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.

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Impatiently awaiting Verizon’s Nokia Lumia 928? While we can’t make it arrive any sooner, we can certainly provide your with the latest word about the upcoming handset. It seems that an ad for the Lumia 928 has now shown up in Vanity Fair, as has an official image of the device as seen above.

So what does Vanity Fair reveal about the Lumia 928? While details are still scarce, it does talk up the camera a bit and makes it pretty obvious we can expect a PureView camera of some kind, a Carl Zeiss lens and Nokia’s proprietary OIS. Unfortunately that’s about all we know from the rumor.

Are you interested in getting your hands on the Nokia Lumia 928? For those that simply like Nokia phones and don’t have a carrier preference, you might also want to check out the Lumia 521 – if you don’t mind a more budget oriented handset.

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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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Regardless of what mobile platform you currently use, you are likely well aware of the major rivalry between iPhone users and Android users – or more specifically, Samsung users. With that in mind, Microsoft’s latest commercial takes a humorous look at the war and weighs in with its own comment about switching to Windows Phone instead.

Whether or not you like Windows Phone, it is admitedly a fun commercial. Does it do much to truly promote Windows though? Honestly, not really. The commercial really doesn’t focus on the phone’s features at all, instead it just has two waiters using Lumia handsets talking about how Android and iOS fans like to fight.

What do you think of Microsoft’s latest marketing attempt for Windows Phone 8? Effective, humorous? Or totally missed the mark? Let us know in the comments below.

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T-Mobile is certainly having problems with the release of the Galaxy S4, but good news for those of you who are waiting for a budget Windows Phone 8 smartphone to hit Big Magenta. The Nokia Lumia 521, T-Mobile’s version of the Lumia 520, is now available at HSN.

You can get the device for an off-contract price of $149.95 (or four payments of $37.49), and the offer includes a car charger and screen protector and free shipping. You can also find the device at Walmart and Microsoft retail stores, but you will have to wait till May 11^th and probably that bundle deal will only be available from HSN. And it will hit T-Mobile’s stores on May 22^nd, according to Engadget’s sources.

The 4-inch Lumia 521 supports 4G but not LTE. But it is one of the best budget phones around, with decent specs and a good looking design. You can find the HSN order page here.

So, are you interested? Or are you too into Android like millions of others around the world?

The post T-Mobile Lumia 521 Now Available At HSN appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Rumors and leaks about the Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon have been flying around for a while now. Now we might finally have leaked images showing us exactly what the 928 looks like.

The leaked press shots, which come to us courtesy of @evleaks on Twitter, allow us to take a peek at both the black and white versions of the 928. This probably is what’s heading to the Big Red as this Twitter account holder has a reasonably solid track record of leaking press shots of unannounced devices (though even he gets things wrong from time to time).

Looking at the images, the 928 features a PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics and both a xenon and LED flash. It also appears to have an upgraded speaker and is compatible with 4G LTE.

The device is expected to be a bit lighter and thinner than the 920, but it still looks quite bulky. As for the specs of the device, most likely it’s coming with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM and 32GB storage. That might appear to be primitive by modern standards, but Windows Phone 8 is lighter than Android and does not need the best available specs to run smoothly.

We have heard reports that the 928 will be announced on April 25^th. We will let you know as soon as we get more info, so stay tuned to Mobilemag.

Are you looking forward to getting the Verizon Lumia 928?

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Even though the iPhone continues to be the talk of the town, iOS actually lost 3.5% market share in the United States compared to the same period last year. By contrast, Android gained nearly 6% market share compared to last year. A big part of this growth can be attributed to Samsung, surely, but companies like Huawei are making a lot of headway too.

