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If there’s one thing we all like to do with our phones it is to snap a photo or two to capture the moment. A year ago a study showed that over a quarter of all photos are taken using smartphones, and a quarter of 3.5 billion snaps is a lot of snaps! That said, sometimes we all like to play with the results, and that’s where these apps come in.

Phototastic

Cost: Free in the Marketplace
Availability: Everywhere
In a nutshell: Add filters, make collages

By far the best use of Phototastic that I have found so far is the ability to make a quick montage of a few snaps in your media library and publish directly to Facebook (Twitter and others require the app to be purchased). As Ewan says in his review on AllAboutWindowsPhone Phototastic

‘does something really artistic, but makes it simple’

…and I can’t disagree. The only thing I’d addis that it is worth spending a few extra seconds cropping and positioning a photo in the montage before publishing. My first effort was less than stellar. But that’s my fault, not the app. Ewan’s concluding sentence sums up te app very neatly

‘Definitely worth a look, especially if you are a big shutterbug looking to share photos in a unique way while staying mobile.’

What do you think?

Fhotoroom

Cost: Free in the Marketplace
Availability: Everywhere
In a nutshell: Filter that Fhoto

Despite the questionable spelling throughout the app (don’t get me started), Fhotoroom has received a ‘quite significant’ update since first release, and as Thomas says in his wmpoweruser review, is now

‘clearly focused on enabling users to get better shots’

Which brings me to the crux of the matter – this app aims to allow a user to not only improve the photo once taken, but to improve the capture experience and make the process seamless from snap to share.

Lomogram

Cost: Free in the Marketplace
Availability: Everywhere
In a nutshell: Insta-what?

All filters, all the time – Lomogram is, yes, the

‘next best thing to an actual instagram app’

(that comment from ‘Smiling’ in the review section for the app). In fact, the review on ibuymobile mentions that this app goes beyond just filters and introduces

‘a vast number of lighting effects that really change the mood of a photo’

So there you go. Instagram+.

Which photo manipulation apps do you prefer? Or do you like to share your snaps as you took them, without any filters or twiddles? I’d like to know (I’m curious as to the percentage who tweak compared to those who don’t), so let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

[Image credit: The Nokia Blog]

samstacle was a long time Nokia user who briefly went over to the Dark Side another OS, but now has his hands on the Nokia Lumia 900 and

‘yes! the lumia 900 helped me decide whether I’ll switch to Lumia or not’

Enough said….although he goes on to let his readers know just why the Nokia Lumia 900 was such an inviting prospect.

From the ‘simply gorgeous’ screen (which is ‘much nicer’ than the competitor’s – which broke easily) to the ‘exceptional’ build quality his review is packed with superlatives.

Despite initial fears about the Windows Phone OS, samstacle sums it up thusly:

‘freaking smooth, fast and with an absolute “zero lag”‘

So much did he like the phone, he dubbed it his ‘Dark Knight’ – with an accompanying logo to prove it.

There are many more thoughts, and for anybody thinking of switching, well worth a read. Have you been tempted elsewhere and want to come back to Nokia? Maybe a trial will help you make up your mind. Or you’ve made the step and want to share your experiences with others? Leave a comment or drop us a note on Twitter.

One of the key new features of our latest mobile phones, the Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206, is a new technology called Slam.

This cool addition is made for quick and easy photo sharing. You select ‘Slam’ from the sharing menu and the phone sniffs out the Bluetooth-enabled phone extremely close to you using a super-fast trick that takes around one second.

You see your friend’s phone, bring them close together and press ‘send’. They’re asked if they want the file and if they accept, it’s sent. If your friends’ phones are already Bluetooth-paired, it doesn’t ask anything.

But where did Slam come from?

Like so many other good things, the answer lies in Tampere, Finland. And, in this case, the space between the desks of colleagues Mika Kuulusa and Henrik Hakala.

“We’re cubicle partners and we’ve worked together on a number of projects,” says Mika. “Yeah, I’m a sort of a PowerPoint guy, whereas Henrik is the hard-core coder.”

Henrik (left) and Mika celebrate their invention’s arrival on Nokia phones.

It goes back to 2009. “We wanted to do something about sharing. The options seemed kind of clunky and old-fashioned. We wanted something cool and fast.”

“Henrik was messing about with Bluetooth code and I wanted to try something out. Henrik did one day of coding and bam – it worked – he’d sent me a file without all the usual send-search-wait-stop-select hassle.”

Mika explains that the technique uses Bluetooth at close proximity, where the signal is really strong. “Slamming something to someone is like an act of friendship. It’s almost ritualistic. Like the way business cards are passed over in the Far East. Or like handing someone a framed picture as a gift.”

Henrik reckons that the hardest part was coming up with the name. “We started off with ‘Bluetooth Direct’ and other engineerish expressions, but that didn’t sound right at all for something that was so cool to do. We finally chose – hey it’s… ‘Slam’ – about ten names later.”

