Bucket Tech: Nokia Lumia 1020

41 megapixel camera, let that sink in for a bit. Most DSLR camera's have 24 megapixels, that's a little more than HALF of 41! and they managed to put it in a PHONE! Like anyone I was skeptical at first, "ooo phone with such a big camera, bet the pictures are still shit though", boy did I shut my mouth after taking the first picture. I cannot begin to tell you the quality of the pictures that I was taking and that was just in normal point and shoot mode!

Sure there's more to this phone than just the camera and just my luck, the day I received it was the same day my phone decided to go through its mid life crisis. So I had enough of its shit, tossed it aside and used the Lumia 1020 as my primary phone which was probably a good thing since I could see first hand how the phone performs. Like the Lumia 925, the phone comes loaded with Microsoft Windows Phone 8 which is up gradable to WP8 Black. In fact, the phone isn't that different from the 925 as it is practically the same phone with a big ass camera! 

The user interface is dead simple to use, the app store is straight forward and within a matter of minutes all my favourite apps were installed and ready to use on my phone. Nokia has made some changes with some of their apps, fusing the camera apps into one which makes a major difference. The contacts feature allows you to access all the info of the contact you select, whether its their contact numbers, latest facebook update or their last tweet. It's pretty cool how everything is integrated into one. The music player is also another nifty app which does so much more than just play your mp3's, it can search for other music by the artist, tell you where their are playing next and buy music. Nokia HERE has more info loaded onto it as they have people populating maps on a daily basis, added new places, reviews and pictures. 

The phone size is relatively the same size as any other smart phone on the market, (130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4)  the only snag is the camera protruding a bit but its not a major inconvenience as the phone is milled quite well to accommodate it but again like the 925 is a bit too smooth so you can easily have it slip out of your hand, it also makes taking pics with one hand kinda tricky but seems the guys at Nokia HQ either heard me but also had the same problem as the phone also came with "the grip". Its essentially a cover the phone snaps into that makes it more user friendly with one hand as it is shaped like a camera and gives you a better grip. The plus side to the grip is that it has a battery pack in it so it charges your phone while connected.

The camera settings offer the auto function which for novices its great as it adjusts the light, white balance and everything else for you in a jiffy, it also has a flash focus which focuses the lens with use of its Xenon * LED flash (that shit is bright!) so you don't have a picture with the flash ruining it. Yes I know most cameras have this feature but add to the fact it has a 41 megapixel camera and almost every picture you take is close to perfect. Night shots are incredible, want to get a pic of the night sky? Turn off the flash, have it on night more and snap, no more worrying about steady hands and worrying about movement. 

The big worry about the 41 megapixel camera was the picture sizing, with the rate social media is growing, how can one share such a large file over these mediums? Your data bundle would deplete faster than it gets loaded at the beginning of the month. Nokia were sharp though, when a picture is taken, it saves it in 22 formats, normal and high resolution. The normal pic is the same size as you normal phone pic which is a few hundred kilobytes but the High Res can range from 10mb up wards. The is a way to take RAW pictures with the phone which means the picture will be full 41 megapixel but with the internal memory being just 32gigs, this could pose a problem since that's all the memory you have. 

Coming back to the camera, some friends of mine actually managed to snap Orion's Belt! With a camera phone! That is unbelievable! One can divulge deeper into the settings of the camera set up where one can make detailed adjustments to the lens and balance settings. It has additional apps to the camera, like panoramic lense and city view. 

Overall, there isn't much difference from this phone to the Lumia 925 apart from one glaring you in the face. Yes it really is that tremendous and there's no words to describe what Nokia have done here, one can simply stand and applaud. It truly is a wonderful piece of technology and whoever has it will know this ....and they'll also take the best Instragram pictures form all their friends! 

Some pics I took with my test unit.

