My week with the Nokia Asha 311

The Nokia Asha 311 was originally designed for young, social and dynamic people. I’m not any of those things but, for the last few days, I have been using an Asha 311 too.

The Nokia Asha Touch phones were launched in early June; the Asha 305 and Asha 306 are the others in the full Touch family.

These phones are designed for people who are active on social networks, want to use their phones for entertainment, such as music and games, and want to get online. Many thousands of different apps can be downloaded from the Nokia Store. 

Looks

Let’s start with how the phone looks. You would expect any Nokia device to be well made, to feel nice in the hand and to be just that little bit different. The Asha 311 doesn’t disappoint. 

The first thing I notice is that the display appears to take up the entire front of the phone. When it is in lock mode, you can’t see the edges where the display ends – you’re just faced with a deep black façade. It’s very nice.

The bottom lip of the Asha 311 has a nice matt finish and above this runs a thin metal ring that encircles the whole phone and where you will find the two buttons on the front.

Touch Interface 

The Touch interface is the key to the Asha 311, and it is easy and fun to use. I was also surprised at how fast it is. You can swipe the screens down and up and side to side. Thanks to the phone’s 1Ghz processor, the controls and animations are extremely responsive. 

There are also some characteristic Nokia elements that bring a smile to the face when you see them for the first time, such as the icons on the screen bouncing up a little before coming down to a gentle rest when you scroll to the bottom.

Traditional Nokia fans will be familiar with the range of customising options for the screens and shortcuts. One feature that I especially liked is that the third screen can be changed to either the dialler (phone), music or radio functions. This means that you are never more than a couple of swipes from accessing one of the three.

Photos and Social

In trying out the Asha 311, I didn’t use it any differently from any other phone I would have in my possession. I like to check my emails, look at websites, take photos and see what people are talking about on Twitter. Pretty ordinary stuff.

The Asha 311 is a 3G phone with WiFi, has a 3.2-megapixel camera and it has the fabulous Nokia Browser, which uses compression technology to make browsing the web faster and cheaper.

In other words, it was more than capable of doing all the things that I wanted it to do.

On the photos, it comes with a fully featured editing suite that lets you rotate, flip, crop, warp, add frames, clip art, text, adjust the brightness and contrast and add special effects.

To be able to do all these things without downloading an app was a real, and unexpected, bonus.

I enjoy mobile gaming but sadly I am not particularly good at it. The Asha 311 though is a really good phone for getting some practice in because each device comes with 40 free EA games that you can keep forever. How could one resist? The only cost to me is my sense of pride when my young nephew beats all my high scores.

Me and My Asha

Over the last few days, I have come to look at the Asha 311 with a great deal of fondness. Yes, it is smaller than my regular Lumia 800 but that only makes me feel more protective of it.

Listen to what Pimorn in Bangkok or Ana Laura in Mexico City said about their Asha phones. They and 10 other Asha owners shared their stories in some wonderful and personal videos in a series called ‘Me and My Asha.’

I’m beginning to know how they feel.

Introducing the Powerful Motorola RAZR™ i with Intel Inside® and an Edge-to-Edge Display

Say hello to the full-screen phone

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LONDON – Sept. 18, 2012 – Motorola Mobility in partnership with Intel Corporation introduced the powerful Motorola RAZR™ i with Intel Inside®: the new full-screen smartphone that fits in the palm of your hand. Its Super AMOLED Advanced 4.3-inch display spans from edge-to-edge with virtually no border - giving you more screen with less phone. RAZR i is the first smartphone that can achieve speeds of 2.0 GHz thanks to a fast Intel® Atom™ processor. Jump from a game to a text and over to a playlist, then off to browse the Web - all without stopping and on a long-lasting battery that is 40 percent more powerful than the competition¹.

