Back in late January Microsoft started rolling out the Windows Phone 7.8 update for existing Windows Phone 7.5 devices, bringing the Windows Phone 8 Start screen experience to older devices. However, the roll out of the update was paused after an issue with Live Tile updates emerged for some use cases. The issue has now been resolved and Microsoft has updated the update, allowing the roll out of the Windows Phone 7.8 to resume.
Nokia Glam Me, an app which lets you enhances self-portrait pictures taken with the front facing camera of Lumia devices, is now available for download from the Windows Phone Store. The app, which was announced last week at MWC, will automatically enhance any photo it captures, but you can also apply manual adjustments, and apply creative filters.
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Stephen Elop, Nokia's President and CEO, announced the Nokia Lumia 520, a low cost smartphone running Windows Phone 8. The new entry level to the Lumia line up has a 4.0 inch WVGA (800 x 480) TFT screen, 8GB of internal memory, microSD card support, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor running at 1GHz, and a 5 megapixel camera.
The Nokia Lumia 720, which was announced by Nokia today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, takes a position in the very middle of the Windows Phone 8 Lumia line up, and is aimed at a 'young and design-savvy crowd with busy social lives'. There's special focus on imaging with a good main camera (6mp, f/1.9 aperture), a wide angle front facing camera, and lens apps, as Nokia seek to take "high end innovations to a new audiences". (Updated with original photos)
At Mobile World Congress 2013 Nokia is expected to make a number of device and service announcements at their press conference, which is taking place on Monday 25th February at 08:30 CET (07:30 GMT). We'll be updating this story with our on-the-scene live coverage at the event takes place. You can also watch a live stream of the press conference event here.
The first software update to Windows Phone 8, code named Portico, has now entered the third phase of its roll out. By the end of the month most Windows Phone 8 devices will have received a notification to apply the update. The update includes additional messaging functionality, the ability to send text replies in response to incoming calls, an option to switch off image loading in Internet Explorer, improvements to WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a number of performance improvements and bug fixes.
The Nokia Music+ service is now available in the UK for all Nokia Lumia devices (both Windows Phone 7 and 8). The premium version of Nokia's music service allows for unlimited skips, unlimited downloads (of music 'Mixes'), higher quality streaming and downloads, lyrics support, and a web-app player that lets you use the service on any Internet-connected device (PC, Smart TV, tablet). A free 7 day trial is available for all users, with the full subscription costing £3.99 per month.
Several months after the availability of the first Windows Phone 8 handsets, the promised Windows Phone 7.8 update for older devices (in this case, the Nokia Lumia 710) has started rolling out around the world, with the changelog listed below. It's a major update in terms of extra features and brings the new Start Screen features of Windows Phone 8 to the older Windows Phone 7.5 devices.
Nokia today announced the launch of Nokia Music+, a premium subscription service that offers an enhanced version of the existing Nokia Music service. Nokia Music+ will roll out, in select markets, in the next few weeks. The exact price will vary by market, but is expected to be around €3.99 ($5.37 / £3.40) per month.
In addition to the existing features of the free version of Nokia Music, the premium version of the service allows for unlimited skips, unlimited downloads (of music Mixes), higher quality streaming and downloads, lyrics support, and a web-app player that lets you use the service on any Internet connected device (PC, Smart TV, tablet).
Following on from a preliminary set of results, Nokia has now released its full interim Q4 2012 results, reporting an operating profit of €439 million (up from -€954 million in Q4 2011), with net sales of €8.041 billion (down 20% YoY). Nokia's Devices and Services division's operating profit was €276 million. The margin in Devices and Services was 7.2% (up from from 3.4% in Q4 2011 and up from -19.2% in Q2 2012). Total smartphone device sales were 6.6 million (4.4 million Lumia, 2.2 million Symbian).