“Bluetooth has developed a bit of a bad reputation. Some people find it tricky to set up and people still think it sucks all the juice out of your phone’s battery.

“The battery thing is not really true. But we want to think of Slam as ‘Bluetooth Rediscovered’: just shoot and it does the job!”

The amazing Nokia Lumia 822 is now for sale at Verizon Wireless stores throughout the United States. As sales kick off, it’s always fun to see what the tech writers and reviewers have to say about the phone.

The Lumia 822 comes to Verizon Wireless’ amazing and ubiquitous 4G LTE network and brings a stunning curved design backed by Nokia’s fantastic exclusive apps including Nokia Drive and Nokia Music.

What did reviewers have to say about the Lumia 822, let’s search the Web and find out…

Slashgear is known as being a geeks’ geek site – with well-written reviews that are analytical and informative.  Regarding the Lumia 822, Slashgear said:

“This device works with a body that’s not going to blast past the top smartphone tier as far as outright beauty goes, nor is it about to keep your iPhone 5 friends at bay with a more high-class feel. What it is going to do is offer you Windows Phone 8 in just about as perfect a combination of hardware and software as you’re going to see on the market today.”

Laptopmag spoke about Datasense, a Verizon Wireless and Nokia exclusive application for Windows Phone 8 that lets you monitor and limit your data usage:

“Two apps that are unique to Verizon’s Windows Phone 8 devices (so far) are Data Sense and Wallet. Data Sense lets you set limits on your own data usage and automatically compresses data-heavy information (such as pictures) as you approach your limit. The utility will also allow you to see how much data individual apps are using; for instance, when we set a 30MB limit for the day, NFL Mobile accounted for 17MB of usage. In our experience, the app did an excellent job ensuring that critical information, such as text, remains legible even as images became increasingly grainy. With only 2MB of data left in our daily limit, we could still clearly read articles on NYTimes.com.”

PCMag focused on the Lumia 822’s awesome blend of exclusive applications and snappy performance in their review:

“As before, Nokia developed some exclusive apps for Windows Phone 8, and they’re not your garden-variety bloatware. Nokia Drive delivers solid, turn-by-turn, voice-enabled GPS navigation, while Nokia Transit offers public transportation info, and Nokia Maps is a general workhorse app for finding things while on the go. The Lumia 822′s 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is an excellent performer, and turns in fast benchmark results and contributes to a zippy feel in day-to-day usage.”

Myriam Joire, Senior Mobile Editor at Engadget, keyed in on the Lumia’s design and the unique grey color option for Verizon Wireless customers:

“Build quality is solid, which is pretty much what you’d expect from Nokia. The phone will be available in three colors: black, white and our favorite, a stunning shade of grey. “

Speaking about the exclusive Nokia City Lens app, Techradar focuses on how useful this application is and how well the Lumia 822 performed while using it:

“Nokia City Lens is a fun combination of Yelp-style recommendations and augmented reality app. After choosing from various categories for nearby destinations like food, hotels or sights, holding the phone in portrait mode gives you a list of adjacent businesses. Turning the phone to landscape mode uses the camera to provide an AR view, guiding you to nearby locations. The 822 was quite snappy transitioning between the two modes. Just don’t walk into any walls while using it.” 

Have you picked up a Lumia 822 at Verizon yet?  What do you like most about it?

Miło nam poinformować, że magazyn Expert Play, czyli kwartalnik, który wydajemy dla klientów zdobył prestiżową nagrodę Pearl Awards przyznawaną przez amerykańskie stowarzyszenie prasy firmowej – Custom Content Council. Gala wręczenia nagród odbyła się 5 listopada  w Liberty Theater w Nowym Jorku, kwartalnik Expert Play zdobył brązową statuetkę w kategorii: Best Distribution Strategy. Łącznie przyznano 175 [...]

Od jutra w ofercie podstawowej Play nowy telefon: Sony Xperia ion Dodatkowo do oferty na życzenie wprowadzamy: Alcatel OT-993 BlackBerry Torch 9860 Nokia Lumia 820 LG C195 LG T375 Cookie Smart Samsung E1200 Pusha Samsung E2222 Ch@t 222 Cennik

Miło nam poinformować, że magazyn Expert Play, czyli kwartalnik, który wydajemy dla klientów zdobył prestiżową nagrodę Pearl Awards przyznawaną przez amerykańskie stowarzyszenie prasy firmowej – Custom Content Council. Gala wręczenia nagród odbyła się 5 listopada  w Liberty Theater w Nowym Jorku, kwartalnik Expert Play zdobył brązową statuetkę w kategorii: Best Distribution Strategy. Łącznie przyznano 175 [...]

Od jutra w ofercie podstawowej Play nowy telefon: Sony Xperia ion Dodatkowo do oferty na życzenie wprowadzamy: Alcatel OT-993 BlackBerry Torch 9860 Nokia Lumia 820 LG C195 LG T375 Cookie Smart Samsung E1200 Pusha Samsung E2222 Ch@t 222 Cennik

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

We’re delighted to announce our second new phone today, the Nokia 206.

