Nokia Lumia 930
Brand	Nokia
Manufacturer	Microsoft Mobile
Slogan	One experience. Windows on your phone.
Series	Lumia
Compactible networks	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 HSPA+ 850/900/1800/1900 LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600 Wi-Fi
First released	4 July 2014
Predecessor	Nokia Lumia 925 Nokia Lumia 920
Related	Nokia Lumia 530 Nokia Lumia 630 Nokia Lumia 730 Nokia Lumia 830 Nokia Lumia 1520 Nokia Lumia Icon
Type	Smartphone
Form factor	Touchscreen
Dimensions	137mm (H) 71mm (W) 9.8mm (D)
Weight	167 g
Operating system	Windows Phone 8.1
System on chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
CPU	2.2 GHz quad core Qualcomm Krait 400
GPU	Qualcomm Adreno 330
Memory	2 GB RAM
Storage	32 GB internal flash
Battery	Integrated 2420 mAh Li-poly battery with Qi wireless charging
Data inputs	Multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, proximity sensor, 3D-Accelerometer
Display	5" AMOLED 1080P with Gorilla Glass 3
Rear camera	20 megapixels 1080p Full[1] HD video capture @ 30fps with focal length of 26mm
Front camera	720p (HD, 1280 x 720)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi :802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi-based positioning system (WPS) GPS/GLONASS SA-GPS NFC Bluetooth 4.0 Micro-USB 2.0

The Nokia Lumia 930 is a smartphone developed by Nokia that runs Microsoft's Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. It was announced on April 2, 2014 at Microsoft Build 2014 and is scheduled to be released in June 2014. The device is aimed to be a successor to the Lumia 92x line of Lumia flagship devices, the last of which was released during June 2013 as the Lumia 925. The Lumia 930 is essentially a version of the Nokia Lumia Icon, which is only available in the US and Verizon Wireless-exclusive. The two versions share design and specifications, the only difference being that the 930 is pre-loaded with Windows Phone 8.1 rather than the Windows Phone 8 operating system on the Icon.

Known issues

Some handsets experience heat and battery drain issues.

Some devices do not allow setting Google as default search.

Back to Nokia

Last updated on 31 October 2014 at 15:44.

Read More »

BlackBerry Z10
Manufacturer	BlackBerry
Slogan	"Keep moving."
Compactible networks	LTE PCS CDMA HSPA+ EDGE GSM
Availability by country	January 31, 2013 (UK) February 5, 2013 (Canada) February 10, 2013 (UAE) February 25, 2013 (India) March 22, 2013 (US)
Related	BlackBerry Q10, BlackBerry Z30
Type	Smartphone
Form factor	Slate
Dimensions	130 mm (5.1 in) H 65.6 mm (2.58 in) W 9 mm (0.35 in) D
Weight	135.4 g (4.78 oz)
Operating system	Blackberry 10.2.1 Released January 28, 2014
CPU	ARM 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (MSM8960) (STL100-2 & STL100-3 & STL100-4) Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 (STL-100-1)
Memory	2 GB RAM
Storage	16 GB flash memory
Removable storage	Up to 32 GB microSDXC
Battery	1800 mAH removable battery
Data inputs	Multi-touch touchscreen, on-screen keyboard
Display	1,280 x 768 px (0.98 megapixels) 4.2-inch (built on 71µm pixel) at 356 ppi, 15:9 aspect ratio
Rear camera	8 megapixels, 1080p video capture
Front camera	2 megapixels, 720p video capture
Connectivity	IEEE 802.11n-2009, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Micro HDMI, Micro-USB
Website	blackberry.com/blackberryz10
Made in	Mexico/Canada

The BlackBerry Z10 is a high-end 4G touchscreen-based smartphone developed by BlackBerry, previously known as RIM. The BlackBerry Z10 is the first of two new BlackBerry phones presented at the BlackBerry 10 event on January 30, 2013. The BlackBerry Z10 was followed by the Z30.

Development

BlackBerry's chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben fought against co-founder and former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis to have the touchscreen Z10 prioritized over the Q10 which has a physical keyboard.

Boublen was then responsible for and received "criticism for the marketing campaign that supported the Z10 launch, including a confusing Super Bowl advertisement which some board members hated".

Both Tear and Boublen were ousted on November 25, 2013 by new CEO John S. Chen, whom weeks earlier had replaced Thorsten Heins.

Software

The BlackBerry Z10 uses the new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system based on QNX. The user interface of BB 10 is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the BB10 operating system and its multi-touch interface.

