A couple of days ago we showed you the first purported images depicting an upcoming mid-range Nokia smartphone. As this is supposedly going to serve as the successor to the Lumia 820 from 2012, we assume it will be called Lumia 830.
Now it's been spotted in a brand new leaked render, this one courtesy of Chinese search engine Baidu.
The most intriguing thing about it is obviously the new branding: Nokia by Microsoft, as you can see.
As recently as last week it's been rumored that something like this would happen, and in the leaked image above we get our first confirmation of sorts.
So the consequences of Microsoft purchasing Nokia are going to slowly
start showing up. One wonders if there isn't a plan to gradually phase
out the Nokia brand entirely - maybe in a year or two we'll see
Microsoft's name on smartphones by itself.
Until that happens, though, let's focus on the Lumia 830. The new
picture tells us that it will have a 13 MP rear camera with Zeiss
optics. Previously we heard that it would also sport a 4.5-inch
touchscreen, but everything else about it is still a mystery.
It all started with the rumors of Nokia Goldfinger,
which was supposed to be the first device to introduce the Windows
Phone 8.1. It was also said to become Nokia's first smartphone to
introduce the 3D Touch gestures - technology Nokia has been working on
for years.
Things didn't turn out this way though. Microsoft acquired Nokia
Devices, then officially announced the Windows Phone 8.1. The first
phones to run it out of the box are the budget Lumia 630 and the
flagship Lumia 930, but neither of them features the rumored 3D Touch
though.
We almost forgot about the 3D Touch, but apparently trust-worthy sources close to The Verge say the project is still in development under Microsoft supervision and it will be implemented in the company's next flagship.
3D Touch will introduce Kinect-like gestures for touchless control of
your phone. The technology leverages on hardware sensors and clever
software optimizations and algorithms. One of the key features of the
so-called 3D Touch and also known as Real Motion is that you will be
able to hover around the display with your finger and get additional
information. For example a hover over the Facebook tile will pop up
additional smaller floating tiles for quick messaging and phone access.
This sounds similar of the Samsung's Air View feature, although we'll
have to see the actual implementation to be sure.
The 3D Touch should allow your phone to do various smart transitions
such as ending a call once you slip your phone in your pocket, know you
face orientation for smart portrait/landscape orientation switching and
activating the speakerphone when you place your phone on a table during a
call. We are sure Microsoft would love to pushing a Kinect-like
experience on its smartphones as it will certainly serve to boost the
popularity of its conse.
It seems the rumored Goldfinger won't be happening though, it will
remain just as a developer platform. Instead Microsoft will be bringing
the codenamed McLaren flagship later this year to all major US carriers.
That should be the first device to show the new tricks Microsoft
is prepping for us. There are speculations that (part of) those gestures
might become available via the next Windows Phone update, but that's
yet to be confirmed.
Microsoft has issued an update for the Windows Phone 8.1 Developer
Preview. The latest release has a version number 8.10.12390.890, but
sadly we don't have a detailed changelog just yet. A fellow reader of
ours states that his Nokia Lumia 1520 has been hit with the update, so
check your Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview running phones.
This is yet another update that the company is pushing to the beta version of Windows Phone since its launch on April 14.
The previous update didn't bring any UI changes or change in
functionality, as it only improved the battery consumption slightly.
More often than not these updates of previews are about fixes for
bugs and improving the stability of the OS. However, if you find
anything new, drops us a line in the comments.
The final version of Windows Phone 8.1 is on schedule for a June 24 release.
Windows Phone is yet to become the game changer Microsoft wants it to
be. It didn't quite experience the kind of explosive growth that
could've put Nokia back in pole position, but it has been steadily
climbing up the ranks. Maybe an upgrade of the scale of its 8.1 version
is all it needed to go into overdrive and really challenge the big two
in the smartphone game.
While some analysts are predicting huge gains in the next few years,
others are sending the OS straight to the OS cemetery, right next to
Symbian and Bada. Sure, nobody knows what the future holds but Microsoft
is certainly trying to leave nothing to chance. It has been busy
building up its arsenal and now it's ready to do some real damage.