But what if we go beyond the two biggest elephants in the room to look at the other operating systems? It looks like the partnership with Nokia is working, because Windows Phone went from 2.7% to 4.1% market share. Considering that no other platform was able to break the 1.0% mark for the 3 month period ending February 2013, that’s quite the accomplishment. If Kantar’s information is correct, Windows Phone is the clear number three in the smartphone race right now. Blackberry OS suffered a heavy blow, as expected, dropping from 3.6% to just 0.7%, despite the push they had with BB10 and the BlackBerry Z10.

Globally, iOS is more or less holding steady with some small gains and losses, but Android has a definite upward trend. This can largely be attributed to people who are leaving legacy platforms — like Symbian — behind. Several former BlackBerry users are jumping to Android, too. Perhaps the biggest hit for BlackBerry is in Great Britain where its market share fell from 16.8% in 2012 to just 5.1% in 2013. Ouch.

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As expected, Nokia has announced budget Windows Phone 8 smartphones which are aimed at broadening the reach of WP8 at the MWC. But although the Lumia 720 (left in the image) and the 520 are budget handsets, the specs are pretty reasonable for their prices.

The Lumia 520 is the low end model and is similar in design to the Lumia 920 and 820 series. It has the curved back, pillowed glass over the screen, and a super sensitive touchscreen. The specs list includes a 1GHz dual core processor, 4-inch 800 x 480 IPS display, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage with a microSD slot (supports 64GB), and a 5MP camera. You will also get to play with interchangeable backplates (yellow, red, cyan, white, and black) that feature wireless charging.

But no NFC, no flash for the cam, no front cam, and no LTE which is no surprise since it is mainly targeted at the markets in Asia, Europe, and South America. But surprisingly T-Mobile in the US will add it to its network sometime in the coming months for an unknown price, although we do know that it will cost €139 when it arrives in Europe.

The 520, although not coming with heavy specs, should give you a feeling of a high end handset. But you will get more with the 4.3″ Lumia 720, especially with the handset’s 6.7MP cam (flash included) with a Carl Zeiss f1.9 (large aperture) lens for good performance in low light conditions. It also has a front cam and you get wireless charging via a replacement shell. Reportedly, it’s light and comfortable in the hands. And it has a 2000mAh battery, pretty good for a mid-range handset.

The 720 will cost €249 and will be launched in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam this quarter, and in Asia, Europe, and South America in Q2.

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While those in the United States have to go through a retailer like Expansys to get their hands on the Nokia Lumia 620, Telus is now bringing the budget handset to Canada.

The Lumia 620 isn’t a powerhouse by any means, with a 3.8-inch display, 800×400 resolution, 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus, 512MB of RAM, 8GB storage, 5MP cam, WiFi and NFC. What it is though is an attractive and highly affordable handset that runs on Windows Phone 8.

So how much will you have to pay to get your hands on the device through Telus? You have two options. You can pay just $250 outright for the handset, or pay nothing if you sign a 2-year agreement.

The Nokia Lumia 920 will come in black and white versions through Telus, though the shells are interchangeable.

If you like to have the latest and most powerful handset on the market, the Nokia Lumia 620 isn’t for you. If you just want a capable low-end device at an amazing price and wouldn’t mind giving Windows Phone 8 a try, then this could be exactly what you are looking for.

What do you think of the Nokia Lumia 620, interested or not?

The post Nokia Lumia 620 Coming to Telus, Just $250 Outright or Free with Contract appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

We’ve known for a while now that Nokia is preparing a few other Lumia handsets, even if they have yet to officially announce it. Now a new commercial for Dutch carrier KPN seems to reveal one of these upcoming Nokia handsets.

The commercial is meant to showcase the Nokia Lumia 920, but it also gives us a look at something that is much more curved at one point, something that looks like a Lumia but is clearly not any existing model.

The design itself looks somewhat like a mix of the Lumia 822 and Lumia 620. More than likely, it is another budget or mid-range device, though its hard to say for sure at this potent.

Whatever this handset is, here’s to hoping we learn more about it about Mobile World Congress. What do you think, like the curved design of this one or not? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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