Nokia has announced their latest high end flagship phone  at CES 2012- the Lumia 900. Continuing the beautiful minimalist design of the Lumia 800, the Lumia 900 is a new super sized version with some much improved internals. Still sporting a polycarbonate design, it is apparently a lot more resilient than most new smartphones.

The camera is also taking center stage on this model – it features a 8MP sensor behind a Carl Zeiss wide angle lens with a nice f2.2 aperture at 28mm, and a 1 MP front camera. No mention is made if it is a backlit sensor like the iPhone 4S, but at least at that aperture you should expect some better low light camera performance. The camera can also capture 720p video at 30fps. On the inside there is a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor (single core though) and 512MB RAM with 16GB of storage. The phone will run Windows Phone Mango 7.5, and also ships with an LTE capable radio (at least in the US). The screen size has been increased to 4.3 inches, but still only packs 800 by 480 pixels. Not that it is anything to sneeze at. That big screen might make you worry about battery power, but its broader design means the Lumia 900 can handle a 1840mAH battery which is good for 7 hours talk time or a claimed 300hrs standby.

As part of Nokia’s adoption of Windows Phone 7, they have enhanced a few things in the software stack – Nokia Drive is a fully featured GPS navigation system which is free with the phone. And no, it is not just a subscription. Social networking is also catered for with Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter integration into the contacts.

Nokia has in recent years fallen behind other smartphone manufacturers in terms of operating system innovation and phone design – but the latest Lumia 800 and 900 really makes us think that Nokia still has some life in it yet. Right now the Lumia 900 is US only, but we will keep you posted when it ships internationally.

The Lumia 800 is the one most people will be keeping an eye on – this will afterall be Nokia’s new flagship device. Until now Nokia flagships did not always have greatest specs, but this time they seemed to beef their phone up quite a bit. The Lumia 800 will be running on a 1.4GHz processor with 512MB RAM, and it is encased in a polycarbonate body which is great to look at and hold. It continues the N9′s minimalistic design, but it does gain three touch sensitive buttons upfront, unlike the N9. The Lumia 800 will also have Navigation built into the phone, which no other WP device has had yet so far. The camera has a f2.2 aperture, so expect some pretty great snaps. Expect pricing of around $585.

The is a cheaper Lumia version called the 710 which will also be released. It has a smaller 3.7 inch screen (think iPhone sized), and also has the same 1.4GHz processor and 512MB RAM. One thing we do like is that Nokia is bringing back the interchangeable colours idea – while the front is either black or white, the rear can be changed with snap on covers. The Lumia 710 will be priced around $400.

The best part is that Nokia will be rolling out these devices very quickly. So that whole idea of seeing a Nokia phone being released, and only seeing it in person 6 months later is luckily over. Well done Nokia! Expect the Lumia 800 at end of the year in SA, with the 710 only landing in 2012. Updated: Some sources seem to suggest the Lumia 800 will be only reaching our shores Q1 2012.

The wait is over – and images have leaked out of the latest Nokia phones which are supposed to have been unveiled at Nokia World. Initial images seem to suggest only two new devices will be released, simply called the “Lumia 710″ and “Lumia 800″ (Lumia means “art from light” apparently). The Lumia 710 looks pretty simple, in fact a little chubby, but previously leaked images seem to suggest multiple colours could be made available.

The higher end Lumia 800 model is a familiar shape, in fact it looks like a carbon copy of the Nokia N9. The N9 is a brilliantly designed phone from a hardware perspective, but the Meego operating system is all but dead in the water. So it is great to see the familiar design combined with an OS like Windows Phone 7. Right now the specs for the two devices are scarce, but we do not have to wait much longer.

Our only worry is that Nokia will take too long to release these phones. Example in point – the Nokia N8 had people salivating when the first leaked images appeared, and when it was unveiled. But it took Nokia more than 6 months to release the phones – which is way too long in this competitive industry.

Nokia – it will be in your best interest to release these phones before December. Just our 2 cents.

Image Source: WinRumors

We are all very quick to write off Nokia with recent developments in the smartphone wars. Sure, its Symbian operating system is getting very old (yet Nokia still keeps rolling them out), and we are still to see the first Windows Phone 7 Nokia phone, despite the deal being announced quite a while back now.

