Symbian is dead. I know it, you know it. Nokia knows it.

Whether you loved Symbian or not, the OS has fallen behind over the years as Nokia has instead pushed hard into Windows Phone territory. While it has been obvious for a while now that Symbian wasn’t a priority, Nokia is now reportedly killing off the OS this summer.

Part of this change is because while Nokia still sold 500,000 Symbian smartphones in 1st quarter 2013, Windows Phone 8 is finally starting to outsell the aging platform. There has also been several high-quality Nokia handsets that are low enough in cost to compete in the developing space in the way Symbian previously has — the Lumia 520 series comes to mind.

While the days of Symbian might be winding down, we can’t help but applaud the OS for a good, long run. After all it was only around two years ago that Symbian still retained its position as the best-selling smartphone platform in the world.

Do you feel that Nokia made the right decision by pushing away from Symbian and moving over to Windows Phone? Anyone still clinging to Symbian OS, other than for possible financial reasons? Share your thoughts below.

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The post Report: Nokia Finally Plans to Kill Off Symbian This Summer appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Nokia’s 41-megapixel 808 certainly turned a lot of heads, especially those of all the shutterbugs out there. But only if it came with Windows Phone, right? Well, Nokia is said to be having plans to introduce a WP device (“EOS”) with the same camera sensor as the 808 and with their famous PureView technology, and that device could be the one seen above.

As you can see, the device has a pretty giant bulge on its back. Of course those who like to click a lot of pictures with their phone wherever they go won’t be bothered about that hump as long as the photos are amazing, and from the looks of things it should have awesome cam capabilities. Carrying it around surely won’t need as much effort as walking with a big DSLR.

It also seems to a have a big flash. And we have a doubt whether that “XX” is suggesting that it’s a 20MP camera.

Whether it’s the EOS Windows Phone or not we are expecting the device to be official sometime soon. In the meantime, we are digging in for more info. So stay tuned for updates.

Would you mind such a bulge on your phone if it can take great pictures?

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In fact, when you compare the three month period ending in April 2013 to the three month period ending in February 2013, Windows Phone actually grew over 36% in terms of market share in the United States. To be fair, even with that growth, Windows Phone still only occupies a mere 5.6% share in the American smartphone market, but that’s a pretty sizable improvement over the 4.1% it had previously. To put that in perspective, RIM stayed steady at 0.7% and Symbian, oddly enough, increased from 0.1% to 0.3%. The growth of Windows Phone can largely be attributed to Nokia and its launch of the Nokia Lumia 620, as well as its wider availability of the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920. And then there is low-cost Lumia 520/521.

As far as Android and iOS are concerned, Apple fell from 43.5% to 41.4% and that’s probably because we’re still waiting on a new iPhone refresh later this year. By contrast, Android grew slightly from 51.2% to 51.7% and this trend may continue when the numbers for the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4 come through. In any case, even though Windows Phone is a distant third, it has clearly established itself as the obvious third.

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Those who have been trying to get your hands on the T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 521 via a great deal but worried about the “out of stock” signs everywhere, should try this new way to get the handset for the lowest price ever. Now, the device can be yours for a very low price of $105 (well, sort of). All you have to do is follow the steps written below.

Go to a local Microsoft Store to purchase the 521 for $149. At the store, talk to a representative and come to a deal of a price tag of $129.88, the handset’s price at Walmart. Then go to “Bing it on Challenge” and compare Google and Bing in a blind test, for which you will be awarded a $25 gift card. And if you use that card, the device’s price has come down to $104.88.

The Lumia 521 is coming with a 4-inch screen, a 5 megapixel camera, HD video recording, 8GB storage (expandable up to 64GB), 512MB of RAM, 1GHz dual-core processor, and it supports 4G (but there’s no LTE). The device is one of the best budget phones available at the moment.

Thanks to WP Central for coming up with this great way to get the Lumia 521 on-the-cheap. Anyone try this method yet, did it work for you?

The post T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 521 For $105 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If you have ever looked at technology patents, they are pretty vague and most of the time describe something that may not even be possible.  Software patents are no different, there are countless vaguely written patents currently filed and owned by various technology companies. Finland based Nokia is the newest company to go after the Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC for alleged patent violations.

If this sounds like old news, it’s because it is.  This is a tactic used by most all phone companies to make little jabs at the competitors and play a little dirty business.  Apple did the same thing against HTC last year when it was at war with Samsung.

This particular “violation” is in reference to three different patents for a “terminal, method and computer program product for interacting with a signaling tag.”

Clear as mud, right?  So you may ask yourself, what is Nokia trying to gain by pulling HTC into a long drawn out court battle?  Money.  That’s the long and the short of it, it is far more costly for companies to spend years in court fighting than to throw some settlement money at the petitioner.  Nokia is just attempting to boost its books for its stock holders.  Down side is, as everyone knows in business, expenses get passed to consumers.  So these dirty business tactics are only hurting you and me, the buyers.

There are some obvious flaws in the United States and European patent laws, and until those laws get changed, this kind of cheap trickery is going to continue. What do you think of this latest patent lawsuit? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Many of the customers who were trying to get their hands on the T-Mobile Lumia 521 via HSN and Walmart were disappointed. The device is still out of stock. But maybe you are destined to play with the newly announced Nokia Lumia 925 which is headed to Big Magenta sometime in the near future.

