Not much is changing at the top of the smartphone market share numbers. Android still dominates and iPhone market share is  slipping. It’s the bottom that has shifted a bit. In Quarter 1 of 2013, according to IDC, Windows Phone has officially surpassed Blackberry as the number 3 spot in this competitive race.

In terms of gains, Windows Phone has more than doubled its shipment volume from a year ago, reaching 7% up from 3%. Android is still leading the pack thanks to Samsung, who sells 41.1% of all Androids sold. No other Android manufacturer is in double-digits — an intriguing stat that needs more attention. 

Even more impressive is that Nokia has a commanding 79% of the Windows Phone market share. That puts Nokia at about 20.3 million smartphone shipments since they partnered with Windows Phone. Still, Microsoft and their partners have plenty of work ahead of them. Windows Phone only accounts for 3.2% of all smartphones sold in quarter 1.

Blackberry sold more than a million BB10 phones in the first quarter. It’s impressive, although they have now slipped to fourth place in the market. And if you’re Apple, the numbers are mixed. Total number of iPhones sold hit record highs, but their market share is slipping at a pace faster than I expected.

Click here to see more stats published by the IDC.

What are your thoughts? Is Windows Phone at a tipping point where developers and major companies will take the operating system seriously?

IDC: Android & iPhone combine for 92% smartphone market share, Windows Phone jumps to 3rd is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

I’m a huge fan of xenon flash on my mobile phone. It’s why I loved the Nokia N82, N8, and recently the 808 PureView. Finally, Nokia has brought xenon flash to Windows Phone with the new Nokia Lumia 928.

My pal Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog has just published a quick comparison of the xenon flash on the Lumia 928 versus the dual-LED flash on the Lumia 920. The outcome was just as I expected…

Do I really need to tell you which is which?

This is why I wish I can replace my Nokia Lumia 920 with the 928, but unfortunately I am under contract with AT&T and can’t switch to Verizon at this time.

Just incase you forgot, here are the specs of the Nokia Lumia 928…

Nokia Lumia 928 specifications

• Display: 4.5 inch WXGA HD OLED; Resolution 1280 x 768, Aspect Ratio 15:9, Pixel Density 334 ppi; ClearBlack display, Sunlight Readability Enhancement (SRE), High Brightness Mode (HBM); Luminance 300 nits (nominal max), 500 nits (High Brightness Mode); Color depth 24 bit, 16M colors, refresh rate 60Hz; Super-sensitive capacitive touch enables interacting with the display with gloves and long fingernails; Display active area: 58.37 mm x 97.28 mm; 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
• Battery: Integrated 2000mAh battery, Li-po, BV 4-NW
• Processor:1.5GHz dual core, Qualcomm MSM8960+WTR
• Main Camera: PureView 8.7MP Auto Focus with Carl Zeiss Tessar f/2.0, 26mm True 16:9 optics, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images; LED for Video; HD 1080p Video Capture @ 30 fps
• Front facing camera: 720p HD video and 1.2MP still images
• Memory: 1 GB RAM; 32GB internal memory (formatted capacity is less); 7GB free in SkyDrive with additional storage via subscription

The Nokia Lumia 928 is out on Verizon tomorrow. Will you be picking one up?

Source: The Nokia Blog

A quick Nokia Lumia 928 xenon flash test versus Lumia 920 Dual-LED is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

The Nokia Lumia 925 has finally been made official. The Lumia 925 is a new design by Nokia with mostly the same internals as the Lumia 920. There are a few changes besides the thinner, lighter, and metal body that make this a better phone. Nokia is on a roll this week with the launch of the Nokia Lumia 928 on Verizon.