But take a look at this infographic which puts things in context. Despite Apple now being the worlds most profitable phone manufacturer, there is still some growth going on for Nokia – look at click through rate for ads from the devices. It might persuade a few developers to build decent freemium apps…

Now Nokia, if only you can get a move on with that Mango handset. Your hardware sure is good enough.

At some point or another, most have us have owned a Nokia phone, and loved it. Those Finnish guys really know how to put together phones, but these days they are having a hard time because of poor software decisions. Their insistance to stick to Symbian all this time has been detrimental to the company’s sales and profits, especially at the high end of the market. But recently they let the world know that they will be adopting Windows Phone 7 as its flagship operating system going forward. Good on them.

But when Nokia announces a new handset, the world still sits up and takes notice. Yesterday Nokia showed off their new N9 handset, which is a stunning slab of hardware design. Perhaps more significant is the use of Meego, Nokia’s own smartphone OS which it has been very slow to roll out until now (a previous version called Maemo showed up in the horrible Nokia N900). At first glance the phone’s simple design is what grabs your attention. It is very simple, and the front of the device is dominated by the screen, with no hardware buttons. Its almost as if Nokia handed Dieter Rams an old iPod Nano and told him to use it as inspiration. It is one of those designs that looks like there is almost no design – just the most logical shape a smartphone can have. The glass on the screen is curved, and is also mended with the underlying (OLED) display like an iPhone 4, which gives the impression that the display is “painted on”. In typical Nokia N-series fashion – a high end Carl Zeiss lens equipped 8MP shooter is also found. Take a look at the official Nokia video for the N9:

Nokia is punting their “swipe” campaign to show off how the device works without buttons (except for volume and camera on the side). The user simply sweeps left and right to switch between the main screen (which shows calendar and social feeds and the like), app launcher and multitasking. (Sounds OK in practice – but how will this work with apps who want to use more complicated gestures?). My bigger issue is what exactly Nokia’s strategy is with Meego – it is currently a reasonably polished OS, but why would Nokia put all their design chops into a device that runs this almost once-off software? There are a few apps out for Meego yes, but its still a very poor catalogue. And these days it is all about the Apps. Nokia is punting its well known Qt platform to existing Nokia developers, but why would a developer focus its effort on Meego, when it is essentially only on one phone out there?

But Nokia is sneaky – go over to the quite impressive swipe.nokia.com homepage and start looking at all the pretty pictures of the phone, and also head over to the features and applications tabs. All very impressive looking. But then look around on the Nokia N9 pages – do you see one single mention of what OS the N9 is running? No. Sure, not every phone buyer is interested in what OS their phone is running, but I reckon its a pretty big component of buyer research these days. Part that bothers me is that users will look around these pages and think that the N9 is running Symbian, or even Android. Users will bargain on the fact that their will be apps available, and they will be in for a big surprise once they have this beautiful  phone in their hand. Very sneaky.

All of this just smells of very 2008-like thinking from Nokia. You guys know that you are releasing the Windows Phone 7 devices soon, yet you still harper on about Meego. Did you have some executive that really wanted to see his pet project on the market? Here is my advice to Nokia – no one cares about Meego. Sure, it has some geek appeal, but smartphone buyers want apps on their phone – it is that simple. And there is very little reason for developers to bother with Meego right now. I can absolutely see this phone being a great flagship if Nokia indeed went ahead with Meego as its flagship OS, but we all know that did not happen. Meego is actually pretty cool looking, but its a dying platform. So this phone is all about the hardware design, which is a shame.

I will say the same as I did with Nokia E7 – let me know when this stunning hardware ships with Windows Phone 7.

The Mango release will be available for free to Windows Phone 7 customers and is scheduled to ship on new phones later this year.  Windows Phone 7.1 will also add support for additional languages; expand access to apps by launching Marketplace in South Africa, and partner with new OEMs to enable this expansion. This means that SA Windows Phone developers will not need to use portals like Yalla Apps, and have more control over their app submission process.

“Seven months ago we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more,” said Nazeer Suliman, Consumer and Online Lead at Microsoft. “With Mango, Windows Phone takes a major step forward in redefining how people communicate and use apps and the Internet, giving you better results with less effort.”

Communications: Easier to connect and share

According to Microsoft, the smartphone experience can be complicated by a sea of disconnected apps and accounts as people attempt to keep pace with all the ways they communicate – from calls, texts, email and IM to status updates, Tweets, check-ins, photo posting and tagging.  To help people stay on top of that growing complexity, the Mango release organizes information around the person or group people want to interact with, not the app they have to use.

