Przedstawiciel PLAY LUBLIN

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We love customizing our Nokia Lumias. Whether it’s a stunning new shell for our Nokia Lumia 820 or Start art made by getting creative with Windows Phone Live Tiles, customization makes your smartphone uniquely yours. Last week, we showcased some awesome Start art we found on mytil.es. Loads of you asked how to work this creative magic, so we’ve found some apps, which help you do just that.

WizTiles

WizTiles is a fantastic tile generator, which has been around for a while. It allows you to create upto ten tiles for Windows Phone tasks. Editing screens consist of two pages, Design and Detail. Design is where you choose how the tile looks. You can create single or double sided tiles, add custom colours, pictures, create themes, or download themes from the developer. 

Although it can seem a little daunting at first, once you get the hang of things it’s super simple to turn your Start screen into a thing of beauty.  To see for yourself check out this quick demo from the PhoneChap.

Skinery

Skinery works in a similar way to WizTiles. It’s main difference is that it allows you to launch third-party apps like WhatsApp, Facebook and Nokia Music etc from custom tiles. New apps are being added every week and the developers are currently campaigning to have more added all the time.

It’s easier to get started and it’s great to have third party app tiles, but when it comes to design it’s less versatile than WizTiles. Nonetheless, you can still create some very cool looking Start screens.

Custom Tiles Maker

Custom Tiles Maker is ideal for creating new tiles from your pictures. You can assign specific actions to them and add a back image for when they flip. There’s also a list of precreated tiles such as compose email, send sms, search, which you can customize and pin to your start screen. While it’s pretty straightforward to use and you can create some great Start art, you might need to buy some in-app features to really enjoy to the max.

MyTileMaker

MyTileMaker’s very easy to use and makes it very easy to create tile collages of your favourite pics, whether that’s your girlfriend or Scarlett Johansson. However, these tiles are purely decorative. For more practical matters, you can also create different coloured tile memos and lists to pin on your Start screen.

We’ve been playing around with these four all week and we can safely say our Start screens are infinitely more colourful as a result. But what about you? Have you used them to make your Nokia Lumia distinctly yours or do you have another app or method? Let us know in the comments below.

Der Handyhersteller Blackberry steht für besonders arbeitstaugliche Geräte. Mit einem Blackberry hat der Nutzer ein Büro für unterwegs: Dokumente lassen sich leicht am Handy erstellen und bearbeiten. Doch diese Stärke kommt nicht gegen das Unterhaltungspaket an, welches Konkurrenzmodelle wie das iPhone bieten. Oder doch? Computer Bild hat das BlackBerry Z10 in den Kriterien Telefonfunktionen, Internetzugriff, Ausstattung, Bedienung und Alltagstauglichkeit geprüft.

Ungewöhnliche Bedienung und neuartiges Aussehen

Die Bedienung des BlackBerry Z10 ist gewöhnungsbedürftig: die Menüsteuerung erfolgt mit Streichgesten. Mit einem Wisch kann der Nutzer die verschiedenen Menüpunkte aufrufen. So gelangt er mit einer Streichbewegung in eine Nachrichtenzentrale „BlackBerry Hub“, die alle Mails an einem Ort darstellt. Das Design des Z10 besticht durch abgerundete Kanten und wirkt modern. Ein Manko ist das kratzempfindliche Gehäuse des Geräts.

Arbeitszentrale

Das BlackBerry Z10 eignet sich hervorragend zum Tippen und Bearbeiten von Textdokumenten. Mit DocsToGo hat der Nutzer seine Dokumente immer und überall parat. Das Schreiben von Texten erfolgt bei diesem BlackBerry-Modell nicht mit üblichen Tasten sondern über eine Touchscreen-Tastatur. Diese punktet mit optimalen Wort-Vorschlägen und einer ausgezeichneten Auto-Korrektur. Einen Minuspunkt gibt es für die relativ kurze Akkulaufzeit.

Ausstattung – gut aber nicht herausragend

Die Kamera des BlackBerry liefert nur mittelmäßige Fotoergebnisse. Sie bietet dafür aber nützliche Funktionen – aus einer Fotoserie lässt sich nachträglich der ideale Gesichtsausdruck wählen. Das Z10 besitzt zusätzlich eine Frontkamera für Videotelefonie. Der interne Speicher hat eine Kapazität von 16 Gigabyte und lässt sich erweitern. Das BlackBerry Z10 bietet dank einem guten Browser raschen Internetzugriff. Abzug gibt es für das magere Angebot an Apps – die bekanntesten fehlen.

