Archive for the ‘Windows Phone 8’ Category

Review: Lumia 640XL Windows Phone phablet from Microsoft Devices

Tuesday, May 19th, 2015

The 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL (S$429) comes with Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim, a 13-megapixel rear camera and 3000mAh removable battery. Wee Wu Neo from The Neo Dimension checks out the affordable phablet from Microsoft Devices.

The Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

The Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

The Lumia 640 series features the first Microsoft-branded LTE smartphones since the acquisition of Nokia Mobile.

By the look of its price and hardware specification, the Lumia 640 series exhibits almost identical performance to the Android Motorola MotoG.

The Lumia 640 XL with its 3000mAh removable battery. Photo credit: Wee Wu Neo.

The Lumia 640 XL with its 3000mAh removable battery. Photo credit: Wee Wu Neo.

This review covers the Lumia 640 XL, the Windows Phone phablet in the Lumia 640 series.

Design and Build

The Lumia 640 XL measures 157.9 x 81.5 x 9.0mm and weighs 171g.

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New arrivals: Lumia 640 and 640 XL available in Singapore

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

The affordable Lumia 640 (S$299) and Lumia 640 XL (S$429) will hit the shelves in Singapore this Saturday, 18 April.

The Lumia 640 will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white and matte black, and the Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

The Lumia 640 will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white and matte black, and the Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

First unveiled during Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona in March, the 5-inch Lumia 640 and 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL ships with Windows Phone 8.1 and will eventually be upgradeable to Windows 10 when the new OS from Microsoft is ready later this year.

“People are looking for a device which brings them more flexibility to switch easily between work and play, without breaking the bank. With the long lasting battery and full range of Microsoft experiences – including Office and OneDrive – the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are the perfect enablers of productivity for consumers,” said Bruce Howe, General Manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

Both models offer integrated Microsoft Office experiences, OneDrive storage and fast 4G connectivity.

From now to 30 June, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL will also come with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote) on the Lumia as well as on one PC or Mac and one tablet.

With the Office 365 Personal installed, users will receive an additional 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 Skype world minutes.

To redeem the offer, users will need to download the Office 365 gift app from the Windows Phone Store by 30 June and activate it by 14 August 2015.

The main tech specs for the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are summarised below.

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Lumia 930 Gold version smartphone for Chinese New Year (S$699)

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

The Gold version of the Lumia 930 comes with an anodised gold colour around its sides and will be available in Singapore (S$699) starting this Saturday, 21 February, 2015. Promotions for other Lumia models below.

The Lumia 930 will be available in black or white, both with a premium gold finish.

The Lumia 930 will be available in black or white, both with a premium gold finish.

The gold Lumia 930 will be retailing in Singapore for S$699 at Singtel, M1 and Amobile with bundled data plans.

Below are some promotions for other Lumia Windows smartphones for this Chinese New Year. Promotion ends Saturday, February 28, or while stocks last.

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Travel Tip #2: Bringing along a Dual-SIM phone overseas

Sunday, December 14th, 2014

A dual-SIM phone allows you to stay contactable to your regular contacts yet enables you to take advantage of more affordable local data/voice rates to avoid expensive overseas roaming charges – without having to carry two separate mobile phones.

The Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) is one of the increasing number of smartphones that support a dual-SIM capability.

The Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) is one of the increasing number of smartphones that support a dual-SIM capability.

Nowadays, it is increasingly easy to get a local SIM card when one travels overseas for work or leisure.

The local SIM allows you to make/receive calls at affordable local rates and more significantly, to stay connected via mobile broadband – without chalking out a huge bill.

But most mobile phones allow only one SIM card to be installed – so if you put in the local SIM card, you’ll have to remove your regular SIM card and become uncontactable to those who call you on your regular number, unless you forward those calls to your local number.

Otherwise, you’d carry a second single-SIM card phone, which is a hassle.

I brought along a Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) dual-SIM card phone during my short break to Thailand and it was such a blessing.

There are two micro-SIM card slots so I could keep my regular SIM card in one slot and plug in the prepaid local SIM card that I bought at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the other.

