Nokia unveils Lumia 1520 phablet and Lumia 2520 Windows 8 tablet

At Nokia World in Abu Dhabi, Nokia has unveiled the Lumia 1520 phablet and Lumia 2520 tablet. Nokia also announced major Windows Phone ecosystem wins, such as the imminent release of Instagram, Vine, Flipboard, and Xbox Video for Windows Phone 8. The Lumia 1520 is a hilariously oversized 6-inch Windows Phone 8 phablet with a sexy 1080p display and 20-megapixel camera, and the Lumia 2520, which runs Windows RT 8.1 and has built-in LTE support, marks Nokia’s grand (and very colorful) entrance into the tablet market. In true non-Apple fashion, the release date for the Lumia 1520 and 2520 aren’t yet known, but for now at least it looks like the 2520 won’t be coming to the US.

Lumia 1520 phablet

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is essentially a larger version of the polycarbonate-body Lumia 1020 — a much larger version. The 1520 clocks in at 162.8mm long (6.4 inches) and 85.4mm wide (3.36 inches) — more than an inch taller than the Lumia 1020, and about half an inch wider. Unless you’re a large human with oversized paws, the Lumia 1520 will be very hard to hold in one hand. Even compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Lumia 1520 is considerably taller, wider, and heavier (209 grams, 7.37 ounces) — and to boot, it doesn’t even have a stylus. The good news, I guess, is that, in hands-on testing, the Lumia 1520 at least feels as good, solid, and balanced in the hand(s) as its smaller siblings.

The Lumia 1520 has a 6-inch 1920×1080 daylight-readable ClearBlack IPS display (which looks stunning in real life), Snapdragon 800 SoC clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, micro SD card expansion, and a 3200 mAh battery. In terms of specs, at least, the Lumia 1520 certainly doesn’t disappoint. Software-wise, the 1520 runs the latest version of Windows Phone 8, presumably with Nokia’s Amber software update. We believe that the Lumia 1520 might be running Windows Phone 8.1, to support the higher-res display and a new row of Start screen icons. This would explain why the 1520 doesn’t yet have a solid release date, as it will hinge on WP8.1.

Lumia 2520 tablet

Funnily enough, the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet also looks just like a larger version of a Lumia smartphone. If you turned a Lumia 920 on its side and then stretched it out, you’d have the 2520. If you thought that all the images in this story were of the same device, you’re probably not alone. The main difference, however, is that the Lumia 2520 runs Windows RT 8.1, rather than Windows Phone 8. This tablet competes squarely with Microsoft’s own Surface 2, which is released today.

The Lumia 2520 has a 10.1-inch 1920×1080 ClearBlack IPS display. Like its siblings, the screen really does look amazing, with fantastic color reproduction, daylight visibility, and wide viewing angles. Dimensions-wise, at 8.9mm thick and 615 grams (21.7 ounces) the 2520 is comparable to any other 10-inch tablet, such as the Nexus 7 or iPad. Like the Surface 2, the Lumia 2520 supports a snap-in Power Keyboard, which adds extra battery life, a touchpad, two USB ports, and a fold-up stand thing. This keyboard isn’t compatible with the Surface 2, however, and vice-versa (that would be too easy, eh?)

Internally, there’s a Snapdragon 800 SoC at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, micro SD card expansion, 8000 mAh battery — and curiously, LTE seems to be supported as standard. (See: What is LTE?) With an expected price point of $500, the Lumia 2520 with LTE is an enticing proposition — though, sadly, it won’t initially be available in the US.

Nokia vs. Microsoft

It is rather funny to see Nokia announcing a Windows RT 8.1 tablet just after Microsoft’s Surface 2. Microsoft, as you may know, is in the process of acquiring Nokia, so that it can have an in-house mobile device maker. What probably happened was that the Lumia 1520 and 2520 were being developed by Nokia before Microsoft began the acquisition process. The original plan was probably to release the Lumia 1520 as a Windows RT 8.1 launch device.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Surface and Lumia brands. With the Surface 2 and Lumia 2520 having very similar specs and both supporting snap-in keyboards, it’s likely that they will clash in the consumer market. Once Nokia is fully absorbed by Microsoft, we wouldn’t be surprised if one of the brands is retired. At this point, the Lumia brand is probably more well-known, but Microsoft won’t want to give up a brand that it’s spent billions of dollars on. For now, the Windows RT tablet space will continue to be as confusing as it’s always been.

