Sony Xperia P

Sony Xperia P will be retailing for SGD$688 in silver and black.

• 4″ Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine
• WhiteMagic display technology for an ultra-bright and power efficient viewing experience
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance with 16GB flash storage
• 8MP camera with unique fast capture, HD recording and Sony technology to capture 2D and 3D panoramic images
• Easy HDMI and DLNA connectivity to share content on any screen
• Crisp and loud listening with xLoud, Clear Bass and 3D surround sound audio technology
• NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled to access a growing range of NFC applications and services as well as Xperia SmartTags
• Available in a choice of silver and black, all with an aluminium unibody
• Comes with embedded battery, fast charger, USB cable, standard headset, 2 units Xperia SmartTags and HDMI cable

Sony Xperia U

Sony Xperia U will be retailing for SGD$488 in black and white.

• 3.5″ Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance
• 5MP camera with unique fast capture, HD recording and Sony technology to capture 2D and 3D panoramic images
• Crisp and loud listening with xLoud and 3D surround sound audio technology
• Available in a choice of white or black, with additional yellow and white exchangeable caps respectively in the box
• Comes with handset, standard battery, standard charger, USB cable, screen protector and SmartHeadset

Sony Xperia sola

Sony Xperia sola will be retailing for SGD$588 in black and white.

• NFC enabled and Xperia SmartTags in the box to enable quick app loading and easy content sharing
• Floating touch navigation for an easy web browsing experience
• 3.7″ Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine gives razor sharp clarity
• Powered by a 1GHz Dual Core Processor for super fast browsing
• xLOUD and 3D surround sound audio technology for crisp and loud listening
• Available in a choice of white or black
• Comes with embedded battery, standard charger, USB Cable, standard headset and 4 units of Xperia SmartTags

All prices started are without contract and includes 7% GST.

The unit available in Singapore will be the non-LTE version and instead it will be running on HSDPA+ which gives you up to 42Mbps download speed. I will not put high hopes on that in Singapore *.

3 colors will be available on launch date, white, black and cyan.

Nokia Lumia 900

Check out my Nokia Lumia 900 post when I was in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2012!

Official Site: Nokia Lumia 900

* In Singapore be glad that you can even get 10Mbps download speed. Mobile data speed in Singapore has been horrendous for the past few years and it just gets getting worse.

For a music player, the Sony Walkman Z1050 packed some solid specifications:

• Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz (Dual Core)
• 512MB RAM
• 4.3″, TFT color display with white LED-backlight, WQVGA(800 x 480 Pixels)
• Built-in FM Tuner
• 16GB Storage Capacity
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, WiFi IEEE 802.11b/g/n
• GPS/Accelerometer/Magnetometer
• HDMI Micro/3.5mm Audio Jack/Proprietary Connector (WM-Port)
• Android Version 2.3 (Gingerbread) Operating System
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 70.9 x 134.4 x 11.1 (mm)
• Weight: 156g
• Battery Life (Music): 20 Hours
• Battery Life (Video): 5 Hours

It can be considered an Android Phone without the phone and camera functionality. Yeap, you read it right, there is no camera in the Sony Walkman Z1050 which is perfect for National Service (NS) people as well as military related organisations.

Despite it comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), it will be upgradable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) later this year.

The main selling point of the Sony Walkman Z1050 is of course the audio quality. First up is the new S-Master MX digital amplifier which is a unique technology by Sony that reduces noise levels and distortion to enhance your music. There are another 3 audio technologies (Clear Bass, Clear Stereo and Digital Sound Enchantment Engine (DSEE)) that improves the audio quality. With the Sony Walkman Z1050, you also get a pair of EX headphones (Engadget’s comment mentioned it might be the EX300).

The xLOUD speaker system within the device produces pretty clear and loud sound when playing audio files, but when it comes to video, the audio from the video playback was very soft.

The Sony Walkman Z1050 supports Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), you can simply stream your music, videos and photos to any DLNA-compatible TVs, PCs or home audio system.

There are 2 downsides of the Sony Walkman Z1050. The first is the price, it will be retailing for SGD$429 which is incredibly steep. Apple iPod Touch (32GB) (current generation) is only retailing for SGD$428.

I seriously have no idea how Sony is going to market this. The only selling point to justify the steep price is the sound quality. I am not an audiophile person, but my fellow tech bloggers told me that the audio quality is pretty good, definitely better than Apple iPod Touch.

The second downside is the use of proprietary connector for syncing and charging? Seriously? The proprietary port is also known as the Walkman Port (WM-Port). It is a USB 2.0 compliant 22-pin connector which is used for syncing and charging the device. The package does include a USB to WM-Port cable (duh), but I just don’t understand why can’t they use Micro USB.

Sony Walkman Z1050

Sony Walkman Z1050 – Micro HDMI, Dedicated Music Button, Volume Buttons

Sony Walkman Z1050 – 3.5mm Audio Jack, Proprietary Connector (WM-Port)

Sony Walkman Z1050 – xLOUD

Sony Walkman Z1050 – Cover Art

Sony Walkman Z1050 – Visualizer

Sony Walkman Z1050 – Equalizer

Samsung provided a live stream to the event but apparently the NDA for the Samsung Galaxy SIII of those major tech sites was lifted right before the event. So it is weird to see so much details of the phone even before the person went up on stage to officially announced it.

I am pretty disappointed with the design of the phone, is just doesn’t look nice (I think even my Samsung Galaxy Nexus looks better), but of couse the HTC One X is still the better looking one. Two colors will be available and they are Pebble Blue and Marble White.

The screen is huge at 4.8″ with HD Super AMOLE providing a resolution of 1280×720 which gives you about 306ppi (iPhone 4/4S is about 326ppi, iPad 3 is about 264ppi). Some other notable features include the use of microSIM as well as microSD expansion slot for up to 64GB of external space.

Similar to the HTC One Series, Samsung has partnered with Dropbox to provide extra 50GB worth of Dropbox storage for 2 years (worth USD$198) for the owners of the Samsung Galaxy SIII.

Samsung have a clone of Apple’s Siri but they called it the S Voice, and it even allows you to use your voice to pick up an incoming call. Samsung Galaxy SIII also includes a facial recognition feature to zoom and track a person’s face using the camera.

According to the press release, the Samsung Galaxy SIII will be available in Singapore from Q2 2012. I am guessing it will be available around End May 2012.