The guy at the True Move counter did all the set up for me.

So after five minutes of queueing and five minutes of installation and payment, I was as connected in Thailand as I was at home back in Singapore.

I could receive roaming calls on my regular number from my friends back in Singapore and other parts of the world, while at the same stay connected on email and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the mobile broadband on the local SIM card.

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New arrivals: Lumia 535 Dual SIM @ only S$199 from 5 Dec in Singapore

Tuesday, November 25th, 2014

Microsoft Devices offers the 5-inch Windows Phone 8.1 phablet at an affordable S$199. The budget phablet comes with a 5-megapixel front camera and dual SIM.

The Lumia 535 Dual SIM will be available in a range of colours including orange, white, cyan and black. Bright green and dark grey are not available for Singapore.

The Lumia 535 Dual SIM will be available in a range of colours including orange, white, cyan and black. Bright green and dark grey are not available for Singapore.

First announced on 10 November in the US, the Lumia 535 will debut in Singapore on 5 December, at an affordable price of S$199.

The Lumia 535 offers five free integrated Microsoft experiences:

  1. Make memorable Skype video calls and seamlessly switch between voice and video with built-in Skype integration. Fit more memorable backgrounds or add more friends into Skype video calls and selfies with the 5 MP wide angle front facing camera.
  2. With Microsoft Office Mobile, you can now access, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and OneNote notebooks wherever you are, with the pre-installed Microsoft Office suite.
  3. Save and sync photos, videos and Office documents securely with 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage.
  4. Connect with work and personal e-mail while on the go, with built-in Microsoft Outlook.
  5. Add a whole new dimension to your console entertainment with Xbox One SmartGlass, the perfect companion app if you want the best of your Xbox One from both in your living room and on the go. Connect and control your Xbox One and stay connected with the games and gamers you like.

Lumia 535 sports a 5-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixels, 16:9) IPS made of Gorilla Glass 3 with capacitative touchscreen at resolution of 220ppi.

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New fitness trackers: Fitbit Charge, Charge HR & Surge

Tuesday, October 28th, 2014

The new lineup from Fitbit features continuous, automatic heart rate tracking; GPS; smartwatch functionality; plus all day activity and automatic sleep tracking.

Fitbit Charge (S$169), Fitbit Charge HR (S$199) and Fitbit Surge (S$329) will be available broadly in early 2015.

Fitbit Charge ($169) is available in black, slate, blue* and burgundy*; Fitbit Charge HR ($199) will be available in black, plum, blue* and tangerine*; Fitbit Surge ($329) will be available in black, blue* and tangerine*. * indicates colors that are coming soon. Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge will be available in small, large and extra large sizes (extra large only available through Fitbit.com).

Fitbit Charge (S$169) is available in black, slate, blue* and burgundy*; Fitbit Charge HR (S$199) will be available in black, plum, blue* and tangerine*; Fitbit Surge (S$329) will be available in black, blue* and tangerine*. * indicates colors that are coming soon. Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge will be available in small, large and extra large sizes (extra large only available through Fitbit.com).

Fitbit has unveiled three new activity and sleep-tracking products: Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge.

  • Fitbit Charge – a high-performance wristband that delivers all-day activity tracking, real-time fitness stats and Caller ID right on the wrist for people who want to step up their everyday activities to improve their overall health.
  • Fitbit Charge HR – an advanced tracker that delivers continuous, automatic wrist-based heart rate, Caller ID and all-day activity tracking for active users: regular exercisers looking to push their fitness further.
  • Fitbit Surge – a sleek Fitness Super Watch that offers the best of GPS, continuous wrist-based heart rate, all-day fitness tracking, and smartwatch functionality in one device, for people dedicated to reaching their peak performance.

More detailed descriptions extracted from the press release below.

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New arrivals: Dell Inspiron 14 7000 Series notebooks

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

The Inspiron 14 7000 Series is a high-performance 14-inch laptop designed for today’s youth. It is available in Singapore now starting at S$1,699.

The new Dell Inspiron 14 7000 Series is available now in Singapore, and is available at Comex 2014.

