s covers includes wireless charging capabilities.

Bringing up the tail-end of the event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hit the stage to talk up the future ecosystem made possible by upcoming Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 devices.

“Perhaps more importantly than anything else, we bring a developer platform and a store that’s common to both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8,” Ballmer said. He noted that Microsoft has worked hard to standardize its platform, as well as help developers build and monetize their apps.

“In one year from now we should see close to 400 million new devices running those operating systems,” Ballmer said, referring to devices running both its new mobile and desktop OS. “That means Lumia … that means Surface … devices introduced in Berlin last week … those devices I’m quite sure represents the largest single opportunity for developers today.”

Sadly, Nokia didn’t have any release details to share about its new devices yet. In a Q&A session after the event, Elop said that more details will be revealed in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Nokia, this leaves a huge opening for potential fans to opt for the iPhone 5 instead.

As for making Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, Elop didn’t have much to say, but he noted that “it’s a real opportunity, though.”

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Nokia’s new flagship Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, have leaked to the web via the @evleaks Twitter account, and they’re absolutely gorgeous.

The two phones are likely the “Arrow” and “Phi” devices we’d previously heard about. Nokia is set to show off these two phones next week at a big event in New York City, but Windows Phone 8 isn’t expected to debut until Oct. 29. (We’re crossing our fingers for an earlier release.)

Nokia’s Lumia 920, as shown in the photo above, supposedly carries a 4.5-inch display and a PureView camera. We’re not sure if the camera will be as powerful as 41 megapixels, but it could leapfrog other major smartphone cameras. Based on prior reports, this device exclusively runs on AT&T.

The Lumia 820, as shown in the photo below, supposedly has a 4.3-inch display and runs on AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks. Both the 920 and 820 should come in a variety a colors.

The two devices look promising, just like Samsung’s new ATIV S with Windows Phone 8. The ATIV S offers a 4.8-inch screen, 1.5-GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2,300 MAh battery. Let’s hope Nokia can match these specs with the top-shelf Lumia 920.

Photos: @evleaks