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So now you’re the proud owner of the world’s most innovative smartphone, you’re probably wondering what it can do. The simple truth is the Nokia Lumia 920 can do tons of amazing stuff. Often, however, it’s the little things, which make a big difference. So, we scoured the internet communities of Lumia 920 users to see what tips and tricks they think everyone should know. Here’s their answers.

1. Talk to text

You probably know that you hold the Windows button down to access the speech recognition function. However, if you have a Bluetooth headset, you can turn on message so they are played to you. The phone will read messages to you and you can reply, edit, send text messages using only your voice. It’s a safe way to text and drive.

2. App control

Hold the back button to zoom out and see your open apps. Pressing back again will return you to your last opened app, pushing back again will close the app, and tapping the the back button a few times will close all the apps.

3. Stay notified

Go to settings and then to lock screen. Tap app to show quick status – This is where you choose to be notified if you want to know how many missed phone calls, text messages, emails, etc. Get the battery saver app and you’ll be able to see what your current battery level is without unlocking the phone.

4. Take a screenshot.

Press the unlock button and the windows button at the same time to take a screenshot of your phone.

5. Unfreeze your phone

If your Nokia Lumia 920 ever freezes up and you turn it off and it won’t turn back on, don’t panic. Instead, hold down the volume button, the unlock button, and the button to take photos until the phone vibrates.

6. Better lockscreen  

Go to settings and then to lock screen. If you tap background, you can auto change your lock screen with photos or Facebook or use apps. Some cool ones include Astronomy Lock Screen, NASA Image of the Day and Accuweather.

7. Keep organized

Go to settings and then to lock screen. Tap Notifications – Default for this is calendar so if you are business oriented it’s a great way to have your next meeting right there on the front screen.

8. Keep track of your data

You can pin your wireless, data, and Bluetooth connections to the start screen with ConnectivityShortcuts.  This is tons easier than going into “settings” each time you want to toggle these connections.

9. Pin contacts to start screen

To pin contacts go to any contact and do a long press and hit pin to start screen. This has the added benefit of showing their updated Facebook status when it changes. In fact you can pin nearly anything to the start screen. Apps obviously but songs, artists, playlists, people, pictures, videos, etc as well.

10. Stay up to date with groups

Make groups for the people that you really want to see updates on, and then pin the groups. You can have a tile for family, close friend and work colleagues,  in fact any grouping you can imagine. Then all the updates from those groups appear on their respective live tiles.

We’ve been busy trying out these top tips and they’re already making life loads easier. If you can think of any others that do the same, please share them in the comments below.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

With a PC-like gaming experience, ARMED! is an online multiplayer strategy game that turns your Nokia Lumia into a battleground, with you as the general. 

I’m going to go ahead and say it. ARMED! is probably – currently – one of the best multiplayer strategy games out there for Windows Phone – created by indie studio Sickhead Games.

Although it’s been out a while now, we managed to miss it here at Conversations. Fortunately, while reading an article over at WPCentral about the must have apps for 2013, we noticed a lot of the comments were showering this game with praise; and now we know why.

For those of you who have been playing strategy games on the PC for the last ten (or more) years, you’ll find this a joy to play.

However, I’d suggest that you take the tutorial before you jump into the online gameplay, as my inexperience immediately let me down and the lifespan of all my soldiers was a short one.

The objective is simple; build an army and send it across the wilderness to the enemies’ headquarters at the other side, and then destroy it. Of course, the other team will make this as difficult as possible for you, as they’ll be on an identical mission to destroy your HQ.

Starting at your base, you must spend what little credits (money) you have on building either defence systems like turrets, missile silos, and factories to assemble your army of insect-like attack drones, hover tanks and giant killer mechanoids.

As you make decisions and conquer the landscape, your credits increase, allowing you to purchase and build vital equipment for the impending doom. Whether that’s yours, or your opponents, your skills will determine that.

Not only your skills, though. Your skills are nothing without a well-trained army. Make sure you upgrade all your units to the max before going into battle, otherwise you’ll lose most of them if not all of them and will have to rebuild, costing time and credits.