•       Threads. Switch between text, Facebook chat, and Windows Live Messenger within the same conversation. With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Skype, hopefully it will include the IM giant’s protocol as well. This will function similiar to how Blackberry currently aggregates all messages in one inbox, only for IM and texting.

•       Groups. Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles to see the latest status updates right from the start screen and quickly send a text, email or IM to the whole group.

•       Deeper social network integration. Twitter and Linked In feeds are now integrated into contact cards, and Mango includes built-in Facebook check-ins and new face detection software that makes it easier to quickly tag photos and post to the Web. This means that WP7 will be able to detect who is in your photo, and “pre-tag” the photo, which you only have to confirm.

•       Linked Inbox. See multiple email accounts in one linked inbox (like Blackberry). Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest mail.

A smarter approach to apps

Windows Phone will challenge the way people think about apps. Today their usefulness is measured by what can be done within the app, but we see the promise of apps in how they can be integrated directly into the core experiences of the phone. In addition to making it easier to get timely notifications and updates from apps right from the Start Screen, the Mango release will also surface apps as part of search results and within Windows Phone Hubs.  As a result, a useful app is more likely to be right there when you need it.

•       App Connect. By connecting apps to search results and deepening their integration with Windows Phone Hubs, including Music and Video and Pictures, Mango allows apps to be surfaced when and where they make sense.

•       Improved Live Tiles. Get real-time information from apps without having to open them.  Live Tiles are more dynamic and can hold more information. (Sure beats the current static icons that Apple iOS currently uses)

•       Multitasking. Quickly switch between apps in use and allow apps to run in the background while helping to preserve battery life and performance. This will function in a similiar fashion to Apple’s iOS implementation, with apps going into a sleep state in the background, with only certain key thread processes being allowed to run – like GPS or instant messaging.

Taking the Internet beyond the browser

In addition to including Internet Explorer, the Mango release will connect the power of the Web to the unique capabilities of your phone, such as location awareness, camera and access to apps, to present a new way of viewing the Web that is more localized, actionable and relevant.

•       Internet Explorer 9. A browser based on IE9 and including support for HTLM5 and full hardware acceleration.

The Nokia Connection:

As ZDNet points out, all of these features seem to point to Nokia’s adoption of Windows Phone 7. The broader language support is essential for a company like Nokia, with its massive global reach, and the shipment dates for Mango and Nokia’s new generation Windows Phone devices are both around Q3 2011. While Windows Phone 7 might not be very popular right now (especially in SA, it still does not have the marketplace here), Microsoft can expect massive inroads with Nokia’s help in future. I am already drooling at prospect of a Nokia E7 form factor combined Windows Phone 7.

There is a lot of talk that Nokia being past its prime, and that their days are numbered. This has primarily to do with Symbian, its age old smartphone operating system which many of us have dealt with at some point during our smartphone-carrying lives. Luckily Nokia did announce that it will be using Windows Phone 7 in its future devices, but they are still rolling out Symbian devices until then. During Symbian’s history it has gone through many iterations, starting off as a rather complicated mess, and then finally moving towards a touch based, more elegant experience as we see today in the Nokia N8 and E7. The thing is – Nokia probably would not have made these changes if the iPhone and Android did not force its hand. But lets not spill the beans on the E7 just yet.

Physical Features:

First off – the Nokia E7 might be one of the best looking phones I have ever used. Believe me, pictures do not do it justice. I used the silver one, and the look is similiar to a tiny Macbook Pro – all steel and glass. I have played around with a particularly striking pre-release orange one a while back, but apparently only the silver and black versions are heading to SA. The screen is bigger than the Nokia N8, to make the keyboard fit in beneath it. The funny thing is most people would not recognize the difference between the E7 and it’s keyboard-less brother. When closed its thin and unassuming. Pop it open and it looks all business.

It feels good in your hand – no hard edges, and smooth. Like the iPhone it also uses a sealed battery, which might bother some, but does make it thinner and lighter. On the front you will find a large sheet of glass and find just one button like that “other” phone, with a power button on top. The volume button on the side is a slider instead of buttons, which does take some getting used to. The rear of the device is also pretty sparse, save for the camera portion. One thing I did not like about the older Nokia N8 was that it had a bump on the rear to house its 12MP camera. The E7 only has 8MP, but it does away with the awkward bump, meaning you can place it flat on the table, pop it open, then use the hardware keyboard.

