Tag Archives: asha

Nokia announces huge Windows Phones, new apps, new Asha models, Instagram, Twitter Vine apps

Nokia’s former CEO Stephen Elop has announced the Lumia 1520 at an event in Abu Dhabi.

The 1520 ($749) has a 6” screen which takes it into “phablet” territory. The larger size enables a 3rd column of live tiles, enabled by Microsoft with an update to the Windows Phone 8 operating system.

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Camera-wise the 1520 lacks the 41MP of the 1020 but does have a 20MP PureView camera.

A new app called Nokia Camera has three camera modes including Still, Video, and Smart Mode which takes a burst of pictures.

The app has a night mode optimised for low-light, and a sports mode for quick action shots. There is also a Pro Camera UI with all available settings and manual focus.

A new Storyteller app integrates photos, images and maps.

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The killer feature here is that you can zoom out of a photop to see where it was taken on a Nokia Here map:

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The 1520 also sports four microphones for “directional stereo”.

Also announced is the 4G Lumia 1320 ($339):

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This is also a large-screen model but with a 5MP camera and a more affordable price.

An update to the OS called Lumia Black is coming to all Windows.

With Windows Phones getting bigger, how is the OS differentiated from Windows RT? Well, one is a Phone OS and the other a tablet OS, but convergence cannot come soon enough.

Elop also announced improvements to the Asha range of budget phones aimed mainly at emerging markets.

The new models are the Asha 500 ($69, dual sim available, 2MP camera), 502 ($89, dual sim available, 5MP camera with flash) and 3G 503 ($99, dual sim available, 5MP camera with flash).

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You can share photos to social media including newly announced WhatsApp Messenger support from next month.

Of course there was also the 2520 tablet, but that is the subject of a separate post.