If you use a Nokia Lumia phone and love taking Selfies, Nokia has recommended these four FREE apps for you: Instagram Beta, SophieLens HD, Nokia Glam Me, Phototastic.
Four Nokia Lumia apps for those who love to take selfies.
Check these out by following the links on your phone.
Instagram is now available for Windows Phone! Instagram is the perfect place to post all of your selfies!
Nokia’s entry to the phablet bandwagon arrives in Singapore in the form of the 6-inch Lumia 1520 (S$999) and Lumia 1320 (price TBA). It also launched the more accessibly-priced 4-inch Lumia 525 (S$249).
Nokia Lumia 1320, Lumia 1520 and Lumia 525 – all running on Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia Black Update.
Both the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 525 will be available on 14 December while the Lumia 1320 will only be able in January 2014.
Nokia is already accepting pre-orders in Singapore for the Lumia 1520 at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solutions Partners.
All three local operators will be retailing the device bundled with data plans.
All three devices come with the Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia Black update.
The two large 6-inch phablets feature the latest software advancements for Windows Phone, and is suitable for both personal entertainment and productivity.
The increased screen real estate has enabled a new third column of tiles on the home screen so that users can directly access and see more updates from the live tiles of apps on the home screen.
The Lumia 1520 will be available in four colours – yellow, white, black and glossy red.
Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in Singapore from all 3 Telcos from 5 October for S$999, in yellow, white and black. Nokia Camera Grip (S$98) will be bundled in for free.
Pre-orders begin on 26 September from the local operators, Nokia Stores and Nokia Solutions Partners.
Nokia Lumia 1020 comes yellow, white and black.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 was first unveiled in New York in early July.
Main technical specifications and descriptions of its main features can be found here.
Basically, the Nokia Lumia 1020 has a 4.5-inch AMOLED WXGA (1280 x 768) display, running on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.
The Windows Phone 8 smartphone has a 2GB RAM and 32GB internal memory (the 64GB version is not available for Singapore).
It has a 2,000 mAh battery with wireless charging supported via an optional cover.
Nokia Lumia 625 is Nokia’s largest Lumia smartphone, with 4.7-inch display and 4G connectivity. The affordably priced Windows Phone 8 smartphone will be available from 5 September at COMEX from all local telcos.
RRP: S$399 (without contract).
Nokia Lumia 625 comes with a selection of colours.
The Nokia Lumia 625 was launched globally back in end-July.
The affordable priced Lumia 625 is Nokia’s largest Windows Phone so far, with a 4.7-inch LCD screen and 4G Internet access.
RRP: 220 Euros (before taxes and subsidies), available in selected regions in Q3 2013.
Available in orange, yellow, bright green, white and black in an array of changeable shells.
The Nokia Lumia 625 includes many innovations found in the recently announced flagship Nokia Lumia 1020.
| Nokia Lumia 625 | |
| OS | Windows Phone 8 |
| Screen | 4.7″ IPS LCD |
| Resolution | 800 x 480 WVGA @ 201ppi |
| Battery | 2,000 mAh |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 |
| Camera | Rear: 5mp |
| Front: VGA | |
| Video | 1080p@30fps |
| Memory | Int: 8 GB |
| Ext: 64 GB microSD | |
| Size /mm | 133.2 x 72.2 x 9.2 |
| Weight | 159 g |
| Price | 220 Euros |
These include a range of integrated camera applications such Nokia Smart Camera and Nokia Cinemagraph.
Nokia Smart Camera offers a burst of 7 shots for capturing of action sequences or removal of unwanted objects from the photo.
Nokia Cinemagraph incorporates movement into still photos by recording animated GIF images.
The successor to the Nokia Lumia 620 has a screen resolution (201ppi) that’s roughly half that of other pricier large-screen smartphones like the Samsung GALAXY S4.
The Nokia Lumia 625 is planned to begin selling in China, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa and Latin America in Q3 2013.
The Nokia Lumia 625 is powered by Windows Phone 8 and ships with the Nokia Lumia Amber update.
After extensive leaks, Nokia has launched the Lumia 1020 smartphone in New York. Adding the Nokia PureView 808’s 41MP sensor to the Lumia 920, the new Lumia 1020 promises greater image quality, especially in low light.
Expected to reach Singapore in Q4 2013.
Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in white, black and yellow. The Windows Phone 8 smartphone will have a 41-megapixel camera.
The Lumia 1020 will be available in the US exclusively through AT&T (USD$299.99 with 2-year contract), which will accept preorders from July 16.
The Nokia Camera Grip also comes in 3 colours.
The Windows Phone 8 device will be available online and hit the shelves in the US on July 26.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in yellow, white and black.
The Lumia 1020 will be sold globally, with the launch in Singapore expected in Q4 2013.
The price of the Lumia 1020 without contract in the US is US$659.99, compared to the off-contract price of US$450 for the Lumia 920.
The Nokia Lumia 925 introduces a metal design, includes PureView camera innovation, new features and new third party applications.