Fazit

Dem Blackberry steht das neue, moderne Gewand gut. Mit Touchscreen und vielseitiger Funktionalität hält es mit anderen Modellen auf dem Smartphone-Markt mit. Wer kein reines Unterhaltungsgerät möchte und Wert auf bürotaugliche Funktionen legt, ist mit dem BlackBerry Z10 gut beraten.

The post Nicht nur für Manager – BlackBerry Z10 im Test appeared first on Handy Test 2013.

In January 2013, Sony Mobile launched a voluntary phone recycling program in Russia. This new program provides our Russian consumers with the possibility of recycling their old phones in a more environmentally sound way.

Because of the vast geography in Russia, Sony Mobile had a challenge to include the whole country in a recycling program. However thanks to our great service network, this is now possible! The service locations exist in all major cities and most service locations are walk-in locations which mean that they are perfect for hosting our recycling collection boxes.

Since January 2013, we now have recycling collection boxes in 39 service locations across 32 Russian cities. To make them as visible as possible, the boxes have been made big enough to attract the attention of all service center visitors and they are located in places that are easily accessible for all visitors.

Handing in your phone at one of our collection centers, you can be assured that the phones will be recycled in a responsible and environmentally sound way in accordance with our Global Environmental Warranty. All the collected phones will be handed over to an international recycling company which will recycle them in the most environmentally friendly recycling process possible.

So what are you waiting for? Make a positive contribution to the environment by recycling your phone today! Your recycling contribution will help to lower the extraction of new materials by enabling the re-use of already extracted ones.

You can find all the Russian recycling locations here and to learn more about Sony Mobile’s recycling program and recycling options in other countries, visit our recycling pages at: www.sonymobile.com/recycle.

Russian translation below -

Программа добровольной утилизации телефонов стартовала в России

В январе 2013 года компания Sony Mobile запустила в России программу добровольной утилизации телефонов. Эта новая программа предоставляет российским покупателям возможность утилизировать свои старые телефоны без вреда для окружающей среды.

Из-за обширной географии России привлечь к участию в программе жителей всей страны было не просто. Однако благодаря нашей сервисной сети это стало возможным! Пункты сервисного обслуживания Sony Mobile есть во всех крупных городах и в большинстве своем расположены очень удобно, поэтому они отлично подошли для размещения контейнеров для утилизации.

С начала января 2013 года такие контейнеры были установлены в 39 пунктах сервисного обслуживания, расположенных в 32 городах страны. Контейнеры достаточно вместительные, их легко заметить, и размещены они в легкодоступных местах.

Сдавая свой телефон в один из наших сервисных центров, вы можете быть уверены, что этот телефон будет утилизирован без вреда для окружающей среды в соответствии с нашей экологической политикой (Global Environmental Warranty). Все собранные телефоны будут переданы международной перерабатывающей организации, которая гарантирует их утилизацию самым безопасным для окружающей среды способом.

Итак, чего вы ждете? Сделайте свой вклад в защиту окружающей среды — сдайте свой старый телефон сегодня! Ваше участие поможет уменьшить добычу исчерпаемых ресурсов за счет повторного использования уже существующих материалов.

Все адреса пунктов утилизационного сбора можно найти здесь. Чтобы подробнее узнать о программе утилизации Sony Mobile и вариантах утилизации в других странах, посетите сайт www.sonymobile.com/recycle.

For many, the Nokia 105 was the surprise hit of Mobile World Congress 2013. It’s Nokia’s most affordable phone, extending the possibility of joining the mobile economy into the Next Billion and beyond.

Sascha Segan, writing for PC Mag on the first day of the show, said it “Looks much classier than you usually get at this price point, and I think it’s poised to be a huge global hit…. A well-built, inexpensive voice phone could find a home in every nation”.

Nokia 105 is now on sale in India, priced at Rs 1249.

While the low price of the Nokia 105 was enough on its own to catch most people’s attention, the other benefits of the phone mean that many smartphone owners have been thinking about picking one up as a secondary device.

