Camera phones have changed photography forever – and right along with it – our lives.
In 2014, it is estimated that smartphone photographers will take nearly one trillion photos – that’s hundreds of thousands a minute (three thousand by the time you read this sentence), capturing in an instant the poignant, funny, dramatic, hilarious, strange and memorable moments that otherwise would have been lost forever.
In recognition of the evolving digital photography revolution, Nokia calls on photographers everywhere to grab their smartphones and celebrate with us on October 20 as we mark the first International Mobile Photography Day, a day dedicated to capturing all those once-in-a-lifetime, unexpected moments. Moments immediately immortalized and shared because now, people have the convenience of having a camera on hand, always, thanks to mobile phones. To mark the occasion, we secured some people whose very livelihood depends on almost instinctively capturing unexpected moments on film: staff photographers from the Associated Press.
Still life
We provided AP photojournalists around the globe with our Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone and asked them to contribute to our “mobile photo documentary,” a series of photos from people all around the world depicting the most brilliant examples of life’s unexpected moments. The best-of-the-best photos will then be turned into a compelling “Life Unexpected” video.
“People today are documenting life around them in an entirely new way,” said Juha Alakarhu, head of imaging technologies at Nokia.
“They’re no longer just taking posed pictures of family and friends, but capturing memories and stories through the magic of photos or videos. Photography has become a natural part of our daily lives!
“That wasn’t possible until camera phones essentially put a professional grade camera in everyone’s pocket.” Alakarhu believes the Nokia Lumia 1020 – with a 41 MP sensor, Carl Zeiss lenses, PureView technology, Optical Image Stabilization and super high-res zoom – makes it the perfect choice for photos that have to be right the first time.
If you would like to join in the celebration and contribute your own “Life Unexpected” photo, share a memorable photo taken with the Lumia 1020 – or any smartphone – this Sunday (October 20), and then simply tweet or post your photo using #1020MobilePhotoDay. Your tagged image will then be considered for inclusion in the “Life Unexpected” video, along with some of the most renowned photographers in the world. (The video will be released on Monday, October 21.)
So, go ahead, snap a photo on October 20, the International Mobile Photography Day, and share your moment with the world.
In a report from adDuplex they say that the nokia lumia 520 has a staggering 35.2% market share of the windows phone market in ireland which again proves that lumia is selling and gaining traction in the market share.
The chart above shows us the statistics so here are the rest of the nokia results.
The 520-35.2%
The 800- 23.6%
The 820- 12.2%
The 610- 6.2%
The 620- 3.3%
The 920-3.0%
The 925- 2.4%
The 900- 1.3 %
Nothing yet for the 1020 as its only released.
Pretty good figures.now all we need is the adoption of windows phone apps at home and the rising figures will continue.
This report is based on data collected from 1,411 Windows Phone apps running AdDuplex SDK v.2. The raw data analyzed was collected over the day of October 11th, 2013 (UTC time) unless otherwise stated. We have made every attempt to consolidate different reported phone model names under their canonical retail model names, but it is possible that some of the rare model name variations were not accounted for.
Worldwide stats
It’s no surprise that Lumia 520 is continuing its rise as the top Windows Phone device out there (+1.9%). The newer flagships are still nowhere to be seen in the top 10 though. Only if we exclude the WP7 models we see the Lumia 925 at no.10.
Lumia 1020 is number 21 overall and 14th for WP8 – some growth from the last month, but definitely not taking the charts by storm. Now that it is reasonably widely available it will be interesting to check back on the progress next month.
Nokia is now 0.8% shy of claiming the mind blowing 90% share of the Windows Phone 8 device scene.
And Windows Phone 8 has finally crossed the 70% mark globally.
A few months ago we have covered an interesting metric of daily average active users per app. Here’s an update for that chart.
The average app (calculated by discarding the top 5 apps and apps with 2 or fewer users) now gets 2x more users than a year ago. A solid growth delivered by the platform to the developers.
United States
US now has a new leader and if you combine it with its 520 sibling you can see that almost quarter of the Windows Phones in US is now represented by the lower end 52x line. There’s also a new leading operator for Windows Phone 8.
AT&T has reclaimed the crown from Verizon, and MetroPCS and T-Mobile continue to steal the market share from the 2 leaders.
Windows Phone 8 is now on almost 83% of devices in the US, so if you are targeting US market, I guess, you can start developing for WP8-only.