The power of Intel Inside means you also get an instant-launch 8-megapixel camera that can load in less than a second². Just use the dedicated camera key so you get the shot you want. When there’s action involved, multi-shot mode lets you snap 10 pictures in less than a second. And with the illuminated sensor located on the back and High Dynamic Range (HDR) capabilities, you’ll get a great shot, even in challenging lighting conditions.

“Together with Intel, we’re redefining what people can expect from a mobile device. A camera that launches in an instant, Web pages that load blazingly fast and a device that’s the perfect balance of screen size and fit in hand,” said Jim Wicks, senior vice president, Consumer Experience Design, Motorola Mobility. “RAZR i delivers just that when you put an Intel-fast processor in a beautifully designed phone and add in extra long battery life.”

“Motorola RAZR i with Intel Inside naturally blends together the value propositions of high performance Intel Architecture and great battery life, Motorola Mobility device innovation and the Android™ platform,” said Erik Reid, general manager, Intel’s Mobile and Communications Group. “Intel’s goal is to provide compelling technology options that translate into great user benefits and experiences. RAZR i is a great proofpoint in the collaboration and we’re thrilled to be working with Motorola to bring this edge-to-edge experience enhanced with Intel Inside to people around the world.”

Powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (upgradeable to Jelly Bean), RAZR i puts the Google universe in your hand. Google Play™ gives you access to more than 600,000 apps and games, millions of books and thousands of movies. Get where you need to go with Google Maps for Android™ with free turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. And when your hands are full, use Voice Actions for Android™ on RAZR i to compose a text, get directions, make a call, play a song...or simply Google something. RAZR i also features near field communication (NFC) technology so you can send contacts, links, maps and more directly to compatible phones with Android Beam™. Just hold the phones together and tap the screen.

Designed with premium protective materials, RAZR i is built to go everywhere. A diamond cut aircraft-grade aluminum⁴ frame surrounds the display, which is made of Corning® Gorilla® Glass, to deflect both scratches and scrapes. On the back, RAZR i is made DuPont™ KEVLAR® strong³. Spilled coffee? Caught in the rain? Don’t worry. RAZR i is protected with a splash-guard coating—even on the electrical boards inside.

RAZR i already has a long battery - and when you set up the SMARTACTIONS™ battery savings rule your phone will automatically adjust to squeeze more out of each charge. Whether you want to maximize your last ounce of power, or prevent your phone from ringing during a meeting, SMARTACTIONS will automatically trigger specific actions. Motorola’s exclusive Guide Me app comes preloaded with interactive, swipe-by-swipe tutorials for tons of features – no instruction manual required. Also unique to Motorola, the interactive Circles Widget allows quick access to notifications, weather, time and more.

Availability and pricing

Motorola RAZR i will be available in black beginning in October in select European and Latin American markets including the U.K., France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico with more to be announced. A stand out white version will also be coming to select markets. Pricing and availability will vary by country, so please visit www.motorola.com/razri for the latest information.

For more information and multimedia assets for Motorola RAZR i, please visit our press kit athttp://mediacenter.motorola.com

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

About Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility, owned by Google, fuses innovative technology with human insights to create experiences that simplify, connect and enrich people's lives. Our portfolio includes converged mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; wireless accessories; end-to-end video and data delivery; and management solutions, including set-tops and data-access devices. For more information, visit motorola.com/mobility.

Introducing Nokia Wireless Charging Stand DT-910

Face your phone while it charges wirelessly: http://nokia.ly/Q7xJPO Simply place your phone on the stand to start charging without having to plug in your phone. At the same time you can use your phone in portrait mode.

The World of Red Bull app, coming exclusively to Nokia Lumia

Watch the worldwide debut of the World of Red Bull app, coming soon exclusively to Nokia Lumia and Series 40.

Sony Xperia T unboxing and hands-on

This is an unboxing and interface tour of the Sony Xperia T.

