Nokia Lumia 920 ranks as most popular Windows Phone

If the Windows Phone OS were a high school and the Nokia Lumia 920 were a student there, it would be the school star quarterback or head cheerleader. Citing data from AdDuplex, BGR says the flagship Nokia phone is "the most popular smartphone running Microsoft’s (MSFT) mobile operating system." It doesn't come as a huge surprise; the device is so strikingly attractive that even the Nokia carrying cases and accessories designed for it take a cue from its bold, colorful aesthetic.

Incipio Feather Case for Nokia Lumia 920 in Blue

The bright, eye-popping color of Nokia carrying cases, like Incipio's Feather Case, or other gadgets, like the Lumia 920 Wireless Charging plate, are just two such examples.

Nokia Wireless Charging Plates in bright colors to match the Lumia 920 line

But popularity isn't always about looks. And it may just be that Nokia tends to make a better phone. "in fact," says BGR, "AdDuplex found that Nokia accounts eight of the top 10 most popular Windows Phone devices, with HTC accounting for the remaining two."

But the sleek and punchy appeal of the Lumia 920 is hard to deny, and the device does have a pretty unique and memorable style. And if you're among the WIndows Phone users who prefer this latest flagship Nokia phone, you'll probably agree that bright and vibrant Nokia accessories, like flashy blue and yellow carrying cases and color-coordinated charging pads, are definitely in keeping with the spirit of this popular handset.

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When we're all old and gray, our grandkids will gather around and ask us to tell them stories of the olden days. And one of those tales will probably be about what is was like to use a phone charger you actually had to plug in. Wireless charging has officially become "a thing," and with accessories like their WIreless Plate Charger, the latest Nokia phone chargers are definitiely at the forefront of this technology.

With their most recent phones – the Lumia 820, Lumia 920, and Luna – Nokia has enabled wireless charging, making for possibly the most laid back charging procedure yet. The charger essentially just plugs into the wall, but beyond that, there are no wires to deal with. You just place your phone on top of the pad and it's done.

How is this any different than using a regular phone charger, you may ask? Well, first consider how many times you've probably panicked, looking all over for your charger, with your phone battery at dangerously low levels. Now imagine your Nokia phone charger was pretty much stationary, always plugged into the same outlet, like a phone speaker or dock. Yep, that's pretty easy to find.

In general we think wireless charging is just a dandy idea. But in particular, we're failry impressed with Nokia's DT900 Wireless Charging Plate. It comes in fun, bright colors, as well as standard black or white, to match your Lumia 920. It's also compact and modern looking, the kind of thing that looks sleek on your desk and doesn't draw unwanted attention.

And for how new this technology really is and how handy of a gadget the Wireless Charging Plate can be, it's priced pretty cheap, around the $50 range. It's an accessory that's worth it for any owner of a new Nokia phone. And just imagine how much fun you'll have telling the grandkids that "back then," you were the first person on the block to get one.

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The latest addition to the Lumia family, Nokia's Verizon-exclusive Lumia 822 arrives this month

And we thought they'd never get back together...

Verizon announced this week that, for the first time in three years, they'll be carrying a Nokia smartphone.

The Nokia Lumia 822, a version of the Lumia 820 customized for Verizon, will start rolling out to Verizon subscribers this November, a press release announced. Though no release date has been publicized, a source told Engadget that it may be available by November 8, while BGR thinks it'll be out on November 12.

With the announcement no doubt timed to coincide with all of Microsoft's recent events, the smartphone runs on WIndows Phone 8, and is available exlusively through Verizon.

So how, exactly does the Lumia 820 stack up against other Lumia devices? Well, for one, it's curvier, and its camera pod and flash placement has the same lengthwise setup as the Lumia 920 and 810, "instead of the transverse layout found on the Lumia 820," writes Engadget.

As for specs, the Lumia 822 packs a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, has 8 GB of internal storage, and 1 GB of RAM, though you can get models with up to 64 GB.

Its 4.3" screen has a resolution of 800 x 400, and it's got an 8 megapixel camera as well as a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, and an exchangeable shell for wireless charging.

It body seems pretty sturdy, which is no surprise for a Nokia phone, though some have called it a little thick. Still, says one TechCrunch reviewer, "If anything, the version I played with was even thicker than normal because someone had swapped the stock backplate with the wireless charging plate, but the end result was a device that was still very comfortable to hold."

