Przedstawiciel PLAY LUBLIN

I’ll be so sad when the lights go out following Björk’s closing show tonight at the Nokia-sponsored Flow Festival Helsinki. But I already have so many great memories to take home.

As anticipated, The Black Keys (US) put on a righteous show that had me busting moves and belting out the lyrics to my favourite songs, despite the odd looks I received from nearby Finnish listeners.

The rest of Saturday’s performers did their best to amaze as well, from the beautiful voice of Ane Brun (NOR) to the reggae vibes of Horace Andy and Dub Asante (JAM).

I’m normally not much for electronic sounds and DJs but I couldn’t stop dancing at the Mika Snickars (SE) set and was intrigued by the sound combinations of Nicolas Jaar (US). Nokia Lounge made its mark also with seven different DJs mixing way into the night.

With help from friends, I finally had an opportunity to try a selection of the mouth-watering food I’ve smelled all weekend.

Savory cashew chicken from Thai inspired Tamarin, delicious beef masala from Samrat’s Indian selection and, my personal favorite, a perfectly sized hamburger with cole slaw dressing from Grotesk, all hit the spot. Classy food for a music festival, but well received by fans.

Thankfully, my night didn’t end at Flow. Blogging for Nokia has its perks and I was lucky to score wristbands to the ultra-selective Club Lumia and Nokia Factory after-party.

I was a little confused about the concept and names at first, but after a little digging I found that Club Lumia is an event group whose home club is Nokia Factory.

Here’s how it works. Club Lumia announces a competition, kind of like a lottery, every time they throw a party at one of their three clubs, Nokia Factory, Kuudes Linja and Siltanen, all located in a super urban brick building.

If you win wristbands, great! If you don’t, you better have really good friends with the right connections or you probably won’t find your way in.

So last night after the show, I headed a couple blocks away to Nokia Factory. Once I found the entrance, which is tucked away from the prodding eyes of the unworthy, I flashed my wristband and made my way upstairs.

The place was PACKED. The night’s DJs Tensnake and Stop Modernists laid down awesome tracks while A-listers tore up the dance floor.

Beautiful Finnish girls demoed Nokia’s Lumia 900 phone and those fortunate enough to have wristbands sat on comfortable couches and chatted about acts and arts at Flow.

Check out the new Nokia Lumia 900

All about our biggest, thinnest smartphone.

Soon available worldwide

I stayed as long as my feet would let me, but this body can only take so much dancing and my wallet can only afford so many drinks.

Lucky enough to have wristbands for this evening? Be ready to shake it well into tomorrow.

It’s been really groovy, Helsinki. I’ll be flying off to other great adventures in the morning so let’s make this count. I can’t wait to see you again!

Anna Pope is a student of the world, level 56 music festival patron and volunteer and a candy fanatic who enjoys getting lost in big cities and talking to strangers. She will graduate from university this fall and plans on traveling the world on a shoe string, discovering great new music every step of the way.

While I was impressed by the Helsinki Flow Festival‘s opening show on Wednesday, especially Joose Keskitalo & Kolmas Maailmanpalo (FI) and Bon Iver (US), it’s now left me in awe. 

I am quite the festival enthusiast, but Flow Festival has so many flavors, my artistic palette has suffered from creative overload. And it tastes so good.

It was difficult to decide where to go last night with the well-known Main Stage acts, hand-picked fan favourites at the Cirko (The Other Sound) stage, Nokia Lounge DJs bumping tunes next to a conveniently located bar and delicious food choices.

I spent most of my time exploring the iconic Suvilahti area (a former power plant) that is home for Flow, getting to know the space and enjoying the music.

A few of yesterday’s groups are already staples in my music collection, like Miike Snow (SE, pictured above) and Four Tet + Caribou (UK/CAN).

Other groups, like Elifantree (FI), Kolektif Istanbul (TUR) and Antero Lindgren (FI), are new to me and I look forward to poring over their discographies when I awake from my musical coma on Monday.

Music was certainly the focal point of my day, but I came across lots of cool spots and things to do.