Motorola RAZR™ i with Intel Inside® UK Commercial

The Motorola RAZR™ i with Intel Inside® is the new full-screen smartphone that fits in the palm of your hand. Its Super AMOLED Advanced 4.3-inch display spans from edge-to-edge with virtually no border - giving you more screen with less phone. RAZR i is the first smartphone that can achieve speeds of 2.0 GHz thanks to a fast Intel® Atom™ processor.

Motorola RAZR™ i with Intel Inside® and an Edge-to-Edge Display

Its Super AMOLED Advanced 4.3-inch display spans from edge-to-edge with virtually no border - giving you more screen with less phone. RAZR i is the first smartphone that can achieve speeds of 2.0 GHz thanks to a fast Intel® Atom™ processor. Jump from a game to a text and over to a playlist, then off to browse the Web - all without stopping and on a long-lasting battery that is 40 percent more powerful than the competition.

Xperia Link - XperiaTablet S connect Xperia GX(TX)

ON tethering it to remotely control the Xperia GX from Xperia Tablet S, I connect to the Internet using a line DocomoLTE.

Here and there, but to zoom the screen, it is uncut.

Enabling success with LTE

Hanna Maurer Sibley - Product Manager LTE talks about Smart, Simple, Scalable and Superior Performance Network and Ericsson LTE leadership.

http://www.ericsson.com/news/120907_enabling_success_with_LTE_244159018_c

How tech is making snowboarding even more awesome

Created during a moment of genius, snowboarding has always been powered by innovative ideas.

Snowboarding might be all about stamina, balance and instinct, but the sport was born in a Eureka moment of inspired thinking. Way back in 1965, a big hearted guy called Sherman Poppen fastened two skis together and attached a rope at one end, so his daughter could glide down a hill in Muskegon, Michigan.

Named the snurfer, in homage to snow and surfing, the contraption sold over a million in the next decade. Snowboarding has changed a heck of a lot since then. What hasn’t changed is the way inspired thinking keeps making it more awesome.

Get on board

Take the board. Back in 1977, when Jake Burton started his company, he introduced the Backhill, a narrow board with single strap bindings. After experimenting with materials from surfboard foam cores to fiberglass, he eventually chose wood.

 

Fast forward thirty-five years and Burton is one of the world’s largest snowboard and snowboarding equipment manufacturers. It’s also one of Nokia’s partners, and together the companies have been thinking of ways to use mobile tech to benefit snowboarders.

Give me five!

The first real fruits of this collaboration began a couple of years back when Nokia introduced Push Snowboarding. This snowboarding tech is built around five key measurements: heart rate, rush, speed, orientation and pressure. By adding a sensor to a snowboarder’s kit, it’s possible to see what’s happening physically and mentally to snowboarders as they do their coolest tricks.

Harri Holmsten, ex pro snowboarder and Nokia partnership manager who worked on the project, is full of enthusiasm: “By using the smartphone, something we all carry around, as the core to this, we developed technology that lets snowboarders relive their ride in amazing detail once they’ve finished. It gives them a whole new perspective.”

Top shots

But Nokia and Burton’s collaboration doesn’t stop there. As a sponsor of the Burton Open Global Series (BOGS), one of the most progressive competitive snowboard series in the world, Nokia is working its tech magic to help snowboarders on an ongoing basis.

At the European Open earlier this year, Nokia rigged eighteen Nokia Lumia smartphones to a specially created rig. The aim? To record snowboarders’ trampoline jumps in a 180-degree bullet time shot. As you can see, not only did the resulting films look incredible, but they also provided an invaluable insight to boarders about how their tricks looked and what they could do to improve them.

The speed way

The most recent Burton event, the first annual Burton ‘High Fives’ in Wanaka, New Zealand, was a snowboarding show like no other. For the first time ever, it combined traditional snowboarding action with unique off-snow team challenges like riders knife throwing and car racing. Winners got to choose the order for halfpipe and slopestyle. 