Available in white, black or grey, one of these bad boys will run fairly cheap – about $100 on a 2-year contract with Verizon.

The bright and colorful Nokia Lumia 920 line is coming in November, but only to AT&T

It's big, it's bright, it's beautiful, and it's coming in November – but only to AT&T?

Nokia recently unveiled the Lumia 920 at a press event in New York last month. But as TechCrunch and many others reported today, the company just announced that its flagship Windows Phone 8 device would be coming exclusively to AT&T in November, along with the Lumia 820.

TechCrunch seems to have anticipated this news, brushing it aside to focus instead on how great they think Nokia's new smartphone is:

"The Lumia 920 has just about everything you could ask for in a smartphone, with a 4.5-inch 720p display, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, a relatively large 2,000mAh battery, and of course, the heady combination of Windows Phone 8 and Pureview imaging."

But others, like Gizmodo, are taking issue with the Nokia's recent deal with AT&T, calling the exclusive "dumb" and citing 5 reasons why.

According to Gizmodo, the deal is going to hurt Windows Phone 8, and that "the premier Windows Phone device of the year [...] should be made available to as many U.S. shoppers as possible."

Captain Picard facepalms at Nokia's decision to give AT&T an exclusive

Meanwhile, says Gizmodo, carrier exclusives in general almost never work, and that, in particular, the exclusive Nokia gave to AT&T for the Lumia 900 didn't work either. The argument here is that users don't change carriers just for a new smartphone.

Another reason why Gizmodo is facepalming over the whole deal? They say that the Lumia 920's Qi wireless charging capabilities should be a major selling point, but that it's being downplayed by the fact that their device with Qi won't be widely available.

What do you think? Is an AT&T exclusive on the Lumia 920 a good idea? Leave your opinion in the comments section.

Consumers haven’t yet weighed in on whether the Nokia Lumia will be some serious competition for Android phones (let alone Apple’s iPhone), but now that a Red Bull app is in the works, it looks like the Nokia/Microsoft partnership might get a nice boost.

Red Bull just announced that it will release the World of Red Bull app exclusively in a Windows Phone 8 version for the Lumia and Nokia’s Series 40 debuting later this year. The Red Bull app lets you pull your favorite content, Red Bull athletes and stories into a customizable platform. The app, also known as “My Red Bull,” has a nice mapping feature for spontaneous meetups.

This is a big deal because developers aren’t yet clamoring to create apps for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 OS. Since the Nokia phones that run on that OS haven’t caught on with consumers, developers are slow to do the app designing.

Microsoft is trying to help the stalemate by paying developers to give some attention to Windows Phone 8-version apps. But they’ve got a huge mountain to climb. Apple’s App Store inventory totals more than 700,000 apps and Google Play has crossed the 600,000 mark for Android devices. Microsoft is the laggard at 100,000. Still, that’s a pretty good start for a brand new system on a limited number of devices.

What do you think? Would a Red Bull app (and more like it to come) be enough incentive to consider switching to a Windows Phone 8 device?

According to their latest campaign slogan, OIS is on. But Nokia's marketing team is way off in recent ads for the Lumia 920.

As Mashable reported the day of the device's September 5th unveiling, Nokia's been left with pants ablaze after two independent bloggers discovered that images and video used to promote the new Lumia 920 were misleading.

To clarify, the campaign's entire raison d'être was to pump up the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) technology used for the new Nokia Lumia's “Pure View” camera. The argument here is that OIS makes for better pictures and video.

The campaign, shot in Helsinki, presents a model in different scenarios, with split screens labeled “OIS Off” and “OIS On.” Obviously, the images and video clips labelled “OIS On” are clearer, and even have a more artistic appeal. The only problem is, they're fakes.

Light diffractions in the Nokia Lumia 920 campaign images show they can't have been taken with the device

Neither the campaign photos nor the video were shot using the Lumia 920. Instead, a leaked picture of the photo shoot showed artificial lighting and professional equipment.

Since the story's emerged, Nokia has issued an apology, while still trying to cover its own ass. In an emailed statement, Nokia spokesperson Brett Young told Mashable:

“The video was produced while the Nokia Lumia 920 was in early prototype and still not ready to show the full benefits of the amazing innovation it contains.”