Redmond must be quite confident everybody is going to be impressed
that the update progress screen is filled with bold statements like
"loaded with new features and improvements we think you are going to
love", "reinvented with you in mind", "and it will be worth the wait".
And it's not just empty promises either - the 8.1 update is here to
change the face of Windows Phone forever. You've got a notification
center with toggles and improved multitasking to boost productivity,
more customizable Live Tiles with cool wallpaper to sexy up the looks
and automatic Store updates to make app-handling even easier. There's
also Cortana for those looking for something extra.
Here comes the complete list of novelties we've managed to find so far.
What's new:
Action Center to display all of your notifications, plus customizable quick toggles
Cortana virtual assistant at your command
Universal Search
Start background on all of your tiles
Customizable number of tiles per row - four or six
Internet Explorer 11 with better UI, faster page load, in-private browsing, tab sync across devices and Reader mode
New Dialer app with Speed Dial, shortcuts to contact, and call time
Built-in Facebook with deeper integration, real-time notifications
Redesigned status bar
Quiet Hours mode for control over your notifications at night or events marked as busy
Move/install apps on SD card
Automatic app updates in Store
VPN support
Wi-Fi Sense
Better sound control with separate scrubbers for Notifications/Ringer and Apps/Media
Better multi-tasking with suspend mode
Camera burst mode, customizable viewfinder
Swype-like keyboard
Battery Sense app
Storage Sense app
New Music and Video apps
Podcasts app
Better backups with app data sync
App data syncing across devices
Customizable lockscreen and glance screen notifications
You can change the default SMS app and the default SMS notifications
Support for QHD displays, dual-SIM and fingerprint scanners, on-screen buttons
What's still missing:
System-wide file manager
Options for more quick toggles
Richer app catalog
Cortana is some way behind Android and iOS rivals
That list of disadvantages is getting shorter with every next
iteration, so Microsoft is certainly doing something right. At this
point WP8.1 not only matches its rivals in almost all key aspects of the
user experience, but puts its own twist on some popular features, while
offering a few exclusives along the way. This last part is particularly
important as it will help Microsoft's OS try and steal some users from
competing platforms, and not just serve as an entry point into
smartphones.
Of course that's all only true if all the Windows Phone 8.1 novelties
work as promised. And that's exactly what we are setting off to check
now - join us for the UI overview after the break.
Windows Phone 8.1 boosts looks, brings Action Center
With Windows Phone 8.1 Microsoft has brought a rich feature pack to
enhance the user experience. There are many new things that need
testing, so let's get started.
Windows Phone 8.1 update is certainly one of the largest updates to a
mobile operating system we've seen recently. It retains much of the
flow of its predecessor, so existing users won't feel lost even for a
second, but it adds much on top in an attempt to change the attitude of
those sitting on the sidelines. The Lockscreen
One of the most major novelties brought Windows Phone 8.1 is a
unified notification center. Microsoft calls this Action Center and it's
opened by pulling from the top of the screen. There are quick toggles
on top with all your notifications popping up underneath. You can swipe
individual notifications off the screen or you can click the dedicated
clean all key to remove them all at once. The Action Center • notifications
The four or five toggles (depending on the handset) are fully
customizable, though there aren't as many shortcuts you can assign as on
Android. The available options include airplane mode, Bluetooth,
brightness, camera, internet sharing, location, project my screen, quiet
hours, rotation lock, VPN, Wi-Fi. A double tap on the Wi-Fi button will
get you to the Wi-Fi settings menu, while a double-tap on the Bluetooth
- won't. That's rather confusing in its inconsistency and we hope
Microsoft sorts this out before the update is released to the masses. Customizing the notifications • choosing a quick action button
Just like on iOS you can customize the notifications - you can choose
whether banners, sounds and vibration are available or not for each
notification type.
We also noticed notifications are now handled much faster. We made a
little test by ourselves - a Facebook and WhatsApp accounts were
configured on an Android, an iOS, a Windows Phone 8 and a Windows Phone
8.1 smartphones.