Similar to the Verizon-exclusive 928 and the 920, the Lumia 925 features a 4.5-inch display (1280×768 resolution), a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, an 8.7MP cam, and 4G LTE. It also has 1 GB of RAM and a 2,000 mAh battery. All these might appear as ancient, but are more than enough to smoothly run Windows which is lighter than Android.

The Lumia 925 will be available in black, gray and white, and is coming with a “metal design”. Its edges are surrounded by a silver-colored frame that will work as an antenna, and on the back there’s a polycarbonate cover. And the 925 is also thinner at 129 x 70.6 x 8.5 mm and lighter at 139 grams when compared to the 920 which measures in at 130.3 x 70.8 x 10.7 and weighs 185 grams.

Although lighter and thinner, the device is coming with only 16 GB of non-expandable storage, unlike the 920 and the 928 which ship with larger storage. And to enjoy wireless charging with the 925, you will have to buy back covers which are sold separately.

So are you going for one of the best budget handsets out there, the Lumia 521, or the higher end 925 which is expected to cost upwards of $600? Or how about the 920? Or the 928?

Check out the video below which shows Nokia’s Kristina Bjorknas explaining a few things about the 925.

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Those who have been waiting for the Verizon 928 will surely be able to play with the good looking handset soon. But maybe you should wait a bit more time to check out what Nokia is coming out with tomorrow. They have released a teaser video of their upcoming Lumia device, the one that will be announced in London on May 14^th.

Not many details are being shown in the video. The main thing to note is that the device has a massive camera lens with dual LED flash, and seems to have a smooth white body. The device certainly looks a lot like the leaked aluminum “Catwalk” device which has been rumored earlier to be named the Lumia 925. The 925 is said to be coming equipped with specs similar to that of the Lumia 920. But there have also been reports about an upcoming 41-megapixel “EOS” Windows Phone which is similar in design to the Catwalk.

“More than your eyes can see” is what the teaser is saying which suggests that the device will probably have stunning camera capabilities. But whichever device is coming, we will surely be there to bring the latest info about all things Lumia. So stay tuned.

Check out the video and you can leave your thoughts below.

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We’ve been hearing about the Nokia Lumia 928 for what seems like forever now. Rumor this, rumor that. Sick of the damn rumors? Don’t worry, they are finally over, the Lumia 928 is now official!

That’s right, Nokia has come forward confirming that the Lumia 928 will arrive on Verizon’s network in just six days. May 16th is certainly a quick turn-around from announcement to release, but considering everyone saw this phone coming – it’s not that shocking.

Largely the phone’s specs are the same as the older Lumia 920. The Lumia 920 has a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 2000 mAh battery, 32GB storage and 4.5-inch OLED display. There are liekly a few small changes in the specs, but most of the change in the design.

While the Lumia 920 had a bold, sexy design that was different from other phones out there, Verizon’s variant only comes in black and white. It is also a bit boxier than the Lumia 920. Honestly, it is still a very attractive handset, but some folks will be a bit disappointed with the lack of color.

How much will the 928 cost ya? $99, after a $50 mail-in rebate, and after signing a contract of course. Additionally, they will run a limited time promotion that gives new buyers a $25 credit for Windows Phone apps and games.
That’s about all we know “for sure” about the Lumia 928, though Nokia tells us to “stay tuned” for more in-depth details and coverage coming soon.

The post Verizon’s Nokia Lumia 928 is Now Official appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Home Shopping Network started offering the Nokia Lumia 521 on T-Mobile last week and it’s currently being listed as sold out, although they resupplied the stock once. That’s not surprising as their $149.95 deal certainly makes the Windows Phone 8 handset one of the best budget phones out there. But Walmart has come out with an even sweeter deal.

The 521 is available on the Walmart website with a price tag of $129.88 without contract. But this deal does not seem to involve any free accessories, such as the car charger and screen protector available from HSN. But, unsurprisingly, the device is out of stock almost immediately, although it is available in some of its stores.

Just to remind you, the 4-inch 521 features a 5MP cam, HD video recording, 8GB storage (expandable up to 64GB), 512MB RAM, 1GHz dual-core processor, and it supports 4G (but no LTE).

Those are quite decent specs for the very low price. If you are planning to switch to Windows Phone over a more established iOS or Android, then this is the deal for you. But we are not sure when Walmart will have the handset back in stock again. We will keep you updated, so stay tuned to Mobilemag.

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It’s something that many have predicted but nobody thought would happen anytime soon. According to IDC, sales of smartphones have surpassed that of feature phones in the first quarter. Samsung is leading the race, with Apple, LG, Huawei and ZTE in the top 5.

Samsung’s shipments increased 60.7 percent to reach 70.7 million smartphones and that has helped the South Korean company to get 32.7% of the market share. Apple’s iPhone 5 helped the Mac maker to grow 6.6% to 37.4 million handsets, but their market share dropped to 17.3% from 23%.

Samsung certainly has gained by flooding the market with cheaper Android devices. And the variety of hardware configurations they bring out is an answer just about anyone’s needs (rugged S4 anyone?).

In the third spot is LG, with the Google Nexus 4 among the company’s most popular handsets. The company has 4.8 percent of the market. But where is Nokia, which until last year was a global leader for 14 years? Although their Lumia shipments have grown, that hasn’t helped them with market share. Nokia and BlackBerry have been pushed out of the top 5 by Huawei (4.6%) and ZTE (4.2%).

Nokia, as you might know, is very fond of feature phones, but smartphones have taken over the stage. Nokia should evolve and expand its smartphone line if they plan to get back to the top again. Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, says, “Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away. As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones“.

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