Nokia 925 comes in black, white and grey and sports a metal design.
The Nokia Lumia 925 includes advanced lens technology and imaging software to capture clearer, sharper pictures and video, including low light images.
| Nokia Lumia 925 | |
| OS | Windows Phone 8 |
| Screen | 4.5″ AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1280 x 768 |
| Battery | 2,000 mAh, Wireless charging |
| Processor | 1.5 GHz Dual-core Snapdragon, 1GB RAM |
| Camera | Rear: 8.7mp PureView with OIS |
| Front: 1.2mp | |
| Video | 1080p @ 30fps |
| Memory | Int: 16 GB |
| Ext: 64 GB microSD | |
| LTE, NFC | Yes |
| Size /mm | 129 x 70.6 x 8.5 |
| Weight | 139 g |
| Price | S$TBA |
The Nokia Lumia 925 also introduces the new Nokia Smart Camera mode, coming as an update to all Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones.
Nokia Smart Camera captures ten images at once and edits the pictures with options like Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus for creating the perfect high quality image.
Nokia also announced Hipstamatic’s new app, Oggl, will arrive on Nokia Lumia smartphones, allowing people to take and share pictures with like-minded creatives and photography enthusiasts from around the world.
In addition to sharing photos on Oggl, users can simultaneously share photos on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr and Instagram.
So we decided that there was a 2-week window to grab a quick break. But that’s like one-week away. Is it possible to plan the usual DIY self-drive holiday at such short notice?
Aerial view of Fukuoka, our gateway to Kyushu.
The answer is yes, with the advent of the Internet. Here’s a recap of what I did for my own holiday.
Cutting it close
I booked the air tickets the day we decided to go for the break, the car rental the next day, 3 hotels on the third day, and the remaining 3 on the fourth day.
The remaining days were spent planning the itinerary for each stop.
It’s as close to the date of departure as I’ve ever tried going on a self-planned, self-drive vacation.
First the obvious, decide how long you’ve got and where you want to go. In my case, we’ve long wanted to visit Kyushu in Japan, and the window of opportunity available was roughly two weeks.
If you’re thinking of visiting Japan, I recommend this site called japan-guide.com. It has comprehensive descriptions of popular tourist spots all over Japan, as well as travel tips for Japan.
Even more useful is its forum where vacation planners get their queries answered in detail with advice from a community of fellow travelers, as well as useful links to resources – such as timetables, rates etc – outside of the website.
Next book the air tickets. The availability and price of last-minute tickets usually determine whether your vacation destination will become a reality.
Cameras of choice
For this vacation, I’m entrusting our memories to the Nikon D800, with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II lenses.
That’s almost 4 kg of camera gear but for the sake of image quality, I believe the 36.3-megapixel full-frame camera and two FX lenses from Nikon are worth every ounce of their weight.
Besides, we have the rental car to carry the gear between sights.
For a second camera, my wife will be carrying our trusty Olympus E450 with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens.
I use Zuji.com to get a feel of the airlines plying Singapore and the possible stops and the price range, then if there’s time, check competing sites or the airline’s website for better rates.
For Kyushu, it was pretty straightforward, only Singapore Airlines fly directly there from Singapore – to Fukuoka. It’s straightforward until you hit the SIA website. For a premier airline, it sure has a terrible website for bookings and reservations – plenty of long waits.
Next is the car rental. I use ToCoo car rental. It helps you check the rates for multiple car rental companies with cars available in the cities where you intend to pick up and drop off the car. But you’ve got to compare rates manually yourself.
Computing on the go
For computing, I’m bringing along the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook, a BlackBerry PlayBook, and the Seagate 1TB Backup Plus.
The X1 Carbon is sleek in design, wonderfully thin and light, yet powerful enough for surfing Web and running Photoshop and Dreamweaver CS6 for photo-editing and blogging back in the hotel room.
The 7-inch PlayBook keeps the children entertained with game apps, and serves as an e-book reader. Its biggest bugbear is that it’s the Wi-Fi version and does not have 3G, but I don’t use 3G data in Japan anyway.
To store and back up the 40MB RAW photo files generated by the D800, I brought along the 1TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive. The 2.5-inch plug-and-play drive constantly backs up the hard disk and makes posting photos online a breeze.
Usually, I pick up the car at the airport, drive off to the first destination and return the car at the airport I’m flying off from. If the pick-up and drop-off locations are different, check if a surcharge is levied and how much it is.
Fuss-free music
For music in the hotel room, we’re bringing along the Jabra Solemate portable speaker. Instead of lugging stacks of CDs around, simply download your favourite tracks onto an SD card and plug it into the Solemate.
What I like most is we can play our song collections and playlists wirelessly from our smartphones, tablet and Ultrabook via Bluetooth. It’s portable, easy to use and the sound quality is superb.
Finally, book the hotels. I know some Japanese so I used to browse Japanese booking websites and hotel websites directly, calling them on the phone for enquiries and reservations.