We’ll save the comparison between Nokia’s flagships for another article and kick things off here with a listing of the Lumia 925 specs…

Specifications of the Nokia Lumia 925

• Display: 4.5″ AMOLED screen with WXGA (1280 x 768) resolution
• Battery life: 2000 mAh, Maximum 3G standby time 440 hours

• Main Camera: 8.7 megapixel w/ Carl Zeiss lens, optical image stabilization, dual-LED flash, 1080p video at 30fps

• Front Camera: 1280 x 960 pixels, F2.4 aperture, 720p HD video
• Processor & Memory: 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM
• Storage: 16GB internal storage, 7GB Skydrive cloud storage
• Size: See image for dimensions
• Operating System: Windows Phone 8
• Wireless Charger: You must use add-on cover to enable wireless charging.

• Network radio bands: GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, WCDMA, 2100, 1900, 850, 900, LTE 2100, 1800, 2600, 900, 800

Nokia Lumia 925 availability & release date

Nokia isn’t 100% clear on exact release dates, but here is the info they have:

“The Nokia Lumia 925 is expected to start selling in June first in UK, Germany, Italy and Spain with Vodafone and other operator and retail partners; and in China with China Mobile and China Unicom, followed by the US with T-Mobile. It will be priced at around 469 EUR before any local taxes or operator subsidies.”

So June it is. It’s great to see that the Nokia Lumia 925 will be widely available, although it would have been nice to see it land on Sprint in the US — not just T-Mobile.

I would LOVE to get my hands on this phone. I guess we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to get an exact for-sale date. Stay tuned for more coverage including hands-on Lumia 925 photos and videos.

 Source: Nokia

Nokia Lumia 925 brings new metal design, coming to T-Mobile USA and international carriers is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

Watch:

Watch Live: Google I/O 2013 Keynote is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

Here are a few photos of the Nokia Lumia 928 posted by Tom today…

The design really is totally different than the Nokia Lumia 920. It’s almost a fusion of the 820 and 920, with almost the same specs as the Nokia Lumia 920.

Tom from The Verge mentions that the loudspeaker on the Nokia Lumia 928 is significantly louder than the 920…

“Nokia’s loudspeaker on the Lumia 928 is clearly improved from the 920. Even at volume 20 on Windows Phone, the lock and camera sounds seemed louder that the same volume level on the 920.”

Click here to read the entire hands-on article at The Verge.

The Verge publishes hands-on photos of a Nokia Lumia 928 prototype is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

The long-awaited Nokia Lumia 928 was finally announced by Verizon and will be available for $99 (after rebate) on a 2-year contract next Thursday. This phone is a top-tier Nokia device running Windows Phone 8 and features a xenon flash, PureView camera technology, 4.5-inch screen, and wireless charging. At the moment the phone will be available in black and white colors, leaving the Verizon lineup just as colorless as it was yesterday.

Check out this 2-minute hands-on video published by Nokia showing off all the great features of this phone…

Needless to say, this phone is a powerhouse. It takes all the great things about the highly popular Nokia Lumia 920 and wraps it in a lighter, thinner body.

Xenon Flash

The addition of xenon flash is huge for me. My favorite phones of all time go all the way back to the Nokia N82 and N8, both of which had xenon flash to light up those indoor, low-light photos and also bright outdoor scenes where shadows are hiding the subject. Some people don’t understand how awesome xenon flash is. It’s the same type of flash found on your standalone digital camera. Not to worry, the 928 still has a LED light for use during video recording.

Video Recording

Speaking of video recording… the Nokia Lumia 928 excels in this department as well. It has three high audio amplitude microphones (HAAC) for distortion-free sound. It’s also mentioned in the press release that an advanced loudspeaker is included to make playback of the videos sound great. Quote:

Built with three high-audio-amplitude-capture (HAAC) microphones and one of the most advanced loudspeakers available for smartphones, people can record and play back the sound just like they first heard it, all the way up to 140db – the sound equivalent of an airplane taking off.

Video recording quality is 1080p at 30fps. Throw in the optical image stabilization and you have a pretty good video camera in your hands.