Tactics will come in very handy if you want to win swiftly. For instance, hover tanks can glide across water so use that to your advantage. While you’re sending in the land-based fighters across the bridge, send in the hover tanks by skimming across the water and surprising the enemy from behind. BOOM!

When it comes to building structures, you can only do it next to existing ones. If you want to expand, navigate around the map and take ownership of the power stations dotted about. Owning more power stations will see your income rise, too. This means more weapons in your arsenal.

Visually, ARMED! is stunning. The unique 3D artwork is very easy on the eye and makes you want to explore the five different terrains that are available.

If you want to take a closer look at the action, zoom in by either pinching two fingers together on the screen, or by sliding your phone up and down on the right side of the screen. You can also rotate the screen to see behind buildings or rocks by sliding your finger left or right across the bottom of the screen.

The in-game action is smooth. Your units roll or fly around the screen with ease and the battle scenes show missiles, lasers and explosions with satisfying glory.

ARMED! is available to download on Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Costing £1.29 (or $1.49) it’s worth every penny.

Are you playing ARMED!? Let us know what you think of it, below.

Hello again

As well as meeting our retail and operator partners, part of my time here at CES has been spent talking to the media and tech blogging community. 

I was with some bloggers yesterday, who were talking about the balance between enjoying all the high-end functionality you get in a smartphone and having the battery life to enjoy it all. As ‘power users’, they often felt frustrated after enjoying mobile entertainment, (video and games especially), but then not being able to maintain enough juice to do things such as texts, mails, calls or updating their blogs or social networks.

It’s a common concern. How do you confidently use your smartphone for stuff you love to do  (like watching/shooting HD video, music streaming, high-end gaming) while still making sure you save enough battery for the basic, ‘old-fashioned’ stuff you need to do – like take calls and send texts!

Battery technologies have come a long way in recent years and of course continue to improve. But let’s be frank, balancing battery size and capacity to ensure your smartphone experiences are as good as they can be, remains a consistent challenge for us manufacturers.

Well, we think we have gone one better.

We recognised that people don’t use their phone all day long, and in many cases it can spend up to 90% of the day on standby, in your bag or pocket. The thing is, a lot of your apps will continue to run in the background, using up your battery. To tackle this, Battery STAMINA Mode was born.

The premise is simple – by saving power consumption when you don’t need it, Battery STAMINA Mode lets you get the most out of your battery life when you do need it. Your phone knows when your screen is off and shuts down the battery-draining apps you don’t need, then starts then up again when the screen is back on. But, “What about my email/DMs/Facebook notifications!?” I still want to know when I get those!” I hear you say. Well, here’s the clever bit… it is fully user-customisable. You simply check the apps in the menu that you do want to keep running in the background (like Twitter, Facebook etc.) so you can decide. Need all the power you can get? Turn them all off. Can’t miss that important mail? Turn just the mail on. Simple – and smart.

If you want to see more, we’ve made a video that tells you all about it, so be sure to check that out above. See you tomorrow!

What do you think – how important is battery power to you? Do you prioritise or ‘budget’ your mobile battery power?

Calum

Hey everyone,

Yesterday we ran the first (of two) Xperia Z Twitter chats on @SonyMobileNews, with Lego Svardsater, Product Manager.

If you missed it, we’ve pulled an overview of the session below with some of the discussion themes and Lego’s (expanded) answers.

The second chat kicks-off at 19:00 PST today – be sure to visit @SonyMobileNews and use #XperiaZchat to ask a question.

Hope to see you there!

When is Xperia Z launching in “my country”? (As asked by @emfg, @Raihan_4me, @cold0shoulder, @garyassis and others)

Xperia Z is launching globally this quarter (Q1) – we give local operators and retailers the chance to detail specifics on pricing and availability, so please check in with them for the latest info.