Bucket Tech: Nokia Lumia 925

Nokia South Africa gave us one of their latest smart phones to "test" for just under a month, the best test would be everyday use of the phone to see how it could cope with our needs and preferences. When I got the phone I was quite surprised at how slim and light (only 139g!) it was. As usual with Nokia, build quality is damn good as the phone has a solid feel to it and I did drop it  (by mistake) a few times, in my defence and what could possibly my first dislike about the phone is that its too smooth! I know it sounds silly but there's virtually no roughness to give it some grip on your hand. I'm not saying its like a bar of soap but if not held properly you could be seeing gravity take over. Major part for the user to like the phone is its OS and here's to review that is guest writer Darshik Garach.

A new contender…

With Microsoft a contender in the very saturated smartphone race, we’ve got to ask the question, “Can they Really Compete?”  In these times (last 5 years) of smartphone evolution, we’ve seen Apple create thee most distinctive and sort after phone in the world (my opinion) and Samsung create thee most feature filled phone in the world (fact). Nokia stumbled in a non-developmental stage at the time of Apple’s phone release. Samsung saw the market shifting, and adapted. The fact is that Nokia waited too long, and “decided” that near the potential end of their legacy, they would make a comeback.

Nokia decided to go the route of Windows phone, which people love and hate, as they do with every other OS. Androidians (Trolls) will say iOS is too restrictive and costly, iOSians (Fanboys) will say that Android is too gimmicky and slow, and both will say the Windows Phone Store is too small. Then you hear Androidians say they would buy a Nokia if it had Android as the OS platform – I for one am happy it doesn’t…it’s kind of like having an iPhone with Android - think about that. 

How it competes against the others

Getting back to the matter at hand – Windows Phone, or specifically Windows Phone 8 and it as a mobile software platform. Is it good? Yes. Is it perfect? No. Does it have room for improvements? Yes. Funny enough, these questions will probably yield the same answers for both the other majority platforms, but due to establishment of those, WP8 will take a lot more heat.

What do you/don’t you get with Windows Phone 8?

Feature wise, you get almost everything that iOS has and more. Its system is in-between that of iOS and Android in my opinion. I can transfer music and files to it as a mass storage device. I can’t set a different tones for different emails or message systems. This is an in-between example of windows phone existence in the mobile world.

There are a couple of issues I have found, and these are the majority:

•  When WiFi and data are both on, WiFi is prioritised, but 3G does not switch off. This is silly, and eats battery, as I got 30% more battery life when I put off my WiFi and left 3G on. If it was vice versa, I would probably get even more battery life as 3G generally requires more power usage than WiFi. And make it conditional, as in IF WiFi and 3G is on and WiFi has internet connection THEN put 3G off ELSE keep 3G on but give me a pop up saying WiFi but no internet found.

• Give me the ability to change ringtones for anything that needs ringtones. Blackberry got this one right! A bit too right actually.

• Notifications should be a live tile, or a slide left. I prefer the latter. Like Windows 8, where you have the charms menu, a similar concept should be applied to WP8 so that you can access notifications or toggles with a quick slide from the edge of the screen. Or, holding the back button takes you to the open app list and notification centre – that may be an even better option.

• Are you left handed or right handed. This should be an addition in display settings. That will change the layout based on the hand usage. Easy toggle on/off in display.

• The settings menu should not be a list, it should be the translational movement like every other aspect in the phone. Each settings option will be on its own display, allowing for settings categories’ rather than a single list with all options.

• Windows 8.1 has groupings for the start menu. This would be great for WP8, with sliding to the left or right for the other personalised menu. The “all apps slide to the left from right” current layout must then be put somewhere else, like pressing the windows capacitive button to go in or out. Makes sense, and consistency between phone and pc.

• Lastly, battery saver mode should have overrides to allow certain apps to be in communication IE. Battery saver on, but let Whatsapp work. I know have increased battery life while still keeping in contact.