Nokia also helped out by installing Lumia smartphones in race cars so team members could watch and help their team members drive.  And if that weren’t already cool enough, competitors got their hands on the just released Nokia x  Burton Insulator Case. Thanks to special layering, the case keeps your mobile warm in sub zero temperatures and can extend battery life up to 50%!   

As for the future, Harri says the companies have some exciting plans, which could well make mobile tech an integral part of snowboarding in the future. Big words, but if the past is anything to go by, mobile technology has a big part to play in an awesome sport becoming even more awesome.

Exploring the wireless world of NFC

We are hearing more and more about NFC, and the momentum will keep on building especially since it was announced that the Nokia Lumia 920and Lumia 820 will both have NFC connectivity. 

So what is it? 

NFC, which stands stands for Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless technology that allows a device, such as a smartphone, to interact and communicate with other objects that are also NFC-enabled or have NFC tags.

For example, the new Lumia 920 or Lumia 820 will be able to connect with NFC to a range of accessories, such as the JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker. There’s no need for wires or doing anything technical – you just tap your phone on the speaker to pair them up. 

Beyond, pairing your smartphone with funky accessories, there are plenty of other potential applications for NFC. Every time a Londoner uses their ‘Oyster card’ to travel on the Tube or a bus, they are using RFID, NFC’s older brother. 

Among many others, NFC can also be used for:

• Cashless payments
• In advertising on ‘intelligent’ billboards
• As a way of tracking an asset
• Monitoring attendance
• Tickets
• Loyalty or membership cards

To find out more about NFC, we spoke to Derek Greene, the founder of track4services.com, a company based in the UK and Finland that has pioneered the use of NFC in areas ranging from public transport to advertising.

By happy coincidence, Derek started his work on NFC with Nokia, and has a long history with the company, so he should feel right at home here on Conversations.

What are the origins of NFC and how does it work?

It goes back to Michael Faraday, who made lots of discoveries on electricity. He realised that you could send energy over a radio wave.

You use it every day when you use your Oyster card. There is an emission from the Oyster card reader, the yellow plate on the tube or on the bus, which energises the antenna inside the Oyster card.

A forerunner of NFC is radio frequency identification (RFID) and that’s been in use for packaging and logistics for about 30 years but it has been incredibly expensive. For example, you can scan an entrance port to a warehouse and everything that goes through will be automatically read and there will be a big powerful gate emitting this energy.

Now, we all have a mobile phone and that is emitting the energy. So the tag can be fixed because the infrastructure is the phone.

How does NFC differ from Bluetooth?

Bluetooth, let’s face it, can reduce you to tears trying to get it to pair with another item. With NFC, it is always on; the security is provided by the fact you have to be near to something.

Bluetooth typically has a 10m range so you have to have a secure pairing, with passwords or a number. It’s got better but it has always been quite a difficult technology.

Another thing is that it tends to get crowded out – there’s lot of people with Bluetooth and if there’s lot of people around, it tends to stop working.

Will NFC drain your battery if it’s always on? And how closely do you have to hold your phone to connect via NFC?

NFC’s energy consumption is miniscule. It literally has no effect on day-to-day use.

Picture the size of the ping-pong ball – the NFC range is half of that. So you do have to physically touch it but in human terms it is very intuitive. You don’t need to do anything. You just see the NFC icon and you touch it. 

In which areas are you seeing NFC being used a lot?

The area with the biggest use of NFC for us is advertising. Billboards will have NFC tags and they are then associated with whatever is on the billboard.

The benefits to the advertising industry is that it is transforming what is a visual paper medium, out of the home, which is great for awareness, but is poor when it has to compete with the likes of Google because it doesn’t have a digital element.

Do you sense that NFC is really starting to take off now?

I don’t think take off is the right phrase but we are at least building the airplanes now. NFC is simple to use, but it is also easy to do it wrong.

