Nokia Lumia 920 Hands On [Review]

Nokia finally unveiled their flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920. Although the phone is still not out on shelves, the launch event allowed us to spend some quality time with the handset and especially the new PureView camera with optical image stabilization. Here are some of our initial impressions of the Lumia 920.

Visually, the Lumia 920 looks almost identical to the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 900. Although Nokia has been recycling this design  for some time now, it still looks beautiful. Nokia has once again used polycarbonate plastic for the unibody design, which has a glossy finish that looks and feels great. 

Much has been said about the weight of the Lumia 920. There is no doubt that the phone is heavier than many of the current high-end smartphones out there on the market today. But is that really a bad thing? Not really. It takes a while to adjust to the weight if you're moving from a lighter device but after a couple of hours you hardly notice it. It's also not that big an issue when it comes to carrying it around in your pocket. The solid polycarbonate body and the heft also means the phone feels built to last like few devices out there. 

 

 

Moving on, the Lumia 920 uses a 4.5-inch, 1280 x 768 resolution, PureMotion HD+ LCD with ClearBlack technology. That sounds like a lot of jargon but what's important is that the display looks fantastic. The colors are vivid yet natural and Nokia's PureMotion tech ensures no motion blur while scrolling. The sunlight visibility is also excellent, thanks to the ClearBlack technology. Compared side by side to a Galaxy S III directly under the sun, the Lumia 920's display was a lot clearer and less washed out. Also, you can use the touchscreen on the Lumia 920 even through gloves. 

 

Now coming to the camera, this was the main feature that Nokia invited us to test. We especially had a good opportunity to test the optical image stabilization used in the camera, a first for a mobile phone.

First impressions were quite positive. The images, on the phone's display at least, looked absolutely amazing. This is partly due to the images themselves being pretty good and also because of the amazing display. Viewing the same images on a computer monitor revealed that quality was far from perfect, with chrominance noise being a major detraction. We were told the devices were pre-production units, so quality could improve with the retail units, which we look forward to reviewing in future.

As for the images stabilization, it didn't make itself felt while shooting stills since the images were mostly taken in bright sunlight that significantly increases shutter speed. However, during videos, it did help smoothen some of the jerks associated with minor movements of the hands, compared to other smartphones. The videos obtained, as a result, were easily some of the best we have seen from a smartphone.

In terms of software, the Lumia 920 is running Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system. Compared to other devices on the market, Nokia's Lumia series gets the benefit of Nokia's superior apps and services (Maps, Music, etc.) and also some exclusive games and apps from third party developers that you won't find on devices from, say, HTC.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, this is still Windows Phone 8, which means the app ecosystem is still in its infancy. Although Microsoft does like to boast of increasing app numbers at every event, the reality is that Windows Phone still lacks most of the major apps and games that you can get on iOS or Android, making a switch a rather difficult decision. In our short time with the Lumia 920, this was the only thing that bothered us the most, with everything else being very impressive.

Nokia is yet to announce when the Lumia 920 goes on sale in India and at what price. It is expected to go on sale some time in January and we hope Nokia does not overprice it at launch, unlike some of their recent high-end devices. The hardware is good enough to go head to head with the best smartphones out there but the software is still lacking, which is something both Nokia and the buyers need to keep in mind.

Dawlance Introduces DW115 CHZ Microwave Oven

Dawlance, the No. 1 home appliances brand in Pakistan recently added another innovative product to their Health Zone technology range; the DW115 CHZ microwave, which provides the convenience of cooking with the touch of a single button. The Dawlance Health Zone category incorporates cutting-edge technology to design state of the art products that provide health benefits to consumers ensuring hygiene and maximum preservation of natural ingredients in meals.

A recent study conducted by Dawlance, revealed that majority of the people avoid using microwave ovens due to the fear of high electricity consumption. This is a prime misconception, infact even if the microwave oven is used for a whole hour, the energy consumed, when converted to PKR is just Rs. 15! Hence you may well imagine, since normally microwaves used are just switched on for 2-3 minutes, thus consume PKR 1 Maximum for that duration, of the total electricity bill.