Highlights

• Features a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display for a vivid viewing experience and an 8MP camera and 1.9MP front camera which offer a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly
• Powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich to greatly enhance usability and practicality to make life easier
• Features ‘Smart stay’ which recognizes how the phone is being used i.e. the front camera identifies the eyes by maintaining a bright display for continued viewing pleasure
• Features ‘S Voice’, the advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to words, allowing information search and basic device-user communication through voice commands
• The ‘Buddy photo share’ function and the new ‘S Beam’ allow for instant and easy sharing of photos and videos among friends and family
• Features the ‘Pop up play’, which boost performance and the overall user experience by allowing users to play a video anywhere on the screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web.

Specifications

• Network: 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 4 Quad (1.4GHz quad-core processor)
• RAM: 1GB
• Display: 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) display
• OS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Camera (Rear): 8 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BSI
• Camera (Front): 1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BSI
• Video Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p)
• Audio Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X
• Additional Features:
  • S Beam, Buddy photo share, Share shot
  • AllShare Play, AllShare Cast
  • Smart stay, Social tag, Group tag, Face zoom, Face slide show
  • Direct call, Smart alert, Tap to top, Camera quick access
  • Pop up play
  • S Voice
  • Burst shot & Best photo, Recording snapshot, HDR
• Connectivity: WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40, GPS/GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0(LE)
• Sensor: Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer
• Memory: 16/32/64GB internal storage options + microSD slot (up to 64GB)
• Dimension: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm
• Weight: 133g
• Battery: 2,100 mAh

Official Site (Singapore): Samsung Galaxy SIII

Samsung Galaxy SIII – Marble White

Samsung Galaxy SIII – Marble White (Back)

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Pebble Blue

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Pebble Blue (Back)

3 colors will be available on launch date, white, black and magenta. For the cyan, it will be available from Saturday, 12th May 2012 onwards.

Nokia Lumia 610

Check out my Nokia Lumia 610 post when I was in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2012!

Official Site: Nokia Lumia 610

Specifications

• 7.0″ WVGA Clear Photo LCD (800 x 480) (16:10)
• 2GB Internal Memory Stores Up to 4,000 Pictures
• Full HD Video and Music Playback
• Compatible with SD & Memory Stick (SD) memory cards
• Auto-Orientation Sensor
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 191 x 132.4 x 97.4mm
• Weight: 370g

Setting up the Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 is pretty straight forward. I just copied the photos to my SD card and place it inside the DPF-HD700 and I imported the photos to the internal 2GB memory so as not to waste 1 SD card on it.

You can also transfer the photos via USB or Mini USB as the DPF-HD700 supports them. When you plugged it to a Windows machine, it will be shown as a removal drive and you can transfer your photos and videos to it like a normal USB flash drive.

I placed the photo frame near my bed side (duh!) and it is pretty far away from my computer and hence having to remove the AC adapter whenever I want to transfer photos to the DPF-HD700 from my computer is cumbersome.

Hence my only complain is that the DPF-HD700 has to be plugged into an AC outlet in order for file transfer to take place. I wish it will make use of the USB power to at least allow file transfer.

For some reasons, it can’t be detected as a removal drive on my MacBook Air when I first tried it, I think I will try again tonight and update this blog post of the result.

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Box Front

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Box Opened

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Box Contents

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Landscape

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Portrait

Sony S-Frame DPF-HD700 – Landscape Photo (The Fat Me)

Backed the project on 22nd September 2011, it became officially funded on 21st October 2011 after raising USD$65,823 (the goal was only USD$7,500). The Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus was about 5 months in the making and I received the product on the 11th April 2012.

The price is pretty reasonable, paid USD$25 for it and an extra USD$5 for the shipping to Singapore which adds up to USD$30 (SGD$37.70) in total. The final retail price will be USD$34.95 (excluding shipping).

The build of the brush is pretty good, it is made of metal with classic chrome finish. The brush tip is pretty sensitive but I was kinda disappointed with the rubber tip because it is less sensitive than the Power Support Smart Pen that I bought. I have to press the rubber tip hard against my iPad screen for it to detect the input. Just to clarify, I have a screen protector pasted on my iPad but I don’t think that is the issue because I have no problem with the Power Support Smart Pen.

I got it from Kickstarter and hence it comes with the Kickstarter exclusive felt travel sleeve to hold the brush!

Here are some of the iPad apps (App Store link) that you can use the brush with as recommended by Sensu Brush:

• Procreate – Sketch, paint, create. (USD$4.99)
• SketchTime – Quick Sketch & Simple Note (USD$1.99)
• ArtRage (USD$4.99)
• Auryn Ink (USD$3.99)
• SketchBook Pro for iPad (USD$4.99)
• Brushes – iPad Edition (USD$7.99)
• Paper by FiftyThree (Free)

I totally recommend Paper by FiftyThree, it is free but it comes with only 1 type of brush, you can get the remaining 4 brushes in the Essentials Pack for USD$7.99 (via in-app purchase). It is worth it!

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus – Kickstarter Exclusive Felt Travel Sleeve

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus – Cover Removed

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus – Cover Attached

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus – Brush Tip

Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus – Rubber Tip

The Wife Drawing Banana On Paper by FiftyThree

• Pip Andersen free running Barcelona with the Nokia Lumia 900
• Jed Cullen skates Barcelona with the Nokia Lumia 900
• James Ivett BMX in Barcelona with the Nokia Lumia 900

Summary

• Blog Links
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Pre Event
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 01
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 02
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 03
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 04
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Asha 202/203/302
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Lumia 610
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Lumia 900
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia 808 PureView
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Summary (This Post)
• Flickr Gallery Links
  • Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 00
  • Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 01
  • Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 02
  • Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 03
  • Mobile World Congress 2012 – Day 04
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Asha 202/203/302
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Lumia 610
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Lumia 900
  • Nokia At Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia 808 PureView
  • Photos Taken By Nokia 808 PureView
• Nokia Products Data Sheets
  • Nokia Asha 202
  • Nokia Asha 203
  • Nokia Asha 302
  • Nokia Lumia 610
  • Nokia Lumia 900
  • Nokia 808 PureView
  • Nokia BH-221 Headset
  • Nokia DC-16 Universal Portable USB Charger
• Nokia Products Pricing & Availability
  • Nokia Asha 202 – €60 (SGD$99) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia Asha 203 – €60 (SGD$99) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia Asha 302 – €95 (SGD$156.60) – Now
  • Nokia Lumia 610 – €189 (SGD$311.60) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia Lumia 900 – €480 (SGD$791.30) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia 808 PureView – €450 (SGD$742.30) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia BH-221 Headset – €59 (SGD$97.30) – 2nd Quarter 2012
  • Nokia DC-16 Universal Portable USB Charger – €25 (SGD$41.20) – 2nd Quarter 2012

Nokia 808 PureView – Photo Taken (Click To Enlarge)

How about one more?

