Nokia has announced the availability of extremely popular instant messaging client ,WhatsApp, updated for the latest version of the Windows Phone 8, joining Facebook Chat, MSN messaging, Skype, Viber and a host of other alternatives.

Nokia is said to have worked closely with the WhatsApp team to bring the app that is properly optimized for the latest Windows Phone platform experience.

Just to remind you, WhatsApp is an instant messaging service using text as well as pictures, audio and video files. It is also great for group chats which can be tricky to manage using some of the alternatives.

Unlike SMS, WhatsApp uses your data connection, whether that’s GPRS, EDGE or WiFi, to send and receive messages. This can mean cost-savings for a user which is another factor that has undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of the service.

Just like the other versions, the WhatsApp installation is straightforward with two step process:

• Download and install the app.
• Then verify your phone number using the code from an SMS sent from the company’s servers.
• Once installed, it will automatically find the other WhatsApp users in your phonebook and add them its built-in phone book.

It is available across almost every Smartphone platform, including Series 40 and Symbian, as well as Windows Phone. Currently, WhatsApp is free for the first 12 months, and then costs $0.99 for the years thereafter.

After the unveiling of low-end windows smart phone Lumia 510, Nokia took the wraps off from another low-end Windows Phone dubbed as Lumia 505.

Apparently, it is thick at 11.3 mm and weighs 131 grams and the design of the Lumia 505 is quite similar to the Lumia 800 but feature wise it is said to be sibling device of Lumia 510.

Running on Windows phone 7.8, the Nokia lumia 505 will sport a 3.7-inch AMOLED clear black display with 800 x 480 screen resolution and is powered by a single core chip 800 MHz Snapdragon S1 processor supported by a 256MB internal memory and 4GB of on-board storage without any SD card slot. But thanks to Nokia and Microsoft, users will get 7GB of free SkyDrive storage.

Nokia has given this device the connectivity options of both 2G and 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and GPS/A-GPS with FM radio.

On back, there is an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with albeit sans Carl Zeiss technology and VGA video recording without the option of front facing camera.

For this device, Nokia is promising battery capacity of 1300mAh, which will last for 36 hours of music playback and 7.2 hours of 3G talk time and the maximum standby time is reported at 600 hours.

This new low-end device will be available in colours of Magenta, Black and Red.

However there’s no information yet on its worldwide availability and prices.

Below is the highlights of specs again:

Specifications:

• Processor: 800 MHz
• OS: Microsoft Windows Phone 7.8
• Design:

• Dimensions: 118.1 x 61.2 x 11.3 mm
• Weight: 131 g (4.55 oz)

• AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 56K colors
• Size: 480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density)
• Multi-touch: Yes

• Card slot: No
• Internal: 4 GB storage, 256 MB RAM

• GPRS: Up to 85.6 kbps
• EDGE: Up to 236.8 kbps
• HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth: Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
• USB: microUSB v2.0

• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BP-3L)
• Stand-by: Up to 670 h
• Talk time: Up to 7 h 30 min
• Music play: Up to 36 h

In line of Lumia series, Nokia has now added a new member dubbed as Lumia 620.

The Lumia 620 will sport a 3.8 inch screen with a ClearBlack WVGA display running on the latest edition of the Microsoft mobile platform. Nokia has given this device two Krait CPU cores clocked at 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 512MB of RAM and 8GB internal storage that could be expandable via microSD card up to 64GB.

On camera front, Lumia 620 boasts a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash at back and a VGA front camera for video chats. In depth, video recording maxes out at 720p@30fps. Like its sibling devices, Lumia 820 and 920, the 620 comes with Nokia’s own camera features (such as City Lens, an augmented-reality layer) and Cinema graph, Maps and Music apps.

Like the previous WP8 flagships of Nokia, this device carries the exclusive Nokia Drive app for free lifetime voice-guided navigation and offline access along with the Nokia Music no log-in streaming service.

To add a more youthful appeal to existing Windows phone 8 range, Nokia is betting big on Nokia Lumia 620’s “dual-shot” color technique, which adds a second layer of colored, transparent or translucent polycarbonate on top of a base layer to produce secondary color blends and depth effects. Like, yellow and cyan are combined to produce a lime green color.

Connectivity options include Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, GPS, 2G and 3G with NFC and HSDPA support without LTE.

As Nokia Lumia 620 is a Windows Phone 8 device it will have Live Tiles for updates direct to the Start Screen, PeopleHub and a Me Tile along with other Windows Phone 8 functions.