Normally I avoid any phone with a mechanical slide or pop-open anything. The slide on the Nokia E7 does feel better than most however. Because the E7 has such a minimalistic symmetry it’s a little difficult to figure out how to open it at first, but you do get the hang of it quickly.

The keyboard is a class act. Sure, people love their tiny Blackberry keyboards, but this one just works better than any flip phone I have used in the past. My reference point for these keyboards are those HTC ones that have hardly any feedback or key travel, and badly positioned keys. The Nokia N97′s keyboard was also a disaster. The E7 is different – it has a proper clicky feel, and doesnt feel like you are typing on some membrane, and the keys are well spaced and in the right places. There is small beveled bumps on the sides of the keyboard which might look awkward, but makes the device easier to hold when typing.

In terms of connectivity, the E7 does not use the old legacy Nokia charger tip anymore, and shifts to the Micro-USB standard. The phone has a standard 3.5mm earphone jack, and also has a HDMI port, and supports “SUB on the Go” which allows you to connect USB devices to the E7 like Flash drives. I am pretty sure there a few people who does want this functionality, and the E7 ships with all these connectors in the box.

Display:

My regular phone is an iPhone 4 at the moment, so I have some pretty high standards when it comes to phone displays. While the E7 does not come close to the “Retina” display with resolution (the E7 has 640 x 360 pixels), it beats it hands down for simple pop and pitch dark blacks. I like these types of displays because it does make reading at night a little easier (hands up if you also read on your phone just before going to bed). During daylight the display was also crystal clear, something which is quite unusual for AMOLED displays in my experience. It apparently uses scratch resistant Gorilla Glass, and I did not get any scratches on it after a few weeks use. I have to mention that I am a bit more caring of my gadgets, so your mileage might differ.

Performance:

Nokia doesn’t mention what processor the E7 uses, but if you dig around you will find that the E7 ships with 680MHz Cortex unit, same as the Nokia N8, and 256MB of RAM. Compared to today’s 1GHz + phones, and some with dual core processors, this looks disappointing. But its not always about specs, its about usability.  The N8 got a lot of criticism for its poor performance, but Nokia seems to have done some optimizing of the OS, and the device definitely feels more speedy. While by no means blistering, it is a hell of a lot more stable and usable than the N8. Apps open instantly, and multitasking is quick and painless. There was no freezes or hangups while  I used the device, but I have to say I always updated the device whenever there was an update available.

Battery Life:

These days you can be pretty happy if a smartphone can reach a full day when used heavily, and luckily the E7 reaches this easily. With push-email enabled on Exchange, the phone lasted about a day and a half with a few calls here and there. I am pretty sure without push enabled, it should last around two days. Much better than the N8 I used in the past.

Camera:

OK, so the Nokia N8′s big claim to fame was its 12MP camera. However, it is the perfect example of how megapixels are used purely for media hype these days. Yes, the photos were good, but not especially better than say the iPhone 4 with its lowly 5MP shooter. The E7 still carries a 8MP camera, and the images look fine. It is however not a full autofocus lens like you get with many other samrtphones. It uses something called Extended Depth of Field, which means that everything is in focus. You do not get quite the same control in images – especially with regard to aperture and depth of field. But seeing as the Nokia E7 is a business orientated device, it is a trade off I can live with. But then again, I am the type of person who only occasionally uses a phone camera – if I want great photos I use something that is made for that…

Like I mentioned before, the E7 does away with the bulge on the back of the phone, and the camera is housed neatly within the frame. If it was up to me I would have given the Nokia N8 the same camera, it just makes the overall device shape better.

Software:

Depending on your history with phones, here is the one potential problem with the E7. The E7′s implementation of Symbian is the best yet, and they did finally make Symbian a lot more touch friendly (anyone remember that Frankenstein implementation on the “touch” 5800 Xpressmusic?). The interface is smooth and a lot easier to use now, and small changes like the improved multitasking switching is great.

The problem is that this is not good enough. If you have spent any time with a iPhone or Android device, the Nokia E7 will disappoint you. The problem is that Symbian has such a large legacy base to support – users who have used Symbian for years will feel at home yes, but there is really a lot of holes in terms of usability. Simple things – like say changing your ringtone is a multistep process that requires the user to really have experience of the platform.