An independent blogger posted this photo of the proffessional lighting and camera equipment at Nokia's shoot for the new Lumia

That's like McDonald's saying the Big Mac in their ads only looks so big and juicy because the squashed sandwich you received with your order wasn't ready to display yet.

Nevertheless, says Young, “while there was no intention to mislead, the failure to add a disclaimer to the video was obviously a mistake.”

Apology aside, the campaign video now also contains a disclaimer that clarifies the footage is a “simulation of OIS technology.”

Nokia posted genuine photos on their site taken in low light with the latest Lumia 

Meanwhile, Nokia has posted some real photos on their site that were shot in low light with the Lumia 920 and without “artificial lighting or stands.” These are compared with similar images shot with competitors' devices. Assuming the new Lumia's pictures are the real deal, they do look quite good.

Now we know a few more details about Nokia’s new Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 phones. The big unveiling took place yesterday in New York City, and what we saw was pretty impressive.

The Lumia makes a big splash with its accessories. It seems that Nokia is determined to pioneer the cause of the wireless charging station.

The Lumia 920 and 820 both incorporate Qi (pronounced “chee”) tech for wireless charging (an option with the Lumia 820.) Rather than connecting to a dock, all that’s needed to charge one of the phones is to place it on top of a (plugged in) pad. We’d already heard rumor about the design of the wireless charging pad, and what Nokia unveiled was actually three different styles.

The basic dock that looks like the same type of design as the phone case. It’s streamlined and shiny, and comes in a few bright color choices – red, blue, white, black and yellow.

The Fatboy Recharge Pillow is a puffy base that looks like a pillow. Its length and width extend at least one inch beyond the edges of the phone when it’s centered on the Pillow. The color choices are the same bright hues as those for the basic dock.

The JBL PowerUp Charging Speaker is definitely the star of the group. The charging stand includes an NFC chip that will trigger an app launch when you place it in the dock. Just put the smartphone on the stand where it will charge and automatically open your music player or alarm clock. The stand is equipped with high-quality audio speakers and a retro style. Its color choices are black, gray and blue.

In addition, Nokia said it has made deals with Virgin Atlantic and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to have charging stations in various public locations. Eventually, Nokia wants to see charging stations in public places all over the world.

Nokia is part of the Wireless Power Consortium. One of the Consortium’s goals is to build a true wireless-charging network with open standards. Qi is part of that design ethic. If your device is equipped for Qi wireless, you'll be able to charge it on any charging base that uses the Qi wireless charging standard.

No word on pricing or launch date for either phone.

Finally some pictures have surfaced with close-ups of a device that might be the next generation of Nokia phones.Up till now, we’ve only had leaked pictures, component images and patent application drawings to fuel speculation about what Nokia’s very unique Windows Phone 8 might look like.

The phone in the pics has a boxy design, like the shape of a deck of cards. One of my first thoughts: if you aren't connected by Bluetooth or a headset, the edges might make it tiring to hold for a long period of time.

The views also show elongated speaker grilles down one whole side. The phone is  supposed to feature DTS sound - multichannel audio technology that is known for surround sound formats. The poor quality of speaker sound in portable devices today is almost as big a deal as battery life. DTS could mean a big leap forward in the audio experience. From a design standpoint, we can't imagine speakers extended the whole length of the handset. Maybe it's just for effect.

There's a lot that pictures can't tell. So the rumors of specs like a quad-core SoC, 12-megapixel camera and 4.5-inch HD screen should be taken with a big grain of salt.

Of course, this is all just a guess at whether these models are sourced from Nokia or rendered from legitimate hardware images or specs, but they are interesting. Maybe, we'll hear more on September 5th when Nokia and Microsoft hold their press event.