The Z10 comes pre-loaded with: BlackBerry Browser (with Flash Player), BlackBerry Hub, Contacts, BlackBerry Calendar, BBM, Text Messages, BlackBerry World, BlackBerry Remember, Docs To Go (for PowerPoint, Word, Excel), Pictures, Music, Videos, Story Maker, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare,BlackBerry Maps, Games, YouTube, Voice Control, Weather, Active Frames, Clock, Calculator, Compass, File Manager, Box, BlackBerry Connect for Dropbox, Print To Go, Smart Tags, Settings, Android Runtime, Adobe Reader, Phone, Camera/Video Camera/Time Shift, Setup, Help, SIM Toolkit,Search.

The phone has a mobile hotspot functionality, which supports up to 8 devices, sharing its internet connection. It accesses the BlackBerry World, an online application distribution platform for the BlackBerry OS. The service allows users to browse and download applications, games, music, videos from the BlackBerry World store.

The touchscreen keyboard provides an advanced typing experience. It learns the user's writing style and suggests words to help the user type faster, more accurately and with the least amount of effort.

The BlackBerry Z10 has an 8-megapixel camera on the back with autofocus and LED flash capable of shooting 1080p video, while there's a 2-megapixel camera on the front that shoots video at 720p". A unique feature in the Z10's camera app is TimeShift. "BlackBerry has been showing it off for a while, and it lets users dial back the time on certain pictures so that people aren't making less-than-ideal faces in it (like blinking mid-shot)." From initial release 10.0.9.348 of the BB10 OS to the version 10.2.1.2141 BlackBerry Z10 isn't able to show full picture preview before a picture in 16:9 mode has been taken (15:9 screen doesn't resize 16:9 picture preview before taking that picture).

The Z10 has Voice Control, that allows the user to operate the phone by spoken commands. Voice Control recognizes natural speech patterns, so that the user can talk naturally and always be understood. It can be used to send messages, compose emails, dictate documents, and search the phone just by speaking to the app.

Hardware

BlackBerry Z10 in white

There are four SKUs for the Blackberry Z10, corresponding to the North American carrier band distribution and international versions. The LTE version of the Z10 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (SoC) which has a dual-core CPU running at 1.5 GHz, and an Adreno 225 GPU for LTE-capable units. For markets where LTE is not supported (international model), BlackBerry released the Z10 with the Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 (SoC) which has a dual-core CPU running at 1.5 GHz and a PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. It will use STE M5730 modem.

Availability

In Canada, the BlackBerry Z10 is available at Bell Mobility (including Virgin Mobile Canada), Mobilicity, Rogers Wireless (including Fido), SaskTel, Telus Mobility (including Koodo Mobile), WIND Mobile, and Vidéotron Mobile. It went on sale February 5, 2013. MTS mobility started a presale for the Z10 with an unknown launch date for the phone. Mobilicity and Eastlink have also released the Z10.

In South Africa the Z10 became available on February 22, 2013 on MTN. Vodacom had announced their intention to make the Z10 available, the day before on 21st Feb 2013.

In Nigeria, the Z10 became available on March 1, 2013 on carriers Etisalat, Glo, Airtel and MTN Nigeria.

Claro República Dominicana announced pre-order date of March 7 on Facebook and sale on March 14 in the Dominican Republic. Orange Dominicana also announced pre-order of March 7 with a launch of March 14 on their Facebook page.

On February 10, 2013, prepaid provider and T-Mobile US-MVNO Solavei became the first in the United States to offer the BlackBerry Z10. In March 2013, T-Mobile USA announced that the Z10 would be available for business pre-order on March 11, with pick-up on March 13. The store wide launch was scheduled for March 27. On March 11, AT&T announced a March 22 release date for the device, with pre-orders beginning March 12. Verizon announced pre-ordered for March 14, with a release date of March 28.

Mexican Telcel announced pre-orders for Z10 on March 21 on Facebook and finally released on April 2.

In Australia, major telcos Optus and Telstra announced their intention to stock on March 25 and March 26 respectively.

In New Zealand, Vodafone NZ made the BlackBerry Z10 available for sale on June 18, 2013.

In India, the Z10 was launched on February 25, 2013.

In Taiwan, Taiwan Mobile announced that Blackberry Z10 is available on 15 April 2013.