Canada
I don’t think we’ve covered Canada ever before, so it’s time to fix that. Lumia 520 and 920 almost share the top spot and it’s pretty clear that the smaller sibling will claim the crown next month. What is interesting to see is that Samsung ATIV S is at number 3 with a solid 14%. Not a picture we are used to seeing.
France
France was dominated by HTC 8S for a long time, but looking at the current numbers it’s hard o believe that this was ever a case. Lumia 520 now has an almost 3x share of the 8S.
Ireland
Another country we have never covered is Ireland and Lumia 520 reigns supreme over there. Nothing really stands out in this chart.
Turkey
There are no surprises in Turkey either. The market share is split by the Lumias in the ascending price order (with an exception of the 720).
Israel
As you read this I am most likely in Israel and therefore we cover the Israeli landscape. Again, an odd sighting of the ATIV S at number 3 with Lumia 820 and 920 commanding a whopping 65% combined.
India
Another country we made a habit of covering every month is India. It never failed to provide interesting developments. But nothing interesting has happened over there this month. Well, unless you find the fact that Lumia 625 didn’t take the market by storm interesting.
Brazil
And we are wrapping up this report with Brazil. It’s nice to see that Lumia 520 seems to be taking of there, but it still have ways to go before it passes the current leader – the venerable 710
Today in a local online (well known) paper we seen this story from a well known irish tech journalist.
Hats off i respect the guy he does give great info and thorough information on most things people want to know,but seems to dislike windows phone and certain manufacturers.
We all have our favourite OS,Personally i use windows phone and android just to keep this balanced.The reason been i used an android is to use the applications that are not available locally,all the mainstream apps are available on WP but the uptake from the big irish companies is pathetic,they dive into android and ios,not understanding that WP IS GROWING. So in short localised adoption to WP is horrific in ireland. Also mobile optimised sites lack although the facilities and services are there to enhance browsing which companies fail to use to give a more fluid experience for your tab or mobile phone.
I could pull up tweets and conversations/reviews from the past regarding the 808/920/925 and the 1020 but this issue is now in the past and so it should remain.
Todays article which was articulate was about the top 300 apps available today for our phones and tabs.
This went on twitter with a reaction that i expected.The top 300 apps NOT ONE WINDOWS PHONE APP mentioned.Nor was there a blackberry app,although not as popular its still used.
The journalist in fairness replied and said my comments were fair,which they where.
BUT- Also said was that another separate article would be written covering windows phone,i dont buy this not for one minute!
Now in fairness to the guy this would of been a fairly time consuming effort plus the advertising that went out for this was another thing that let the community down.
Why? You dont do a top 300 application article in 2013 and just stick to android and ios,you cover ALL platforms,Especially in an article containing 300 applications.
As it is today the platforms are Android,iOS,Windows,blackberry these would be the top used platforms today.
Vodafone are now doing a deal on the nokia lumia 625 which prices it at 199 euros,initially it was 229 euros on release a few weeks ago,so take a look at this deal and think about this bargain.
Nokia ireland are giving a special offer to those who buy the nokia lumia 625
Is a free cover which is great and there is some nice colours to pick from.
What you need to do is
BUY THE PHONE!
Buy a new Nokia Lumia 625 online or from any high street retailer between 1st October 2013 and 31st December 2013. TIP: Bookmark this page .http://www.nokia.com/ie-en/lumia625-offer … so you can return and register easily
REGISTER THE OFFER!
Come back to this page 14 days after purchase. Sign up for a Nokia account – or sign in with your existing Nokia account to register for the offer. Register between 15th October and 31st December 2013.
A bigger Start screen for more Live Tiles. A new, customizable Driving Mode. Better accessibility options.
These are just some of the new features and innovations that we’re getting ready to deliver to you in Windows Phone 8 Update 3, which will roll out to existing phones over the next several months. As manager of the engineering team responsible for delivering updates to your Windows Phone, today I wanted to tell you a bit more about what’s included in our third official update of the year—plus describe a new preview program we’re launching to help developers keep their apps running smoothly on our latest software.
It’s been a busy but exciting year for my team—and Windows Phone overall. If you follow the news, you might have seenthat our market share in Europe has grown to nearly 10 percent. We’re seeing things really start to accelerate. We believe this is because we continue to advance the platform at a rapid pace. Our hardware partners, meanwhile, have been taking advantage of this innovation by releasing amazing new Windows Phone devices throughout the year.