DW115 CHZ Microwave Oven

The DW115 CHZ microwave oven has been designed keeping in mind the modern needs of present times. With changing lifestyles and the need for convenience, the Dawlance DW115 CHZ microwave oven provides the luxury of microwave baking; from appetizers to delicious cakes and traditional dishes, this particular model makes cooking easy yet fun for the modern household female. The “Keep Warm” feature makes this particular model a must have for the modern woman; be it a housewife or a working woman, the Keep Warm feature is a source of ultimate convenience that keeps food warm and preserves its natural ingredients in the microwave for a longer period of time thus making your meals more delicious.

With 64 built-in-recipes with a touch of convenience, it aims to promote microwave cooking and baking with convenience.

Positioned as a lifestyle product that provides the user comfort in everyday life, the DW115 CHZ is available in a beautiful design of floral pattern and a stainless steel cavity. With digitalized controls, this model also includes the calorie indicator for the health-conscious. The built-in deodorizer function ensures a pleasant smell after every use keeping every meal’s natural flavoring and smells intact as well as ensuring the appliances’ hygiene. 

Speaking about the DW115 CHZ microwave oven, Dawlance Microwaves Category Manager, Ms. Naushin Shahid said:

“Nowadays women have to play multi-faceted roles: being the mothers, wives, career women, socialites and the complete home-makers. For being complete ‘All Rounder’s’ in today’s fast paced world, their prime assistant at home is the microwave and DW 115 CHZ All Rounder Microwave, which not only provides the convenience of heating, but also keeping food warm, cooking and  as well as baking, with 64 Built-in recipes, is the ultimate choice! This not only acts as a helping hand in the kitchen, but also enables the modern woman to win the hearts of her husband, children and all loved ones around her.”

With the introduction of the best in technology, Dawlance has consistently made efforts to provide consumers with reliable solutions for their everyday lifestyle needs. With an aim to create value, Dawlance proves to be the most reliable and innovative home appliance brand in Pakistan that continues to enrich the trust of Pakistani consumers.

Nokia & Djuice Partnered Developers Workshop

Both companies have initiated a new series of Developer Workshops in Pakistan with

an aim to cater to the lower-end of the market

With a vision to cater to the lower segment of the market, Nokia Pakistan and Djuice have joined hands to start a series of Developer Workshops that aim to provide training focused on S40 devices. The first workshop in this chain was held at Telenor regional office where Tony Torp, Nokia External Trainer shared the details of development tools available to develop mobile apps for S40 devices and gave hands-on training to the participants.

Giving his views on the workshop, Tony Torp said, “Yet again it was wonderful to interact with the enthusiastic developers of Karachi, shared with them the S40 background and provide hands-on training on the tools available to work on mobile apps for S40 platform. The developers clearly understood why it will be beneficial for them and their community to contribute towards content development and they all took keen interest in the workshop.”

Expressing her views, Rabia Azfar Nizami, Business Development Manager EDX, Near East, NOKIA said: 

“I appreciate the interest level of Karachi’s developer community to learn and excel in their chosen field. Nokia has been organizing these kinds of workshops for developers in Pakistan for the past 1 year. As part of the chain that Nokia has initiated in Pakistan to provide new opportunities to the local developers, this time around Nokia partnered with Telenor to offer training for S40 platform. The workshop was geared towards channelizing the strengths of local developers and providing them a rich bundle of resources to develop more locally relevant mobile apps for S40 devices which are most popular among the masses in our country.”

Mr. Usman Javed, Director Marketing, Telenor Pakistan said: 

“Djuice is delighted to partner with Nokia to start offering these developer workshops. It is the first time that such a forum has been made available to students & faculty and we are receiving tremendous response from participants. Djuice supports initiatives that build young talent. Djuice Apportunity is one such initiative where we provide publishing, promotion & monetization support for applications developed by students & independent developers.”

At the workshop’s conclusion, certificates were distributed among all the participating developers. Events of this nature are pertinent to take the local IT/Telecom industry to the next level and enable better mobility experience for end consumers especially in countries like Pakistan where majority of people use S40 mobile phones.