All three phones - Galaxy Note 3, iPhone 5s, WP 8.1-running Lumia
1020 dinged almost simultaneously, while the WP8.0-powered Lumia 1520
got the notifications 30 seconds to 10 minutes later.
The status bar got updated too. The connectivity icons have no
dedicated places in Windows Phone 8.1 - their icons appear left to
right, without spaces. There is a specific order though - first is
network coverage, followed by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, then comes vibration,
followed by messages, emails and GPS.
The Glance screen, where available, has also been updated. It can now
show the same content and notifications as your lockscreen. Or you can
also put some text of your choice. The new Glance settings
Windows Phone has been criticized for lacking wallpapers as well
missing for a long time, which made its homescreen a little boring. Now
anymore as with WP 8.1 you can finally set a Start Background. This
won't replace the black or white color on your homescreen with a
wallpaper. Instead your tiles become transparent and you can look
through them into your chosen background. The picture stays static when
you scroll down with the live tiles moving on top of it. It's a really
cool effect and while simple, it brings the looks of Windows Phone to a
whole new level. The only problem is the update works much better with
some tiles than with others - contact pictures for example are
non-transparent and really get in the way. The Start background
There's another change to the live tiles too. Windows Phone 8 GDR 3
update introduced the option to pack even more tiles on a row, but the
decision for the tile count was only available to the manufacturer. With
WP 8.1 you are free to make up your own mind by going to
Settings->Start+Theme and selecting or deselecting the "Show more
TIles" option. Thus depending on the size of the tiles you can have up
to six in a row, instead of four. Customizing the Live Tiles count
Another new and welcomed addition to Windows Phone 8.1 is Quiet
Hours. This is a feature very similar to Do Not Disturb in iOS and
Blocking Mode in Samsung's TouchWiz UI on Android. The Quiet Hours mode
can be set to go on and off automatically during pre-defined time
interval, plus it can also go on automatically during events you have
marked in your calendar. Just like its competing services, Quiet Hours
supports the so-called Inner Circle - the notifications from your Inner
Circle will always break through. There is also an option to allow calls
from people who call you more than two times in less than three
minutes. Quiet Hours
The multi-tasking has also been improved. Microsoft chose Apple's way
of handling apps running in background - most of the apps are suspended
upon hitting the Win key and will be resumed once you bring them back.
There are others, of course, such as Navigation, Cortana and Battery
apps, which will continue to run in background unless you specifically
kill them. Multi-tasking
The synchronization options have been upgraded as well. You can now
sync your settings (theme, app settings and data, Internet Explorer tabs
and passwords) and push them across all other devices. The service
isn't as powerful as on Windows or iOS, but it does most of the
important stuff and is another step in the right direction. Sync settings
Windows Phone 8.1 still doesn't offer a full-featured and system-wide
file manager. Various apps such as Gallery, OneDrive, Music, and Office
pack such functions, but they work only within their dedicated folder.
There is no available full-blown file manager in the Windows Phone Store
either probably due to Microsoft's restrictions. You can still have
(non-rooted) access to the mass storage memory on both the internal
storage and the memory card via a PC connection. Hopefully Microsoft
will change its mind in the near future.
Filter this under investment in the future, rather than an upgrade
you can feel right now, but Windows Phone 8.1 brings support for new
hardware. The OS now supports displays up to QHD resolution
(2560x1440px), dual-SIM setups (Lumia 630 being the first to take
advantage of that) and fingerprint scanners. The Windows Phone 8.1 UI
also supports on-screen virtual controls (Back, Win, Search), so if a
manufacturer decides to get rid of the capacitive keys, they are free to
do it.
Even though there are lots of new UI elements and services, including
Cortana voice assistant, the Windows Phone 8.1 is as lightweight as it
has always been. Sometimes it even feels snappier than before. Microsoft
has done indeed a great job optimizing the OS and providing smooth user
experience even on two-year old hardware such as one of our test
handset (Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520).