Nokia is the main sponsor of Flow, and one place I always ended up returning to was the Nokia Lounge near the Nokia Blue Tent.

It’s perfectly situated; near enough to the main entrance to be impossible to miss and far enough away to give it its own personal spotlight as you make your way to the different stages and areas.

Unlike with most places at Flow, you don’t go to the Nokia Lounge for its design, which is as modern, sleek and simple as Nokia phones. You’re there for the atmosphere.

Pull up a patch of grass near the lounge and take a moment to decide where to go next – although the more savvy patrons will have already favourited what they want to do and see using the Nokia x Flow app.

At the end of the night, I found many people had returned to the lounge to groove to sounds mixed by American party DJ, Cosmo Baker. 

Tonight, I am looking forward to The Black Keys and tasting some of the amazing food. More on that in my finale post tomorrow.

So, if you’re lucky enough to be in Helsinki, catch me dancing at Nokia Lounge or kicking it with a cold one in hand and a smile on my face.

Anna Pope is a student of the world, level 56 music festival patron and volunteer and a candy fanatic who enjoys getting lost in big cities and talking to strangers. She will graduate from university this fall and plans on traveling the world on a shoe string, discovering great new music every step of the way.

Od juta w ofercie na życzenie w sklepie internetowym Motorola MOTOACTV 8GB + pulsometr MOTOACTV Niezwykła kombinacja twojego osobistego trenera oraz odtwarzacza muzycznego! MOTOACTV to połączenie osobistego trenera oraz odtwarzacza w jednym, smukłym urządzeniu. Prędkość, dystans, spalone kalorie? Zarejestruj wszystkie swoje wyczyny sportowe w jednym super urządzeniu. Swoimi wynikami dziel się ze znajomymi online. [...]

Uffff ten PLAYowy weekend trwał w tym roku dłużej niż zwykle. Mam nadzieję, że wszyscy są bardzo zadowoleni. Myślę, że koncept ze zmianą miejsca sprawdził się. Byliście bardzo dzielni podaczs wodnych atrakcji przygotowanych przez szkółkę Surfpoint. Bardzo, bardzo chciałbym podziękować kolegom z SAMSUNGA, LG, NOKII, HTC i Microsoft za bardzo ciekawe prezentacje, warsztaty i super [...]

Od juta w ofercie na życzenie w sklepie internetowym Motorola MOTOACTV 8GB + pulsometr MOTOACTV Niezwykła kombinacja twojego osobistego trenera oraz odtwarzacza muzycznego! MOTOACTV to połączenie osobistego trenera oraz odtwarzacza w jednym, smukłym urządzeniu. Prędkość, dystans, spalone kalorie? Zarejestruj wszystkie swoje wyczyny sportowe w jednym super urządzeniu. Swoimi wynikami dziel się ze znajomymi online. [...]

Uffff ten PLAYowy weekend trwał w tym roku dłużej niż zwykle. Mam nadzieję, że wszyscy są bardzo zadowoleni. Myślę, że koncept ze zmianą miejsca sprawdził się. Byliście bardzo dzielni podaczs wodnych atrakcji przygotowanych przez szkółkę Surfpoint. Bardzo, bardzo chciałbym podziękować kolegom z SAMSUNGA, LG, NOKII, HTC i Microsoft za bardzo ciekawe prezentacje, warsztaty i super [...]

Developerzy aplikacji na urządzenia mobilne ostro  zabrali się do pracy!, przedstawiamy najciekawsze pozycje na SmartWatch’a.

Google Maps for Smartwatch

Ta sprytna aplikacja łączy się z twoim smartfonem – wystarczy wprowadzić miejsce do którego chcemy dotrzeć, aktywować GPS i już możemy oglądać swoją pozycję na mapie i podążać wyznaczoną trasą do miejsca przeznaczenia!. Nasz Smartwatch nawet wyświetli oraz StreetView!, zwiedzanie jeszcze nigdy nie było tak łatwe!.