Nokia 808 PureView – Photo Taken (Click To Enlarge)

Here are more photos taken using Nokia 808 PureView:

The photos are not edited in any way, they are taken straight from the Nokia 808 PureView and uploaded to Flickr and of course the photos embedded in this post has been re-sized to 640px by Flickr.

Now, lets start.

The Nokia 808 PureView was Nokia’s flagship phone announced during Mobile World Congress 2012. It won the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at the Global Mobile Awards 2012.

Nokia 808 PureView – Front View

Nokia 808 PureView – Back View

Nokia 808 PureView – Right View

Nokia 808 PureView – Top View

The Nokia 808 PureView has a 41MP (yes 41 megapixels) camera. The sensor size itself is capable of taking pictures up to 7728×5368 (41MP) and it can take photos up to 7152×5368 (4:3 38MP) or 7728×4354 (16:9 34MP). For video recording, it is capable of capturing full HD video (1920×1080) at 30fps and of course HD (1280×720) at 30fps.

Specifications

• Operating: Symbian Belle (with Feature Pack 1)
• Processor: 1.3 GHz ARM11
• Networks: WCDMA 850/900/1700/-21001900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• 4″ ClearBlack Display AMOLED screen (640 x 360 pixels, 16.7 million colours) (Corning Gorilla Glass)
• 512MB RAM
• 16 GB internal user memory with support for up to 48 GB with an external microSD memory card
• Primary (Rear-facing): 41 megapixel camera sensor with Nokia PureView imaging technology and Carl Zeiss optics
• Photo Resolution: 7152×5368 (4:3 38MP) or 7728×4354 (16:9 34MP)
• Video Resolution: 1920×1080 @ 30fps or 1280×720 @ 30fps
• Secondary (Front-facing): 0.3 MP megapixel camera sensor (480p @ 30fps)
• Xenon flash with operating range up to 3.5m
• Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI, DLNA, Secure NFC, WLAN, A-GPS, FM transmitter
• BV-4D 1400 mAh high voltage Li-ion battery
• Volume: 95.5cc
• Weight: 169 g
• Dimensions: 123.9 x 60.2 x 13.9 mm

Availability: Q2 2012
Retail Price: €450
Nokia 808 Pure View Colors: White, Black, Red

Nokia 808 PureView – 3 Colors Available

Nokia 808 PureView – 41MP

Despite being a phone with 41MP camera, lots of people are wondering why Nokia is still using Symbian Belle (with Feature Pack 1) instead of Windows Phone 7.5. I did raise this question to the product manager. The official answer I get is that this phone has been in the works for 5 years and it is only recently that Nokia begin changing their strategy towards Windows Phone, so porting over to Windows Phone platform within such a short time frame is not possible (assuming that it has to be announced at MWC 2012).

I am also guessing that there is other factors such as source code access. Nokia does not have full source code access to Windows Phone so they have to rely on Microsoft to tweak their OS, whereas if Nokia were to go with Symbian Belle, they have full access to the source code and hence it is possible to make full use of the PureView technology in the shortest possible time.

I would say, think of it as you are buying/using a digital camera with a mobile phone capability rather than buying a mobile phone with a digital camera ability and the Symbian OS will not be a deal breaker.

PureView is not the name of the phone, but rather an imaging technology and we will definitely see it on Windows Phone when the time is ripe (if you are into rumors, there is a leaked shot of Windows Phone with PureView technology).

Nokia 808 PureView – Uses MicroSIM

Nokia 808 PureView – Full Resolution or PureView

How does Nokia PureView Zoom Works?
There is no concept of zoom in the Nokia 808 PureView. When you zoom, you are just selecting the relevant area of the sensor. So with no zoom, the full area of the sensor corresponding to the aspect ration is used. The limit of zoom is reached when the selected output resolution becomes the same as the input resolution. For example, with the default settings of 5MP (3072×1728), once the area of the sensor reaches that, you hit the zoom limit. This means the zoom is always true to the image you want.

One of the benefits that the zoom can give you is pixel oversampling. Pixel oversampling combines many pixels to create a single (super) pixel. When this happens, you keep virtually all the details but filter away visual noises from the image.

The level of pixel oversampling is the highest when you are not using the zoom, it gradually decreases until you hit the maximum zoom, where there is no oversampling.

Since there is no moving optics when it comes to zooming, the zoom function is completely silent which is good for video recording.

Nokia 808 PureView uses a new zoom concept called Slide Zoom (which I kinda like). All you have to do is slide your finger up or down on the screen. As you move your finger, a frame will appear and moves in sync with your fingers. This allows you to preview the framing before committing which is again useful for video recording.

If you are interested in more details how Nokia PureView works, check out the PureView Imaging technology White Paper.

It seems that for the upload part, we are still stick with HSUPA instead of HSUPA+ Dual Carrier (DC-HSUPA) as it has not been completed.

Specification wise, it is exactly the same as the LTE variant right down to the dimensions and weight. Interestingly, when Nokia announced the Nokia Lumia 900 in CES 2012, the white color was not mentioned.

Nokia Lumia 900 (White) – Front View

Nokia Lumia 900 (White) – Back View

Nokia SIM Door Key

Just want to highlight one of the more prominent change as compared to the Nokia Lumia 800 is that Nokia Lumia 900′s SIM tray design has been redesigned. Now it requires a SIM Door Key (as what Nokia calls it, similar to iPhone’s SIM Tray Eject Pin) to open the SIM tray. Because of this, the micro USB port is now easily accessible without opening any flip.