Will Xperia Z receive Android 4.2? (As asked by @AhmedB_0570, @M_Neblas and others) 

Xperia Z launches on JB 4.1, but will receive 4.2 shortly after launch. As always, we’ll share more info on this over the coming weeks on the blog.

Can you tell us about Xperia Z’s internal memory? (As asked by @IceDree, @3bdosama and others)

Xperia Z has 16GB’s worth of internal memory and supports every SD card up to 32GB – lots of internal memory but also the capacity for plenty of extra space should you need it.

How important is the water/dust resistance feature to the overall product? (As asked by @TheJohnRex, @MikespaceOnline, @miffo and others)

It’s a quad-core smartphone with a 5″ full 1080p HD screen, HDR video & a million other features, water and dust resistance is just one of them. Research and feed back from consumers tells us that this is a requested feature in a smartphone, and we feel it really adds a unique aspect to the phone. We have put a lot of effort into including this feature in Xperia Z – without compromising on the stand out design. We believe we’ve simply built an amazing smartphone, that’s also water and dust resistant.

Can I have one? (As asked by @RiceAndChips)

Nice try I’ll speak to the product team and see if we can’t sort a competition or two further down the line…

Can you suggest any Xperia Z functionality that might help with productivity? (As asked by @Xtrifer) 

Battery STAMINA Mode shouldn’t do productivity any harm, it can improve the standby time by four times or more. It’s really intuitive – apps are automatically shut down when your phone’s in standby mode and then fired up again when you turn Xperia Z back on. Having a phone that still works when others around you have run out of juice – that’s productivity for you.

Are there any standout camera features – can we see example imagery? (As asked by @AmbroosV, @dhibow and others)

There’s too many to mention But, Superior Auto Mode has to be a personal fave!

Xperia Z’s camera comes loaded with many of the features found in Sony’s cameras – Exmor RS for mobile is also worth highlighting – it’s the world’s first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones. We’ll be posting example shots over the coming weeks, so you can see for yourself!

Can you tell us about the quality of the glass? (As asked by @Rikigusma, @mwuhani3609, @chaibiskutbhai and others)

Unfortunately we can’t/don’t mention supplier brands by name, but Xperia Z uses tempered glass with an anti-shatter film on the front and back. It’s the same stuff that’s actually often used as a substitute in cars and industrial electronics! All in all, specs and strength are equivalent to Gorilla / Dragontail.

Hey guys,

Right after Monday’s press conference, we caught up with some of our media and blogger friends at the Sony booth, who gave us their first hands-on impressions of our new Android smartphone, Xperia Z.

Check out the video above, and be sure to let us know your first impressions in the comments below.

Ant.

We’re very pleased to announce that Nokia has today launched its full range of Lumia WP8 smartphones in India, one of the largest and fastest-growing mobile phone markets in the world.

The Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 will be available from tomorrow in select retail stores across major cities. The Nokia Lumia 620 will begin sales in early February.

The world’s most innovative smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920, has wowed reviewers and customers alike with its high-end PureView imaging technology, a screen that’s unmatched for brightness and speed, and its wireless charging capabilities.

The Nokia Lumia 820, our mid-range offering, delivers the same user experience. There are also exchangeable shells, not just to change the colour (though why not?) but also to offer rugged and wireless charging options.

Our latest addition to the line-up, the Nokia Lumia 620 offers all the functionality of Windows Phone 8 at a more accessible price point.

Across the range, owners have access to the best maps and location experience, with Nokia Maps, Drive, Transport and City Lens. There’s our exclusive free streaming music service, Nokia Mix Radio. Meanwhile, exclusive camera lenses and apps – Cinemagraph, PhotoBeamer and Smart Shoot transform the creative potential of the phones.

Bright and varied colour options are also a big part of the Lumia appeal. The Nokia Lumia 920 will be available in yellow, red, white and black. The Nokia Lumia 820 will come in red, yellow, cyan, white and black, while the Nokia Lumia 620 will come in magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black.