The Nokia 206 brings together classic and contemporary, with a traditional keypad married to a stunning design and a generous 2.4-inch screen. Like the Nokia Asha 205, it comes in single and dual-SIM varieties.

The Nokia 206 comes in cyan, black, white, magenta and yellow, and boasts a sleek curved form with a distinctive modern look. Who said a feature phone had to look old-fashioned?

Slam it to me

As with the Nokia Asha 205, owners of the Nokia 206 can take advantage of the new Nokia Slam technology for sharing items on their phone. This uses Bluetooth for transmission, but doesn’t require you to pair the two phones. We’ll be going deeper into how it works and why you want Slam in a forthcoming article.

With the Nokia Xpress Browser installed, owners don’t need to fear running up excessive data charges when browsing the Web on their phone. It calls upon cloud-based servers which cut download sizes by up to 90 per cent, saving the owner money.

Where the service is available, the Nokia 206 will ship with Nokia Life.

Appstravaganza

You can also share instantly to Facebook, as well as email. WhatsApp ( in the single SIM version) and eBuddy are preinstalled, and there’s a gift pack of ten premium entertainment titles to download.  In addition, there are 1000s of free and paid games and apps in the Nokia Store.

The camera is optimised for content sharing with lower sized files. The 1.3-megapixel resolution can automatically resize pictures to around 700KB. This is great for a Facebook posting. It also offers an ‘intelligent imaging’ feature, which will tell you when self-portraits are in focus, and allows you to take a sequence of shots and choose the best. Video capture is also supported.

Once again, exchanging SIM cards in the Dual-SIM variant of the Nokia 206 is made easy thanks to our Easy Swap technology which gives access to a SIM-card slot in the side of the phone where you can swap cards without even switching the phone off.

This is another world-beater when it comes to battery life, too. You can (if you really want!) talk for twenty hours solid without a recharge, or you could leave it on standby for a whole month and still be able to use it.

The Nokia 206 will be available from Q4 2012. Without operator subsidies or local taxes, it will cost around $62 USD.

Most people think that the music video is a relatively modern phenomenon, but it didn’t start with The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, any more than it started with MTV, VH1 or YouTube. In fact, believe it or not, the story of the music video begins well over a century ago.

A picture perfect beginning 

It was American electrician-slash-photographer George Thomas who was the first to marry images to music. His ‘illustrated song’ – a series of still images printed onto glass slides, coloured in by hand and projected onto a screen alongside a live musical performance – made song-book publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern’s number, The Little Lost Child, a massive hit back in the music halls of 1894.

Melodies are made

Skip forward almost thirty years to the era of the talkies, and musical films were taking off dramatically. Spooney Melodies was a series of five musical shorts produced by Warner Brothers between 1930 and 1931 – films that mixed art-deco animation and live-action footage and aimed to showcase the popular tunes of the day. Clocking in a six minutes (so double the typical length of the later pop video proper), only one of them, Crying’ For The Carolines, is known to have survived.

Video boxes juke it out

In the late 1950s, a company called Cameca in Courbevoie, France, came up with the Scopitone, a jukebox that incorporated a 16mm film component. Magic! Soon the Italians were following suit with the Cinebox, which emigrated to the USA with the Scopitone in the 1960s, where the Cinebox became the Cinejukebox and Francis Ford Coppolla invested in the Scopitone. The craze for video jukeboxes had fizzled out by 1967, but by then the enthusiasm for music videos was unstoppable. 

Video kills the radio star

It was television, of course, that truly embraced the music video. In the mid-1970s, alongside the UK’s famous Top of the Pops (which had quite restrictive rules on how many non-live ‘outsourced clips’ they could use in the programme), Australian TV shows Countdown and Sounds were busy popularising the genre. Sounds presenter and DJ Graham Webb hired new director Russell Mulcahy to shoot videos for songs he wanted to feature on his show but that didn’t already have their own promo clips. Mulchay went on create the video for The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star – which became, in 1981, the first music video ever to be played on MTV!

Music TV takes off

Since the 1980s, round-the-clock music video channels have become the norm – starting with MTV, VH1 and Canada’s MuchMusic – and in 1984, MTV launched their Music Awards (latterly the VMAs). Directors grew ambitious – John Landis’ video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller cost a staggering half a million dollars to make and opened the way for African-American artists in the music video scene.

Videos go viral

Although MTV is now more focussed on reality shows than music, the Internet has picked up where TV has waned, and, since 2005, YouTube is now the first port of call for anybody searching for their favourite artist’s latest video. The video for Lady GaGa’s hit, Bad Romance (which owes more than a nod to Thriller) became, in 2010, the most-viewed video not only on YouTube, but on the entire Internet. And now, thanks to smartphones, more people than ever check out videos anywhere, anytime.

So, one hundred and eighteen years old and still going from strength to strength – here’s to the music video!

Image credit: SayLuiiiis