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Nokia introduces its first tablet, shows off Instagram and Vine for Windows Phone

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Abu Dhabi may have played host to Nokia's last major event as a consumer device maker, so the company made sure to go out with a bang. The first ever Nokia tablet, the Lumia 2520, was revealed alongside massive new 6-inch Windows Phones, the Lumia 1520 and 1320. While the lower-end Asha line also saw an update and a fresh new design, the more impactful news from Nokia came on the software side of things.The Lumia 1520 and the camera-centric Lumia 1020 will be the first smartphones from the company to support RAW image output. That means you'll get images in as close to their natural state as possible — blemishes and all — giving you more fine-grained control over aspects like exposure and color balance. And yes, Instagram's arrival on Windows Phone was also announced during Nokia's event, forming just part of a whole deluge of new apps and updates for the platform.

  • Tom Warren

    Oct 22, 2013

    Tom Warren

    Vine for Windows Phone briefly demonstrated at Nokia World

    Vine for Windows Phone
    Vine for Windows Phone

    Vine revealed it was planning its own Windows Phone app back at the Lumia 1020 launch in July, and it’s now in beta testing. Nokia provided an early demo of Vine for Windows Phone today at Nokia World in Abu Dhabi. It looks almost identical to the iOS and Android versions, but in keeping with Windows Phone’s "Metro-style" aesthetics. There’s four sections that are available in the main part of the app, without the need to flick down, that provide access to activity, explore, profile, and of course the main home screen of Vine videos. Just like the Android and iOS versions, you’ll be restricted to six second videos, but all the normal stop motion techniques will still work.

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  • Tom Warren

    Oct 22, 2013

    Tom Warren

    Nokia Refocus turns your Lumia into a Lytro-like camera

    Gallery Photo: Nokia Refocus hands-on photos
    Gallery Photo: Nokia Refocus hands-on photos

    Nokia may have had a bunch of hardware on display at its Abu Dhabi event today, but some of the company's most impressive work is linked with its camera improvements. While the Lumia 1020 introduced a 41-megapixel camera and a new Pro Cam app, Nokia is detailing a new addition to its app line-up today: Nokia Refocus. It's a separate app that works with all of Nokia's PureView Windows Phones to allow owners to refocus parts of an image.

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  • Oct 22, 2013

    Vlad Savov

    Nokia adding RAW support to Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520, focus shifting to all PureView cams

    Lumia RAW
    Lumia RAW

    Nokia's desire to be known as the best mobile-imaging company is being proved today with the announcement of RAW image file support for its two premier devices, the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520. In describing the breadth of new possibilities opened up by the unprocessed pics, Nokia underlines that "the image stays totally natural." That will mean a fair bit of unhidden imaging noise and other flaws that JPEG processing usually tidies up for you, but this move undeniably opens up a whole new avenue for photographic creativity with Nokia's phones.

    Just as significantly, Nokia is also announcing a new "Refocus" feature for its PureView devices. Like Lytro, this allows you to shift the focus of your photo after the fact, as illustrated nicely by Nokia's Refocus website. The company hasn't yet detailed how it achieves the effect without dedicated hardware as with the Lytro cam, though it's reasonable to expect it's done by combining a quick series of shots, with each one focusing at a different distance — rather like the Focus Twist app for iOS. In any case, it looks like a cool feature and should be rolling out to all PureView devices in November.

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  • Tom Warren

    Oct 22, 2013

    Tom Warren

    Nokia Lumia 1520: a first look at a 6-inch giant Windows Phone

    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 1520 hands-on photos
    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 1520 hands-on photos

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  • Tom Warren

    Oct 22, 2013

    Tom Warren

    Nokia Lumia 2520: a closer look at Nokia's first Windows tablet

    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 2520 hands-on photos
    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 2520 hands-on photos

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  • David Pierce

    Oct 22, 2013

    David Pierce

    Nokia answers the Surface 2 with the Lumia 2520, a beautiful, ultra-mobile Windows RT tablet

    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 2520 hands-on photos
    Gallery Photo: Nokia Lumia 2520 hands-on photos

    Inside, the 2520 matches the new Surface 2 spec for spec. It has a great-looking, 10-inch, 1920 x 1080 display with strong viewing angles and beautiful colors. Its 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor should be at least as capable as the Tegra 4 in the Surface 2 — it seemed to run Windows RT 8.1 quite well, in our few minutes with the device. It comes with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a card slot for adding up to 32GB more.

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  • Tom Warren

    Oct 22, 2013

    Tom Warren

    Official Instagram Windows Phone app arriving in the 'coming weeks'

    Windows Phone is finally getting an official Instagram client. After months of pressure from Nokia, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed today that an official client will be made available to Windows Phone users shortly. "Our ultimate goal is to bring Instagram to everyone who wants to use it," says Systrom. "We're looking forward to watching the Windows Phone community use Instagram to capture and share beautiful moments in the coming weeks." The app closes a big hole in the Windows Phone ecosystem, allowing owners to use an officially supported Instagram client.

    Nokia and Instagram aren't detailing all of the app's features today, merely confirming it's planned in the coming weeks. 6tag, an unofficial Windows Phone app, recently launched for Windows Phone with full support for photo filters and video uploads. The app has been continually updated, and most recently gained a collage option that's not found in the official Instagram clients for iOS and Android. While an official app is welcomed, it's possible that third-party alternatives may still offer a better experience for Instagram on Windows Phone.

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  • Dan Seifert

    Oct 22, 2013

    Dan Seifert

    Nokia introduces the Lumia 1520, its largest Windows Phone yet

    Smartphones, especially Android and Windows Phone devices, have been growing rapidly in size over the past few years, from devices with mere 4-inch displays to those with screens almost six inches in size. Today Nokia is announcing its largest devices yet. The new Lumia 1520 (along with its low-end counterpart, the Lumia 1320) features a massive 6-inch display, making it the largest Windows Phone ever released. The 1520 is also the first Windows Phone with a 1080p screen and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor.

    The 1520 retains Nokia's familiar design language — it's a single piece polycarbonate design that looks like a bigger version of the Lumia 720 — and build quality. But when you have a 6-inch display, there's no getting around having a big phone, and the 1520 is downright massive: it's 3.36 inches wide, 6.4 inches tall, and weighs 7.37 ounces, despite being only 0.34 inches thick. You can hold it with one hand, but for the most part, this is a two-handed device. The new LCD display is bright and vibrant, and as is the case with most Nokias, it has great viewing angles and deep blacks.

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  • Aaron Souppouris

    Oct 22, 2013

    Aaron Souppouris

    WhatsApp now has 350 million monthly active users

    whatsapp (stock 1020)
    whatsapp (stock 1020)

    Live on stage at Nokia World 2013, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum announced the instant messaging service now has 350 million monthly active users. That's up by 50 million since August, when the network announced it had hit 300 million. Koum also announced that some 250,000 users per day are registering for WhatsApp using Nokia devices — including Symbian, Asha, and Lumia handsets — over 7 million per month.

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