Windows Phones still struggling to attract apps

Nokia's head of smartphone marketing admits that gaps in the app selection are customers' main complaints.

With the launch of its latest flagship device, the Lumia 925, Nokia and Microsoft are continuing to prove that they can compete directly with anything Samsung, Apple or BlackBerry can build in terms of quality, processor speed and performance; however, there is still one area in which the Windows Phone 8 platform, and therefore all device manufacturers using the system, from Nokia to ZTE and HTC cannot match the competition, and that's apps.

So much so that despite Microsoft's best efforts to court the world's biggest tech companies and most respected developers, getting blue-chip apps on its mobile phone platform is still an uphill struggle. At Monday's Nokia Lumia 925 launch in London, Nokia's Global Head of Smartphone marketing, Vesa Jutila, revealed to Engadget that "the biggest complaint is that customers are missing the apps they want," when asked about the relative poverty of its offerings compared with Apple's App Store and Google Play. However, Jutila also claimed that Microsoft and Nokia are working to address the issue.

When the Windows Phone 8 platform launched, Google made it very clear that it had no intentions of building apps for its operating system. Six months after the first Windows Phone 8 devices hit the shelves, the only way to access Google Maps, Google Search or Gmail is via the browser. However, the most notable absence, especially from a range of phones that offer incredible photographic capabilities, is a native Instagram app.

A greater volume of handsets in circulation will help in this respect: the more consumers that buy a Windows smartphone, the more companies will build apps for it. However, at the moment it's a catch-22 situation -- potential customers might be put off making the change to Windows because of the lack of certain apps, and unless more consumers buy Windows phones, the number of blue-chip apps in its store is very unlikely to increase.

According to the latest figures from Gartner, published Tuesday, consumers bought a total of 5.98 million Windows Phone handsets in the first quarter of 2013, (5.1 million of which were Nokia Lumia phones), which represents a 100 percent increase on the last quarter of 2012. Over the same period, 156.1 million Android handsets were sold (74.4% of the global market) and 38.3 million iPhones, giving the premium Apple smartphone an 18.2 percent global share, compared with Microsoft's 2.9 percent.

Still, there is some good news for Nokia Lumia handset owners. The Nokia Smart Camera suite of image effects that were demonstrated alongside the launch of its new European flagship phone, the Lumia 925, will be coming to all existing Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 handsets as part of a sofwarre update. Called the "Nokia Lumia Update" it will start rolling out to handsets in July.

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Nokia Lumia 925 Full Specs, Features, with Price Unveiled + Video

Nokia Lumia 925 Full Specs, Features, with Price Unveiled + Video

Nokia Lumia 925, a Windows Phone 8 smartphone with an aluminum metal design and the most advanced camera lens technology, has been introduced Monday.

Specifications of the new Nokia Lumia 925:

• Display: 4.5-inch AMOLED WXGA (1280x768), 2.25 D sculpted Gorilla 2 Glass, ClearBlack, High Brightness Mode, Sunlight Readability, Super Sensitive Touch for glove and nail usage
• Processor: 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon
• Memory: 1GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory; 7 GB free SkyDrive cloud storage
• Main camera: PureView 8.7 Megapixels with Optical Image Stabilization, Autofocus, short pulse high power dual LED flash, most advanced lens technology, 1080p HD video at 30fps with Optical Image Stabilization; includes Nokia Smart Camera mode
• Front facing camera: 1.2 MP wide angle
• Battery: 2000 mAh battery, Wireless Charging supported via an accessory cover

Watch this video for the features of the new Nokia Lumia 925:

Reports say the Nokia Lumia 925 will approximately cost $610 before taxes and subsidies. Estimated price in the Philippines is around P30,000 to P32,000 exclusive of taxes.

Check out the press release about the Nokia Lumia 925:

New interpretation of world's most innovative smartphone captures the best low light images

London, UK - Nokia today introduced the Nokia Lumia 925, a new interpretation of its award-winning flagship, the Nokia Lumia 920. The Nokia Lumia 925 introduces a metal design and showcases the latest PureView camera innovation, new features and third party applications coming to the Nokia Lumia range.

The Nokia Lumia 925 includes the most advanced lens technology and next generation imaging software to capture clearer, sharper pictures and video, including the best low light images. The Nokia Lumia 925 also introduces the new Nokia Smart Camera mode, coming as an update to all Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Nokia Smart Camera offers an easy way to capture ten images at once and edit the pictures with options like Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus for creating the perfect high quality image.