• Allow users to change individual tile colours over the default theme colour. (and a reset option in Settings>Theme)

• Timed Wifi and Bluetooth – This would be one of the single greatest options. I drive for 40 minutes a day, 20 to work and 20 back. I use my Bluetooth in my car between 6am and 7am going to work and 4pm and 5pm. Why can’t I schedule Bluetooth to be on only during these times? Then if I go somewhere else, I put it on manually. Similarly, with Wifi.  

These to me can redefine the operating system. The last operative option to me will be consistent OS updates rather than milestones. Instead of releasing major updates once/twice a year, do weekly/monthly updates. Here is how I see it. In Settings, Phone Update, there should be an option that has off, get list, auto update and auto update over wifi only. Then an option that allows auto allows scheduling, say between 2am and 4am. Updates should then happen during this time. And as with windows 8, new features should be added to these updates, say some from the list above, rather than making it milestone updates once a year, make it continuous updates over the year, with milestones needed for core updates. This will redefine the phone update scene, giving your phone new features and fixing issues with a high turnaround time. Users can have their input and changes can be made that adapts the OS to the user, rather than the waiting game that everyone is so familiar with.

Nokia HERE

Apart from that, I find the OS appealing, different, fun to use and very efficient. The app ecosystem as many will argue is underpopulated. Yes, it is. It has the major apps that I use, and some that I could not find on the Android store, with much better quality. If you are the app person with a collection of large apps and continually downloading apps, then maybe this phone isn’t for you. I use around 10 apps, and only 1 consistently (Whatsapp). Even on my Android tablet, I have down scaled my app library as I had apps that I just stopped using.

WP8 is very well integrated with social media, more than I thought it was, and easier too. Navigating to a contact can be cumbersome, but I haven’t found it more cumbersome than Android. Sharing images or files is very easy… Menu>Share. Closing apps is an issue, and personally, Microsoft should add the close “X” in each app at the bottom menu of each app. This will save me time by not pressing “back” a million times or always going to the “open app menu” and closing apps individually all the time as in iOS and Android. This will be a good convergence between mobile and pc OS as well.

Nokia HERE Maps

Conclusion

My gripes with the OS do not ruin it for me, but makes me feel that the OS has so much potential to be a major contender rather than a gradually adopted platform. I love the layout, the integration, the uniqueness of my layout, the speed, the app quality, the keyboard dictionary, changing lock screen image option, the office/outlook integration and the colour changing keyboard based on app selection. The Photo’s hub is very easy to use and logically designed. The People hub has everything I need and more, and I find it easier to access people on WP8 than on Android. Kid’s Corner is perfect for parents who let their kids use their phone. And Microsoft gives the option for companies to add their own app store for their employees separate from publishing to the Windows Phone Store.

Windows 8 vs Win8 mobile

I can “Pin” almost anything to the start, contacts, apps, specific photo albums, and even direct Whatsapp contact or groups. I haven’t tried, but apparently I can even pin websites as a tile. That’s cool! A lot of apps are phone specific, so when I get to reviewing my Lumia 925, more on specifics will be discussed.

back of the phone

So, where have Microsoft come in 2 years? FAR! That’s for sure. In the 1 year of existence of WP8, they have almost matched all of the software and hardware capabilities of android devices and surpassed some Apple specifications. In GDR3 (to be released early next year), there is Full-HD and Quad-core support. They currently have 2 gigs of ram on some phones with the current release. Their platform works smoothly on devices running 512MB ram unlike both Android and iOS, with iOS 7 struggles even on an iPhone 4S, and the low end Android devices can’t even get new updates. The Lumia 520 performs the same as a Lumia 925. And with GDR3, it’s been rumoured that it’s even better with more battery life – I really do hope so.