This new smart phone will be released in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa from January 2013, followed closely by Canada and Europe. Further, Nokia claimed that it is the inexpensive device of Lumia range yet that will cost around 249$ or PKR 24,000.

Here are key specifications for Nokia Lumia 620

• 3.8-inch TFT WVGA 800X480, ClearBlack
• 512MB RAM (8GB internal storage, Micro SD support up to 64GB)
• 5 megapixel autofocus, LED flash; video capture: HD 720p@30fps; VGA front camera
• NFC, WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4Ghz + 5Ghz, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, micro-USB, 3.5mm audio connector (AHJ + WP Controls)
• 1 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4
• Up to 14.6 hours on GSM and up to 9.9 hours on WCDMA; Standby time: Up to 330 h
• 115.4 x 61.1 x 11.02 mm; 127g (including battery)

After consecutive launches of low-end handsets by Nokia, the new addition in the line is Nokia 114 (a dual SIM handset).

It is said to be the sibling device for Nokia 112, due to its pretty similar features and foreseen price tag.

Weighing around 80 grams, Nokia 114 houses a dimension of 110 x 46 x 14.8 mm with 1.8 inch TFT display and a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.

Based on Nokia Series 40 platform, this handset is embedded with internal memory of 16 MB and the mass memory of 64 MB. The highlighted feature of this handset is its dual-SIM capabilities and GSM radios. The handset also supports a microSD card with a capacity of up to 32 GB.

Nokia has designed this low end handset with instant messaging services including Twitter, Facebook chat, Windows Live Messenger, Nokia Chat and a few Java games. Moreover, it comes with Easy Swap feature to switch between the two SIM cards without much difficulty. Further, the handset is preloaded with Nokia Xpress Browser that enables for 90% faster browsing experience

Being an Internet-centric handset, Nokia packed this device with connectivity features including Bluetooth 2.1, GPRS and EDGE.

On camera front, it has a 0.3 megapixel VGA camera that can capture images of up to 640 x 480 pixels with QCIF video. The camera features a 4x digital zoom and the aperture found here is f/2.4.

However, Nokia is promising the battery capacity of 1,020 mAh offering up to 10.5 hours talk time and 637 hours standby time.

So far, there is no word on the pricing of the handset but Nokia stated that more details regarding the pricing and regional availability would be disclosed in the near future.

The Nokia 206 brings together classic and modern-design, with a traditional keypad married to a stunning shape and a 2.4-inch screen.

It comes in single and dual-SIM varieties.

Nokia 206, aimed at low to mid-range users can take advantage of the new Nokia Slam technology for sharing items on their phone. This uses Bluetooth for transmission, but doesn’t require you to pair the two phones.

With the Nokia Xpress Browser installed, owners don’t need to fear running up excessive data charges when browsing the Web on their phone. It calls upon cloud-based servers which cut download sizes by up to 90 per cent, saving the owner money.

You can also share instantly to Facebook, as well as email. WhatsApp (in the single SIM version) and eBuddy are preinstalled, and there’s a gift pack of ten premium entertainment titles to download. In addition, there are 1000s of free and paid games and apps in the Nokia Store.

The 1.3-megapixel resolution can automatically resize pictures to around 700KB. This is great for a Facebook posting. It also offers an ‘intelligent imaging’ feature, which will tell you when self-portraits are in focus, and allows you to take a sequence of shots and choose the best. Video capture is also supported.

This is another world-beater when it comes to battery life, too. You can talk for twenty hours solid without a recharge, or you could leave it on standby for a whole month and still be able to use it.

Nokia 206 (Single and Dual SIM)

• User Interface: Series 40
• Dimensions: 116 x 49.4 x 12.4mm
• Weight: 91.0g (including battery)
• Display: 2.4-inch, 65k colour 320×240 QVGA TFT display
• Camera: 1.3-megapixels, video capture
• Memory: Up to 10MB free user memory; up to 32GB micro-SD card
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE, 2.0 mm Charger Connector, Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR, 3.5 mm AV connector
• Battery life:

• Single SIM Model: 47 days standby / 20 hours talktime
• Dual SIM Model: 25 days / 13 Hours talktime
• Estimated Price: PKR 6,000
• Launch: Q4 2012

Nokia has announced its Nokia Asha 205 phone, claimed to be the most social Nokia phone ever.

Nokia Asha 205 comes with single SIM and Dual SIM variants.