Nokia also announced Hipstamatic's new app, Oggl, will arrive on Nokia Lumia smartphones, allowing people to take and share high quality pictures with like-minded creatives and photography enthusiasts from around the world. In addition to sharing photos on Oggl, users can simultaneously share photos on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr and Instagram.

"We keep innovating," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. "We're advancing experiences on the Nokia Lumia portfolio whether that means great new benefits for an existing Lumia owner, or bringing new showcase devices like the Nokia Lumia 925."

The Nokia Lumia 925 introduces metal for the first time to the Nokia Lumia range, bringing appeal and unique benefits like increased robustness. The polycarbonate back comes in white, grey or black. A wireless charging cover can be clipped onto the back of the phone to take advantage of Nokia's extensive wireless charging accessories and ecosystem. Covers, sold separately, come in white, black, yellow, and red.

Leading Nokia services, such as the HERE suite of integrated location and navigation services and Nokia Music for unlimited streaming of free music playlists, add to the great proposition offered by Nokia's latest smartphone.

The Nokia Lumia 925 is being introduced into Europe with Vodafone, along with other operator and retail partners. Patrick Chomet, group director of Terminals at Vodafone said: "The new Nokia Lumia 925 is a sleek and sophisticated smartphone delivering great performance and outstanding imaging. We look forward to offering the Nokia Lumia 925 across our markets on Vodafone Red, as well as other tariffs, enabling customers to make the most of their new smartphone on Vodafone's fast and reliable network. Vodafone customers will also have exclusive access to a 32GB version of the Nokia Lumia 925, giving them even more capacity to store all their content for personal and business use."

Terry Myerson, corporate vice president, Microsoft Windows Phone Division, added: "Together with Nokia, we continue to change the way people think about smartphone cameras. The work Nokia has done with the Lumia 925 further enhances the imaging capabilities of the Lumia smartphones."

In addition to Europe, the Nokia Lumia 925 will be introduced into the US by T-Mobile and into China by China Mobile and China Unicom. Sales are expected to start in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and China in June, followed by the US and a number of other markets. The Nokia Lumia 925 will be priced around 469 EUR before taxes and subsidies. Country-specific pricing and availability will be announced locally.

About Nokia

Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world. For more information, visit http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.

Nokia Lumia 520 Philippine Price for only Php7,990

Nokia Philippines just announced the availability of the cheapest Windows Phone 8 smartphone – Nokia Lumia 520. Launched at Mobile World Congress back in February, the Lumia 520 gained a lot of traction towards potential Windows Phone 8 users as it offers an incredibly low price tag despite its fairly good specs.

Nokia Lumia 520

As a refresher, the Nokia Lumia 520 packs a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 512MB of RAM, and an Adreno 305 GPU. It flaunts a decent 4-inch IPS display with WVGA resolution which results to around 235 ppi. It also has 8GB of internal which is easily expandable up to 32GB via a microSD. Other key features are the 5-megapixel autofocus camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS. The only thing that you might miss here is the lack of front-facing camera but that’s really not an issue to most users.

CHECK ALSO: Nokia Asha 501Specs & Features with a taste of Lumia

Nokia Asha 501Specs & Features with a taste of Lumia

Nokia offiically announced the new Nokia Asha 501, a touch-based smartphone with a $99 price. It’s the first in its lineup to run a refreshed operating system bearing close resemblance to the canceled MeeGo OS and comes with a 3-inch screen and a 3.2-megapixel rear camera.

The most notable feature is its standby battery life, which the Finnish company guarantees to last an incredible 48 days for the single-SIM configuration. The dual-SIM model, on the other hand, can last as long as 26 days.

Nokia considers the Asha 501 to be a smartphone. However, specs such as 2G connectivity and a less sophisticated operating system might dissuade some people to think of the phone as “smart.” If anything, the Asha 501 should be labeled as a smart feature phone.

Nokia Asha 501

Considered to be another emerging market, the Philippines might just receive its own 501 launch as well in the coming months. In fact, the phone is slated to ship in June in over 90 countries all over the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. We’ll let you know once it hit our local stores. If converted directly, the Nokia Asha 501 will be priced for around Php4,000 without taxes and subsidies.

CHECK ALSO: Nokia Lumia 520 Philippine Price for only Php7,990

Nokia Asha 501 Specs

• Nokia Asha Platform
• 3-inch QVGA (240×320)TFT Capacitive Display
• 64MB RAM
• 128MB internal memory
• microSD card support up to 32GB
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• 3.15-megapixel camera
• QVGA video recording at 15fps
• Bluetooth
• microUSB
• FM Radio
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Dimensions: 99.2 x 59 x 12.1 mm
• Weight: 98g
• Battery: 1200mAh