mardi 10 avril 2012

Microsoft and Nokia Begin Massive Marketing Push Behind Lumia 900

On the heels of putting on a free Nicki Minaj concert in Times Square on Friday, the big marketing push behind the Lumia 900 smartphone went into high gear this week in New York City.
To draw attention to the Nokia Lumia 900 — the first U.S. Windows Phone to boast a high-speed LTE network connection — Microsoft set up an event in Madison Square Park on Monday to give people a chance to check out the new device. The Lumia 900 (which costs $100 with a two-year contract) debuted on Easter Sunday and is yesterday was listed as the number one smartphone on Amazon.
Nokia and Windows aim to differentiate the device in the marketplace by highlighting its LTE network connection, which is far faster than the iPhone’s speed capabilities. New Yorkers who participated in a two-minute demo of the new Lumia 900 device or HTC Titan II device, which also runs on the LTE network, were given a ticket to win “time-saver” prizes.
Those randomly awarded special tickets could tap on an enlarged Lumia 900 touchscreen and win prizes that save them time, from a gift certificate for a local dog walker or having a member of the event staff wait in line for them at popular burger joint Shake Shack, located behind the event space.

“Since the LTE network is so fast, the event focuses on how the Lumia 900 saves you time with its fast speeds,” an event coordinator told Mashable. “It’s been a big success so far.”
An event employee with a microphone also told people in the park that the device runs “much faster than the iPhone” and that it’s the best phone on the market. Although the device launched on Sunday, it was reportedly difficult to purchase the Lumia 900 as nearly all 39 AT&T stores located near Times Square were either closed for Easter Sunday, according to the New York Times.
To create buzz for the launch, Nokia hired Nicki Minaj to put on a free live show in the middle of Times Square on Friday. She performed several songs on a Nokia-branded stage, surrounded by billboards that also promoted the new device. In addition to shout outs about Nokia and the Lumia 900, Minaj also filmed a remix of her song hit “Starships” that has already been watched more than 300,000 times on YouTube. Minaj also promoted her new album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.”
In addition, Nokia launched last week a nationwide marketing campaign called smartphonbetatest that lead up to the launch. The strategy implied that other smartphones were only in beta before the launch of the Lumia 900. However, the site appeared to suffer from poor planning — it counted down to zero several times before launch day, only to have more hours added to the clock each time.

Hands on the Lumia 900

Microsoft set up an event in Madison Square Park on Monday to give people a chance to test the new Lumia 900 smartphone.

Lumia 900 Marketing Event in New York City

The phone -- manufactured by Nokia and powered by Windows software -- aims to differentiate the itself by highlighting its ultra-fast LTE network connection.

Window's HTC Titan II Smartphone

Testing the HTC Titan II device, which also runs on the LTE network.

15:48 by Robert dawne · 0

lundi 2 avril 2012

Nokia Lumia 900 Tops Amazon's Best-Selling AT&T Phone Chart

Aside from the fact that the Nokia Lumia 900 is already on back-order with Amazon Wireless -- the phone officially went on pre-order on March 30 with an in-store availability date announced for April 8 -- it appears that it is doing quite well.

As you can see in the image above (and at the source link below), we not only have one, but two Nokia Lumia 900 phones on the top spots of Amazon's best-selling AT&T devices. Both the black and cyan variants rule the list and this is just three days after the official pre-orders received the green light. Furthermore, Amazon's list of best-selling cell phones with service plans features the two Lumia 900 phones at five and seven. This is great news for both Microsoft and Nokia fans in the U.S.

10:28 by Robert dawne · 0

lundi 27 février 2012

Nokia 808 PureView Has a Monster 41-Megapixel Camera

BARCELONA — Thought that Symbian was dead? Think again: at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia has just announced the 808 Pureview, a flagship Symbian device with a 41-megapixel camera.
You read that right, 41 megapixels – Nokia has made this happen by combining Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed pixel over-sampling technology. High megapixel count does not equal quality photos, of course – we’re looking forward to seeing how PureView tech works in real life.
Of course, the PureView technology will be coming to upcoming Nokia phones as well, so get used to phones having crazy megapixel numbers in the near future.
The 808 PureView also features something called Rich Recording, which lets you record “crisp, clear audio (…) up to a thumping 140 decibels,” says Nokia.
The rest of the specs mostly spell mid-range: a single core 1.3 GHz CPU, a 4-inch, 360 x 640 pixel screen, 512 MB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.
The device will retail for 450 euros, hitting the market in May.
And, going back to the question we asked at the beginning – whether Symbian is dead, as many have predicted – Nokia declined to say. In any way, even if 808 PureView is the last Symbian we see, at least the PureView technology will live on in other handsets.

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