Speaking at the launch, Vipul Mehrotra, Director & Head of Smart Devices, Nokia India said:

 “We are working with partners across the board to take the Lumia experience to more and more consumers faster. The roll out of not two, but three devices marks not just our intent and agility, but also reflects our commitment to our consumers in India. With a range of accessories and partnerships to bring wireless charging outside the home, we are also kickstarting wireless charging into the mainstream. All this innovation adds up to one thing – it’s Time to Switch!”

The Nokia Lumia 920 will cost around INR 38199, while the Lumia 820 will retail at around INR 27559. The price of the Lumia 620 will be announced when it goes on sale.

image credit: Nokia India, Nicola since 1972

Jeppe is an editor for Nokia Conversations based in San Francisco, where he also looks after social media for Nokia USA.

Prior to moving to the New World, Jeppe, a Danish-national, also studied in London. A self-confessed technology junkie, here’s his Windows Phone 8 Start screen.

What apps have you prioritised and why?

It may sound obvious but the top part of my Start screen is still all about staying in touch with the most important people in my life. I’ve got a People tile next to the tile for my girlfriend and then a Room tile with the people I work with the most at Nokia.

I’ve also got Skype handy as well as the GChat+ app for staying in touch with people using Google Chat. I’ve separated my email so I have one Inbox for work and one for personal correspondence. Oh, and I’m toying around with Nokia Pulse beta. I’m really looking forward to using that come CES.

Scroll down a bit and I’ve got tiles associated with Nokia Maps, Drive, Transit and City Lens, and I’ve got a shortcut to my home address so finding my way is always fast and easy.

The middle part of my Start screen is dedicated to exploring my surroundings. Having recently moved to San Francisco, I often boot up apps such as Groupon, Yelp, OpenTable, UrbanSpoon and Foodspotting.

What is the last app you paid for, and what does it do? 

Caltrain. It’s $1.99 for the ad-free version, and it really is the must-have app for commuting in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m hoping to take the train more and drive less in 2013 so this app is the first step.

Recently I’ve also used my phone quite a lot as a replacement for all the cards my wallet. LevelUp is a great service and makes it so easy to pay for a burger or cup of coffee. I simply hold up my phone, show a QR code on the screen and that’s it. I can even add a tip if I’m feeling generous.

Which app(s) is your guilty pleasure? 

I love creating my own custom mixes using Nokia Music, or just explore some of the many curated mixes that you can find in there. I’m somewhat of a news junkie, and the CNN app is really well made. It’s fast and easy to use, and I love they way they’ve integrated video.

From time to time I explore the news stream using Weave News Reader, and I keep feeding my brain a healthy and constant dose of NPR using the NPR News app.

 Boy, what a year! The year 2012 was witness to some of the most important products in Nokia’s history. We expanded the family of Lumia phones, introduced PureView imaging, and launched the world’s most innovative smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8.

“I’m pleased and proud of our efforts,” says Chris Weber, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Nokia. “I think we’ve created great excitement and buzz with consumers and credibility with our customers and partners. In 2013, we need to build on that, both with current devices and as we broaden our portfolio.”

We sat down with the energetic executive at the CES 2013 expo to have a chat about where Nokia is today and the path we’re on.

It’s all about the experience

“Creating ‘Wow’ experiences for consumers is what matters—we’re off to a good start, but there’s more work to be done,” he says.

So, what are ‘Wow’ experiences? It can be the advanced PureView camera that delivers amazing low-light performance but also additive and ingenious additions such as Cinemagraph or Photobeamer or something as basic as being able to use your smartphone with your gloves on. We can’t forget hassle-free wireless charging or Nokia Music, which delivers free streaming without ads or the need to sign up. 

And then there are maps and location along with associated apps such as Nokia Transit, City Lens, and Nokia Drive.

“I am extremely proud of the work we are doing in this space; it speaks to our legacy strength,” says Weber. “In 2012, maps truly came to the forefront of people’s attention, and in 2013, I expect to see maps take a great leap forward.”

“We need to keep up the momentum, keep it going. When we talk to consumers and to retail professionals, we get very positive feedback,” says Weber. “If you deliver great experiences to the consumer, those things will win the day for you.”