Specifications

• Operating: Windows Phone Release 7.5 – Mango Commercial Release 2 (Mango + LTE)
• Processor: 1.4GHz Snapdragon APQ8055 + MDM9200
• Networks: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• Speed: HSDPA+ Dual Carrier cat 24 (42 Mbps), HSUPA cat 6: 5.8 Mbps
• 4.3″ ClearBlack AMOLED display with WVGA 800×480 resolution
• 512MB RAM
• 16 GB internal memory (14.5GB user memory)
• Primary (Rear-facing): 8MP with f2.2/28mm Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flash, Auto Focus, 720p, 30fps video capture
• Secondary (Front-facing): 1MP with f2.4, 30fps video capture (VGA video call resolution)
• A-GPS, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), USB 2.0 high-speed, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 3.5mm headset connector
• 1830mAh battery
• Accelerometer, Proximity, Magnetometer, light sensor, Gyroscope
• Volume: 90cc
• Weight: 160 g (5.6 ounces)
• Dimensions (max): 127.8 x 68.5 x 11.5 mm (5 x 2.7 x .45 inches)

Availability: Q2 2012
Retail Price: €480
Nokia Lumia 900 Colors: White, Cyan, Black

Nokia Lumia 900 (White) – Top View

Nokia Lumia 900 (White) – Bottom View

Nokia Lumia 900 (White) – Right View

Comparision With Nokia Lumia 800

Comparison With Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia Lumia 900 (Cyan)

Windows Phone OS now supports a lower cost processor, the Qualcomm 7x27a “system on a chip” running at 600MHz with reduced memory of at least 256MB and hence making it more affordable to emerging markets.

Nokia Lumia 610 is the first Windows Phone to take advantage of this new scheme and ZTE will follow suit with the ZTE Orbit in Q2 2012. For the Nokia Lumia 610, the processor being used is Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 running on 800MHz which is better than the minimum specs while the RAM remains at the minimum at 256MB.

As with all Nokia Lumia devices, the Nokia Lumia 610 (being the fourth Lumia device) will also comes with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia Transport, Nokia Music and Nokia Reading.

Nokia Lumia 610 (White & Black) – Front View

Nokia Lumia 610 (White & Black) – Back View

Nokia Lumia 610 (Cyan) – Side View

The design of the Lumia 610 is slightly different from its family as it comes with beveled metallic edge (which is similar to the Nokia Asha family) to give users a feel that it is a premium product. It is using micro SIM and comes with 8GB of built-in storage. There is no expandable storage simply because (I am guessing) Windows Phone 7 does not support it. If it does support, I am willing to bet that Nokia will include it in.

Specifications

• Networks: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• Speed: HSDPA cat 7: 7.2Mbps
• Display: 3.7″ WVGA (800×480) TFT capacitive touch LCD display with pinch zoom
• OS: Windows Phone 7.5
• Memory: 256MB RAM
• Storage: 8GB storage
• Camera: 5Mpix auto-focus, LED flash, Video capturing MPEG-4 VGA @ 30 fps
• Size/Weight: 119.24mm x 62.18mm x 11.95mm (LxWxT) / 77.6cc / 131.5g (with battery)
• Connectivity: WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, A-GPS, micro-USB connector and charging, 3.5mm AHJ connector
• Processor: 800 MHz Single Core / Qualcomm Snapdragon S1
• Audio: MP3 player, Audio jack: 3.5mm, Supported codecs incl.: mp3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, wma
• Battery: 1300 mAh
• Talk time: GSM: 10.5h, WCDMA: 9.5h
• Standby time: GSM: 670h, WCDMA:720h
• Music playback: up to 35 hours

Availability: Q2 2012
Retail Price: €189
Nokia Lumia 610 Colors: White, Cyan, Magenta, Black

Nokia Lumia 610 (Cyan) – Front View

Nokia Lumia 610 (Cyan) – Back View

Nokia Lumia 610 (Magenta) – Front View

Nokia Lumia 610 (Magenta) – Back View

Nokia Lumia 610 – Battery Cover Off

Nokia Lumia 610 – Battery Off

Nokia Lumia 610 – Back Covers

Links

• Official Windows Phone Developer Blog: Get Ready for 60% More Potential Customers
• Nokia Lumia 610

All Nokia Asha phones are powered by Series 40 (S40) OS. If you notice the Nokia Asha 202, 203 & 302 comes with a metallic bevel to give users a feel that this is a premium product as users from emerging markets associate metal with premium. The Nokia Asha 302 also comes with a metallic back cover.

Nokia Asha 202/203
Nokia Asha 202 and 203 are identical phones expect that Nokia Asha 202 supports dual SIM Cards (1 of them being hot swappable). Both comes with a traditional keypad with a 2.4″ touch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Nokia Browser, and Bluetooth connectivity, and can handle memory cards up to 32GB. Estimated retail price for each is about EUR 60, excluding taxes and subsidies, and both are expected to start shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

Also, the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 will be the first Series 40 devices to offer EA games. As a 60-day promotion at Nokia Store, user can download the EA 40-game pack worth €75 and these games includes popular titles such as Tetris, Need for Speed, The Run and Bejeweled.

Nokia Asha 202 – Front

Nokia Asha 202 – Back

Only Difference Between The Nokia Asha 202 and 203

Colors Available For The Nokia Asha 202/203

Specifications

• System: GSM 900/1800
• 2 MP camera
• Loud and clear inbuilt speaker
• User Interface: Series 40 , Touch & Type
• Display: 2.4″ QVGA, resistive touch
• Memory: Up to 10MB free user memory
• Memory card: Support up to 32 GB microSD
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE, 2.0 mm Charger Connector, Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR, micro USB 2.0 connector, 3.5 mm AV connector
• Standby time: Up to 16.5 days
• Talk time: Up to 5 hours
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 114.8 mm x 49.8 mm x 13.85 mm
• Weight: 90g (including battery)
• Nokia Life (in selected markets)
• Nokia Maps (in selected markets)
• Exclusive Games Gift from EA – 40 games to download from Nokia Store
• Easy Swap Dual SIM with dedicated SIM manager to personalize your phone and save up to 5 SIM contacts with unique information (Nokia 202 Only)

Availability: Q2 2012
Retail Price: €60
Nokia Asha 202 Colors: Black, Silver White, Dark Red, Dark Grey, Golden White
Nokia Asha 203 Colors: Silver White, Dark Red, Dark Grey

Nokia Asha 302
The Nokia Asha 302 is Nokia’s first Series 40 phone to support Mail for Exchange, giving people access to their emails, contacts and calendar on an exchange server. That and a stylish QWERTY keyboard make it ideal for young entrepreneurs and professionals seeking a beautifully designed phone. Additionally, the Nokia Asha connects to popular social networks and enables chatting through Whatsapp and other IM services. The Nokia Asha 302 is powered by a 1-GHz processor and supports 3.5G data speeds.

