Category: lumia

The Best of 2014: Windows Phone 8 Devices in PH

Daniel Morial Leave a comment

Last year, Windows Phone embraced a lot of worthy attention from multiple OEMs from different countries. Here in the Philippines, we saw Windows Phone emerged through several offerings from Nokia, Microsoft and even Cherry Mobile.

Here are the smartphones powered by Windows Phone 8.1 that were seen from the previous year.

Cherry Mobile Alpha Style

Cherry Mobile’s entry-level Windows Phone with enough power to do everyday tasks. Since WP8.1 runs buttery smooth even on low specifications, the Php2,999 price tag is a great deal.

Quick specifications:

  • 4″ WVGA IPS LCD
  • 5MP and VGA cameras
  • Dual Sim, Dual Standby

Cherry Mobile Alpha Luxe

Cherry Mobile’s mid-range offering under their Windows-powered Alpha line-up. It offers a bigger display and higher internal specifications than the Alpha Play with an SRP of Php4,999.

Quick specifications:

  • 5″ HD IPS LCD
  • Dragontrail Glass
  • 8MP and 2MP cameras
  • Dual Sim, Dual Standby

Microsoft Lumia 535

Microsoft’s first phone after acquiring Nokia Lumia. It’s a good start with decent specifications like a wide-angle selfie camera and an attractive price tag of only Php5,999.

Quick specifications:

  • 5″ qHD IPS LCD
  • Gorilla Glass 3
  • 5MP main and 5MP selfie camera
  • Dual Sim, Dual Standby

Nokia Lumia 530

The cheapest of all the Nokia Lumia series that is a successor to their popular Lumia 520/525. Being the cheapest at Php4,490 means being the most inferior of the Lumias. With only a fixed focus back camera and poor display, it could disappoint some buyers.

Quick specifications:

  • 4″ FWVGA TFT display
  • Free 15GB via OneDrive
  • 5MP fixed focus rear camera only
  • Dual Sim, Dual Standby

Nokia Lumia 630

The Lumia 630 was the first Windows Phone to feature on-screen buttons. While it doesn’t offer much, it is a compelling choice if you want to jump to the Windows Phone wagon. It retails for Php7,990

Quick specifications:

  • 4.5″ FWVGA ClearBlack display
  • 5MP AF camera, no front camera
  • Dual Sim, Dual Standby

Nokia Lumia 735

Nokia’s selfie smartphone that boasts a 5MP wide-angle front camera with a bright f/1.9 Zeiss Optics primary camera. It can be a hard catch since it is only officially available through Globe Postpaid, free @ Plan 1200.

Quick specifications:

  • 4.7″ HD OLED display
  • 6.7MP f/1.9 Zeiss Optics and 5MP wide-angle selfie
  • 4G/LTE

Nokia Lumia 830

The middle ground of the Nokia Lumia line-up. Lumia 830 sports a PureView camera with OIS and Zeiss Optics plus a nice build borrowed from its bigger brother, Lumia 930, but it comes in a cheaper package at Php18,990.

Quick specifications:

  • 5-inch IPS HD ClearBlack display
  • Gorilla Glass 3
  • 10 megapixel PureView with Zeiss optics and OIS
  • 4G/LTE

Nokia Lumia 930

Nokia’s top-tier Windows Phone that features a full HD screen and camcorder quality video recording. It has a premium build and quality display for Php29,990.

Quick specifications:

  • 5-inch IPS Full HD ClearBlack display
  • Gorilla Glass 3
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 w/ 2GB of RAM
  • 20 megapixel PureView with Zeiss optics and OIS
  • 4G/LTE

Now that Lumia is under Microsoft, we expect the leading Windows Phone maker to again lead the pack this 2015 with better offerings and competitive pricing. As for our local brands, we’ll see if Cherry Mobile has another Windows line-up and also from Starmobile, MyPhone and other major local players.

The post The Best of 2014: Windows Phone 8 Devices in PH appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

It’s official, Microsoft will drop Nokia branding on its phones

Ronnie Bulaong Leave a comment

Contrary to what was reported earlier in July, Microsoft will totally drop the Nokia branding on their upcoming devices and online presence, but will still keep the Lumia label.

According to The Verge, the transition will begin in France where the software giant will start to replace the Nokia brand in the company’s social media accounts exchange for the new “Microsoft Lumia” label.

Lumia-830

Microsoft has also confirmed to the site that the new branding will be rolled out to other countries in the next coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Nokia (or what was left of it) will continue to improve its services such as the highly-regarded Here map which has just been recently ported to various Samsung devices.

