Nokia Lumia 620 vs. Sony Xperia P: Which Mid-Range Smartphone is a Better Buy?

Finnish handset maker Nokia had launched the much awaited flagship Lumia 620 smartphone only a few weeks ago into the Indian market.

Nokia's Lumia 620 falls in the bracket of mid-range smartphones which offer descent high-end features at an affordable price. Sony's Xperia P is one such competitor which packs similar features but comes with an expensive price-tag.

Here is a brief description of specifications of Nokia Lumia 620 and Sony Xperia P:


Display:

Lumia 620 sports a 3.8-inch TFT screen with 800x480p resolution display, whereas Xperia P boasts a bigger 4.0-inch TFT display with 960x540p resolutions.

Processor:
In terms of power, Lumia 620 packs a dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, while Sony Xperia P too packs a dual-core processor.


Camera:

Nokia's Lumia 620 sports a 5.0-megapixel main camera with 720p HD video-recording and VGA front camera. Sony's smartphone packs an impressive 8.0-megapixel main camera with LED flash support and full HD video recording. It also comes with 8X digital zoom and a 0.3-megapixel VGA camera.

Operating System:

Like any other android smartphone, Sony Xperia P scores some points over Windows Phone 8 based Lumia 620. The Sony handset runs on Google Android mobile OS version Ginger bread with options of upgrading to the v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, which is currently the most widely used operating system version in the market. The Android ecosystem holds a large collection of more than 700,000 apps, only second to Apple's app collection.

Lumia 620 buyers will have limited options with the Windows Phone 8 OS, as the new OS was released only a few months ago in the market and only holds a little over 150,000 plus apps. Even popular photo app Instagram is yet to debut in the Windows app store.

Memory:

Sony Xperia comes with 16GB storage capacity with no options of memory expansion and packs a 1GB RAM. The Nokia smartphone comes with 8GB internal memory capable of expanding up to 64 GB via micro-SD card. But the device comes with 512 RAM; which means Lumia 620 buyers will not be able to play popular mobile game 'Angry Birds' which requires 1GB RAM.

Price:

Nokia Lumia 620 is currently priced ₹14,499, whereas Sony Xperia P holds a price-tag of ₹20,990, almost a ₹6,500 price difference between the two devices. In a price-sensitive market like India, this might play a crucial part in the minds of middle-class buyers who form a big chunk of the sub-continent's population.

With a sub-₹15,000 price-tag and peppy dual-colour back panel options, Lumia 620 is expected to be a hit among Indian youths.

Model	Nokia Lumia 620	Sony Xperia P
Display	3.8-inch TFT WVGA (800x480) with ClearBlack Display technology	4.0-inch TFT scratch-resistant screen with qHD 960x540p display resolutions and Bravia Engine
OS	Windows Phone 8 OS	Android v2.3 Ginger Bread operating system, but can be upgraded to v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS
Processor	Qualcomm SnapdragonTM S4 based dual-core processor with 1.0GHz CPU speed	Dual-core processor with 1GHz processor
GPU	Adreno 305	Mali 400
RAM	512 MB	1GB
Storage	8GB, expandable up to 64GB	16GB, with no option of expanding memory
Camera	Rear:5.0-MP with Flash support  (2592x1936p image resolutions) Front: VGA camera(640x480)	Rear: 8.0-megapixel camera with 3D Sweep Panorama, face & smile detection, auto-focus and LED Flash support. Front: VGA camera
Battery	1300 mAh, 330 hours(3G) standby time	1305 mAh, 475 hours (3G) standby time
Network	2G & 3G	2G & 3G
Dimension	61.1 x 115.4 x 11.0 mm	122.0 x 59.5 x 10.5 mm
Weight	127 g	120 g
*Price	₹14,499/-	₹20,990

Kapil Sibal Eyes Google, Nokia to Promote Urdu

In an effort to popularise Urdu, communication minister Kapil Sibal has decided to set up a committee of experts to evolve technology for linking the culturally rich language with the Google search engine. 

He also urged Nokia - the world's largest mobile company - to develop a software so that 170 million Urdu speaking people in India can communicate with each other in this language. 

The purpose is to link Urdu with all the social networking sites, Sibal said at the Urdu Editors Forum which was also attended by Harayana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Urdu scholars. 

Sibal said he held meetings with National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) vice chairman and noted poet, Prof Wasim Barelvi and director Khawja Ekram in this connection and directed them to prepare a comprehensive proposal in this respect. He said he has convened a meeting of top communication experts April 8 to take further steps in this regard. 

He also said a team of experts will be set up to develop method and technology for using Urdu in social networking sites. This will benefit Urdu-speaking people, who are not only in India but in Pakistan and other countries too. 