No matter what, a boxy design like this would be a real departure from the Apple, HTC and Samsung smooth, rounder edged and stylized cases we love right now. Windows 8 or not, I'd feel like Nokia's new device is drawing attention to my hand the way my eyes can't help but notice to a Nissan Cube on the street.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, men and technology go together hand and hand or perhaps like a hand in heel much like women and shopping go together.  Men most commonly use their  Smartphones or other technological devices for audio and video playback, as personal organization applications, Internet access, and global positioning systems also known by its more popular reference GPS. According to a recent Smartphone Survey, more than 50.9% of women have adopted smartphones, with just a slightly lower 50.1% of men who've adopted smartphones. Here's a list of some of the most popular Smartphones that every woman should consider purchasing that man in her life whether its a husband, boyfriend, fiancee, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, nephew or even just a friend:

1)      For that tech savvy man in your life you should consider the HTC EVO 4G LTE Smartphone because of its immense popularity and it technologically advanced features such as an Android 4.0 Operating System, 4.7-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and 4G LTE connectivity. The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a literal out of this world technological marvel that also features Beats Audio, a quality sound system that is a perfect combination of hardware and software to mix the perfect and finally at $199.99 it also has a technological marvelous price to match.

2)      For that music loving man in your life you should consider the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman Smartphone (yes that's the real name) is readily equipped with everything that music loving man of yours could want. Some of those intriguing musical features include the ability to run on the Gingerbread Android Operating System and 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor. It also features a a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touch display, 480x320p screen resolution, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP secondary camera, 512MB RAM, and a 2GB memory card. The battery life of this Sony Walkman inspired Smartphone is a capability of f 14 hours on 2G network and 6 hours on 3G and the Live Connection is supported on a 3G Network by a Wi-Fi with DLNA support, GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity enabled.

3)      For the Corporate/Businessman in your life the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the perfect briefcase accessory that every man should have in hand or in his pocket. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 comes fully equipped with h the legendary BlackBerry Messenger, QWERTY keypad, multi touch input, optical trackpad, TFT capacitive screen, megapixel camera, 4 GB internal memory, WiFi and of course also includes its 3G capabilities. The BlackBerry Torch also features ample 8G that is example to 32GB of memory, the convenient connectivity capabilities allow you to connect with with HSPA+ high speeds and WI-Fi. The BlackBerry 7.0 Operating System is nothing short of amazing with its liquid animation graphics that include instant response times and stunning graphics, it also supports HTML5 video and a voice activated universal search engine.

4)      For the man in your life who's “young at heart” the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has the looks, the design and the raging trends in sync with your man's youthful zest for life. The  Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S features a 4.2 inch capacitive touch screen with LED backlight along with a an 8 megapixel camera capable of recording and capturing every youthful moment of the day and even well into the night. The  Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S  also features 720p HD Videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System, a turbo lightening fast turbo fast 1.4 GHz processor and more than 25,000 Google Play applications most of which are free to use and download. With this youthful Smartphone also comes a youthful price tag for roughly $350.00.

5)      For the social man in your life who loves his friending everyone he meets on Facebook and tweeting on Twitter about the fun in his life the Chat 3G is the perfect Smartphone Companion for this man. The Inq Chat 3G is just as it a sounds a very unique and intersting Smartphone that features blazing 3G speeds and even syncs your iTunes and Windows Media music, video and photos straight from your computer. With the Inq Chat 3G Smartphone you'll be sure to never miss a text message, you'll be able to connect on the go and of course Facebook is at the touch of your fingertips.

6)      For the video gamer in your life who loves the thrill of the motorcycle chase, the capture of the alien foe or simple just a quiet countryside drive the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is meant for that very gamer in your life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play features 4-inch LED backlit screen, multi touch input, Wi-Fi, 3G, 5 megapixel camera capable of recording 720p videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS.  The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is also the first and only known PlayStation Certified Android Smartphone but the downside it does come with a $369.99 price tag.

7)      For the versatile man in your life the iPhone 4S is the most versatile Smartphone for the your perfectly versatile man. The iPhone 4S features a 3.5 inches LED backlit capacitive touchscreen, IPS TFT , a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and a front camera for capturing versatile images. The iPhone 4S also includes a Siri, you can ask her to make calls, send text, get directions or even tell a joke. The iPhone 4S features the A5 one of the fastest dual core processors that any Smartphone currently  in process, 8MP iSight camera and optics and a versatile price tag of $199.99.

8)      For the multitasking man in your life the Nokia E7 is a Smartphone that stands alone that is perfect for work and play.  The Nokia E7 features ts full SLIDER QWERTY keyboard perfect for sending a quick email, typing short papers, instant messaging, social networking browsing the internet, the high definition 8 megapixel camera is perfect for taking crisp, clean photos and videos with its 720p HD quality and the Nokia E7 boasts an impressive nine hours of battery life. The Nokia E7 also includes a a 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, 256 MB of RAM, 16GB of personal storage space, an AMOLED touchscreen, and a 1200 mAh battery.