Keep it up Microsoft, and If you like my ideas, hire me and we can implement them ASAP and get this OS to its full potential ;)

3D Buildings on HERE Maps

Although the app store may be under populated as mentioned by Darshik, the apps that Nokia have developed themselves are quite cool. One of the best things to come out from Nokia was their maps and with the integration of HERE it just took the app one step further from the rest. Apart from having pin point accuracy, Nokia Maps has added features such as 3D buildings and floor plans of major malls. How cool is that? No need to search for those information boards when you cannot find a shop, whip out your phone and search from that! Also ever find yourself out of town but need to know places around you? Open up the HERE app and hold the phone up like you would in camera and point it around to see whats around you. You can refine your search to food places or services so that your phone screen isn't overpopulated with info. 

Mall floor plan on HERE Maps

The verdict will never be reached on which smart phone is the best to get, simply because there are just too many to choose from and each one is catered for various preferences. While the market does seem to prefer iPhone, Samsung and slightly less than before Blackberry, when people do find a need to venture away from these "safe options", they might be surprised to see what they find like this Nokia Lumia 925, as Darshik said, if Microsoft keep this up they could bring Nokia back to its glory days of the past.

The camera it comes with is pretty decent, an 8,7 megapixel pureview lens by Carl Ziess, here are some pics we took with the phone.

Microsoft TechEd Africa 2013

I like to think of myself as a geek, I'm always in know of the latest gadgets, when the latest software releases are out and of course wanting them all! That's why when Microsoft SA invited me to TechEd Africa 2013 I couldn't say no. It was to be my first time so I had no idea what to expect, after receiving my agenda it dawned upon me that many of the topics that were being discussed were way above my level of knowledge but regardless of this I thought it would be cool to see what it was all about. This is a brief summary of my time at TechEd 2013, for those who didn't follow my tweets during the time I spent there.

Day 1

The opening day started off late, since many of the delegates had to fly in from various destinations and check in to their respective hotels before making way to the ICC to register and to attend the opening Keynote address. I arrived a bit early but it was fun seeing geeks in the bus loads invade the place, all of them beaming with excitement for what the next 3 days had in store. The opening Keynote wasn't what I had expected but basically gave us an insight into what Microsoft are planning now. Cloud computing as mentioned in my previous post is changing the world of IT. Previously people used to email documents to and fro in order to get work done, sometimes the documents were too big to send over email so it had to be cut to a disk or put onto a portable hard drive. With cloud computing, multiple people can now work with a single document that is stored on the "cloud" thus saving time, which essentially saves money and ups productivity.

They then went into examples which involved high end coding, explaining the how certain tasks could be integrated using Microsoft Azure and Visual Studio. During all of this they demonstrated something really cool called "Windows To Go", in the given example the two coders want to work with the same file in the cloud but because the file is made from the latest Visual Studio which requires Windows8, the one coder had Windows 7 installed on his notebook. This was a problem but with Windows to go, which basically is a USB flash drive with Windows8 on it he was able to reboot his laptop with Windows8 even though Windows 7 is his primary OS. No installation was required.

After the Keynote was complete we were invited to the opening party which was being hosted but the City of Durban at the City Hall. I'd hardly call it a party as the organization was poor, layout was terrible and the queues was horrendous, thus making most people leave early.

Day 2

I kicked off my first proper day at Tech Ed with the 'Unvieling of the Windows Phone" session, the speakers were Anthony Doherty and Luca Decour, both from Microsoft. They gave us an insight into how and why Microsoft developed Windows8 mobile the way they did. They looked at what the competitors had to offer and decided that there was a need for a change. What they came up with was rather cool. The only phone to have a live tile start screen that could be customized to your preference, hence making it more personal to you. They also researched the top selling apps and to date have 48 out of the 50 available on their app store. Instagram isn't one of them but will be available soon. Another cool feature is "kids corner", everyone has that problem where either your kid or someone elses wants to play with your phone but you don't want them access everything that's on there. This setting allows you to set which apps they can access but locking everything else. In some cases it wont only be handy for kids but also other adults!