Sibal said that all source material on Google will be made available in Urdu and this will help popularise the language all over the world. He said that Urdu can be taught through Skype as many students all over the world have shown interest to learn the language. 

Giving a detailed presentation, Ekram said it is possible to evolve new technology for providing source material in Urdu. 

Hooda said that his government has recently recruited scores of Urdu teachers in Muslim concentrated areas of Haryana like Mewat, Panipat and other areas and will render all possible help in promotion of the language. 

Delhi Urdu Academy vice chairman, Prof Akhtarul Wasey, former advisor to ex-prime minister Narasimha Rao, Pandit NK Sharma, Sahara Urdu group editor Syed Faisal Ali, Secular Qayadat chief editor Qari Mazhari and others also attended the function.

Microsoft Tells Facebook It Already Made A People-First Phone, Calling The Whole Concept Into Question

Microsoft is maybe a little jealous of the spotlight shone on Facebook yesterday for its Facebook Home announcement. In a new blog post today, Frank X. Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft used some mild snark and mostly gentle prodding to complain about how his company had already done what Facebook was trying to do on smartphones, which sadly only reinforces the fact that no one had noticed.

The post is mostly a series of questions, which basically suggest that Facebook was asking the same ones when it came up with Facebook Home, but which Microsoft had already answered two years ago with the initial release of Windows Phone 7.5, where it actually employed the tagline “Put people first.”

Shaw glibly says that he checked the calendar to determine whether or not it was somehow still 2011, and obliquely compared the FB Home announcement to an April Fools’ joke, but the real punchline is in how a so-called “people-” centric approach to mobile has worked so far, and both Microsoft and Facebook end up looking the worse for it.

The whole argument of the post is based on the idea that Facebook Home merely accomplishes what Windows Phone already offers, but in a way that requires fewer sacrifices. Facebook Home is “another skin built around another metaphor, on top of what is already a custom variant of the OS,” Shaw argues, and to some extend he’s right. Windows Phone offers a lot of features taken from Facebook Home, baked right into the stock, native OS, including unified messaging and social feeds that put friend social activity front-and-center.

The problem is, Windows Phone hasn’t yet made a significant dent in the smartphone market, as you can tell from the most recent U.S. comScore numbers. Buyers so far haven’t embraced a “people-first” vision of a smartphone platform, at least as espoused by Microsoft. And in my own experience using a Nokia 920, I found that the social aspects didn’t really draw me in or make me feel any more socially engaged – surfacing social updates just reminded me how largely disconnected I actually am from the majority of people in my Facebook stream, in fact.

Microsoft may have wanted to spark consumer interest by piggy-backing on the high profile of yesterday’s Facebook Home announcement, but the net effect was actually to just leave me more skeptical about Facebook’s attempt to provide a similar experience. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about a people-first approach replacing an app-centric model, but if Windows Phone is the only example we have to go on so far of how that turns out, then the prognosis for Facebook Home isn’t all that good.

Microsoft files 'Glacier Blast' trademark

A trademark for "Glacier Blast" was recently filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office by Microsoft. While no other information about it exists, the trademark was filed as game software. Microsoft also registered the domain glacierblastgame.com in late March, according to WhoIs records. The URL currently points to a Bing search.

Using our refined detective skills, we think it's possible that this piece of "game software" is a video game currently in development by Microsoft. With a name like "Glacier Blast," we'll be disappointed if the final product isn't an arctic naval combat game in which large icy masses shoot lasers at an enemy called "Global Warming."

Microsoft Apologizes, But Refuses to Comment on 'Always On'

I was planning on avoiding yet another controversy started on Twitter yesterday, as it seems there’s a new gaming-related one every few hours.

In it, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios Adam Orth kicked things off by saying he “didn’t understand the drama around ‘always on’ consoles” because “every device is now ‘always on’ ” He concluded with the hashtag #dealwithit.

This naturally offended many long opposed to the concept of always-on anything related to gaming, most notably DRM. Orth went on to spar with Bioware’s Manveer Heir and jokingly insulted poorer areas that don’t have access to reliable internet.


I don’t want to talk about Adam Orth. People are entitled to their opinions, and the right to joke, troll or otherwise. That said, it would be wise for someone in such an important position at a company like that to mind what they say in public. Orth has since protected his tweets.

I’m not sure if he’s issued an apology yet, butMicrosoft has, and it’s their reaction that’s more interesting. Via MajorNelson:

“We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”

The apology is just for Orth being rude, but the important part about this is that Microsoft doesn’t even want to tip their hand a little bit about the next Xbox, to the point where they don’t even deny accusations that would immediately bolster support for the device. That in turn makes the rest of us feel like our worst fears about the consoles could be true.