Nokia in a ‘swag’release of 6 new devices

Despite insisting it was going ahead, to sell its mobile device unit to Microsoft, the swag with which Stephen Elop, Nokia’s Executive Vice president, devices and services, Tuesday, mounted the stage at St Regis Hotel Abu Dhabi, venue of this year’s Nokia world event, to introduce six new devices, almost betrayed an impression that the device maker may change its mind.

More to that feeling was his opening introduction: “This is exciting times for Nokia, which has been innovating and will never seize to innovate. The quality and value that Nokia products deliver continues to grow as we partner with developers to introduce app experiences that are unique to Lumia and Windows Phones. And clearly, with Lumia and Asha smartphones enjoying quarter-on-quarter volume growth in Q3 2013, that quality and value is resonating with consumers around the world.”

However, his colleague, Chris Weber, Executive VP Global sales and marketing, was to quickly discountenance that feeling when he exclusively told GlamTech that ” we are still going ahead. As a matter of fact, we are very excited about the deal.”

New Asha ranges

Elop, who introduced the devices in a fashionable way, began with the lowest range, the Asha 500,502 and 503 ranges which are additions to the Asha family it introduced first in……

The selling point of the Asha devices, according to him is their social initiatives, including the ability to take a photo with a single swipe, after which you can share it instantly to your social network of choice with a single tap. Elop said that the new devices in terms of the easy camera operation can be summed up as “one touch to capture, one touch to share”.

Again, users of the new Asha devices, will have the opportunity to connect with the over 350 million active Whatsapp users around the globe. And if the App developers are correct in their claims of registering 250,000 users everyday through Nokia handsets, then Asha users would have a field day.

Nokia also advanced the Fastlane feature of Asha, in the new models, making it customizable to users. The feature, a list-like view of recent activity, can now give the user history of past, present and past activities.

The 500 has a 2.8-inch screen and a 2-megapixel camera, while both the 502 and the 503 have 3-inch screens and 5-megapixel cameras with LED flash. The 503 is a little bit more classy, spotting Gorilla Glass 2 and 3G connectivity. Although all three have WLAN, quad-band EDGE and boasts of one month of battery standby time. They’re also all available with dual SIM capabilities. But the 500 and the 503 also come in a single SIM variant.

The 500, 502 and 503 would cost potential users $69, $89 and $99 respectively. Elop said these devices would be available for people in Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific,Europe and Latin America.

Lumia 1520, 1320 smartphone

Nokia also added to its fleet of Lumia smartphones, bringing in the 1520 and 1320 models. The phones feature windows phone 8 operating system, with updates and GSM/ EDGE/ WCDMA variations in MHz. They also spot LTE speed capacity of up to 150/50 megabytes per second.

The Lumia 1520 for instance displays 6-inch full HD 1080p LCD , ClearBlack, High Brightness Mode, Sunlight readability, Super sensitive touch for glove and nail usage, Gorilla Glass 2. Built with a 2.2GHz Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, the device has PureView 20-megapixel auto focus ZEISS optics with optical I mage stabilization (OIS), 2x lossless zoom, oversampling technology, dual LED flash, 1080p @ 30 fps full HD video with optical image stabilization, as primary camera while Secondary Camera is HD 1.2-megapixel wide angle.

The battery power is integrated with built-in wireless charging. It also has rich Recording with four microphones; Wideband Voice and multi-microphone noise reduction with four microphones; Dolby Headphone, Graphic equalizer, Audio leveling and FM radio.

The six inch smartphones Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 will be available for $749 before taxes and subsidies and $339 respectively. The former is expected to start shipping this quarter in Hong Kong, Singapore, U.S., China, U.K., France, Germany, Finland and other European markets, with other markets to follow while the latter will be available in Q1 2014 in China and Vietnam, followed by other Asian markets, India and Europe.

Now enter the latest tablet makers

The device comes in a range of matte and glossy colors, and offers about what you might expect from a tablet in the Lumia range. The most prominent feature here is easily the cameras.

Nokia’s tablet runs on a 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU and features built-in LTE connectivity, 2 GB RAM and 32 GB expandable storage. The display clocks in at a full 1920 x 1080 with 650 nit brightness and “almost” 180-degree viewing angles.

The new tab however, features some fairly capable optics, with a 6.7-megapixel shooter on the back, an F1.9 aperture and Zeiss optics. There’s also a 2-megapixel offering on the tablet’s front face.