More Specifications

Let’s take a look at the general specs of the Nokia Lumia 928 before we show you the photos…

• Display: 4.5 inch WXGA HD OLED; Resolution 1280 x 768, Aspect Ratio 15:9, Pixel Density 334 ppi; ClearBlack display, Sunlight Readability Enhancement (SRE), High Brightness Mode (HBM); Luminance 300 nits (nominal max), 500 nits (High Brightness Mode); Color depth 24 bit, 16M colors, refresh rate 60Hz; Super-sensitive capacitive touch enables interacting with the display with gloves and long fingernails; Display active area: 58.37 mm x 97.28 mm; 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
• Battery: Integrated 2000mAh battery, Li-po, BV 4-NW
• Processor:1.5GHz dual core, Qualcomm MSM8960+WTR
• Main Camera: PureView 8.7MP Auto Focus with Carl Zeiss Tessar f/2.0, 26mm True 16:9 optics, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images; LED for Video; HD 1080p Video Capture @ 30 fps
• Front facing camera: 720p HD video and 1.2MP still images
• Memory: 1 GB RAM; 32GB internal memory (formatted capacity is less); 7GB free in SkyDrive with additional storage via subscription

Nokia Lumia 928 press photos

May 16th is just a week away! Stay tuned for more coverage on the Nokia Lumia 928 over the weekend here at Windows Phone Fanatics!

Source: Nokia

Nokia Lumia 928 hands-on promo video & close-up photos is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

Related: Nokia Lumia 928 closeup promo photos & video

The Lumia 928′s most notable difference is the 8.7MP Carl Zeiss camera with xenon flash. The lens also supports OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). This is the first Nokia handset to feature xenon flash since the Pureview 808 which was never released on any carrier in the United States.

The handset will also feature Nokia’s Lumia exculsive applications dubbed with HERE experiences. “HERE Maps, HERE Drive+, HERE Transit** and HERE City Lens help people navigate their life every day. Using Nokia Music with Mix Radio, people can enjoy unlimited streaming of free music playlists with the option to create personal playlists and download for listening offline. Digital camera lenses and apps, including Smart Shoot, Cinemagraph, Panorama, and Photobeamer**, enable people to unleash their creativity”.

The Lumia 928 will be available on May 16th on Verizon Wireless in Black or White for $249 after $50 rebate on a two year agreement. Also for a limited time the Lumia 928 will come bundled with a $25 credit for use on Windows Phone Applications and Games.

Nokia Lumia 928 product specifications:

• Display: 4.5 inch WXGA HD OLED; Resolution 1280 x 768, Aspect Ratio 15:9, Pixel Density 334 ppi; ClearBlack display, Sunlight Readability Enhancement (SRE), High Brightness Mode (HBM); Luminance 300 nits (nominal max), 500 nits (High Brightness Mode); Color depth 24 bit, 16M colors, refresh rate 60Hz; Super-sensitive capacitive touch enables interacting with the display with gloves and long fingernails; Display active area: 58.37 mm x 97.28 mm; 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
• Battery: Integrated 2000mAh battery, Li-po, BV 4-NW
• Processor:1.5GHz dual core, Qualcomm MSM8960+WTR
• Main Camera: PureView 8.7MP Auto Focus with Carl Zeiss Tessar f/2.0, 26mm True 16:9 optics, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images, 1.4 sensor; Optical Image stabilization; Xenon Flash for Still Images; LED for Video; HD 1080p Video Capture @ 30 fps
• Front facing camera: 720p HD video and 1.2MP still images
• Memory: 1 GB RAM; 32GB internal memory (formatted capacity is less); 7GB free in SkyDrive with additional storage via subscription

Source: Nokia

Nokia Lumia 928 available May 16 on Verizon for $99 is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

The Asha 501 is minimalistic handset that borrows design traits from different Lumia Windows Phone handsets. The 501 is made of two parts: the front display which offers a 3″ (320×240) display and a removable back cover. There are six available colors to chose from which should satisfy most potential buyers.