Sony had to deal with the same problem, and DID deal with it. They too were asked point blank if the Playstation 3 would be used titles. They said it would. They were asked if the console would require an internet connection to play games. They said it wouldn’t.

But Microsoft has been asked the same questions, and has said nothing. First, when Durango specs were leaked that seemed to indicate games must be installed to the hard drive to play (presumably eliminating used game sales), Microsoft could neither confirm nor deny that. Now, when an employee is making people think that the game could require an internet connection to play games, Microsoft bundles in a “no comment” in their official apology.

What’s going on here?

There are two options, it seems. The first is that Microsoft wants to be SO secretive with their new console, that ANY revelation, good or bad, is a closely guarded secret. After all, it wasn’t until the PS4 was at least revealed that we got answers to the two questions posed above.

The second option is that Microsoft really is developing a console that despite their labeling, most would not see as “consumer-centric.” If the system goes “full PC” where it blocks used games and requires internet verification for play, it could spell disaster for them if players decide to flock to the less restrictive PS4 instead. Hell, even the Wii U might look good by comparison at that point.

The only way I could see Microsoft succeeding if it did indeed end up employing both of those tactics would be if they either knocked the price of games way down (to Steam level prices, which is how PC deals with this) or sold their console for a fraction of the cost of its competitors. With many speculating the PS4 will cost $400, I’ve heard analysts wonder out loud if Microsoft could go down an odd path by making the next Xbox $99. They’d sell at a loss sure, but it would ensure a HUGE install base as the system is part of Microsoft’s grander plan of living room domination. And as much as players want to play used games and be free of internet restrictions, a $99 console would be hard to pass up.

Of course that’s all speculation. Microsoft could not be blocking used games or forcing always on, but until they tell us otherwise, we won’t know. And that’s what’s a bit unsettling.

Nokia Shuts Biggest Store in Shanghai

The once ruling phone-maker Nokia is sure battling tough times. After selling their Finnish headquarters last year, Nokia is now shutting down exclusive Nokia stores too. The Finnish phone maker recently confirmed the shutdown of their biggest store in Shanghai.


The store which was Nokia’s flagship store and the largest their largest in the world was shut down on March 31 this year. However, Nokia refused to speak to the media breaking the silence much after the shut-down. 

Nokia explained that while the company is definitely not deserting the Chinese market, instead of having their own properties, they are looking at retailers and distribution arms for better reach. According to a Nokia spokesperson: “Nokia is focusing on growing its presence in operator and third-party retail outlets, rather than through our own physical stores. We are, of course, also continuously beefing up our online presence. With this in mind, our store in Shanghai was closed on 31 March.” The statement was provided to ZDNet who confirmed the news of the closure with Nokia.

The future looks bleak for Nokia as despite its success with the new Windows 8 phones, there is still a long way to go for the company. The Chinese markets look especially bad as Nokia’s market shares have declined sharply in China. Nokia seems to be struggling to survive in what was once considered its strongest market.

The advent of Android and Apple’s popularity in China have definitely not helped the struggling phonemaker. While Apple is getting stronger in the Asian markets, Nokia seems to be slowly falling behind. Also, considering two of the most popular Android implementers, Samsung and HTC both come from Asian markets, they have a stronghold over China. 

Nokia’s decision to shift from Symbian to Microsoft might have saved the company from doomsday but it has definitely not gone well with their biggest market. Is this another nail in the coffin for Nokia?

Press image of Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless leaks out

A press image of the previously tipped, long-awaited Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless has made the rounds on Twitter. The Big Red's upcoming Windows Phone 8 flagship will likely be officially released by the end of this month.

As its name mildly suggests, the Nokia Lumia 928 will be closely related to the AT&T exclusive Lumia 920 - it is expected to share the same CPU and display. The Verizon offering however, will one-up its AT&T counterpart by packing a xenon flash in addition to the standard LED one. It is also expected to ditch the 920's polycarbonate unibody for an aluminum outfit.

Source: http://twitter.com/evleaks/status/320360832833835009

Bill Gates and Paul Allen together again

The Microsoft co-founders reprise a famous photo of themselves from the early days of the company.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates posed in 1981 amid some contemporary computers. They reprised the photo on April 3 at the Living Computer Museum. (Credit: Paul Allen)

Thirty-two years ago, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen took a picture together, surrounded by the computers of the time. It was 1981 and Ronald Reagan had just become president of the U.S. In June of that year, Microsoft incorporated in Washington state, and in August IBM introduced its first PC with Microsoft's fledgling operating system, MS-DOS. At the beginning of 1981, Microsoft had 129 employees. By 2012, Microsoft had more than 97,000 employees and MS-DOS still lives on.

The picture of the older Gates and Allen was taken in Seattle at the Living Computer Museum, which was developed by Allen to preserve the history that led to the founding of Microsoft.

