lte

HTC Titan II unboxing and hands-on

April 6, 2012 | By Surur

Lest we spend too much time on the Nokia Lumia 900 and forget about the other new LTE Windows Phone launching on the 8th April, here is another video of the HTC Titan II being unboxed, this time by Technobuffalo, who also gives a quick run down of how it differs from the original HTC Titan.

In our last poll only around 3% of readers were choosing this handset over the Nokia Lumia 900. If you are waiting for the HTC Titan II yourself, let us know why in the comments below.

11

Nokia and AT&T pushed Microsoft to bring LTE to Windows Phone early

April 4, 2012 | By Surur

CNET reports that, if not for AT&T, the first LTE Windows Phone would only have arrived much later, rather than hitting the market in less than a week.

Apparently as soon as Nokia inked their historic deal with Microsoft, they approached AT&T to secure a device on the US network.

AT&T on the other hand was only interested in a handset with LTE, forcing Microsoft to bring the technology forward in their roadmap, presumably from Apollo.

"The timeline for LTE moved up significantly," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices for AT&T.

"Yes, LTE was always part of our roadmap. It was important to our partners, so we prioritized delivery," said Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Windows Phone.

The Nokia Lumia 900 was then developed in only 10 months.

This apparently needed intense 24 hour work using shifts alternating between Finland, USA and China, including modification of chipsets by Qualcomm to make their LTE modem work with Windows Phone 7.

Apparently not only Nokia benefited from the work, but the technology was also made available to other Windows Phone OEMs, resulting in the HTC Titan II.

While the story is one of success against the odds, it does raise questions about whether Microsoft’s roadmap is able to keep pace with the rest of the mobile phone industry.

"Microsoft still has to get used to the rapid innovation cycle in the wireless world," said Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics.

It may be time for Microsoft to redraw that roadmap, possibly in pencil, so as to meet the demands of the market faster.

First review of the Nokia Lumia 900 let slip

April 3, 2012 | By Surur

ChipChick let slip the first preview of the Nokia Lumia 900, before the official embargo has expired.

They seem to like it, calling is “basically a suped-up, more refined, bad-ass version of the 800” but found the camera disappointing. They found the screen super-vibrant and sharp, but wished it was brighter.

On the all important issue of battery life, they say the battery life is not as long lasting as the Lumia 710, but will get you through a whole day, “much better than most typical Android and iOS smartphones.”

They conclude:

The Good: Excellent build quality and unique design, affordable price-point, AT&T’s LTE speeds continue to blow us away as usual, Nokia’s additional apps are nice add-ons, excellent call quality
The Bad: Camera is a bit of a let-down.

Link removed on request.

32

Smartphone beta test Nokia Lumia 900 ad campaign starts with a “nagging suspicion”

April 2, 2012 | By Surur

The first of the new Nokia campaign for the Nokia Lumia 900 has started showing up on YouTube, and in the main they appear to be targeted at the flaws of the iPhone over time, implying its buyers have been and are beta testers.

Given that iOS is now pretty mature and Windows Phone is not, it seems a rather dangerous tack to take.

See more, longer videos after the break and the YouTube channel here.

Continue reading →

28

Nokia Lumia 900 ONLINE pre-orders now open, Wal-Mart offering the best deal

March 30, 2012 | By Surur

Online pre-orders have now opened for the Nokia Lumia 900, for those who could not make it to their nearest AT&T store.

Unfortunately AT&T is not allowing those buying the handset outright to pre-order online, suggesting they go a physical store.

Interestingly, while the handset is available at AT&T online, Wal-Mart is offering an even better deal. Wal-Mart’s LetsTalk mobile store are offering the the Cyan or Black model of the AT&T Lumia 900 for just $49.99 – half of the cost on AT&T.

That deal is also available to both new contracts and those upgrading.

Find the Wal-Mart Lumia 900 Pre-Order (Cyan, Black) here and the AT&T page here.

Via WindowsPhoneDaily.com

Thanks John for the tip.

30

Nokia Lumia 900 now available for pre-order at AT&T

March 30, 2012 | By Surur

Mobile-burn reports the Nokia Lumia 900 on AT&T is now available for pre-order.

The new LTE windows phone handset is expected to reach market on the 8th April, but there are rumours that those who pre-order could get the handset as early as the 6th.

If you wish to have a few extra days to brag about your new Windows Phone before everyone else has one, pop down to your local AT&T store or check out their website here. (Update: In stores only, not online).

27

Stage 2 Round 3 of the Smartphone March Madness: HTC Titan II vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus–Vote for Windows Phone!

March 27, 2012 | By Surur

Today we have a real battle of the titans, in some ways literally. We have the HTC Titan II versus the Samsung Galaxy Nexus on LaptopMagazine’s March Madness round robin.