Win hearts and minds

Where is the industry headed? According to Weber, “connected” is the keyword. It’s about taking those great experiences across all devices: computers, tablets, and televisions. That’s a clear technology trend.

That said, there are some fundamentals that remain the same, and it’s actually pretty simple: “If you win over the hearts and minds of the consumers, all other things will take care of themselves,” says Weber.

He makes it clear that Nokia is not going to focus solely on playing the spec game. “Hardware specifications have no value to the consumer,” says Weber. “We are looking at this differently. We want to create unique experiences—things that excite people—things they never imagined possible.”

As an example, Weber brings up the topic of the connected camera, which is currently receiving a great deal of attention here at the CES 2013 expo. “We’ve got the greatest connected camera on the planet. Guess what? It’s called the Nokia Lumia 920. In low light, it does more than any other smartphone out there.“

“It fits perfectly with the trends that consumers want to tap into,” he says.

We’ll continue to innovate

But that doesn’t mean that Nokia is content or is slowing down in any way. As Weber keeps pointing out, there’s still much work to be done.

“We’ve made great progress on the application front, especially with top apps. But if you ask where we would need to improve, we need to continue to focus on that and to grow the ecosystem.”

Nokia will continue to innovate while continuing to add value, new functionality, and capabilities to current users.

“We’ll continue to bring the Nokia secret sauce,” Weber concludes.

Don’t forget we’re giving away 10 Nokia PowerUps this week – just tweet with #NokiaPoweredMeUp to be one of our two daily winners!

Trekkies, Whovians, Browncoats, Furries and Tolkien obsessives: wake up and smell the tech! Us twenty-first century fanboys and girls aren’t interested in superheroes or spaceships or Klingon translations of The Fellowship of the Ring—our smartphones are more precious to us than anything poor Gollum could ever dream up.

Love is in the air

Experts reckon that right now there are over one billion smartphones in use around the world, which means just about 17% of the global population (or about one in seven people) is jacked in to apps and touch-screens—that’s an increase of 46.6% since 2011! But fandom isn’t about number-crunching; it’s about obsession. A 2012 Spike TV poll found that 80% of men surveyed said they ‘loved’ their smartphones. So what’s got us all gooey-eyed about them?

Here, there and everywhere

Well, we’re sure it’s got to do with portability. Unlike your TV, your car, or your desktop computer, your smartphone is one gadget you can use just about anywhere—and, unlike even the most streamlined laptops, netbooks and tablets, smartphones, such as beloved  Lumias, fit right in your pocket. Nielson’s 2012 Social Media report says that 46% of social online activity happens from mobile phones, with tablets only accounting for 16%—they go on to tell us that amongst 18-24 year olds, nearly a third of social networking goes on in, ahem, the bathroom.

Wedded and bedded

Coincidence? We think not! The portability and convenience of smartphones gives them a massive advantage in a world where a constant online presence is nigh-on mandatory. In a 2012 YouGov survey, 68% of respondents said they’d happily ditch beer, wine, chocolate, shoes, television or even their car for an entire month, so long as they could keep their smartphone; and, if that’s not enough, 22% claimed that their smartphone is the most important thing they take to bed with them. Bad news for lovers, maybe, but pretty darn good news for tech manufacturers!

Lust for life

So we get why smartphones have the edge over desktop computers and TVs (whether Internet TVs or regular varieties)—but what is it about the smartphone experience that makes people fall in love with it? The Spike TV report said that eight out of ten male smartphone users felt their device made their lives better,  73% said it gave them more confidence, and 72% said it made them communicate more with friends.

Connecting people 

So if Spinoza’s right, and man is a social animal, it looks like smartphones are doing their part to facilitate that sociability. We’re spending more time on our phones, and we’re using those phones to access apps like Facebook and Twitter. Even when we’re watching TV, we’re using our smartphones to look up information about the show, or to tweet about it, or to go shopping.