This time round, I discovered that my favourite accomodation-booking website for Europe holidays – booking.com – now has quite extensive list of hotels in Japan. Enough to find hotels that fit your budget in most places in Japan.
I like booking.com because of its clear information and easy booking. So even if you don’t know ANY japanese, you can still find and book accommodation easily.
Smartphones
We don’t use smartphones an awful lot, but for the record, we’re bringing along the Android Sony Xperia ion and an aging iPhone 3GS.
I’ve left the Nokia Lumia 900 at home because Nokia maps does not have the navigation map for Japan, and I’m renting an English GPS with the car anyway.
Another website that I tried last year – hotels.com – seems to be only beginning to move into Japan, with poor selection and high prices. I’m hoping there coverage and pricing will improve over time.
Once you’ve gotten the flight, car and hotel bookings out of the way, what remains is the physical packing for the big day.
Almost three months after they were unveiled by Nokia and Microsoft CEOs in New York, Nokia’s first Windows Phone 8 smartphones will debut in Singapore.
The Lumia 920 (S$899) and Lumia 820 (S$699) hits Singapore shelves next Saturday on 8 December 2012.
Nokia Lumia 920 (S$899) and Lumia 820 (S$699) arrives in Singapore next Saturday, 8 December 2012.
The two new handsets will be available at Nokia retail stores, while mobile operators in Singapore are slated to announce their respective data plans for the two models.
Accessories
Accessories for the two smartphones include the Nokia Lumia Purity Pro headset, JBL PlayUp Portable Wireless Speaker and JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speakers, as well as the Nokia Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy, Nokia Wireless Charging Stand and Nokia Wireless Charging Plate.
Nokia Singapore launched the two smartphones at Harry’s Bar at Millenia Walk and handed out the devices for guests to try out the new features, as they made their way around the city on an open-top bus.
The Lumia 920 boasts Pureview imaging technology that produces sharp pictures even in low light. The optical image stabiliser (OIS) further reduced the blur.
I was rather impressed with the Lumia 920’s imaging performance. Photos were indeed bright and sharp, while videos of moving/vibrating objects appeared less jerky when compared to videos taken on the Lumia 820 and other smartphones.
JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speakers
The Lumia 820 is the more affordable sibling of the two, with a smaller and lower-resolution screen, smaller battery, and the run-of-the-mill camera.
It is however, more compact and lighter than its bigger brother. (Check the quick comparison here).
You can also change the back cover of the Lumia 820 to vary the colour of the phone.
Both smartphones come with the same imaging apps that were quite interesting.
Nokia Smart Shoot is for group photos – shooting multiple exposures with a single click to choose the best from each exposure.
Nokia Wireless Charging Stand
Cinemagraph takes short videos where certain parts are frozen as a still shot while portions defined by you moves like regular video.
Panorama helps you do a sweep panorama shot of the landscape.
City Lens adds an augmented reality overlay over the screen when the camera is pointed at buildings and places of interest.
The idea is novel but not new, and in the short span of time that I tried it out, I found the augmented info sketchy at times while the resolution was not good enough to “lead” you to a particular place. At best, it tells you a place of interest is in a particular direction.
For really pragmatic and effective turn-by-turn navigation and search for places of interest, head back to the Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive apps, both of which have been updated with features such as indoor maps.
Here’s a selection of interesting tech events happening this week (28 October – 3 November 2012). It is not an exhaustive list and represents only a sampling of events that gives a taste of the tech pulse in Singapore.
What are some of the more interesting tech events happening in Singapore this week?
Lenovo is showing off its exciting lineup of convertible notebook/tablet hybrids for Windows 8 this week. I played with some of the models during the Windows 8 launch in Singapore last week, and they are amazing. Watch this space for the hands-on.
Event listing on tech4tea.com
You can see this selection of events in the right sidebar on every page.
Event organisers can submit your events for listing to johntan@tech4tea.com – but there are no promises that your event will be featured.
This week sees Microsoft move its focus from the launch of Windows 8 to the formal launch of Windows Phone 8, which shares a common core with its bigger sibling.
Will the Metro-based new smartphone operating system increase its market share from a meagre 3.5% (for the second quarter according to IDC).
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android dominate with 17% and 68% respectively. Windows Phone 8 smartphones announced thus far include Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, HTC 8S and 8X, and Samsung ATIV S. We might actually see the HTC models showcased in Singapore this Friday!
Midweek, Brother is launching a new printer while A*STAR Data Storage Institute will show off the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch 5mm hybrid drive for consumer and business devices.
For those interested in the latest trends in Cloud, Mobile, Social and Big Data, be sure to register for Oracle Day 2012 at Marina Bay Sands. Get the hottest updates on critical business drivers, meet Oracle experts and experience their latest technologies at the Demo booths.
And for photography buffs, the Singapore leg of Canon’s annual PhotoMarathon Asia 2012 takes place at the Marina Bay Sands this Saturday. To be guaranteed a participation slot do register online prior to the event.
Below is the events listing for the week.