The new Dell Inspiron 14 7000 Series is available now in Singapore, and is available at Comex 2014.

Dell has expanded its Inspiron line with the Dell Inspiron 14 7000 Series, a high-performance 14-inch laptop specially designed and developed for youths, a growing consumer segment.

Featuring the latest Intel® performance processor, NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX-class graphics, and a sleek design, the Inspiron 14 addresses the rising demands of today’s generation of youths, whether it is for school, work, gaming or multimedia entertainment.

The Inspiron 14 7000 offers powerful productivity, powerful gaming experience and enhanced support and accessories.

Read the details in the extracts of the press release at the end of this article.

Key features of the Inspiron 14 7000 Series:

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New arrivals: Nokia Lumia 530 Windows smartphone in Singapore

Saturday, August 23rd, 2014

The Lumia 530 is now available in Singapore at an RRP of S$159 at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solution Partners. M1 will also be retailing the device bundled with data plans.

Windows Lumia 530 - available at S$159 in Singapore from 23 August 2014.

Windows Lumia 530 – available at S$159 in Singapore from 23 August 2014.

This is the most affordable Lumia to date, with a price below S$200.

The Lumia 530 is powered by a 1.2GHx quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and has a 4-inch FWVGA LCD display.

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New arrivals: Lumia 930 from Microsoft Devices (formerly Nokia)

Thursday, July 10th, 2014

The new Lumia 930 smartphone with Windows Phone 8.1 will be available in Singapore stores and all three telcos at S$789 from this Saturday on 12 July.

Update (12 July, 2014):

The Lumia 930 from Microsoft Devices is now available in Singapore at Nokia Stores and Nokia Solution Partners, at an RRP of S$789.

All three local operators will also be retailing the device with bundled data plans.

The Lumia 930 will be available in a range of colors including bright orange, bright green, black and white.

The Lumia 930 will be available in a range of colors including bright orange, bright green, black and white.

The Lumia 930 integrates the best of Microsoft into the Lumia family of smartphones to deliver better video and imaging experience on a smartphone.

“In today’s social world, capturing and sharing video is more important than ever. The Lumia 930 provides the perfect blend of Microsoft and Lumia to deliver cutting-edge imaging technology for an unrivalled video and imaging experience on a smartphone,” said Vlasta Berka, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Microsoft Devices.

It is the new flagship smartphone from Microsoft Devices after Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business.

The device packs a rich suite of applications and services into a beautifully crafted design with metallic details and vibrant new colours, while keeping content like photos, videos and documents in sync across Windows Phone, PC, tablet and Xbox devices.

In terms of key specs, the Lumia 930 has a 5-inch Full HD OLED display with the signature convex screen that enables a 180-degrees viewing angle.

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Nokia Lumia 1320 hits Singapore tomorrow (4 Jan) at S$459

Friday, January 3rd, 2014

The Lumia 1320 (S$459) is Nokia’s more affordably-priced 6-inch phablet and will be available in Singapore from tomorrow at Nokia Stores, Nokia Solution Partners and all three local telcos.

The Nokia Lumia 1320 will be available in four colours – orange, yellow, white, and black.

The Nokia Lumia 1320 will be available in four colours – orange, yellow, white, and black.

The Lumia 1320 packs many of Nokia’s Lumia features into its 6-inch phablet form factor but at a lower price point.

These include imaging features such as Nokia Camera and Nokia Storyteller, global mapping and location services from HERE, and unlimited streaming of ad-free music with Nokia Mix Radio.

A tale of two Nokia Lumia phablets

Both the Nokia Lumia 1520 and Nokia Lumia 1320 ships with Microsoft Office include so users can view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the move, with up to 7GB of free and secure cloud storage via SkyDrive.

Both phablets have the same 3400mAh integrated battery. This provides up to 21 hours of 3G talk time and almost 100 hours of music playback for the Lumia 1320.

The Lumia 1520 has a 1080p full HD display for its 6-inch screen, and a 20-megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS). It also records full HD video.

The more affordable Lumia 1320 has a 720p display on its 6-inch screen.

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