Nokia Asha 302 – Front

Nokia Asha 302 – Back

All The 5 Colors Of Nokia Asha 302

Rubber Case For Nokia Asha 302

Specifications

• System: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 EGSM 850/900/1800/1900
• 1 GHz processor
• Display: 2.4″ QVGA (320×240), up to 262k colors
• Memory: Up to 140 MB internal memory, support for up to 32 GB microSD memory card Data Services & Connectivity
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• 3.5G, HSPA data access
• 3.2 megapixel camera with 4 x digital zoom
• High performing loudspeakers
• User Interface: Series 40
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 115.2 mm x 58.9 mm x 13.5 mm
• Weight: 106g (including battery)
• Standby time: Up to 29 days (GSM); up to 34 days (WCDMA)
• Talk time: Up to 9 hours (GSM); 5.9 hours (WCDMA)
• Nokia Browser and Webapps for rich and easy internet experience
• Music player, enhanced stereo FM radio
• Nokia Life in selected markets

Availability: Now
Retail Price: €95
Colors: Dark Grey, White, Plum Red, Mid Blue, Golden Light

Links

• Nokia Asha 202
• Nokia Asha 203
• Nokia Asha 302

But because the Purity HD Stereo Headset is Fuchsia (Pink) in color, he don’t really like it. So I swapped with him as I can give it (Purity HD Stereo Headset) to my wife.

The Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster is retailing for SGD$298 in Singapore and is available in 4 colors, Black, White, Cyan & Fuchsia (Pink).

Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster – Box Front

Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster – Box Open

Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster – Box Contents

Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster

Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster

If you want to get it in the Nokia retail shops, they are available in 4 colors, Black, White, Cyan & Fuchsia (Pink). They are retailing it for SGD$148.

Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset by Monster – Box

Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset by Monster – Contents

Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset by Monster – 3.5mm Connector

Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset by Monster – Remote

Nokia Purity In-Ear Headset by Monster – Ear Piece

The HTC One X is retailing for SGD$898 while the HTC One V is retailing for SGD$398.

HTC One X

HTC One X

Introduction

• Strong, durable, resistant polycarbonate unibody casing
  The HTC One X features an aesthetically stunning polycarbonate unibody at 8.9mm thick, which is lightweight yet sturdy. The body is also resistant to scratches and stains.
• Optimal use of screen estate space
  HTC One X’s display is a full 4.7 inch contoured Gorilla Glass super LCD 2 display with a 720p HD resolution, and optical lamination, for wider viewing angles and reduced reflections to improve visibility in the day time.
• Swift, mighty and reliable quad-core performance
  Powered by a quad-core 1.5GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, the HTC One X delivers unparalleled performance unlike any other HTC phones. You will enjoy rapid response time, whether it is for gaming, web browsing or downloading videos. The quad-core architecture enables four performance cores to be used for maximum burst when needed, with each core enabled and disabled independently and automatically based on workload. The single battery-saver core (or companion core) handles low-powered tasks like active standby, music, and video, and is transparent to the OS and applications. That way, the phone is power-efficient and battery life is improved substantially.
• Capture every memorable moment in a blink of an eye
  Revel in the ease and speed – activate the camera almost instantaneously in 0.7 seconds and auto-focus in 0.2 seconds – and never miss the opportunity to get a good photo again. With a superb 8.0 megapixels camera and 28mm F2.0 lens, coupled with the HTC ImageSense, which has HTC Smart Flash, amazing photos can be taken even in low light environment effortlessly. Long press the shutter button and take up to 99 continuous shots at 4 frames per second. You can also record HD video and snap photos at the same time, just by hitting the shutter button. Slow motion video recording is also possible at 108 frames per second.
• The sound of good
  Beats Audio Technology is now integrated into the hardware and software of the HTC One X, enabled across all applications to offer professional-grade sound engineering, and custom tuned every single time to deliver the best audio performance. You can be watching a music video on YouTube, streaming online music, or playing a game downloaded from Google Play, and the sounds you hear will be authentic studio quality sound, optimised to be rich, dynamic and clear. Hear every instrument, every voice, and every harmony, culminating into a sweet sound, glorious to one’s ears.
• Easy connect, easy sync, easy access
  The HTC Sync Manager software, built-in to the HTC One X makes it easy for you to transfer songs, albums and playlists from your music library, wired or wirelessly, as you prefer. It is also compatible on all Mac and PC devices, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re using iTunes or Windows Media Player to manage your music files. With the new HTC Music Centre, you can also customise and add all your favourite music apps as shortcuts in one single location, so that all your music needs are easily accessible.
• Cast it on screen with the HD Media Link HD
  With the HTC Media Link HD accessory, you can enjoy your favourite movie, play your favourite game or even give an important business presentation, on a TV Screen with a HDMI input, all with an easy three-fingers swipe. Depending on the task your HTC One X is performing, the Media Link HD enables the TV Screen to function either like an extended desktop, or a mirror site to your HTC One X, so you get to enjoy high definition quality content wirelessly anywhere.
• Finest, cleanest and most intuitive mobile experience
  The HTC One X is one of the first HTC phones on HTC Sense 4. Preserving the basics and tailored to complement Android on Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC Sense 4 is designed to be simple and intuitive for a better user experience. It’s easy, intuitive, intelligent and fun. On Sense 4, Beats Audio Technology is also made possible, as is the nifty quick launch feature to quick start the camera in less than 1 second.
• Dropbox integration
  Get free 25GB worth of Dropbox storage space for 2 years, and never worry about attachments again – simply share large files by sending a Dropbox link. In addition, access your Dropbox straight from the Polaris Office app to edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and save them back automatically.

