The number of new smartphones in the MTS-Ukraine has exceeded the number of new subscribers

The mobile operator "MTS Ukraine" provided statistics on the use of communications services owners of smartphones running the popular mobile operating systems.

As noted by the operator at the end of the third quarter of 2012 in its network, there were almost 3 million smartphones, which is 1 million more than last year. Thus, the number of new smart phones that are registered in the network in one year exceeded the number of new subscribers during the same period (about 800 thousand).

While still on the market is dominated by devices based on the platform Symbian, the most dynamic growth demonstrate smartphones running OS Android, the number of which, compared to the same period last year increased by five times. Devices on iOS and bada has doubled, but the smartphones' OSes »Windows has increased by only 12%.

The number of smartphones in the MTS network in early September 2012 (top 5 most popular OS):

Symbian - 1600 thousand.;
Android - 640 thousand piece.
iOS - 221 thousand piece.
bada - 207 thousand piece.
Windows Phone / Mobile - 91 thousand.
Owners of smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS are the most active users of mobile Internet services - on average they use about 1 GB of traffic per month. Following them in the ranking are fans of bada. It is these operating systems are leaders in the use of services to reduce the cost of Internet access - "NET at" and a package of Internet traffic.

Interview with Midnight Bonfires – Part 1

When the guys from Midnight Bonfires got in touch and asked if they could shoot their latest music video on a Nokia 808 PureView, you can imagine we jumped at the chance to put the phone through its paces. You may have seen the preview a couple of weeks back. Well, we went along to the shoot for ‘Wait’, took some exclusive snaps, and found out what the band had to say about the experience:

How did you originally form the band?

We have all been mates throughout school [in Birmingham, UK] and played music together in various projects. Midnight Bonfires started when Dave (lead vocals, Guitar) and Rick (Mandolin) wrote the first takes of ‘Misbehave’ and ‘Wait’. After showing Sam (Bass) and Mark (Drums) the songs at Sam’s house we realised the potential and took to the practice studio. 

‘Midnight Bonfires’ who came up with the name and what does it represent?

Dave came up with the name. We wanted quite an earthy, natural name that tied in with the folk elements of our music. But we never really set out a scientific way of going about finding it. We all came up with various examples but Midnight Bonfires just felt right. We liked the imagery of fire and the idea of the night and how it contrasts in different ways.  

For those who don’t know you, what song would you recommend they listen to and where can they find it?
Our single ‘Misbehave’ is available online, it was our first release and we’d most likely recommend that one. We’re also looking at releasing ‘Wait’ as a single before an EP launch in November. Our Facebook page currently has a preview of one of the songs on the EP – ‘Voodoo Eyes’

Do you have any cool or funny stories you could tell us about when you have been performing or rehearsing?

Dave: I got electrocuted a number of times on stage whilst performing at a gig, they were little at first but by the end they were pretty big! Luckily it was the last song! I also bit an apple randomly on stage, threw it, and oddly someone kept it. Me and Rick also took a trip to Vancouver and whilst we were there, did a few open mic nights which went down pretty well.
Rick: When recording the EP recently we cracked into a litre bottle of whisky nearing the conclusion. We judged the timing a little off and I wound up recording the group backing vocals slightly intoxicated.

What would you do with a Nokia? Are you a musician/artist that has an idea? Let us know. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the final version of the video from Midnight Bonfires and their thoughts on the Nokia 808 PureView.

Top 10 Nokia 808 PureView photos

It was for some weeks that David regularly astonished us with his Nokia N9 photography. That meant we wanted to know what he could do with a Nokia 808 PureView in his hands.

And here he is to show and tell you! Take it away David!

-Thanks for the opportunity Paul!

#1 Dragonfly: Once I received the PureView, the next day I went out on my bike to the lake at the edge of town, to see if I could find something interesting to shoot. Straight away I saw a dragonfly, which I had to chase for an opportunity to get a good shot of! At that time, I was new to the PureView, therefore I took the photo in full size (34MP) and automatic mode of everything, so afterwards I cut out 5MP size photo.

#2 Still life: Once when I was on my way home I looked out of the train I saw a field of infinite straw bales and electrical wiring. It was a beautiful picture, so I decided that I would one day go back there. After the dragonfly at the lake, I went to the target site this beautiful image.

#3 Darling eye: A few days later I went on a photo tour with my girlfriend in Szeged. We rested at the edge of the fountain front of the museum, when I saw an opportunity in my girlfriend’s eyes. At this time, I already knew the capabilities of the PureView, so this amazing photo was quickly born!

#4 Splash in the Balaton & #5 Lightning and Love: On vacation with some friends at the Balaton lake. Our primary goal was have a wonderful time partying, but we broke up time for shooting too! One of my best photos was of my buddy kicking into the water, which summed up our time there perfectly. Another night we went to Siofok, and at dawn was a big lightning storm, which I also managed to create a stunning photo of while lying on a bench.

#6 & #7 A creative crisis: ‘Creative crisis’, I hate it, especially when I know that time is limited! However, the idea I had was to shoot water filling up a sink. Poor light conditions didn’t help at all, I used the flash, I took down the exposure compensation but to no avail. I took hundreds of pictures and it was very hard to catch the right moment, but it was worth it in the end! All of them are very special photos. This is one of my favorites. A water drop resulting in a crater. The splash was unpredictable so I cut it to 1600×900.

                          

 #8 Firework & #9 Ferenc Móra Museum: St Stephen’s Day 2012, Szeged. Having had experienced long exposed pictures with the PureView, I was ready for this day of fireworks. I took my time choosing the right spot, I wanted to capture the firework reflections in the water.  The results simply stopped my words… Incredibly good photographs, not to mention the fact that I did all of this with a phone! After the fireworks we went for a walk and we stopped in front of the museum. This time I could take sharp pictures with GPS-holder, and managed to get the building beautifully reflected in the water!

#10 ♥ NOKIA: I was saving this idea of the end of the trial period. Since I already knew how to make a two-second (or more) exposure, I asked a few people with some bike lights to write “♥ NOKIA”. The results look fantastic and I can not sufficiently emphasize that all of this was done with a phone … incredible! With these photos I say thank you to Nokia, and that I have been part of a miracle!

That about wraps it up for David’s top 10 808 PureView photos! If you want to see the rest of his photography take a look here!