The expo was a major draw point with many of the brands having set up exhibits, Global Micro who are one of the man sponsors of TechEd were having sessions every hour and at each session gave away an iPad Mini so you can imagine every one of them was full. Mimecast were giving away a trip for two to the Italian GP and many other stands had cool giveaways and freebies , so you can imagine me being an Indian, was in my element as we love our free stuff! I went home with loads of freebies everyday.

That evening HP hosted a private invite only party at the Bellagio night club in Morningside, not the best venue but as the night went on, it really turned out to be a great party. Then again there was an open bar so everyone was merry!

Day 3

After the late night it was a struggle to get back to the ICC by 8am on day 3 as the media were hosted to a round table discussion with members of Microsoft SA, Intel and Global Micro, the topic of discussion "The PC - dying, dead or very much alive?". A lot of scenarios were given and the general consensus was that the PC will never really die. As technology evolves, one would expect devices to become smaller but in the case of mobile phones its quite the opposite with many of the high level models getting bigger mainly due to screen size. Which leads us to the 3 screen lifestyle that many now lead (mobile phone, tablet, laptop/ desktop) and as technology progresses more and more things in our lives turn into "PC's" our day to day appliances are already under going this change with our fridges, televisions and also now with home automation our homes are capable of internet connectivity.

For the past 11 years, Microsoft have been running a competition that is open to University's world wide called the "imagine cup". The competition slogan is "Dream it, Build it, Live it" and that's essentially what it is, entrants dream up and idea, build it using resources given to them by Microsoft and live it in a real day scenario. This year a team of 4 from the University of Johannesburg consisting of students Jan van Niekerk, Lorenzo Boccetti, Merrick Bengis and their supervisor  Dr Ian Ellefsen took top honors with their winning solution "Sentimeter". What it is, is an innovative tool that allows businesses to see what people are saying about them on social media platforms. From this they can track the positive, negative and also queries related to their business. The team will be competing in June at the world final which is being held in St Petersburg, Russia, hopefully they can bring home the winners medal.

That evening was the official TechEd closing party which was hosted by Microsoft at the Durban Exhibition Centre. It was a grand affair with the entire arena decorated with the theme "Africa Rising". There was ample food and refreshments for everyone, I was lucky enough to score an invite to the VIP suite where I got to mingle with some of the main people that were involved in TechEd 2013. It was a night to let your hair down, sit back and enjoy the entertainment that was provided...well not many sat as the DJ kept the crowd on the dance floor.

Day 4

Yet another late night but this time round the organizers of TechEd took this into account as the first sessions of the morning began at 8.30am giving most of the delegates time to crawl into the ICC. First order of the day was attending another session on the Windows phone device. This time round we learnt how Microsoft took it upon themselves to find out from the public, what they wanted in a phone The first thing many mentioned was the importance of security, with many people storing personal info on their phone and now with banks offering apps for mobile devices, they were concerned if the devices got into the wrong hands. Hence the primary focus when building the OS was security and giving the user peace of mind.

The last session I attended was on Internet trends, Jaco Benaude gave us some interesting stats on the world wide web as well as other stuff pertaining to technology. One of the things he mentioned which caught my attention was that the quality of the internet in SA is averaged at 84% and we rank 39th overall in the world. Which is pretty good, obviously the downside is our pricing but lets hope that changes in the not to distant future.

Before I knew it, it was time to attend the closing  keynote. Most of it was about 4 Afrika, a Microsoft iniative to supply and educate the children of Africa from a young age with the latest technology and introduce them to the internet. 45% of Africa's population is under the age of 15 years old and they are our future, Microsoft is aware that this continent is our future and can see the chances of growth and that is why they are investing in it.

To end off, it was a very memorable experience attending TechEd 2013. I learnt a lot, met many new faces and got to know so much more about the company and what they're doing. Here's looking forward to TechEd 2014.

A big thank goes out to Natassia Badenhorst from Flesihman Hillard who made this all possible.