Specifications

• CPU: 1.5 GHz, quad-core
• OS: Android 4.0 with HTC Sense
• Memory
  • Total Storage: 32 GB
  • 25GB Dropbox – free for 2 years
  • RAM: 1 GB
• Dimensions (LxWxT): 134.36 mm x 69.9 mm x 8.9 mm
• Weight: 130 grams (with battery)
• Display: HD 720p touch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution
• Screen: 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 touch screen with multi-touch capability
• Network: HSPA/WCDMA: (Europe/Asia: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz), (GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• GPS: Internal GPS antenna
• Sensors: Gyro sensor, G-Sensor, Digital compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• Connectivity
  • 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
  • NFC capable
  • DLNA for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
  • micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Wireless HDMI Capability for connecting with HTC Wireless HDMI Unit
• Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth with aptX enabled (Bluetooth 4.0)
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • PBAP for phonebook access from the car kit
  • Other supported profiles: AVRCP, GAP, GOEP, HFP, PBAP, SPP, Service Discovery Application Profile
• Camera with ImageSense
  • 8 megapixel camera with HTC ImageChip
  • f2.0, 28mm lens with BSI sensor
  • Auto focus and LED Smart Flash
  • 1080p HD video recording
  • 1.3 megapixel front camera
• Sound enhancement: Beats Audio with dual microphones with noise reduction and stereo voice recording
• Battery: Built-in rechargeable Li-polymer battery
• Battery Capacity: 1800 mAh

HTC One V

HTC One V

Introduction

• Capture every memorable moment in a blink of an eye
  Activate the camera almost instantaneously in 0.7 seconds and auto-focus in 0.2 seconds, to capture your desired shot in a second. With a 5.0 megapixels camera, an 28mm F2.0 lens, and HTC ImageSense, with HTC Smart Flash in place, amazing photos can be taken even in low light environment effortlessly. Long press the shutter button and take up to 99 continuous shots at 4 frames per second and even take a photo while shooting a 720p HD video at the same time, just by hitting the shutter button.
• The sound of good
  Integrated with Beats Audio Technology, the HTC One V is supported on all applications to offer professional-grade sound engineering; custom tuned every time to deliver the best audio performance, whether you are watching a music video on YouTube, streaming online music, or playing a game downloaded from Google Play. The sounds you hear will be will be authentic studio quality sound, optimised to be rich, dynamic and clear.
• Easy connect, easy sync, easy access
  The HTC Sync Manager software, built-in to the HTC One V, makes it easy for you to transfer songs, albums and playlists from your music library, wired or wirelessly thereafter. It is also compatible with Mac and PC and supports both iTunes and Windows Media Player, so you don’t have to switch the music management software you’re currently using. With the new HTC Music Centre, you can also customise and add all your favourite music apps as shortcuts in one single location, so that all your music needs are easily accessible.
• Finest, cleanest and most intuitive mobile experience
  The HTC One V is one of the first HTC phones on HTC Sense 4. Preserving the basics and tailored to complement Android on Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC Sense 4 is designed to be simple and intuitive for a better user experience. It’s easy, intuitive, intelligent and fun. On Sense 4, Beats Audio Technology is also made possible, as is the nifty quick launch feature to quick start the camera in less than 1 second.
• Dropbox integration
  Get free 25GB worth of Dropbox storage space for 2 years, and never worry about attachments again – simply share large files by sending a Dropbox link. In addition, access your Dropbox straight from the Polaris Office app to edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and save them back automatically.
• Designed with the user in mind
  The HTC One V is fashioned with a metal unibody architecture that not only looks good, but is made to last. Similar to previous HTC models, the HTC One V has a slightly curved chin. Functionally, the phone is also designed to ensure seamless transition from one application to another, so multi-tasking is made easy – from reading the news, to sharing on Facebook, checking your work emails and listening to your favourite music – all on the HTC One V.

Specifications

• CPU Speed: 1 GHz, single core
• OS: Android 4.0 with HTC Sense
• Memory
  • Internal storage: 4 GB
  • Expandable microSD storage of up to 32 GB
  • Cloud Storage (Dropbox): 25GB for 2 years
  • RAM: 512 MB
• Dimensions (LxWxT): 120.3 mm x 59.7 mm x 9.24 mm
• Weight:115 grams (with battery)
• Display: 3.7-inch WVGA touch screen (480 x 800 resolution)
• Network: HSPA/WCDMA: (Europe/Asia: 850/900/2100 MHz), GSM/GPRS/EDGE: (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• GPS: Internal GPS
• Sensors: G-Sensor, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• Connectivity
  • 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n
  • Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)
• Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth with aptX enabled (Bluetooth 4.0)
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • PBAP for phonebook access from the car kit
• Camera with ImageSense
  • 5 megapixel camera with auto focus
  • HTC Smart Flash featuring 5 auto adjustable power levels for the right amount of lighting
  • BSI Sensor, F2.0 aperture for maximum performance in low light
  • 28mm wide angle lens
  • 720p HD video recording
  • Dedicated imaging chip, giving sharper, clearer shots
  • Snap a high resolution photo while video recording in HD
• Sound enhancement: Beats Audio
• Battery: Built-in rechargeable Li-polymer battery
• Battery Capacity: 1500 mAh

The Twelve South BookArc holds up the MacBook Air (2nd generation) upright which frees up table space if you are not using your MacBook Air’s screen as a secondary monitor. There is also a gap in the stand which allows the power cable to pass through.

Unlike the Twelve South MagicWand, the build of the BookArc is so much better and felt more solid as it is made up of aluminium. And with regards to design it also goes very well with the design of the MacBook Air (2nd generation).

If you are using a MacBook Air (2nd generation), I totally recommend getting this and of course if you are using your MacBook Air (2nd generation) with Apple’s Thunderbolt 27″ Display (SGD$1,348), you must get this!

Twelve South BookArc – Box Front

Twelve South BookArc – Box Contents

Twelve South BookArc

Twelve South BookArc – Gap For Cables

Twelve South BookArc – With MacBook Air (Front View)

Twelve South BookArc – With MacBook Air (Back View)

The Twelve South MagicWand is essentially a holder which holds the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Trackpad together.

I expected the build of the MagicWand to be good or at least made of aluminium, however to my disappointment it is made of plastic. The instructions came in pretty handy this time as it stated not to slide the keyboard or the trackpad in, but to “snap” it in.

The first time I assembled it, I forgot about the “H-beam stabilizer” which is essentially a plastic that is used to hold keyboard and trackpad side by side so that it is more stable.

Removing the keyboard and trackpad from the MagicWand is pretty easy and hence it should not interfere with you changing the batteries of the keyboard or the trackpad.