Hello, Master Chief! I'm Cortana.
Sorry Halo fans, Cortana isn't calling you Master Chief unless you
specifically set your name to that. That aside, Microsoft's answer to
Siri, S Voice and Google Now does pretty well with voice recognition and
can help you with a lot of your daily duties. Configuring Cortana
Cortana is nothing like Google Now though, but very similar to Siri.
She recognizes your natural voice commands and questions and provides
voice feedback. Voiced over by Halo's Jen Taylor, Cortana probably is
the most human-like virtual assistant. There is no male voiceover
though, if that happens to be your thing. Cortana in action
So, what can Cortana actually do for you? First you need to
personalize it in order to use its full power. Her Settings are called
Notebook and are divided into Interests, Reminders, Quiet Hours, Inner
Circle, Places, and Music Searches. In Interests you can assign
literally everything you like and Cortana will help you track specific
news, plan trips, find restaurants or bars, and many more. Finding the answers to simple question, making notes and setting alarms are all supported
Cortana supports reminders including people-based ones - you can tell
her to remind you of something next time you call some of your
contacts. It also supports reminders by location (home, work,
university, stores). So it can remind you to congratulate your colleague
for their birthday before starting with the work-related questions. You can turn on your Bluetooth by voice only or check the currency exchange rates
Cortana can also remember places, important people to you (she can
even suggest such people based on your activity), plus it can actively
control your quiet hours mode.
Cortana can fully interact with your phone and carry out all kind or
commands related to it - make a call, send a message, add appointments,
take notes, set alarms, play specific music or playlists, navigate you
to locations or simply search the web. She can also turn on/off
settings, gives you straight answers to simple questions (who is the
president of...). Plus she can even tell jokes and sing songs, even if
we don't see her winning Grammy anytime soon. Cortana is doing all she can to help you, but
Cortana is also capable of checking the traffic in your city and she
will remind you to leave early or if your bus is delayed because of bad
traffic. It can also provide alternatives routes to avoid those traffic
jams.
Unique among virtual assistants, Cortana can also forward your
commands to third party apps, so you can for example ask her to open
Skype and call some of your contacts. Only Skype, Facebook and Twitter
are said to support that functionality at launch, but others should
follow sooner rather than later.
As far as the speed of voice recognition is concerned, WP's virtual
assistant does a fine job. Words are recognized almost in real time,
although the accuracy often leaves something to be desired. Thick
accents and noisy environments don't play nice with Cortana and often
result in queries not being properly recognized.
Microsoft reminds you Cortana is still in beta and she will be
capable of much more once it upgrades to official. Siri can do a lot
more than Cortana today, while Now with its automatically appearing
cards is probably the most useful of the bunch but those had quite a
head start. Microsoft is promising it is developing new features as you
are reading this and they will come once they are ready.
We'd also like to see Cortana hitting other regions and languages as
the US is the only supported one for now. The good news is you can
bypass that limitation by simply changing your region in the settings
menu - no complicated hacks required.
Microsoft Store
The Microsoft Store now supports automatic app updates. You can
choose whether those happen only when connected to a Wi-Fi network, or
cellular data is allowed as well. Check for updates button is available,
but now the Store checks for available updates quite a few times a day,
so you'll probably won't need to use this key regularly. In previous
versions of Windows Phone the Store was really slow on checking for
updates - some notifications came weeks after the new version of the app
has been seeded! It's great Microsoft fixed that too. The automatic updates settings in Store • apps updates automatically
We've already mentioned the Windows Store has grown bigger over the
years, but it is still behind the Apple's and Google's repositories. We
were curious how many of today's most popular Android and iOS apps are
available on Windows Phone. We've searched for the top 25 free and paid
apps from the AppStore and Play Store in the Windows Phone Store, and
here is what we have found. Note that platform specific apps such as
NOVA Launcher, Titanium Backup, Swift/Swype keyboards (available in
WP8.1 by default), Office Suite Pro 7 (MS Office available for free),
and widget packages were not included in those lists.