A bearded Paul Allen and glassesless Bill Gates in 1981.

Google and Microsoft trade insults for April Fools

April Fools' Day provides the springboard for companies to make some unbelievable announcements, but for Google and Microsoft, it serves as the perfect time to poke fun at eachothers' shortcomings. With Gmail Blue, Google is teasing Redmond over a product that doesn't officially exist yet, while Microsoft goes back to basics to poke fun at its rival's "vanilla" search engine.


Gmail Blue is said to be the culmination of a challenge to "completely redesign and recreate something, while keeping it exactly the same." While we are left with a distinctly bluer Gmail interface, Google's references to Microsoft's own blue project — Windows Blue — are clear to see, as Microsoft gears up to revamp Windows 8's "metro" mode with new features and some UI tweaks later this year.

For one of its own April Fools pranks, Microsoft fights fire with fire by making Google's iconic start page the target of its affection, serving Bing users with a classic white search page (complete with a multi-colored Bing logo and an 'I'm Feeling Confused' button) when they enter "Google" into the Bing search box. Microsoft also includes the same small boxes found at the bottom of its traditional Bing search page, displaying tooltips including "with so many delicious flavors available, most people still choose vanilla." It's an attempt to advertise its more visually rich search page and perhaps steals some of Google's users in the process, as Microsoft explains: "the main goal here is just to learn more about how our world would look if we hadn’t evolved."

Google's over-the-top dedication to its annual April Fools prank has not gone unnoticed, however. This year, we've seen Google launch Google Maps Treasure Mode, announce the closure of YouTube, and offer the chance to smell search queries via Google Nose,new Google+ emoticons, introduce Google SCHMICK in Australia, expand Google Analytics to include referrals from the International Space Station, offer Google Fiber poles (so far). But Google users have blasted the company for focusing on its April Fools antics, arguing that the time invested in polishing its gags might have been better spent keeping Google Reader alive.

Microsoft skips 'too good' Windows 9, jumps to Windows 10

If you've been looking forward to Windows 9, the OS that will fix what Windows 8 got wrong, you're in for a surprise: There will be no Windows 9. Instead, Microsoft announced it will proceed directly to Windows 10.

"The Windows 9 internal beta was a phenomenal success," said Microsoft PR rep Cheryl Tunt. "I mean, it blew Windows 8 out of the water, and as we all know, Windows 8 is nigh flawless. After discussion at the C level, Microsoft has decided it will not mess with success and will leave Windows 9 exactly as it is. As such, work is now getting under way on Windows 10, which should see a public release."

[ Windows 8 is here, and InfoWorld can help you get ready with the Windows 8 Deep Dive PDF special report, which explains Microsoft's bold new direction for Windows, the new Metro interface for tablet and desktop apps, the transition from Windows 7, and more. | Stay abreast of key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]

Details about Windows 9 are sketchy, but according to internal Microsoft communications obtained by InfoWorld, the OS was fast, intuitive, bug-free, and equally adept with both the Windows Desktop and Metro-style interfaces. "And who would've thought to put the Start button there?!? Genius!" marveled one engineer, though it's unclear where "there" is exactly.

Another engineer likened the OS to the Nintendo Entertainment System's Power Glove accessory, saying, "It's that good a melding of man and machine."

One email chain riffed extensively on how Windows 9 is like the sitcom "Seinfeld" in that it's "about nothing," but also because "there was that one episode where Kramer got the deli meat slicer, and he said he had cut slices of meat so thin, he couldn't even see them. Well, Windows 9 is so transparent, you won't even know it's there. Hell, I'm not even sure I used it!"

"Hey guys, if all this is true, then we can't release this [OS] to the public," one HR manager who had been CC'd on the emails declared. "We have to keep this internal and advertise it as a perk. You know: 'Come work for Microsoft, and you get to use Windows 9!'"

The decision to jump to Windows 10 was announced during an all-company meeting by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who took the stage in front of a banner reading "Mission Accomplished."

"You guys who make Windows are the backbone of this company!" an exuberant Ballmer claimed. "You've really outdone yourselves here. This is exactly the kind of perfection so synonymous with the Microsoft brand that we can't see fit to have it exist anywhere but within Microsoft. It's simply too good to be released. Now, onward with Windows 10! By the way, this meeting counts as your lunch break."

There was at least one beta tester who wasn't quite so dazzled. "Yeah, I tried out Windows 9," he told InfoWorld on condition of anonymity. "I dunno ... it's pretty good, I guess. It's not at all what they're talking about, though -- the engineers might be delirious from lack of sleep. I'm pretty sure the real reason we aren't going to sell it is because it's actually OS X."

Please note: This is an April Fools' joke.