9)      For the family man in your life the ZTE Fury is a perfect match for that endearing and enduring family man who loves your and your children. The ZTE Fury features a  3.5 inches capacitive touch screen with 480 x 320 pixels resolution that utilized SnapDragon Qualcomm MSM8865 single-core 1.5 GHz, operates with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread  OS, and it also includes a 4 GB plus slot MicroSD internal memory that can be upgrade to 32 GBs with 512 MBs RAM. This Smartphone also enables you to subscribe to Sprint Mobile Control for USD 4.99/per channel/per month to to lock their children’ mobile phone or schedule and to monitor their children's downloaded applications.

10)  Finally for the sports fanatic man in your life the Galaxy Nexus is the perfect Smartphones that enables your sports fan to view his football, baseball and even football on a high quality Android 4.1 Galaxy Nexus touchscreen. The Galaxy Nexus also features a 4.65-inch 720 Super AMOLED HD display, 16GB or 32GB of on-board storage, 1GB of RAM, and NFC technology. It's 3G Network is easily accessible from anywhere in the world whether your on the go or in the comfort of your own home. The Galaxy Nexus is the first device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is the first pentaband device that utilizes the HSPA+ GSM networks.

Battery life can make or break the popularity of a cell phone. Manufacturers make a lot of promises, but in real life testing their claims rarely hold true. CNET recently updated the results of their talk-time testing. Here are their results listed in talk-time hours.

We hope your device is near the top of (or at least on) this list:

1. Motorola Droid Razr Maxx – 19.78
2. LG Optimus Vu (unlocked) – 16.08
3. Apple iPhone 4 (with 3G off) – 14.55
4. RIM BlackBerry Curve 9360 (on T-Mobile) – 12
5. Kyocera DuraPlus (Sprint) - 11.47
6. Samsung Captivate Glide (AT&T) – 10.3
7. ZTE Fury (Sprint) – 10.02
8. Samsung Galaxy S II (U.S. Cellular) - 9.47
9. LG Optimus 3D Max (unlocked) – 9.35
10. Huawei Mercury (Cricket Wireless) – 9.32
11. Apple iPhone 4S (Sprint) – 9.2
12. Kyocera Milano (Sprint) – 9.2
13. Samsung Focus S (AT&T) – 9.01
14. Kyocera DuraCore (Sprint) – 8.95
15. Samsung Rugby Smart (AT&T) – 8.9
16. LG Lucid (Verizon) – 8.47
17. T-Mobile Prism – 8.32
18. RIM BlackBerry Torch 9810 (AT&T) – 8.1
19. Pantech Swift (AT&T) – 7.27
20. Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular) – 7.25

Here are the bottom 20 and how miserably they performed:

1. Motorola i412 (Boost Mobile) – 3
2. ZTE Chorus (Cricket Wireless) – 3.35
3. LG Encore (AT&T) – 3.6
4. LG Saber (U.S. Cellular) – 3.9
5. Huawei M835 Ideos (MetroPCS) – 4
6. Nokia Lumia 800 (unlocked) – 4.12
7. RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 (Verizon) – 4.18
8. HTC 7 Pro (U.S. Cellular) – 4.5
9. HTC Arrive (Sprint) – 4.5
10. Huawei Ascend 1 (Cricket Wireless) – 4.72
11. Huawei Ideos X5 (unlocked) – 4.75
12. Samsung Zeal (Verizon) – 4.8
13. HTC Trophy (Verizon) – 5
14. HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon) – 5
15. HTC Desire (U.S. Cellular) – 5
16. Pantech Jest 2 (Verizon) – 5.3
17. HTC MyTouch 4G Slide (T-Mobile) – 5.4
18. HTC Inspire 4G (AT&T) – 5.5
19. Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G (T-Mobile) – 5.63
20. ZTE Score (Cricket) – 5.67

It’s interesting that there's such a wide range of results on the talk-time for the 20 best batteries, and less than three hours difference from top to bottom of the 20 worst. Note that Verizon doesn’t appear on the best list but does have five placements on the worst. It looks like the equipment itself isn't the only determining factor for battery performance.