Nokia Lumia Black Update Coming Early 2014

In line with the strategy to aggressively promote the Windows Phone 8 OS, Nokia will be pushing the Lumia Black Update early next year. It is based on the WP8 GDR3 update. Some of the major features include - 

• Nokia Storyteller - integrate picture with HERE application
• Nokia Video Editor - video editing application
• Nokia Beamer - share content on other screens
• New Nokia Camera Application - integrating pro, smart and video modes
• Better Storage Maintenance
• Enable Locking Screen Orientation
• Bluetooth Fixes
• Internet Sharing Over Bluetooth with Windows 8.1
• Driving Mode - minimizes distraction while driving
• Enhanced Glance Screen - more information
• Other Phone And Camera Performance Fixes

Looking at the features listed above, this is a very important update from Nokia/Microsoft so far. This update is bound to push the lumia sales a lot further. A preview of the update can be downloaded  and installed from the Windows Phone Developer site, however, this will void your warranty. Also this is an incomplete update having only the Microsoft updates and make not work properly.

Nokia Lumia 920 has a new update AFTER Amber and GDR2

I found a notification today on my Nokia Lumia 920 about a new update available. This was really surprising as I had recently updated to the Lumia Amber Update. Apparently, this only fixed a small issue with the IE Default Search Engine. After the Lumia Amber Update, the Google option from the search engine selection from the IE Settings was removed which I thought was as per design given the recent Microsoft / Google fight over YouTube application. However, after this update, I found Google set as the default search engine automatically in IE Settings. I haven't seen any visual changes so far yet. However, some reports over the internet suggest possible changes to the camera post processing.

All the version numbers remain the same after update

This is a small update which is about 19 MB, however, it took about 30 minutes to complete the entire update process but that could also be due to the huge amount of user data in my phone. This might be a regional update as well since the issue was mainly reported from India about the Google option missing in IE. For me, all the relevant version numbers remain the same before and after the update.

Nokia Lumia Amber Update Availability Status

Here are the links to check the release status of the Windows Phone 8 Amber Update across the world.

Africa | Asia Pacific | Europe | Latin America | Middle East | North America  

Microsoft to acquire Nokia - NextChapter

"Microsoft to acquire Nokia" - something that everyone may have had a feeling of ever since Nokia tied up with Microsoft for the Meego platform and then the famous 'Windows Phone Mango' based Lumia devices. We already know that Google acquired Motorola long ago to boost its Android OS. Similarly, with the success of the new Lumia series of devices, Microsoft is all set to acquire Nokia. With this acquisition, Microsoft is all set to push its Windows Phone 8 OS much further. The only factor that stands out in this acquisition is the fact that both the parties are the champions of their field unlike Google/Motorola. Nokia is known for its outstanding hardware designs since the birth of cellphones while Microsoft has long been the leader in Operating System designs ever since man came to know of home PCs. #NEXTCHAPTER

Press Release

Windows Phone 8 Amber Update Brings FM Radio to Nokia Lumia 920

I was not sure that I was ever going to get the FM Radio in my Nokia Lumia 920 as I believed from the beginning that it lacked the hardware itself. However, with the Amber Update, I can see the FM Radio functionality now available in the 'Music+Videos' hub which is a much needed feature for a high end phone like this. For a few minutes I was confused as to how the radio worked.

Using the radio on Nokia Lumia 920 is the easiest of all. All you need is to swipe right/left on the radio page for tuning a station. Once on the required radio station, simple tap on the 'favorites' star shaped icon and the radio is saved. Long tap on the screen brings up the pop-up menu where you can choose the phone speaker or pin the station or launch the settings menu. The settings menu allows you to choose the region - North America, World and Japan. Choosing either of them made no difference for me at-least in India, I was able to still tune selecting North America as the region. 

Windows Phone 8 Amber Update For Nokia Lumia 920 Released In India

The Amber Update for Windows Phone 8 based Nokia Lumia 920 got released in India a few days back. This was the second major update since the phone got released. The update size is big and it takes 30-45 minutes for the update to complete. On a quick look after the update, I could see one new application and one new system settings available. The application is 'Data Sense' that gives you greater control over your data usage which is a much needed feature in today's data intensive mobile phone usage. A new entry in the settings menu is the 'call+SMS filter' which appears at the bottom of options list. This provides a native feature for blocking calls and messages which is again a very high priority feature. Most OS in the market do not offer this as a native feature and gets supported by 3rd Party apps.