Nokia said that with its QWERTY keypad, it’s made to make messaging and connecting through social networks quick and easy.

Nokia Asha 205 comes with isolated keys and quick-access buttons for superior speed and accuracy. Super-social, the phone even boasts a dedicated button for access to Facebook, for the first time on a Nokia phone.

The Nokia Asha 205 (and the Nokia 206) sees the debut of a new sharing technology from Nokia called ‘Slam’, which quickly detects the nearest Bluetooth-enabled device and offers that device the files you will share with Slam.

The other person can accept and download the file sent by you instantly, without any need to pair the two devices, as you have to with regular Bluetooth sharing.

The owner of the other device doesn’t even need to have a Nokia phone or Slam installed. You can also share using all the normal options like social networks and email.

The Nokia Asha 205 is designed to make smarter use of the Internet, sipping data as it’s asked for, rather than guzzling it down unnecessarily. Notably, the latest version of the Nokia Xpress Browser is preinstalled, which uses cloud-based servers to reduce data volumes by 90 per cent, saving owners money. The browser is optimised for social networks and content discovery, making it quick and easy to make updates or read the content you want.

Owners will also find Nokia Nearby installed. While the phone doesn’t have GPS, it can make use of cell-tower co-ordinates to present a local map and identify nearby points of interest like cafes or landmarks. The app shares the massive database of places used in Nokia Maps, so they’ll never run out of places to go.

The Dual-SIM variant of the Nokia Asha 205 comes with Nokia’s unique Easy Swap technology. This means that you can change one of the SIM cards through a slot on the side, without even switching the phone off. The phone remembers the settings for up to five SIM cards, in case you’re juggling between several possible options for making calls or using the Internet.

Nokia Asha 205 Specs

• Facebook Button
• Nokia Slam, to share content faster and easier
• User Interface: Series 40 Asha
• Dimensions: 113 x 61 x 13mm
• Weight: 94.0g (including battery)
• Display: 2.4-inch 65k colour QVGA landscape QWERTY TFT display
• Camera: VGA
• Memory: Up to 10MB free user memory; up to 32GB micro-SD card
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE, 2.0 mm Charger Connector, Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR, 3.5 mm AV connector
• Battery life:

• Single SIM Model: 37 days standby / 11 hours talk-time
• Dual SIM Model: 25 days / 8 hours talk-time

Nokia Pakistan recently conducted a Nokia Developers’ Workshop at University of Karachi in partnership with P@SHA, which aimed at providing students an insight into the world of mobile app development and the rise in demand of apps in the local market. The workshop focused on inculcating app development skills for the S40 Full Touch devices.

The training was imparted by Syed Faraz Ahmed, Senior Engagement Manager, Lakson Business Solutions.

On the occasion of the successful completion of the workshop, Faraz said, “It was wonderful to interact with such enthusiastic students and share with them the S40 background and provide hands-on training on the SDK LWUIT 2.0 available to work on mobile apps for S40 Full Touch platform. The students clearly understood why it will be beneficial for them and their community to contribute towards content development and they all took keen interest in the workshop.”

Expressing her views, Rabia Azfar Nizami, Head DX, Near East, NOKIA said, “I appreciate the interest level of Karachi University’s UBIT students to learn and excel in their chosen field. Nokia has been organizing these kinds of workshops for developers in Pakistan since the past few years and this workshop was geared towards channelizing the strengths of these students and providing them a rich bundle of resources to develop more locally relevant mobile apps for Nokia devices which are most popular among the masses in our country. Recently, the Nokia App Store witnessed more than two million downloads of localized content and apps per week in Pakistan, which has given rise to the need for developers to make apps and generate revenue that cater to this segment of the market.”

The students were enthusiastic about learning hands on skills from a professional mentor and showed their interest towards the development of local content for the Nokia Store. At the workshop’s conclusion, certificates were distributed among all the participants.

Nokia today announced its latest entry level phone Nokia 109, primarily aimed at emerging markets with users who require affordable and internet capable phones with traditional keypads.

Nokia 109 comes with Nokia xpress browser, a cloud based solution, that compresses data for fast and affordable data access on Nokia phones.

Nokia says that its 109 model will allow Facebook and Twitter access to the users from phone’s home-screen, while other apps, such as eBuddy, can be downloaded from Nokia store to remain in touch with your friends and family.

Nokia says there are hundreds of free games, including ten premium titles from EA, are also available in the Nokia Store for downloading.