Twelve South MagicWand – Packaging Front

Twelve South MagicWand – Instructions

Twelve South MagicWand – Made Of Plastic

Twelve South MagicWand – H-beam Stabilizer

Twelve South MagicWand – Joined

Woke up at about 9am and went down for breakfast and went back up to my hotel room after that to get my stuff packed. I have requested for my transport to come at 2pm despite my flight is at 6.30pm as I wanted to claim tax refund (18%) and shop at Barcelona Airport!

Beef Burger

Had a simple lunch down at our hotel’s cafe with Katie from 1000heads before bidding her goodbye!

When my transport came to pick me up, I realized that it is the same driver who picked me up from the airport when I arrived in Barcelona!

I reached Barcelona Airport at about 2.45pm and took me 10 minutes to find the stupid tax refund counter. It is hidden all the way to the left side of the airport. I think they purposely isolate it so that you will have problems finding it. You can get a tax refund of 18% and to my surprise there is no queue at all to get your tax refunded. However the attitude of the officer at the counter is really horrible.

Tax Refund Isolated Corner

Take a look at the picture above, there is no indication saying that you can refund tax there except the small “TAX FREE” icon which is so small and located right at the bottom of the sign.

I opted for credit card refund instead of cash refund because I do not want to queue twice (1 at the tax refund and 1 at the bank).

When you purchase stuff from any store (I bought a Loewe bag for my mom) and asked for credit card tax refund, they will give you 2 envelops with 2 tax invoices (1 in each envelop). You are supposed to get both the invoices stamped but only mail back one for the custom to process.

Mailbox

Here are my flight details back to Singapore just for archiving purposes:

• Flight No.: LH1133
• Flight Hours: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Departure: 18:35 on Thursday, 1st March 2012 (Terminal 1, Barcelona Airport, Barcelona)
• Arrival: 20:55 on Thursday, 1st March 2012 (Terminal 1, Frankfurt Airport, Germany)
• Layover Hours: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Flight No.: LH778
• Flight Hours: 11 hours 50 minutes
• Departure: 22:05 on Thursday, 1st March 2012 (Terminal 1, Frankfurt Airport, Germany)
• Arrival: 16:55 on Friday, 2nd March 2012 (Terminal 2, Changi Airport, Singapore)

As this is the last day of my trip, I would like to thank Nokia, Nokia Connects and the girls/guys at 1000heads for the invite to my first Mobile World Congress and the awesome hospitality that you have provided us for the whole trip. It was an awesome one and I really enjoyed myself!

Hope to see you guys at Nokia World 2012 at Helsinki, Finland!

This concludes my coverage of MWC, look out for 4 more blog posts of the newly launched Nokia phones at Mobile World Congress 2012 – Nokia Asha Family, Nokia Lumia 610, Nokia Lumia 900 and Nokia 808 PureView.

Pino Bonetti (Left), Mark Thomas (Right)

Nokia Maps update will be out soon for Nokia Lumia devices which gives you greater zoomed-in details as well as the ability to create and share your favorite places via social networking sites.

Nokia Maps is there to help you, whether you’re in a car, or on foot.

When you’re in hurry it can be confusing to see every eating choice, or art gallery – you only want to know where you’re going.

That’s why Nokia Maps has also been updated for Windows Phone to make the experience simpler, with fewer intrusive objects and signs to get in the way of where you want to go – and a reduced colour palette to allow the brain to process information more easily.

Now you can zoom in to get all the detail you need, and pull back for larger context about what route you need to take – with pedestrians and drivers seeing different maps to reflect their different experiences.

With the updated Nokia Maps you can now also create and collect your favourite places, and access places you’ve recently visited.

Then, if you’re travelling with friends or colleagues, you can share your route with SMS email or social networks.

Nokia Maps now covers over 190 countries – and uses the latest technology to make sure that images are viewable from any browser, device and operating system.

Nokia Drive 2.0 will be out soon which will get full offline. In the pipeline is Nokia Drive 3.0, which is a bigger update that allows you to pin your trip to the live tiles of your home screen. It will also learn your daily commute routes and automatically adjust your routes depending on the day’s traffic.

Nokia Drive has been one of the most popular services on the Lumia, offering free turn-by-turn voice guided navigation in over 100 countries, with multiple views, larger icons for in-car arms length use, one easy search box, and fast route calculation and preview.

Now Nokia Drive on Lumia gets full offline support, with offline search and routing from calculating a route, to navigation and re-routing. A newly designed dashboard now shows speed limit alerts, as well as the speed you’re travelling at, as well as estimated time or arrival, time to destination and distance to destination. You can also access a list of recently saved destinations through a single tap, and then start turn-by-turn navigation.

Nokia Public Transport is a new app that will be rolled out to existing Nokia Lumia devices. Nokia Transport will give you an real-time arrival timing of public transportation such as train and buses. If you city does not have any these data available, the timing will be estimated. For Singapore/Malaysia case, it will be estimated instead of real-time. I really hope Nokia can work with LTA to get the real-time information which is already available out there.

Nokia Public Transport is a natural complement to Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive as part of navigating your life – and is now available as an app on the Nokia Lumia.

Nokia Public Transport is a unique service that allows you to plan fast inner-city routes from point to point, and work out your time of arrival.

Using Nokia Public Transport you can see when the nearest train, bus, tram or metro leaves, find out how to get to the station, discover if you need to change trains or lines along the way, and then use walk routing to reach your final destination.

Check out My Nokia Blog: Mega Q&A session: Lumia/WP Production/Design, Maps, Entertainment & More for more details of the morning Q&A.

There is no lunch Q&A and hence we got the whole afternoon free to ourselves. I went back to MWC to Nokia booth as I got tip that Nokia is giving away free stuff and that includes a Nokia Lumia 800!

There are 2 giveaways on that day, one at about 2pm and the other is about 6pm. Each giveaway will have 20 items which consists of items like the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-221, Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster, Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster and even Nokia Lumia 800.

Giveaway #1

Giveaway #2

The Lollipop

For each giveaway, they will give out 100 lollipops to the guests around the booth but only 20 of them will have a slip of paper in it to indicate what item you won. If your lollipops contain a piece of paper, you won something, if not try again at the next giveaway!

I did not win in the first giveaway, but I won the Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster in the second giveaway (stayed tuned for that blog post).