A standby time of up to 35 days might be especially important if you have an intermittent electricity supply, but for others it makes for a fantastic holiday phone or emergency back-up.

Similarly, the integrated flashlight and the very light weight of the Nokia 105 (70g) make it an ideal choice for camping trips or the glove compartment of your car.

The Nokia 105 also has all the essentials covered with an FM Radio, pre-loaded games (including Snake, of course!), multiple alarm clocks and even a speaking clock.

Following the launch, our own Adam Fraser gave some thought to the phone and came up with ’10 reasons to buy a Nokia 105’.

Commenting on the sales launch, Mr. Viral Oza from Nokia India focused on the modernity of the design:

“The Nokia 105 marks the end of black & white screen era in the Indian handset market. The very human and fresh design of Nokia 105 makes it distinct in this price range, and utterly modern despite a traditional form factor.

“Our most affordable device – the Nokia 105, with some of the best category features, is the ideal handset for first time buyers to enjoy the benefits and experiences of mobility.”

Have you been considering a Nokia 105 as part of your mobile toolkit?

We love to be constantly connected. Thanks to modern technology we can text, check Facebook and find our way around town wherever we are. But in the car, trying to stay online while driving raises major safety issues.

This is why authorities are limiting the use of smartphones while driving.  They are even questioning navigation services designed to ease the driving experience.

How can we then drive safely while staying connected? At HERE, we think that the risk isn’t coming from the information per se, but how we present information to people and enable them to use it.

Connected driving

Indeed, over time drivers have been able to receive more and more information. From sensors about pressure levels to front-mounted radars that detect imminent collisions – more information for the driver now equals more safety. The next evolutionary step is a connected car via smartphones or embedded systems.

At HERE we believe that a connected car is part of creating a holistic connected driving experience that keeps drivers safe yet connected, while allowing them to communicate and enjoy entertainment too. It solves the problems that people face as they move through their daily life, both in and out of their car, helping to save time, fuel and money.

HERE driving experience

On smartphones, HERE Drive is optimized for in-car use. The interface has been designed to use at arm’s length; voice commands are clearer because they have been recorded in studio; destinations can be pinned to start and with just a tap on the destination tile you can start turn-by-turn navigation.

In-car systems with HERE rely on sensors to capture more accurate map data such as road height, slope and curvature. Integrating that detailed map content with the car system makes safety features like adaptive cruise control, adaptive front lights, curve speed warnings, driver alerts and speed limit advisories possible.

“Features like those provided by HERE appeal to a consumer’s desire for fuel efficiency. Landmark navigation has been a need of a significant portion of consumers that connected systems can finally fulfil”, said Chris Schreiner, Director of Automotive Consumer Insights at Strategy Analytics.

Human driving

Our aim is to make the driving experience more human and to help drivers make sense of the world around them, whether or not they are in their cars.

The HERE connected driving experience transforms the car into a powerful smart device to help people around the world meet the challenges of driving today such as traffic congestion, pollution and parking. 

Namco Bandai is a six billion dollar corporation that’s been around since 2006. It makes video games and toys. On Windows Phone, they’re best known for titles like Flight Control, Puzzle Quest and the chaotic but awesome I Love Katamari.

We met with Namco Bandai’s Alex Adjadj recently to talk about the company’s success on Nokia phones.

Nokia has been what Alex calls “an obvious partner” for the company since the days of the first  nGage.

More recently, it’s been the Asha platform that has received the most attention. Last July, we reported that 22 new games had been launched by the publisher for the platform.

It’s sometimes quite easy to underestimate the size of the market for more basic mobile phones, but to take one region, Latin America, 80 per cent of the phones in circulation aren’t smart. And apps for these phones make up over 50 per cent of the company’s revenues for the region.

Nokia has actively aided Namco Bandai in its marketing efforts. It has created gift and theme packs, and other promotions. In some cases, a selection of free games are preloaded onto the phone.

Alex notes that the phones don’t necessarily need to be the most powerful in the portfolio to deliver great experiences.

“One of our key titles is Pacman. [Originally created by Namco for arcade machines 33 years ago!]. There are more and less fancy versions of the game, but the core experience, what it means to ‘play Pacman’, can be delivered across the board.

“It remains a terrific game experience. We can deliver great value for money. And people across the world have enormous fondness for the title.”