The device comes with an optional wrap-around cover that features a keyboard and trackpad like Microsoft’s Surface. But Nokia calls its own, Power Keyboard. The peripheral of the power key board provides users with two USB ports and an additional five hours of battery life.

The tablet ships with Windows RT 8.1, augmented with some Nokia-exclusive software. This includes the Storyteller app, which automatically pulls photos from numerous sources including Facebook, Picasa, SkyDrive and Flicker, creating a single image timeline. Also included are Nokia Music, HERE Maps and the Video Director editing app.

The Lumia 2520 is scheduled for release this quarter with a recommended price of US$499.

But the talk around town after the launch,was what Nokia and Microsoft were playing at, launching on the same day, though at different locations, Nokia Lumia 2520 and Microsoft Surface tablets – Devices that share almost same features and outlook, when both claimed to be neck deep in a deal that would see Microsoft swallow the Nokia unit that produced the 2520.

Would Microsoft be pushing two tablets of almost same features and outlook at the same time, when the deal is done? Time will tell!

The Successful BBM Launch Points Out A Survival Route For BlackBerry

10 million downloads in twenty four hours. Now that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is available on iOS and Android, the walled garden is down and everyone is pouring in to pick up one of BlackBerry’s signature technologies. If BlackBerry wants a signpost to a way forward that’s good for the business and ensures they stay relevant over the next few years, BBM has handed it to them.

Until now, if you wanted to be on BBM, you had to purchase a BlackBerry device. While smartphones were still regarded as ‘phones with a bit more’ it was a simple decision to buy one. But the last five years have seen smartphones morph into ‘very small but fully capable computers’ and not every manufacturer managed to stay on top of that change. Nokia stayed with Symbian for too long, and by the time they changed to a modern OS (in Windows Phone) Android and iOS were too far ahead to be caught.

BlackBerry has struggled to make the jump to a modern smartphone, and it took until early this year to launch their vision in the Z10.

While the exact sales numbers for BlackBerry devices running the BB10 OS are not available, many analysts expect them to be around the 5 million mark with a following wind. Twice that number have shown an interest in BBM in twenty four hours.

And BlackBerry is not finished with the app, as Andrew Bocking, BlackBerry EVP writes:

“We committed to delivering a BBM experience on iPhone and Android that was equal to that on BlackBerry 10. That means bringing BBM Video, BBM Voice and BBM Channels to Android and iPhone customers too. My team is still committed to bringing those features to BBM on Android and iPhone in the near future.”

Perhaps the only sad note to the success of the BBM app this week is the realisation that BlackBerry has come into this game too late to be earth shattering. Ten million users (asuming they all stay) is a big number, and one that could be built on, but the rise of clients such as WhatsApp Messenger (currently quoting 300 million active users across multiple mobile platforms) are a reminder of what could have been for BlackBerry. If they had opened up their service to a wider audience two years ago as former CEO Jim Balsillie argued for, instead of waiting for BB10 to be finished and placed in a rather standard smartphone chassis (the Z10), BlackBerry could have established themselves as the cross platform mobile messaging system of choice.

That’s not an option for them in the near future, but with focus and dedication (and an attitude about serving the user first, and not serving the BB10 platform before iOS and Android), they have a chance to become part of the mobile infrastructure once more, without the extra cost of building and maintaining an alternative operating system or mobile hardware.

BBM is a little beacon of success in the middle of some turbulent times for the Canadian company. Hopefully BBM will continue to receive investment and attention so it can build on a successful launch and keep BlackBerry relevant in the smartphone world.

10 Tech Headaches That Infuriate Everyone

Ever feel like technology is taunting you? You're not the only one. Technology can be your best friend, but it can also be your worst enemy. Most of the time, it works exactly as it's supposed to. Other times, it makes you want to throw your device out the window, and you yearn for the days of yore when typewriters and rotary phones (or, if you're really old-school, quills and carrier pigeons) got the job done. As much as technology has made our lives easier than anyone could have ever imagined, it can make our lives just as difficult when it backfires.

Misery loves company, they say, so we asked other professionals what their biggest tech headaches are. Here's what they had to say.