After the first giveaway, I went to take a look at the Android Booth because I missed it the previous days. They are giving out free smoothies and Ice Cream Sandwich (not the phone) at the booth!

Free Smoothie

Ice Cream Sandwich

After the visit to the Android booth, I went out of MWC, took a subway to Diagonal station which is their shopping district to help my mom get her Loewe bag. There is a protest going on there as well and I believe they marched all the way to MWC (which is about 6 stations away).

Protest

It is a peaceful protest but I heard things got bad when they reached the MWC. I think the protest is about Capitalism. When I got back to MWC, the main entrance was closed and we have to enter via the side entrance (which is quite a far walk).

Main Entrance Closed

Took a look at these booths after I got back:

• Eset
• W3C
• LG
• Intel
• Mozilla Firefox
• Krusell

Nokia Wins

Did I mention that Nokia also won a couple of awards?

• Global Mobile Awards: Best Feature Phone or Entry Level Phone

  Nokia – Nokia C3-00

  The Nokia C3 was designed to put better social networking tools in the hands of more people around the world, at affordable prices. The C3 features a QWERTY keyboard and access to social networks directly from the homescreen. The Nokia C3 also comes with Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat, meaning first time users can set up email and chat accounts straight from the device. Other notable features are Wi-Fi connectivity, a two megapixel camera, rich color 2.4 inch screen and support for up to an 8GB memory card. The C3 demonstrates Nokia’s dedication to enabling the next billion to connect to the internet.

  Judges’comments

  “The numbers speak for themselves – a blockbusting chart topper with universal appeal.”

  The judges would also like to recognise the companies who are working to solve the needs of the ageing global population. Devices that deliver accessibility above all else are becoming increasingly important.”

• Global Mobile Awards: Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2012

  Nokia – Nokia 808 Pure View

• Laptop Magazine: Best Budget Smartphone

  Nokia – Nokia Lumia 610

  Though the Lumia 610 will be marketed at budget-conscious consumers, Nokia didn’t skimp on this Windows Phone’s style or software. Available with a stunning metallic-edged black, cyan, red or white bezel, this handset (189 Euros unsubsidized) looks sexier than, any high-end superphones. Even with just 256MB of RAM and a lower-end 800-MHz processor, the Lumia 610 provides smooth performance when navigating through Windows Phone 7.5 and using Nokia’s suite of innovative applications. It’s also the first phone to come bundled with Nokia Transport, a new app that helps you plan a route using public transportation rather than a car.

• ComputerActive: Best Windows Phone at MWC 2012

  Nokia – Nokia Lumia 610

• tom’s hardware: Best of MWC 2012

  Nokia – Nokia Lumia 610

Dinner was at Ca La Nuri together with Nokia Asha 202 and 203 product managers (Loek van der Helm & Vivian Chan). It is a small world that Vivian is also a Singaporean who once worked for Nokia Singapore but now is based in Beijing (still working for Nokia).

Top (L-R): Me, Vivian Chan | Bottom (L-R): Loek, Trent

We also ended the day quite early as some of the guys have an early flight back home the next day.

Read: New Nokia Services at Mobile World Congress

Dean Patrick From Nokia Entertainment

Dean showcase the new Nokia Reading which of course as the name sounds, allow you to read and buy e-books/audio books on your Lumia devices. It will come to existing Lumia devices in April 2012.

Reading provides a single, integrated hub experience, leveraging a panorama design to make it easier and faster to enjoy news, ebooks and audio books, including the ability to access content offline and pin dynamic content to the start screen as a Live Tile. With an emphasis on local language materials wherever it becomes available, Nokia Reading delivers a highly personalized and locally relevant service. Future updates will include the ability to build dynamic magazines from feeds for a single integrated view of favourite online content. With no sign-in or subscriptions, Nokia Reading will be available from April.

He also passed around the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-221 for us to play with. It is NFC enabled which is used to aid the Bluetooth pairing process.

Dean also showcase Nokia Mix Radio which is announced back in Nokia World 20122 which allows you to listen to million of tracks for free (without subscription or logging-in) from 100+ preset radio station of different generes. Mix Radio is already available in Singapore. If you do not like the song that you are listening, you can always skip it, but do note that you can skip 6 times per hour due to licensing agreements.

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-221

After breakfast and the Q&A session, we also received a gift from Red Bull.

Gift From Red Bull

You must be wondering what does Red Bull has to do with Nokia. Well, Red Bull has partnered Nokia to deliver access to amazing experiences, best sporting and culture content to Nokia Lumia devices! You can expect stuff like location and outdoor adventure, augmented reality, and sharing experiences with your friends!

Lunch was at the same hotel yesterday at Hotel AB Viladomat. Before lunch, we have a Q&A with the product managers of Nokia Lumia 610 (Sumi Mikami, Sharat Kungar – Not In The Picture Below & Tanja Rauniaho-Mitchell) and Lumia 900 (Jason Gregory)!

Jason Gregory (2nd From the Left)

Pino Bonetti – Nokia Maps (Left), Tanja Rauniaho-Mitchell (Right)

Sumi Mikami (Front)

One of the most requested feature for the Lumia is the Internet Sharing which is already built-in into Windows Phone 7.5, however it is not enabled in Nokia Lumia devices. Jason Gregory mentioned that it will be available for Lumia devices in the next update.

The White Lumia 800 is now available in stores and the price remain the same as the rest of the colors.

Check out My Nokia Blog: Mega Q&A session: Lumia/WP Production/Design, Maps, Entertainment & More for more details of both the morning & lunch Q&A.

After lunch we head off to Park Güell as one of our sight seeing attraction!

Park Güell

Park Güell – View From The Top

One Of The Longest Benches In The World

Top (L-R): Jason, James | Bottom (L-R): Me, Ali, Katie, Trent

After Park Güell, we headed back to MWC and continue looking at other booths

• Windows Phone
• HTC
• Adobe
• Opera
• Nvidia
• MediaTek
• Dolby
• Singapore
• Futjisu

There is a networking party at the venue itself that happen at 7pm and there are free drinks and pretzels and of course performance by some acrobats!

Performance

We left MWC at about 8pm to head for dinner at La Clara together with the Nokia Asha 302 product managers!

The 5 Colors Of Nokia Asha 302

Dinner ended about 10.30pm and the bus picked us up back to our hotel!

Read: New Nokia Services at Mobile World Congress