The old standby that women can multi-task and men can’t, goes right out the window when we think about how and when we use our phones. And if smartphones are making male users more communicative, it also sounds like they’re helping to break through the old stereotype of the taciturn man, enabling fanboys to get more chatty without losing street-cred. No wonder the boys love their toys!

Image credit: CarbonNYC  + Doug88888

We’re sitting down with Juha Alakarhu, head of imaging technologies at Nokia, at the CES expo in Las Vegas to chat about the past but also about what’s in store for 2013.

Nokia has always been an innovator in imaging. When Juha first joined Nokia in 2004, we released the very first one megapixel phone, the Nokia 7610, but 2012 stood out as an incredible special year in Nokia’s history.

Five years of hard work came to fruition when Nokia announced the Nokia 808 PureView at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February of last year. The 41-megapixel shooter took the entire industry by surprise and raised the bar for what kind of photos you’re able to capture with a phone. “It was like a mythical moment,” Juha tells us. “We had these special covers that masked the device from prying eyes, and we were finally able to take them off and show it to the world.”

PureView: the best imaging available

2012 also brought us the head-turning and award-winning Nokia Lumia 920, which applies PureView to solve perhaps the biggest challenge in photography: capturing good photos in low light conditions, such as at night or in a dimly lit room. “Consumers are amazed by the results they’re seeing from Nokia Lumia 920 in these conditions, and we have so many ideas for how to improve in this area”, says Juha.

So what is PureView, and where is it heading in the New Year? “Well, I think it’s important to underscore that PureView doesn’t mean any specific technology,” says Juha. “It’s the latest and greatest in imaging. When you buy a Nokia phone with PureView, you are getting our highest quality imaging innovation.”

It’s basically about problem solving, Juha explains. “Nokia 808 PureView solved the problem of zooming and sharpness, and for Nokia Lumia 920, it was low light.

Looking ahead, Juha says there are plenty of challenges to overcome. “Imaging is extremely subjective, and you can always make something better.” Pressed for more details, he just smiles at us but does throw us a little bone: “We’re really driving innovation in key areas to deepen and enrich the imaging experience. I can’t tell you about the specific things we’re working on. Safe to say it’s very cool.” Oh, well. At least we tried.

Make the complicated simple
We steer the conversation in a new direction and ask about the work involved in creating the next breakthrough in imaging.

“We’re looking at imaging holistically, from optics to display, and working on all of those to improve. It’s very complicated, and the trick is to make all these building blocks work well together,” says Juha. “But it’s not just purely hardware innovation. You need to get the software to work as well. That’s the real beauty — that’s what makes a truly amazing solution.”

Juha tells us that the hardware and software teams sit together and crank out some really amazing stuff. “I’m really proud, we have a damn good team. Hardware doesn’t work without very good software, and there’s no software that can fix bad hardware.”

Asked if there’s one major problem he would like to solve in the years ahead, Juha takes his time before answering. “I’d love to make it super easy to get great photos every single time,” he tells us. “You should be able to give your phone to a 3-year old and still capture amazing photos, like with a big DSLR camera.

Creative and social go hand in hand

When you’re head of imaging technologies at Nokia, what gets you really excited? Juha pulls out his Nokia Lumia 920 and starts showing off the Cinemagraph app. “It’s a real eye-opener. It blurs the line between photography and videography,” he says.

“You can do a lot of really cool things with Cinemagraph. It might just be a small part of the image that’s moving, something really subtle, but the effect can be truly mind-blowing.”

There’s also the whole social side of imaging. People mostly used to take pictures and print them on paper, and today, we’re sharing our photos on Facebook, and you’ll get comments from your friends. “I’d like to evolve that interaction,” Juha says. “Share new content in new ways.”

And then there’s the technology and how it’s evolving. “People are working on exciting technologies that can capture so much more. Huge innovations are happening right now,” says Juha. “We’re looking at imaging from so many different angles.”

Don’t forget we’re giving away 10 Nokia PowerUps this week – just tweet with #NokiaPoweredMeUp to be one of our two daily winners!