SmartTraining

Smart Training to kolejna aplikacja (po Endomondo) na Smartwatch’a która ułatwia nam spalanie kalorii. Aplikacja Śledzi twoje postępy za pomocą GPS, dostępne są różne tryby treningu : Chodzenie, bieganie, jazda na rowerze, pływanie i wiele wiele innych. Wyniki swojego treningu można udostępnić na Facebook’u, Twitterz’e bądź Buzz.

ModeChanger for SmartWatch

Niby nic wielkiego lecz robi różnicę , nie trzeba wyciągać telefonu z kieszeni aby szybko zmienić tryb dzwonka w telefonie. Jednym ruchem w bok możemy zmienić w tryb wibracji bądź wyciszyć.

Custom Watch for SmartWatch

14 dodatkowych zegarów , 8 analogowych oraz 6 cyfrowych, wybierz tło ze swojej galerii i stwórz swój oryginalny zegarek.

Więcej aplikacji na Sony Smartwatch znajdziecie na : SmartWatch on Google Play

Sony SmartWatch do kupienia na : http://www.sonymobile-sklep.pl/id527,akcesorium,sony_smartwatch.html?filtr_grupa=22

From last week, São Paulo has been hosting a pure, unique exhibition, one devoted to the Nokia 808 PureView. You might be thinking, “So what? It’s a regular show, right?”. Nope! Nokia Brazil brought together four award-winning photographers, using the Nokia 808 PureView, to record images exclusively for this exhibit.

The result will be revealed today, when the exhibition opens at DOC Gallery, one of the most popular art galleries in São Paulo.

Just to give you a glance of what one might find, in their professional history they’ve made photos for the internationally famous Vogue, Elle, Playboy, GQ, Glamour, Mademoiselle and Vanity Fair.

Click the images below for a more detailed, closer look.

The spectators will have a chance to see how rich and innovative taking photos with PureView technology can be. And the good news is – the pictures will be on sale and you can buy online. If you’re in São Paulo or if you have plans to be there soon, you shouldn’t miss the exposition, which will be open until August 25th.

About the photographers

Ana Ottoni began photographing professionally in 1990. Today, she works with business publications for print and electronic media, and worked for newspapers and foreign publications like Le Monde, New York Times and Financial Times, among others.

Marlene Bergamo won the Young Photographer Award. She is the co-author of the books “Brasil Bom de Bola” and “Carandiru”. Recently she has been photographing “stills” for national films together with directors like Hector Babenco and Ugo Giorgetti.

Klaus Mitteldorf is one of the most renowned photographers to work with camera phones. In 2002, he won the prestigious Fundação Conrado Wessel award, the biggest awards for this field in Brazil.

Finally, Bico Stupakoff already worked on fashion industry, for magazines as GQ, Glamour, Mademoiselle and Vanity Fair. In NY, he made catalogs for Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, JCrew, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, Talbots and ad campaigns for Warner Bros, LEE, Levis, GAP, Tampax, among others.

As a first-time visitor to Helsinki, I’ve heard the buzz around Finland’s capital: Flow Festival Helsinki is back with none other than Björk closing the show on August 12.

As one of the most anticipated festivals on this or any side of the Baltic, it has a killer line-up with big-name American artists like The Black Keys and Bon Iver, as well as Swedish sensations Lykke Li and Miike Snow and a long list of Finnish bands I can’t wait to check out.

There’s also a wide range of art, architecture showcases, an urban garden, discussions with artists, a variety of delicious food vendors and, of course, plenty of tasty beverages.

In preparing for such a multi-faceted festival, I was worried that I would have to print out my line-up, a map and be that sad tourist fumbling through a ridiculous amount of paper.

Thanks to Nokia, the main sponsor at Flow, I won’t have to.

Nokia x Flow

The Nokia x Flow app keeps me up to date on all the happenings at Flow.

The best part? It’s available for every major phone operating system!

The main menu is easy to navigate and has artist info, Flow news, a photo gallery, what’s going on around you and, most importantly, a customisable schedule.

The schedule lists all the stages and artist line-ups by the hour so you will always know where to be.

Just click on an artist’s name and press the star on their page and they’ll be added to your personal schedule. You’ll receive a warning 15 minutes before the show begins.