Model comparison

Model	STL-100-1 (RFG81UW)	STL-100-2 (RFH121LW)	STL-100-3 (RFK121LW & RFF91LW)	STL-100-4 (RFA91LW)
Countries	Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, El Salvador	Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Brazil	Canada, Mexico, United States	United States
Carriers/Providers	Ncell, Vodafone Spain, Orange España, Yoigo, Turkcell, Avea, Vodafone Turkey, Celcom, DiGi, Maxis, U Mobile, Smart, Sun Cellular, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, Glo, Vodacom, MTN South Africa, Cell C, Telkom South Africa, STC,Mobily, Zain Saudi Arabia, Etisalat UAE, Du, Claro Colombia, Movistar Colombia, Tigo, Movistar Chile, Entel, Digitel, Movistar Venezuela, Taiwan Mobile	Altel, Optus, Telstra, A1, 3 Hong Kong, PCCW Mobile, Smartone Hong Kong, Globe Philippines, M1, SingTel Singapore, StarHub, Vivacom, Orange France, SFR, Bouygues, Vodafone, O2 Germany, Deutsche Telekom, O2 (Ireland), Vodafone Italia, TIM, WIND, KPN Netherlands, T-Mobile Netherlands, Vodafone Netherlands, Orange Polska, Play, TMN, Vodafone Portugal, Optimus, EE, O2 UK, Vodafone UK, 3 UK,TIM Brasil, Claro Brasil, Oi, Vivo	Bell Canada, Rogers, TELUS, Telcel, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US, Wind Mobile	Verizon Wireless
2G	Quad band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)			Dual band CDMA Cell and PCS (800/1900 MHz)
3G	Quad-Band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6, 8 (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)	Tri band HSPA+ 1, 5/6, 8 (2100/850/900 MHz)	RFK121LW: Quad band HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6 (850/1700/1900/2100 MHz) RFF91LW: Tri-band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6 (850/1900/2100 MHz)	Dual band CDMA（EVDO） Cell and PCS (800/1900 MHz) Dual band UMTS (900/2100 MHz)
4G	N/A	Quad band LTE 3, 7, 8, 20 (1800/2600/900/800 MHz)	Quad band LTE 2, 5, 4, 17 (700/850/1700/1900 MHz)	LTE Band-13 (700 MHz)
Weight	135.4 g	136 g	136.3 g	137.5 g
SoC	Texas Instruments OMAP 4470	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (MSM8960)
CPU	1.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9	1.5 GHz dual-core Krait
GPU	PowerVR SGX544 + Vivante CGPU	Adreno 225

Back to BlackBerry
Last updated on 30 October 2014 at 07:24.

Read More »

Moto E
Manufacturer	Motorola Mobility
Slogan	Made to last. Priced for all
Series	Moto
Compactible networks	2G/3G Global GSM Model: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
First released	May 13, 2014
Related	Moto G, Moto X
Type	Smartphone
Dimensions	124.8 mm (4.91 in) H 64.8 mm (2.55 in) W 12.3 mm (0.48 in) D
Weight	142 g (5.0 oz)
Operating system	Android 4.4.2 "KitKat" (upgradable to lollipop 5.0)
System on chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
CPU	1.2 GHz Dual-core Cortex A7
GPU	Adreno 302
Memory	1 GB RAM
Storage	4 GB
Removable storage	MicroSDHC (up to 32 GB)
Battery	1,980 mAh
Display	4.30 in (109 mm) diagonal LCD with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 960×540 px (256 ppi)
Rear camera	5 MP, no flash
Connectivity	GPS / GLONASS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, FM Radio, Micro USB, 3.5mm audio jack
Website	Moto E

The Moto E is an Android smartphone developed and manufactured by Motorola Mobility. Released in the wake of its successful Moto G 1st gen., the Moto E is an entry-level device that is intended to compete against feature phones by providing a durable, low-cost device for first-time smartphone owners or budget-minded consumers, with a particular emphasis on emerging markets.

The device was unveiled on May 13, 2014, and made available at online retailers in India and the United States the same day. In India, the release of the Moto E was met with similarly high demand to that of the Indian release of the Moto G, and crashed the website of Flipkart—the online retailer marketing the device in the country.

Development

The Moto E was designed to specifically compete against feature phones in emerging markets; according to Charlie Tritschler, Motorola's senior vice-president of products, the Moto E's goal is to "end the feature phone", and the device is primarily targeted towards "people who have been on the edge for a while but just didn’t think they could afford [a smartphone]." The Moto E carries on from the entry-level Moto G, which it released in late-2013; the Moto G was a major success for the company—who had been acquired by Google Inc. in 2012, and was in the process of being sold to Lenovo as of January 2014. In the first quarter of 2014, Motorola sold 6.5 million phones—a number led by strong sales of the Moto G, especially in markets such as the the United Kingdom—where the company accounted for 6% of smartphone sales sold in the quarter, up from nearly 0.