I was the first agent to promote NFC in the UK. Nokia trained me up about 5 years ago but the market wasn’t right back then. The tags were very expensive and the phones didn’t materialise so we had a stop-start relationship, which was terrible in terms of trying to attract investment and get the commitments that people have to make.

Having NFC on our phones should make a big difference, right?

It is the convergence of technology on smartphones. Our phones are already crucial to our lives and now with NFC if you happen to see a NFC tag at a bus stop then you can touch it, and there’s no need to download the app or do anything.

For example, lots of young people have grown with their phones and won’t have any problems putting in long URLs manually but for other people it gets to a point where doing things like that becomes a hassle. 

NFC is going to be genuinely hassle-free. You touch it and it just works. It is very, very cool.

Nokia Lumia 920 Camera image stabilization and low light

Nokia Lumia 920 Camera image stabilization and low light

A very Siri commercial

I've had a go on Siri and it's not really very good, is it? Still, you can do this really hilarious thing where you ask Siri "what are you wearing?". Seriously, if you have an iPhone make sure to show everybody you meet at every available opportunity, it never gets old. Here's a more realistic advertisement for Siri on the iPhone4S. Apple, you're more than welcome to use it in the United Kingdom.

Nokia Lumia 920 hands on preview (parody)

When Nokia launched their Lumia 920 smartphone using faked video and photos, it didn't take long for their trickery to be exposed. In this exclusive hands on preview, Nokia's brand recovery specialist Lars show off the Lumia 920 and some of its deceptively good (and not particularly useful) features.

Banned iPhone 5 Promo

apple iPhone 5 promo spoof. twitter: http://twitter.com/johnelerick

Banned iPhone 4S Promo

apple iPhone 4S promo spoof. twitter: http://twitter.com/johnelerick

Motorola Mobility streaming website

Motorola Mobility streaming website

Watch live streaming video from motorolamobility at livestream.com

Jelly Bean Hidden Feature: Multiple User Support

There's a hidden feature in Jelly Bean, only accessible if you run a custom ROM with it enabled: multiple user support. This lets you control access to your phone by another person. They only see the apps you want them to see, and they can't change the settings. This is perfect for letting your friend use your phone.

This particular ROM is called Domination. It's a CM10-based Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean ROM that can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1799375

Make Me Smile Monday #36

It’s that time again. Time to make your mouth do something it shouldn’t do by rights on a Monday. Smile. Grin. Bend upwards. Reverse frown.

Firstly this week (with a hat tip to Paul) some cracking guerrilla signsthat have been stuck up on the Tube in London. There are some really rather funny examples – I especially enjoyed the gravy and the Shepherd’s Pie. Very clever. Made me smile. Not something I’d recommend trying on your local transportation though (see the supermarket guy from last week’s Quick Grins for details). 

*****

Remember young Caine from MMSM #15 way back in April (a little reminder for if you don’t – he made a fully operational cardboard arcade)? Well he’s back! This has more than made me smile – one 9 year old boy, an empty cardboard box, a global empire:

So my challenge to you is to make a cardboard version of your favourite Nokia by October 6th for the Cardboard Challenge. Ready….Go!

*****

Another link from another colleague (I love it when the global Nokia Connects family pulls together and contributes to MMSM). This timeElisa noticed some people with an empty parking lot, some luminous tape and some shopping trolleys who recreated a massive game of Snake.

Snake always makes me smile, but I haven’t seen a version this good since the N-Gage Human Snake. Still smiling.

*****

Quick Grins

Following on from Caine’s story above, check out this real life carnival hustler. Well, not actually, he’s just really good on the midway.

Clocks and torches made of bread.

Amazing Perseid time lapse video.

Your turn, What’s been making you smile this week? Send me a link in the comments, or on Twitter using #MakeMeSmileMonday, and let’s see what gives you the giggles.

Sony Xperia Miro, unboxing in italiano by AndroidWorld.it

Sony Xperia Miro, unboxing in italiano by AndroidWorld.it