Not an easy game to play

But Alex says that the mobile games economy has some serious issues.

“Five years ago, there were maybe a couple of thousand mobile games in total. Now there are over 200,000. That makes it really hard to discover new games. Most people just stick to the top 20 charts. That’s very unhealthy.”

“So it means we have to work harder. We have to work with manufacturers and retailers to get higher up their agenda. We also have to push ourselves to take our games to new markets, such as China.

“Nokia’s international reach has been really helpful with this.”

At Nokia, “Connecting People” is more than a tagline. It’s a mission statement that has guided almost everything we’ve done for over 20 years.

Much has changed in that time. The number of people with access to a mobile device has grown from 0.4 per-cent of the population to the present day, when over a billion people connect every day with a Nokia.

What’s more, the definition of what it means to be “connected” has changed. The impact of the Internet has been just as profound as that of the mobile phone on our daily lives, but even today, only 35 per-cent of the world’s population has access –  far less than the proportion that has access to a mobile device. So, with devices like the Nokia 109, Nokia 110 and Nokia 112, we’re bringing the mobile Internet to the next billion and beyond. 

We’re connecting the next billion in a way that works for them. That means designing experiences that work with their needs. For example: the need to keep data costs very low for these consumers resulted in the Nokia Xpress Browser.

And then there’s social media. To us, the social experience on a mobile device means much more than just deeply embedding access to one particular social network. It means giving people the ability to connect widely with others in many different ways.

That’s one of the key reasons we chose Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform. The deeply integrated features cover not just Facebook, but Twitter and LinkedIn as well. It’s also why we focus on different social networks for different regions like RenRen and Sina Weibo in China.

The need for access to a variety of networks from a mobile device is also why we’ve been working hard to bring other social networking apps to Windows Phone; Tumblr, for example, will be releasing their app soon.

Then there’s what we share via social media. We want to help people capture and share the world around them. That means imagery, so we take our world-class photography features seriously. Not only does Nokia Lumia running on Windows Phone make sharing your photos with the world (across multiple networks) quick and easy, but our camera technology helps what you capture look amazing, even in low light or with a shaky hand. We also provide apps like Smart Shoot and Cinemagraph to make sure you’re doing the most you can with those moments!

But with great power, comes great responsibility

Social media and mobile are literally redefining ‘connecting people’, but there are also challenges. People now have more data on their phones than ever before, including intimate personal details from social networks. Applications can also potentially capture lots of information about people and use it in ways in which you may neither be aware nor comfortable.  We don’t want that to happen. We’re committed to our customers’ privacy and to preserving the integrity of their data. We know our customers value this. What we choose to share; where we choose to share it –  and what we choose to keep private – are a huge part of what makes us human.  The mobile ecosystems we create must respect that.

So what does the future hold?

As the authors of “Connecting People,” we’re pleased that more than 20 years into our mission, and with the rise of social networks and the mobile web, those two simple words remain our driving force.

In years to come, we can expect even more change driven by advances like augmented reality and contextual mapping as seen, for example, in City Lens and our HERE suite of experiences. There will be new and exciting ways to connect, but we must continue to balance awesome technology with our need for privacy and humanity. At Nokia, that doesn’t just mean making technology easier and faster to use, but also making it available for the specific needs of the many and not just the few.

What does “Connecting People” mean to you?

Tuula is Nokia’s Chief Marketing Officer.

image credits: giuvax, Alex E. Proimos, timonoko, euzesio

Regular concert goers will be familiar with the problem of trying to record a favourite song on your phone, only to find that the recorded sound quality is terrible, and certainly nothing like how you remember it! 

As well as concerts, you can also add weddings, parties and sports events to the list. In fact, video recordings on your mobile phone are easily ruined by heavy distortion on the audio track whenever the ambient noise gets too loud.

Nokia’s engineers found a solution to this with a number of innovations, collectively called High Amplitude Audio Capture (HAAC), which enable you to record audio that sounds as good as when you first heard it.

We caught up with Antti Kangasaho and Teemu Rämö, audio specialists at Nokia, to find out more about HAAC and how it came about.

The inside of a Nokia Lumia 720

The problem explained 

It was in 2007 that a Nokia team began thinking about how they could create a microphone that could handle high amplitude noises. 