Source

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Nokia Lumia 525 Quick Review

Daniel Morial Leave a comment

The Nokia Lumia 520 is the cheapest Lumia phone by Nokia. Then came the Nokia Lumia 525, the successor with an incremental upgrade. Read our quick review after the break.


Frankly, there is virtually no difference between the Lumia 520 and Lumia 525. Dimensions are the same at 119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm. If you place both side by side, you can’t easily tell which one is which. That’s the same case when you turn it on, since the display we have on the Lumia 525 is inherited from its predecessor. So, what makes Lumia 525 a better option compared to Lumia 520?

Since this is a Windows Phone, RAM isn’t an issue when it comes to performance but it could hinder your app selection from the Windows Store. Since the Lumia 520 only has 512MB of RAM, there are certain apps that isn’t supported. So, Nokia came up with the Lumia 525 with 1GB of RAM paired with capable processor for the WP8 platform.

Equipped with a 4-inch IPS diplay pegged at WVGA resolution, this affordable handset is no slouch in terms of display quality. It’s not the best, but it is certainly better than any similarly priced handsets (excluding local smartphones in Philippine market). Nokia’s ClearBlack technology is not present though, so outdoor visibilty is only average at best. I should also point out that is has the tap-to-wake feature. Nice!

Since this smartphone only has a 4-inch display, it’s overall size is compact and adequate for everyday SMS, calls and other tasks. Web browsing might be an issue to some due to the low resolution and display size but mobile versions of popular sites will take care of that. Call quality is also great, that is probably one of the strengths of a Nokia phone.

With a 5-megapixel shooter, the Lumia 525 will not blow you away with its images but it doesn’t mean that it is boring either. Details are average and I noticed that the phone has some issues with high exposure. Like any Lumia phone, Nokia brings a lot of creative and fun apps for you to play with namely the Nokia Camera, Nokia Creative Studio and more.

Personally, Nokia Lumia 525 is good start for first time smartphone users and also as a secondary phone if you need one. It is pocketable, nice-looking and affordable. The Windows Phone 8 platform might not be at par with Android but it has some unique stuff that you will surely enjoy. Besides, Windows Phone 8.1 is already coming. Cortana is just around the corner.

Nokia Lumia 525 specifications:
4″ WVGA (480 x 800) IPS LCD, 233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8227 Dual-core 1 GHz
Adreno 305
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD up to 64GB
5MP AF camera
720p video recording at 30fps
HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Li-Ion 1,430mAh battery
119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm
124g
Windows Phone 8 w/ Nokia Black update

What we liked about it:
- Superb build with matte finish
- Up to 64GB microSD support
- Good battery performance
- Clear earpiece and loudspeaker

What we did not like:
- No ClearBlack display
- No front-camera
- No Flash

Nokia Lumia 525 is not yet on sale at Nokia stores and authorized retailers. I personally bought the unit for personal use through an online seller for Php 6,480.

The post Nokia Lumia 525 Quick Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Video: Nokia thinks DSLR should retire

Daniel Morial Leave a comment

It is true that Nokia creates the best camera smartphone but saying that DSLR should say goodbye? That is indeed very debatable.


Since the PureView 808, Nokia made a stand regarding the megapixel race. A 41-megapixel in a phone chassis, even though fat, is a great achievement. Even until now, the PureView 808 is a very capable camera phone despite running on an obsolete software.

Incorporating Windows Phone 8 and Optical Image Stabilization plus newer hardware made the Nokia Lumia 1020 a worthy successor. Don’t forget the Lumia Black update that makes its image algorithms better. So can it replace your DLSR when travelling?

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The post Video: Nokia thinks DSLR should retire appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Video: Nokia thinks DSLR should retire

Daniel Morial Leave a comment

It is true that Nokia creates the best camera smartphone but saying that DSLR should say goodbye? That is indeed very debatable.


Since the PureView 808, Nokia made a stand regarding the megapixel race. A 41-megapixel in a phone chassis, even though fat, is a great achievement. Even until now, the PureView 808 is a very capable camera phone despite running on an obsolete software.

Incorporating Windows Phone 8 and Optical Image Stabilization plus newer hardware made the Nokia Lumia 1020 a worthy successor. Don’t forget the Lumia Black update that makes its image algorithms better. So can it replace your DLSR when travelling?

{source}

The post Video: Nokia thinks DSLR should retire appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.