Nokia Lumia 520 now available for just $29 on eBay

SHARES

BY Unknown 19:08 0

Nokia Lumia 520 now available for just $29 on eBay

The Nokia Lumia 520, which is the most popular Windows Phone device out there, is now available for just $29 on eBay. This translates into a discount of around 70% given the device's original price of $99.99.

The online retailer is claiming that close to 8,500 units of the smartphone, which connects to AT&T's GoPhone pre-paid service, have been sold, and stock is limited.

Specifications-wise, the device is powered by Qualcomm MSM8227 chipset with a 1 GHz dual core processor and Adreno 305 GPU, and sports a 4 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, rendering 480 x 800 pixels resolution. It comes with 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory (which can be extended up to 64 GB via a microSD card), and runs Windows Phone 8.1.

In terms of camera, the Lumia 520 features only a 5MP rear shooter, and packs in a 1430 mAh battery

Verizon's Nokia Lumia Icon is getting the Denim update

SHARES

BY Unknown 04:30 0

Verizon's Nokia Lumia Icon is getting the Denim update

As promised by Verizon and Microsoft in December, the Lumia Denim update is now finally on its way to the Lumia Icon smartphone. Last year we heard that the rollout would occur in "early 2015", and February probably qualifies for that definition.

The Icon follows in the footsteps of Verizon's Lumia 822 and Lumia 928, both of which have been running the latest software since 2014.

Lumia Denim is the latest release based on Windows Phone 8.1, and it was announced in September of last year. A wider rollout for Denim commenced in January.

The update brings with it the new Lumia Camera app, "Hey Cortana" voice activation, live folders on the Start screen, an "Apps Corner" for specific apps or games, SMS merge and forwarding, customizable snooze times in the Alarm app, consumer VPN support, faster browsing in IE, and a live tile for the Windows Phone store.

If your Lumia Icon hasn't yet notified you that there's an update available, you can always manually check by going to Settings > Phone update. To be able to download it, you'll need to have at least 1GB of free storage space on your device.

Nokia N1′s second batch had 32,000 units, was sold out in 7 minutes

SHARES

BY Unknown 02:49 0

Nokia N1′s second batch had 32,000 units, was sold out in 7 minutes

When the Nokia N1 went on sale in China earlier last month, the initial batch of 20,000 units was sold out in just four minutes and two seconds. The second batch went on sale a week later, and it too sold out in minutes, although there was no information on the number of units that were up for grabs, the time the batch lasted, and the number of interested buyers.

But it is now being reported that the second batch saw 666,594 interested buyers against 32,000 units of the N1 that were sold out in just 7 minutes and 47 seconds.

For those who are not in the know, the third and the fourth batches also sold out (no information on quantities yet) recently, and the next sale is planned for February 26.

The N1 sports a 7.9-inch 2,048×1,536 pixel touchscreen display and is powered by Intel’s Atom Z3580 SoC, which comes with a 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU. It features an 8 MP main camera, a 5 MP secondary snapper, and packs in a 5,300 mAh battery. The tablet comes with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with Nokia’s custom launcher on top.

EE's Nokia lumia 930 will get denim update soon

SHARES

BY Unknown 22:59 0

EE's Nokia lumia 930 will get denim update soon

The Lumia Denim update started rolling out last year, but it reached the Nokia Lumia 930 flagship only recently.

Some 930's get it sooner than others, among the unlucky users were those on EE in the UK. The update has been arriving on 930's in other regions for two weeks now, but those on UK's largest carrier are only now joining the fun.

Lumia Denim incorporates WP8.1 Update 1 and adds exclusive goodies like 4K video recording (at 24fps), Rich Capture and improvements to the image processing algorithm.

By the way, the Lumia 930 will be one of the phones to get Windows 10 eventually.

If you have a Nokia Lumia 930 from EE you can check for updates on your phone. If you're using the Developer Preview you may need to leave it in order to update.

Two more Nokia N1 batches sell out, next one on Feb 26

SHARES

BY Unknown 16:31 0

Two more Nokia N1 batches sell out, next one on Feb 26

The Nokia N1 continues its victorious march on Chinese territory, with two more weekly lots sold since we last updated you on January 15. Ever since the the tablet's launch in China on January 7, the batches have swiftly cleared the shelves.

After the first flash sale of 20,000 units, no word has gotten out, detailing the quantities. Invariably though, the online store, selling the tablet, has listed it as "out of stock" promptly after launch.

The high demand is natural, considering the aggressive pricing and the impressive specsheet of the tablet. The slate retails for 1599CNY ($256) and comes with a 7.9-inch IPS display of 1536x2048px resolution for a Retina-grade 324ppi.

The Intel Atom Z3580 chipset inside is a benchmark beast packing a 2.3GHz quad-core CPU and a PowerVRG6430 graphics chip. 2GB of RAM and 32GB of non-expandable storage round up the chief specs.

The great market response seems to have depleted the inventories and the next sale is planned for a whole month from now, on February 26.

Nokia rises pretty strong & steadily in Q4 2014

SHARES

BY Unknown 22:10 0

Nokia rises pretty strong & steadily in Q4 2014

It comes as no surprise that Nokia is still recovering from the fairly recent restructuring, brought about by the acquisition of its devices & services units department by Microsoft. But while a lot of people think the Finnish tech giant is dead, the latest fiscal report for 2014 definitely shows otherwise. The fact is that even though Microsoft is, for the time being at least, in charge of the Lumia brand Nokia is still a very reputable player in terms of network equipment and services and still carries out productive research activities.

That being said the Finnish company has still a lot to account for when it comes to its three main divisions - Nokia Networks, Nokia Technologies and HERE. Even since the aforementioned acquisition was completed sales numbers and operation costs have been on the rise and the latest report now confirms that in Q4 2014 Nokia finally achieved higher overall net sales over the same period in 2013 when Microsoft was still out of the picture.

The year over year change is about 9% from 3 476 million net sales in Q4 2013 to 3 802 million in Q4 2014. This represents an even more impressive 14% quarter over quarter rise. Nokia seems to be getting on its feet again and predominantly thanks to Nokia Networks, which reals in more of the income with its operations stretching all around the world, but most notably in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Operational profit increase is even more impressive with 28% overall growth from 2013 and an impressive 25% for Nokia networks in particular.

Even though networking seems to reel in the big money this is not to say that Nokia's other two major divisions are not doing good. On the contrary, Nokia Technologies, the dedicated research department marks a 23% yearly growth in net sales over 2013, but sadly a drop in operating profits. HERE, which concerns itself mostly with navigation and the HERE software, recently made available for Android is in pretty much the same position with 15% yearly net sales increase and 20% drop in operating profits.

Rajeev Suri, current CEO of Nokia had this to say about the report:

The power of the new Nokia could be seen in our fourth quarter results. All of our businesses delivered strong year-on-year net sales growth. Profitability was excellent in Nokia Networks, and we were particularly pleased with our net sales growth in North America and core networks. HERE continued its momentum in the automotive segment, and the early reception to the Nokia N1 tablet has been remarkably favorable, showing the ongoing power of the Nokia brand and the long-term potential of our brand licensing business. Looking ahead, while 2014 was a year of reinvention, we see 2015 as a year of execution.

Things seem to be finally looking up for Nokia and with the Nokia N1 tablet already captivating users, perhaps the Finnish company still has a chance to regain some of its former glory on the mobile market, but for now all eyes are on Microsoft to take proper care of the Lumia name.