Together, Antti and Teemu explained the roots of the problem to me:

Most microphones have a certain dynamic range – one can be sensitive to the quietest sounds while another can tolerate extremely loud noises.

What is difficult to achieve, particularly in a mobile device where the component may only be 3-4 millimetres wide, is having a microphone that can be effective for both the quiet and loud parts of the sound. 

The solution found

Following lots of test recordings and demonstrations, the Nokia team filed patent applications for key innovations in early 2009 and began working with suppliers to develop the first prototype HAAC microphones.

Nokia’s team continued to refine the technology before the first HAAC microphone was launched to the world, in the Nokia 808 PureView last summer.

Nokia’s HAAC technology fits into one tiny microphone component

The key innovation behind HAAC is a microphone that has two different sensitivity levels – two paths or channels for recording. The dual channel audio recording is then combined to give you a tremendously broad dynamic range. In other words, it is sensitive enough to pick up the quietest sounds, but still sounds great even during the really loud bits.

A rock concert can easily reach 120 decibels, which poses no trouble at all for Nokia’s HAAC microphone. It can record up to 140 decibels with no audible distortion. By contrast, most other mobile phone microphones struggle to handle anything above 110 decibels.

The eardrum for your mobile phone

Following the development of the dual channel HAAC microphones, the team looked at how to implement it in devices. First models used a single membrane, the part of the microphone that vibrates when sound passes through it – similar to the role the eardrum plays in the human ear. 

Another way to implement HAAC is to have two membranes, one more sensitive than the other. Both ways of implementing HAAC microphones enable distortion-free audio capture across the same, broad dynamic range, they just offer different approaches to address the same challenge.

HAAC technology (with single or dual-membrane microphones) can be found in most Nokia Lumia smartphones running on Windows Phone 8. 

Read Nokia’s HAAC white paper (PDF) for more information.

Finding fantastic new foot-tapping sing-along tunes is one of life’s great pleasures. In the past it’s not always been easy, but all that’s changed with digital music. Take Nokia Music with over 20 million totally free tracks for you to enjoy. There really is no easier way to discover something totally different.

The amazing, the unusual, the unknown

To celebrate the buzz of discovery Nokia Music recently launched a short film competition in collaboration with the Sundance London Film & Music Festival. The challenge to filmmakers was simple: Showcase the amazing, the unusual and the unknown music scenes in your cities. To do this they had to create a trailer for a short movie to be filmed on a Nokia Lumia 920.

World class wonders

Last week we announced the two lucky winners. However, here’s ten highly commended films that were so fantastic that we thought it only fair we share their work, too. So sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy ten amazing insights into the sound of the underground.

Pico, The Caribbean Sound System – By Sergio Zaraza

Kids With A Dream – By Charlotte Regan

Hyderabag – Notes from the Underground – By Faiz Rai

1/2 Orchestra – by Ivan Otchik

Oulu Underground Music By Juho-Pekka Palomaa

Houston, Tale of One City By Eight Hour Films

Mumbai, Mumbai By Chaitanya Kulkarni

Stuck in Snowhere By Jussi Vataja

Philadelphia Underground Music By Brad Watts

The “Underground” Music of the New York City Subways By Jennifer Dean

This year’s March Apps Madness kicked off a few weeks ago, and we’ve seen big apps go up against independent apps with the voting being entertaining and surprising all at the same time.

We began with 32 apps divided into four categories that went head-to-head in a competition that drew an amazing amount of votes and lots of interest from developers.

Thanks to all who made App Madness 2013 a reality, from the developers who tweeted and blogged about their apps to the fans who voted in each round.

Without further ado, let’s unveil the big winner!

The winner of the 2013 March Apps Madness is All About Windows Phone!

Keep up to date with the latest Windows Phone news, reviews, apps and much more with the FREE All About Windows Phone (AAWP) app. AAWP is a widely read independent source of information for the Windows Phone platform.

The app includes the latest articles, device, app and game reviews, tutorials, opinion-editorials, links, media and podcasts. You can now easily browse, read and share all the essential news quickly and easily on the move and the live tile support will notify you when new articles are available so you can stay ahead of the game.

For the second straight year, an independent app won March Apps Madness, indicating to us that Conversations readers might have a soft spot for the little guy.

Here is the final bracket, so you can see how it all played out.