If you don’t want the updates, no sweat. You can change your settings by clicking the three lines that appear in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

You can also get up-to-date information on schedule changes and other cool events under the news tab, including transport information.

Around You

The “Around You” section is another cool feature.

This lets you know about all the art and design aspects of the festival, the food and drink options, the sponsor offers and the weekend’s talks.

There is also a list of official and unofficial after parties with all the information you need to keep rocking out well into the morning.

You can take photos and upload them to the app to share your experiences at the festival.

All in all, this is a very useful tool and a great companion for all festival-goers. Hope to see you there! I’ll be the girl in the front row for all my favourite performers.

You can get the Nokia x Flow app for Windows Phone, iOS or Android.

Anna Pope is a student of the world, level 56 music festival patron and volunteer and a candy fanatic who enjoys getting lost in big cities and talking to strangers. She will graduate from university this fall and plans on traveling the world on a shoe string, discovering great new music every step of the way.

Last week we ran a poll asking you to choose your favourite input method on a mobile phone. The choices were: 

• Number keypad
• Qwerty keyboard
• Touchscreen
• Voice commands

Over the years many of us will have used most of these at one stage or another. Even now, your phone probably has the capability to use a couple of them. 

For example, the Nokia Asha 300, Asha 202 and Asha 203 all have a number keypad and a touchscreen. Likewise, the Lumia smartphones are primarily touchscreen devices but you can also use voice commands on them. 

But we wanted to see your favourite way of typing, using and interacting with your phone.

We can now reveal the results: 

That’s a fairly convincing win for the Qwerty keyboard, getting nearly half of your votes.

I must say that I am a little surprised the touchscreen did not do a little better. After all, it has become the dominant form across smartphones and, increasingly, the aspirational and budget-conscious feature phones as well.

Perhaps, it is a reflection of how we are using our phones is changing. Rather than typing, we are now browsing the Internet, watching videos, taking photos and checking social networks. 

We don’t really need a Qwerty keyboard for those activities, but where typing is required, the majority of us would prefer to use one.

Here are a couple of comments left on the original post about the advantages of using a Qwerty keyboard:

Mike Maddaloni:

“I’m now on my 3rd Nokia QWERTY – the E7 – following the E72 and the E70… For myself, a physical keyboard is much easier for faster typing and accuracy.  I have tried to use the on-screen keyboard in Nokia Belle but my fat fingers still mistype too much!” 

Noelinho:

I definitely prefer the QWERTY keyboard, by a country mile. You can’t beat it for accuracy or response.

Nation by nation 

Breaking down the results country-by-country was also revealing. European countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland were representative of the poll as a whole, and voted by a clear majority for the Qwerty keyboard. 

However, the United States, with a smartphone penetration of 47% according to the latest ComScore survey, stood alone and opted for the touchscreen. The breakdown of the voting in the USA was almost an exact reverse of the findings as a whole.

• Touchscreen: 47.22%
• Qwerty keyboard: 33.33%
• Voice command: 12.5%       
• Number keypad: 6.94%

Compare that with an emerging country like the Philippines, which has the fastest growing smartphone market in Asia, but yet still lags behind the US with just 29% penetration. Their results was much more in keeping with the rest of the world.

• Qwerty keyboard: 40%
• Touchscreen: 30%
• Number keypad: 15%
• Voice command: 15%

Finding their voices 

It was no great shock to see that there wasn’t much love for voice commands, but it will be fascinating to see if that changes in the next few years. The technology is improving rapidly and it will, perhaps, feel more natural to tell a machine what to do.

A couple of people, Elokuu and Andreas Janke, left some excellent comments about the situation dictating, which input method they prefer. This is a fair point, and is especially true because our smartphones are becoming multi-use devices, as Nokia Drive demonstrates.

Many of you also left comments in support of the number keypad, in particular the speed with which you could type your messages using T9. However, in practically all countries it was a distant third, or even fourth.

The final word will go to Benoît HERVIER, who left a rather cryptic and enigmatic comment but also gets to the heart of the matter rather poetically. 

“I believe in a phone that can write what I think…”