The phone includes a media player, as well as an FM radio, with radio recording in some markets. Nokia 109 comes with expandable external memory using an SD card for up to 32GB of storage.

The battery life on this phone is claimed to be up to 33 days of standby time or 7.5 hours talk-time.

The Nokia 109 will be available in black and cyan from this quarter and it will cost around USD 42 or PKR 4,000.

Nokia 109 Specs

• System: GSM  900/1800 GSM 850/1900
• User Interface: Series 40
• Dimensions: 110 x 46 x 14.8mm
• Weight: 77g (including battery)
• Display: 1.8-inch TFT; 128 x 160 pixels
• Memory card: up to 32GB microSD
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE, 2.0mm Charger Connector, 3.5mm AV connector
• Price: PKR 4,000

Continuing the LUMIA family, Nokia has now added Lumia 510 – the most inexpensive windows phone – in its smart phone series.

Aimed at emerging marketing markets, the Lumia 510 weighs 129 grams and has a 4-inch WVGA TFT capacitive touch screen that is slightly greater than Lumia 610 screen of 3.7 inches.

It is embedded with 5 Mega Pixel autofocus camera with VGA recording. In depth, this camera carries f/2.4 aperture with wide angle 28mm focal length.

Nokia has packed this new phone with Snapdragon S1 processor having 256 MB of RAM. The internal storage is limited to 4GB due to absence of microSD cards or any other kind of expandable storage. But for sure, it carries 7 GB free SkyDrive storage along with GPS-navigation apps, Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive.

Connectivity options for this device include 2G and 3G with HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 without having NFC.

Currently, at launch, it will run Windows Phone 7.5 and will be updated to 7.8 but will not be upgradable to Windows phone 8.

So far, there is no exact price revealed but it would be around 200 USD. This Lumia 510 is expected to be available first in China and India in November and then will move in other countries.

Seeing its specifications and lower price tag, it will be posed as strong competitor to other android smart phones as well as its sibling device “the Nokia Lumia 610”.

Here are Lumia 510 Specs

• Display: 4-inch WVGA 800×480, TFT, capacitive touch screen
• Memory: 256MB RAM (4GB internal storage), no memory card support
• Camera: 5-megapixel auto-focus; video recording in VGA resolution at 30fps
• Size: 120.7 x 64.9 x 11.5mm
• Weight: 129g
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS/A-GPS, micro-USB, 3.5mm audio connector (AHJ + WP Controls), Dual Transfer Mode, HSDPA/WCDMA
• Processor: Snapdragon S1
• Talk time: Up to 8.4 h/ 6.2 h; Standby time: Up to 653 h/ 738 h

Nokia Lumia 610, claimed to be the most affordable Lumia series smartphone, is now available in Pakistan. It was released worldwide in April 2012.

Powered by a Windows 7.5 OS, Nokia Lumia 610 offers the sleekness of the Windows smartphone coupled with the affordability and reliable warranty of Nokia.

The Nokia Lumia 610 is designed as the perfect introduction to Windows Phone for a younger audience. Running on the Windows Phone 7.5, the Nokia Lumia 610 comes with Nokia Music with Mix Radio, Creative Studio, WiFi tethering, Flip-to-Silence and Play To.

The device comes preloaded with Nokia’s suite of experiences including Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport, in addition to over 100,000 apps to choose from on the Windows Marketplace., the built-in Microsoft Office app and Xbox Live. People Hub makes it easy for people to keep in touch with friends, providing instant access to social networks and bringing all mobile, email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts into one place.

“The Nokia Lumia 610 will introduce Windows Phone to a new generation of local smartphone users, offering them something different and valuable in terms of pricing and features,” said Arif Shafique, GM Operations, Nokia Pakistan. “With Nokia services, quality apps and a plethora of built-in features coupled with a fast and friendly interface, Nokia Lumia 610 has everything in the package to make it an instant hit among the aspiring youth of Pakistan.”

Nokia Lumia 610 Specifications:

• OS: Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon
• CPU: 800 MHz ARM Cortex-A5
• GPU: Adreno 200
• Design:

• Dimensions: 119 x 62 x 12 mm
• Weight: 131.5 g

• Type:TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors
• Size: 480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches

• Internal: 8 GB storage, 256 MB RAM
• Card Slot: No

• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BP-3L)
• Stand-by: Up to 670 h
• Talk time: Up to 10 h 30 min
• Music play: Up to 35 h