1. When Technology Wins

Nothing bothers me more than when technology decides to take on a mind of its own. It gives me flashbacks of movies like I, Robot, Eagle Eye and Metropolis, when the droids stand up against the human race. When my phone decides to open up or close apps on its own, I think to myself, "Didn't we create you? Don't you know who your master is?" The two tech devices I sometimes feel like I want to destroy with a baseball bat are my HD receiver and my cellphone. When they freeze or stop working, it's like they're staring at me, laughing at my silly human dependence on them. I'm not going to lie: I miss my pre-technology-dependent days, but my technology-dependent lifestyle won't let me go off the grid. I'm writing this on my laptop that's connected to Wi-Fi, next to my handy iPhone, while listening to music on my iPod. — Shawntel O. White, creative director, SOA Event Concepts LLC.

2. When You Realize It's 2013 and Something Still Doesn't Do What You Want it to

Literally every piece of software that exists today should save an instance of your file, whether you told it to or not. It drives me nuts when I'm in Photoshop or PowerPoint and because of user error — me forgetting to hit Save — I lose hours' worth of work. — Len Kendall, co-founder, CentUp

3. When it Makes You Paranoid

One of my biggest pet peeves is having to save my files to multiple locations, because my biggest fear is losing my work. Each time I work on my manuscript, I have to save it in multiple places. I use cloud-based services, an external hard drive, as well as my own computer to safeguard my files. I wish there was a central repository that was hack-proof and completely secure. But I suppose something like that could only exist in a fictional world. — Harmony Evans, award-winning author

4. When It's People's Fault

Shortly after the launch of my company, Cheek'd, we found ourselves on the cover of The New York Times Style section, coined as "the next generation of online dating." We got hits on our site from all over the world, until it finally crashed — mild nightmare. Once the site came back to life, we started getting orders from all over the country. It was the biggest day in the history of Cheek'd. Soon after the blast of orders, we realized that our Web developer, based in London, had the button that captured users' credit-card information ticked 'OFF.' We were unable to enroll them into our recurring subscription, upon which our business model is based. With hundreds and hundreds of new signups, we lost nearly $30,000 in revenue from this simple mistake. I joke now that our London-based Web developer is lucky he didn't live in the U.S. at the time. — Lori Cheek, founder and CEO, Cheek'd

5. When "Social" Doesn't Mean You Actually Communicate

For me, the biggest headache is keeping track of all the various forms of communications. For one person, email or texting might be the best way to get in touch. For another, it's direct messaging on Twitter or Facebook Chat. There are countless other ways that we are "available" throughout the day. It's hard enough to keep track and check all of them for messages, but it's even more difficult to remember which form of communication each person in your life prefers. As a result, we're all quietly suffering from information overload, resigned to the fact that we'll miss messages here and there. As we continue to head more and more in this direction, I find myself craving the olden times when if you wanted to reach someone, you could just call them, and they'd pick up cheerfully. Today, if you dared call someone, they'd assume there was a fire going on. Once they regain their composure, you can assure them that you just called for a salad-dressing recipe. — Danny Groner, manager, blogger partnerships & outreach,shutterstock.

6. When There's No Such Thing As Free

This problem is epidemic — it's seen everywhere from executive offices to homes. Because something is on the Internet, it does not change the basic truth that nothing is free. In the technological case, there is no free solution to fix your computer, tablet, smartphone or any other device. There are free utilities that may be useful in certain hands, but those "free" pieces of software come at the expense of years of knowledge and hours of testing the specific free application. The most frequent expense is to the consumer in loss of productivity and the actual cost to repair the damage inflicted. — Mark Bodley, president, Thunder Mountain Technologies.

7. When Advertisers Win

My greatest tech headache is mobile advertising I typically browse through my leisure apps, like games or YouTube, when I'm on-the-go or not necessarily in Wi-Fi-friendly areas. The commercials now before most YouTube videos seem to take a long time to load, and not all are skipable. So, by the time I get to the content I actually wanted to watch, my little window of freedom is over. The same goes with games that have in-game advertising. I've noticed that the game greatly slows down while it tries to load the ad; once it's loaded and the game flows naturally again, my slice of free time may be up. In addition, neither medium is smartly targeted, so the ads are not even pertinent. — Ben Cober, director of business development and research, PGAV Destination

8. When the Industry Wins

Contract and license management are, by far, two of the biggest and costliest tech headaches facing any IT pro. There is no Kelley Blue Book for technology, so most companies don't know if they're getting a fair deal. Pricing, discounts and terms are all over the board, depending on your vendor relationship, and at­ just about the time companies finally understand what's going on, the vendor makes changes. Meanwhile, licensing has become complicated beyond reason, especially in software. It used to be that you would buy one license for every desktop. Now, vendors like Microsoft and others are implementing device-based licensing strategies as a way to monetize device proliferation. The end result is that most companies are overpaying for IT. —Jeff Muscarella, executive vice president, IT and telecom division, NPI.