The one thing that I do like about the Nokia software setup is that the device ships with decent navigation software. While it uses streaming data for caching a route, you can go and download full map sets for any country, free of charge. The interface is easy to use, and the routing is good in my experience. It does not ship with Ovi Music Unlimited however, which I really liked in the Nokia N8.

All smartphones these days ship with “appstores” (yes I know its a trademark), and the Nokia Ovi store has improved a lot. Many of my favourite apps I could find easily, but I was disappointed to not find a official Dropbox app. I reckon a lot of developers might have been holding back now. Nokia has pretty much kicked Symbian to the curb recently (although there will still be a few Symbian phones being released), and have decided to shift its allegiance with Microsoft’s beautiful Windows Phone operating system. Very good move in my opinion.

Conclusion:

The Nokia E7 is a strange device – its feature rich and beautiful, yet its software makes a person wonder whether it is worth the investment. I think it comes down to Nokia wanting to say goodbye to Symbian by focussing the phone on its Symbian fans. And yes, there are still a lot of Symbian fans out there, although they might not be found amongst the regular readers of a site like Bandwidth Blog.  Next time you see someone using a Nokia N8 or E7, ask them why they dont jump ship to Android or iPhone. Their answer is normally around the fact that they do not want to relearn an operating system, which I guess might be a good enough reason.  As a bonus, the E7 does is quite a bit cheaper than many business orientated smartphones.

And for many people that is exactly what they want from a phone. And a smart one at that.

But you know what I want Nokia? A Nokia E7, with Windows Phone 7…

Build Quality: 10/10
Performance and Responsiveness: 5/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Display: 7/10
Camera: 6/10

Score: 7/10

PS: If you are avid Nokia smartphone user, you might want to get the Bandwidth Blog App from the Nokia Ovi Store. You will be able to stay updated with Bandwidth Blog wherever you go!

20Fourlabs (together with Blueworld Communities) walked away with the top honours last night in the Nokia Africa Calling All Innovators app competition. Their entry, Afridoctor, won the $85 000 first prize beating 125 other entries from developers all over Africa.

Afridoctor has enjoyed huge success since its official launch into the Nokia OVI app store – after 3 weeks of being available in the app store Afridoctor has been downloaded over 5500 times from users around the world.

The application fills a void that currently exists in many African countries where there is a huge demand for basic health related information yet this information is not very reliable or easily accessible.

“Thanks to all those within 20fourlabs/BWCOM for your help in designing and building the product. Thanks also go to Danie Pauw and the Health24 team for partnering with us on this project and supplying key content. It is a great honor for us to win the Nokia application competition and that is testament to our ability to innovate and rapidly execute brilliant ideas in limited time frames.” says Bradley Voges, Business Development Manager for BWCOM.

There are already serious discussions underway to expand Afridoctor and ensure the application reaches those who need it most – development has already begun to port Afridoctor to all capable Nokia handsets to ensure mass adoption.

What is Afridoctor?

Afridoctor is Africa’s first personal mobile health clinic, turning your device into a powerful first aid information kit, a doctor-location service, and an emergency distress notifier. Its revolutionary “SnapDiagnosis” system allows users to submit photos of their ailments and remotely receive advice from a panel of professionals. Afridoctor’s mapping feature enables users to find doctors, clinics and all health industry related services within their proximity. The emergency feature notifies next of kin of their distress and location. Features include symptom checkers, first-aid information, health calculators and quizzes. Afridoctor helps make healthcare affordable and accessible to the people of Africa.

[Charl Norman is associated to BWCOM and 20FourLabs.]

It looks like the Finish folks will be presenting the Nokia Money module — an elementary banking and money transfer service, at the Nokia World conference which is to be held next week. The service that will be rolled out next year in a selective number of markets will be an effective electronic money transfer tool, a money management system where the customer will only be required to know the phone number of the receipt of money. Smells like mobile Paypal?

The credentials of the service quality cannot be doubted for it will involve Nokia’s money and mobile money transfer specialist Obopay’s brain.

Rumors about the Apple Pay Pal Killer have also surfaced from time to time, but Nokia seems to have one-upped the competition with a mobile version of the money transfer system … something which could have a more far reaching effect.

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