The Asha 501 is powered by Nokia’s all new Asha platform which provides a fast and powerful user experience. The 501 has the option of two main screens dubbed Home and Fastlane. Nokia explains that “Home is a traditional, icon-based view for launching individual apps or accessing a specific feature, like the dialer or phone settings. The new Fastlane view was inspired by how people really use their phone. Recently accessed contacts, social networks and apps, unique to each person, are stored and presented in Fastlane. It provides a record of how the phone is used, giving people a glimpse of their past, present and future activity, and helping them multi-task by providing easy access to their favorite features”. The Asha 501 also comes pre-loaded with Nokia’s Xpress Browser which compresses internet data by 90%.

As with any new platform content is key and Nokia has made sure that all the “standard” applications are available for the Asha 501. Applications ranging from Facebook, Foursquare, Line, LinkedIn, Nimbuzz and Twitter. Also games from Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Indiagames, Namco-Bandai and Reliance Games will be available for download via the Nokia Store.

The Asha 501 will be available from 60 operators and distributors in more than 90 countries worldwide. The handset will release sometime in June and will be priced at $99 before taxes.

Product specifications and availability

The Nokia Asha 501 is available in single or EasySwap Dual SIM models. All come with WiFi and Bluetooth. Other specifications:
- Dimensions:  99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm; 98 grams
- Camera: 3.2 MP
- Single SIM standby time: up to 48 days***
- Dual SIM standby time: up to 26 days***
- Talk time: up to 17 hours
- Additional memory of 4GB (card included in box), expandable up to 32GB
- Forty free EA Games worth €75 downloadable from Nokia Store
- Available colours: Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black
- Suggested pricing is 99 USD before taxes and subsidies.

Source : Nokia 

Nokia Asha 501 to start shipping in June for $99 is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

AT&T is now unlocking the Nokia Lumia 920 to allow owners to use SIM cards from other carriers and internationally. I first heard the news at Reddit and decided to give it a try. Sure enough, it’s true! Check out my video below of the unlock process on my Nokia Lumia 920 with a T-Mobile SIM card inside…

How To Unlock The Nokia Lumia 920

The steps are short and sweet! The whole process of unlocking took about 5 minutes of online chatting with an AT&T rep. The unlock code was immediately given to me along with the following instructions:

If you watched the video above, you’ll see that I was able to make a call to T-Mobile to try and add minutes. I haven’t got a chance to test out the data, SMS, and MMS yet but I’ll update this article as soon as I do.

If you don’t already have the Nokia Lumia 920 you can pick it up at Amazon.com for $449 off-contract. T-Mobile.com is listing this phone as a compatible devices with their new no-contract plans.

Let me know if you have any questions and tell us about your experience.

Tip: How to unlock AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 to work on T-Mobile, other networks is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics

Nokia has just released a new firmware update for Nokia Lumia 900 owners, bringing the phone to software version 2175.2307.8862.13100.

According to Nokia, the changelog includes:

• New start screen experience with resizable tiles: to change the size, tap and hold the live tile
• Theme colors added
• Lock screen improvements: Bing photo of the day as wallpaper, and accidental input protection for the security code
• Operating system version 7.10.8862.144
• Fix for functionality issues with Live Tiles, such as Live Tiles not updating
• After the update, check out Nokia Collection in Marketplace for new or updated Nokia apps

Some Nokia Lumia 900 owners already have this update so this might be old news. Their official Twitter account @NokiaUS has given the following tip when updating:

“When updating AT&T Lumia900 to 7.8: It includes up to 4 separate updates. Update not complete until Zune(PC) states “SUCCESSFUL UPDATE”.

Just to clarify, this is not the first version of WP7.8 to hit this phone. It’s the second one, and this is specifically made to fix some live tile issues that users have been reporting.

Expect about 2o minutes to get the update finished. I recently updated my dad’s Lumia 800 and it went through quite a few updates before it was finished.

Let us know how your experience goes.

Source: Nokia, Via: @NokiaUS

Firmware update for Nokia Lumia 900 now available is a post from: The Mobile Fanatics