9. When Resistance is Futile

Technology is moving far too quickly, with too many options out there. One headache is being told a product we invested in will "term out," whether we like it or not. It sort of makes you miss the good old-fashioned typewriter. Millennials will not have the joy of owning an antique from the day of purchase to date of Methuselah. — Carrie Devorah, founder, The Center for Copyright Integrity.

10. When it Feels Like People Actually Do Want to Go Back to Quills and Carrier Pigeons

Honestly, our biggest tech headaches aren't the technologies — it's those people within organizations that don't view technology as an enabler for change. They would rather disable everything and then make you prove your case for utilizing the technology. They lock down sites, prevent users from personalizing their experiences, disable the ability to install applications — these are all frustrating actions that may provide safety and security for the IT team, but severely cripple a company that's trying to leverage technology to grab market share. — Douglas Karr, co-author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies; founder, Marketing Technology Blog; CEO, DK New Media.

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4 Ways to Post When Facebook Is Down

Facebook, like most websites, has its bugs. But it's rare for the entire site to suddenly stop working as it did Monday morning. The news spread across other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Tumblr — some complained about the inconvenience, others joked and some even took the opportunity to advertise.

Users couldn't post or "like" statuses or shares, but they could still view content from the site. For businesses or in case of emergency, being able to post on this social media giant is integral. So what is the best way to post to Facebook should the site crash again?

While none of these ways are guaranteed to work during every Facebook glitch, some users claimed these resources were effective in getting their intended content on the site.

1. Smartphone/Tablet App

When the main servers are down, sometimes users can access Facebook through its app. Depending how widespread the issue, the smartphone and tablet apps may have access when computers do not. This isn't the most reliable method, as Facebook's app have many issues of its own, but in a pinch it might be the simplest way to get back online.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is the big name in social media management, and it's not hard to see why. The site lets you integrate multiple accounts across several of the major social platforms, including useful functions like posting statuses remotely and scheduling various updates. During the crash, many users were still able to post their thoughts and share links through the site, though they couldn't use other Facebook features not integrated into Hootsuite, such as the "like" button. When in crisis, make sure you know how to use these free service from both your computer and smartphone.

3. SproutSocial

SproutSocial, like a large number of social media management platforms, requires payment (a standard subscription costs $39 per month). Still, as a tool for posting remotely, it is useful and shares many of Hootsuite's features. The big differences besides price? SproutSocial provides more detailed analytics of your top posts and better customer service integration.

4. Using the API

Facebook released its API back in 2006, allowing users to remotely access Facebook's functions, such as commenting or sharing posts. It is therefore possible to use the code to post remotely from another site or app. The developers on Facebook created an easy guide so next time the site goes down you can set up the code and make sure your important news gets onto the site for your friends and followers to enjoy.

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Facebook Currently Doesn't Allow Status Updates

As of Monday morning, Facebook is experiencing errors across the site. It won't allow you to update your status, post comments, send messages or post photos. Users are also unable to Like posts.

Trying to update your status will yield this message: "There was a problem updating your status. Please try again in a few minutes."

Am sure majority of us are experiencing this right now.

Apple to Launch a Thinner iPad and Retina iPad Mini Tuesday(22 Oct., 2013)

Apple will launch a thinner variant of the iPad and an iPad mini with a high-resolution Retina screen, The Wall Street Journal reports citing info from Apple's parts suppliers.

According to the report the new iPad will have a thin film instead of glass, which will let Apple make the device thinner than the current one. There is no specific info about the Retina iPad mini, except that it will use a high-resolution display.

The report is interesting because we've lately seen quite a few reports that claim we will not see the Retina iPad mini until early 2014, due to the supply of 7.9-inch high-res display being limited. It's possible that Apple will announce the device on Tuesday, but delay the launch for a later date. Also, some reports suggest Apple will introduce the Retina iPad mini, but continue selling the original variant as well.

Besides the iPads, Apple is also expected (or rumored) to reveal a host of other features and products on Tuesday — new MacBook Pros, Mac Pro, new versions of iLife and iWork and the Mac mini are all good bets.

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