However, sales of the Moto G was also notably large in the emerging market of India; Magnus Ahlqvist, vice president of Motorola's EMEA division, estimated that between 65 to 70% of users in India still used feature phones. In February 2014, Motorola had partnered with the online retailer Flipkart to be the exclusive retailer of the Moto G in India, marking its first release in the country since 2012. The website's original stock of 20,000 units sold out within hours, and it sold 247,000 Moto G units in just two months, ranking as the 12th highest-selling smartphone in the country for the first quarter of 2014.

Trischler noted that durability was a key selling point in emerging markets, specifically citing the device's use of Gorilla Glass 3, an anti-smudge screen coating, and a similar splashproof coating to the Moto G—which he also noted were attributes that are not normally seen in such low-end products. The company also emphasized its efforts to reduce the cost of constructing the phone—expanding upon those used by the Moto G. Tritschler stated that these measures must be designed "...[right] into the product; you can’t just cut the price." Overall, the Moto E is 40% cheaper than the Moto G. The version of Android shipped on the device, 4.4.3 "KitKat", contains a number of changes designed to optimize the operating system for low-end devices such as the Moto G and E. To emphasize the device's performance, Motorola argued in a demonstration that the Moto E was slightly faster than the high-end Samsung Galaxy S4 at performing basic tasks such as launching certain apps (such as the camera and web browser) and going back to the home screen from an app.

Release

The Moto E was unveiled on May 13, 2014. India was one of the first countries where the Moto E was released; the device was released exclusively by Flipkart, where it retailed for INR6999 (US$110) without a contract. Upon its launch at midnight local time, demand for the device was so high that the resulting surge in orders caused the website to crash. The device was also released online through Motorola's website in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The Moto E is to be released in other markets, such as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Spain.

Specifications

The Moto E's build and design is similar to that of the Moto G, with a "splashproof" coating, curved backing, and a front-mounted speaker below the screen. The device is available in either black or white front colors, and has an interchangeable rear cover with different color options. It features a 4.3 inches (11 cm) IPS qHD display, coated with Gorilla Glass 3. The device uses a dual-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, and includes 1 GB of RAM. The Moto E has 4 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32 GB with a MicroSD card. The Moto E only supports up to 3G connectivity, and is available in a dual SIM model in selected markets. The device includes a non-removable 1980 mAh battery, which Motorola touted as having "all-day" battery life. The Moto E features a 5-megapixel rear-facing fixed-focus camera; the device does not include a flash or a front-facing camera.

The Moto E ships with a stock version of Android 4.4 "KitKat". Several Motorola-specific apps are included, including Assist, as introduced by the Moto X, which automatically enable or disable certain modes, such as silencing the ringer or auto replying to text messages, depending on certain scenarios—such as when a user is in a meeting as determined by their calendar, or driving. The Moto E also includes a new "Alert" app, which allows users to notify others of their location. Motorola has committed to upgrading the Moto E to the next major release of Android following its release.

Reception

Vlad Savov of The Verge praised the design of the Moto E for not appearing "downmarket" and for having adequate performance, but still noting that the device's camera was not as good as those on other smartphones. He went on to say that "a market populated by the likes of the Galaxy Fame and Galaxy Young—both of which are stuck on Android 4.1 with little hope of an upgrade—hadn't seen anything like the quick and well-made G before. Or since, for that matter." Chris Velazco of Engadget was relatively positive, noting that the Moto E was well-designed and still carried the trademark cues of Motorola's recent products, while praising its vivid display, along with its sufficient performance, battery life, and nearly stock Android software. In conclusion, it was felt that "for all its minor shortcomings, the Moto E still represents a level of power and quality that's become even more accessible to people the world over, and that's something worth celebrating. If all you need is a smartphone that can take you to Facebook, capture fodder for Instagram or fire off missives on Twitter (or WhatsApp or Weibo), the Moto E will make a worthy sidekick. Not every important device has to be a flashy flagship." However, the device was still panned for its small amount of internal storage, and for lacking a camera flash or front-facing camera.

Back to Motorola Mobility
Last updated on 7 November 2014 at 19:19.

Read More »