The story behind No. 3
When we sat down to plan our latest official update to Windows Phone 8, we had three main engineering goals in mind:
Enable incredible new Windows Phone devices.
Enhance the platform with new capabilities for current users and partners.
Improve overall quality.
Support for bigger, higher-resolution screens
So the new update paves the way for future Windows Phone devices with 5- and 6-inch touch screens. The larger, 1080p HD displays on these devices will make Windows Phone even more personal—for example by sporting jumbo-sized Start screens with room for six Live Tiles across instead of four.
A bigger Start screen means the ability to pin even more of the people, info, and apps that matter to you. Built-in apps and Hubs like email, Photos, People, and Music and Videos will also be carefully scaled to take full advantage of the additional real estate on 6-inch screens.
More powerful hardware
In addition to larger screens, Update 3 will also bring support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor. The added horsepower that this chip delivers should make our already-fluid operating system perform even better.
Driving Mode
A new feature called Driving Mode helps you get from point A to point B with fewer distractions. Working with a connected Bluetooth device, Driving Mode is designed to limit notifications on the lock screen—including texts, calls, and quick status alerts—until you’re safely parked.
You can even configure Driving Mode to send automatic replies to people who call or text when you’re behind the wheel, to let them know you’ll get back to them.
New accessibility features
Another highlight of the new update is Mobile Accessibility for Windows Phone 8, which isn’t a single feature but a suite of apps designed to make Windows Phone easier to see, hear, and use. The apps, which include a screen reader, make it easier for blind and visually impaired users to manage calls and contacts, send texts and emails, browse the web, make Skype and Lync calls, and hear notifications like alarms, calendar events, and low-battery warnings.
Improved Internet Sharing
Many of you are familiar with the Internet Sharing feature, which turns Windows Phone 8 into a mobile hotspot by sharing your cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.
In Update 3, we’ve made it easier to use your phone as a data-savvy hotspot for Windows 8.1 devices. Just pair your phone and Windows 8.1 PC or tablet over Bluetooth, tap your network name, and you’ll be connected and ready to go. No need to enter a password or dig out your phone and turn on Internet Sharing—it’s done for you.
But, wait, there’s more
That’s not all we’ve packed into Windows Phone 8 Update 3. Besides hundreds of under-the-hood performance tweaks and enhancements, we’ve also added a bunch of small but handy new features, including several that you’ve been asking for. They include:
More useful ringtones: With Update 3, you can use custom ringtones for more things—including instant messages, emails, voicemails, and reminders. You can also assign custom ringtones to contacts for text messages, so you’ll know who’s texting you without even looking.
No more twist and shout: Does your screen keep spinning when you’re trying to read emails in bed? Use the new rotation lock option to keep it fixed in place.
Better storage management: New storage settings make it easier to free up space on your phone and manage temporary files. A new category view shows what’s taking up space at a glance.
Easily close apps: Now you can use the App switcher to quickly close apps when you’re finished with them.
Wi-Fi access out of the box: You can now connect to Wi-Fi during phone set up, so you can start conserving cellular data right out of the box.
Better Bluetooth: The team made a bunch of improvements to improve connection quality for Bluetooth accessories.
As you can see, there’s some fun and handy stuff in Windows Phone 8 Update 3. If you have suggestions for future updates, submit them to our Windows Phone Suggestion Box site. We always appreciate the feedback and take it into account as we prioritize new work.
So when will all this be coming to your phone? As I mentioned earlier, the rollout initially kicks off in the coming weeks and will continue over several months. Specific timing depends on a number of factors including your carrier and phone model.
It is available with the Amber update on Lumia 620, 720, 820, 920, 925 and 1020. There you’ll find a few pre-defined backgrounds, but you can add more from your gallery.
Nokia forum superstar Stephen Oiller from the Uk aka @psychomania666 created one special one for me and its amazing,thanks once again for that steve.
Glance Background
Customize the Glance screen on your Lumia with a personalized background image. Choose from several preloaded images or create your own.
Key features
Select up to four images to rotate as your Glance background
Choose from several high-quality preloaded images
Create new backgrounds from your own pictures
Optimize your images with a simple editor (preset effects, colorize, zoom)
Please try out Glance Background, especially with your own images, and let us know what you think. In particular, share you thoughts on the editor and the effects available to optimize your images.
We’ve put together a few tips and tricks to help get you started.