The HTC Titan II with its 4.7 inch screen and LTE is making its debut on AT&T on the 8th for $199, and will be doing its own March Madness against the Nokia Lumia 900 on the same day.

At the moment the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is ahead, and for the first time we have a fight on our hands!

Show your love for Windows Phone by voting for the HTC Titan II here.

15

Video: Nokia Lumia 900 vs iPhone 4S

March 27, 2012 | By Surur

As promised, after Alex’s first impressions hands-on video of the Nokia Lumia 900 he also reviewed the handset against the iPhone 4S, and uploaded this video above.

While the iPhone 4S is marginally faster in rendering web pages and other processor speed tests, the Nokia Lumia 900 more than holds its own in general, and Alex feels make a much better iPhone contender than the legion of plasticky Android handsets now available.

Subscribe to Alex’s YouTube channel here for more of his videos.

38

Another hands-on first impressions video with the AT&T Nokia Lumia 900

March 27, 2012 | By Surur

Alex Barrera has uploaded this hands-on video of the Nokia Lumia 900, noting it felt great in the hand and was fast even without a dual core processor.

He promises to follow up with a comparison with the iPhone 4S in his next video, so follow his YouTube channel here.

6

AT&T Nokia Lumia 900 will come with visual voicemail

March 24, 2012 | By Surur

Reader Jonathan visited his local AT&T store and not only discovered that all the sales staff had Nokia Lumia 900s, but also let him play with them.

While doing this he noticed some of the phones had Visual Voicemail enabled.

He writes:

Hi. I went to the local AT&T store today. All the salespeople had Lumia 900s and they let me play with them and explain the operating system to them. There are two things of note. First, the manger’s phone had visual voicemail. I saw it and it was there. You have a choice to use it or not. This, perhaps, collaborates with the inside word I got a week or two ago that the original delay was on Nokia’s side and had to do with voicemail. Second, they thought the phone was coming out April 1st.

One final thing that was promising: All of the employees were pumped about the phone…truly pumped. This is what WP7 has needed. For the first time, I am hopeful for the platform.

The news is consistent with the recent news from earlier this month that visual voice mail can be hacked onto current AT&T Windows Phones by provisioning the service from an LTE Android phone. With the Nokia Lumia 900 being an LTE phone from the start the service should also be available.

One more little reason to upgrade to a Lumia 900. Now if only AT&T could get their upgrade story straight…

Thanks Jonathan for the tip.

20

Nokia Lumia 900 also “beautifully different”

March 23, 2012 | By Surur

It seems Nokia’s new marketing strategy is to appeal to those who do not want to be the same as everyone else (ie own an iPhone), with the new, “beautifully different” Nokia Lumia 900.

Nokia used the same theme for the Nokia Lumia 800 in what is clearly aimed to be a TV spot.

The rallying cry of course appeals as usual to the Microsoft and Nokia marketers favourite demographic, the hipsters, but at least no-one wearing a formal jacket and shorts appear in the ad, and having a different phone from everyone else does have its appeal, no matter what Scoble says, especially if its also “beautiful”.

Thanks Fahd for the tip.

4

Nokia may be paying up to $25 million to make the Nokia Lumia 900 the Official AT&T Company Use phone for retail staff

March 23, 2012 | By Surur

AT&T retail staff are getting free Nokia Lumia 900s, but have to return their company iPhones and Android handsets.

Recently we heard that retail staff were already using Nokia Lumia 900s, and now we hear from WPCentral that this may not just be a co-incidence, but part of a strong push by Nokia to get AT&T staff familiar with the new Windows Phone flagship.

Apparently in return for a $25 million payment AT&T has designated the Nokia Lumia 900 for ‘Company Use’ meaning all Front Seller employees are eligible to receive the phone at no cost. In return employees have to turn in their current ‘Company Use’ phones, namely the iPhone and certain Android devices. In employees refuse the deal they can still use another phone, but this will only be available at a discount, not free.

Nokia is expecting an uptake of 80% for the deal, which should help familiarise the majority of staff with the Windows Phone 7 OS.

Also of note is that this move is not intended too boost Windows Phone in general. According to WPCentral AT&T is end of Life-ing (EOL) the other two high end Windows Phones on AT&T, the HTC Titan and Samsung Focus S, leaving the HTC Titan II as the only other high end Windows Phone on the network.

Who gets a feeling Windows Phone will soon become as synonymous with Nokia as Symbian has?

24

AT&T puts up a Coming Soon page for the Nokia Lumia 900

March 23, 2012 | By Surur

In case you were wondering if the Nokia Lumia 900 on AT&T was in fact “coming soon”, AT&T has provided some reassurance by putting up a page for the handset.

Currently rumoured for an April 9th arrival, this is not yet the massive media splash that we have been expecting, but it is a start.

Eager readers can register their interest at the page, which can be found here.

Via WPCentral.com

26