The Nokia 301, the first of the phones launched, is in-line with Nokia’s unified approach with design, with a strong focus on what people do on their phones on a daily basis, such as calls, messages and photos. The device is offered in single and dual-sim, and gives users premium features such as panorama mode, sequential shot, and an awesome voice assisted self-portrait assist that tells you out loud whether to move left right, up or down, so you get exactly the shot you need. Photo sharing is also made simpler with Nokia Slam, a bluetooth photo sharing app that removes the hassle of BT pairing, passcodes and all that voodoo, in place of a simple phone bump. The 301 will be made available in Asia in the second quarter of this year, for 65 Euros.
The second device, the Nokia 105, is an entry-level phone that gives users the beautiful unified Nokia design in an extremely affordable package. It has a splash and dust-proof keypad, the useful Nokia flashlight, a suite of games, music and a radio plus amazing battery life (once a month charging, people!) all for the rediculously low price of 15 Euros, or about PHP 800 in the first quarter of this year. It is being touted as a perfect entry-level phone, or alway ready, always available backup phone.
The first of the Lumias launched was the Lumia 520, likely to be made available here the second qurter of this month, features a 4-inch display, 1GHZ, dual-core processor and 8GB of internal memory. This Wondows Phone 8 device also gives users a 5-MP autofocus camera, with the same lens as the Lumia 920, so we can expect nothing but beautiful shots. It also has an added Photobeamer app that lets you share photos with anyone, on the spot, through nothing more than web browser. It also comes out of the box with Nokia Music, that gives users access to playlists, artists and tracks (though not individual songs), without the need to load and reload from a computer. It also comes with the Nokia Here suite, which features Nokia Here Drive (the new name for their amazing navigation suite), Here Maps and Here Transit that lets people pick a route home via public transit.
The Lumia 720, the last phone revealed at the press conference, is a device aimed for non LTE markets, and will likely be available here in the Philippines in the second quarter of this yea for 249 Euros, or about 14,000 Pesos. It features a 4.3-inch Clearblack display with their extremely smooth curved glass screen. Nokia has said that the quality of the display is at par with much, much pricier phones from other manufacturers. It also has amazing viewing angles due to the screen design, and is the first f the line to offer microSD support. The device will also give the option of upgrading to the subscription-based Nokia Music Plus service that allows better quality audio, lyrics streaming and unlimited playlist downloads, though no price was mentioned. The Lumia 720’s camera come paking Carl Zeiss optics and an f1.9 aperture that lets more light in than almost any device in the market today, resulting in great low-light performance and unequaled color reproduction and vivdness. There is also a wide-angle, 1.3 MP front camera for video conferencing and self-portraits, and a Placetag Photo app that lets you tag your photos with location, date and other details, just like labeling old-school printed photos. The Lumia 720 has same battery as lumia 920, and supports wireless charging through interchangeable back color covers.
Along with the phones, was Nokia’s announcement that the HERE suite will be available to non-Nokia devices, as well as Firefox’s new OS, great news for everybody all around.
That was it for the Nokia presscon. There wasn’t really any mention of the rumored Windows 8 Pureview device or anything to that effect, but it’s great to see the Fins further strengthening their device lineup, while not losing focus on their lower and mid range offerings. The 720 in particular has us wanting a hands-on, and the 520 looks to be a stunner in its own right. Stay tuned for more announcements and perhaps updates pricing as the weeks roll by.
