Finally Windows Phone 7.8 update starts to roll out !!

Another reason to be happy for Windows Phone users.. Microsoft has finally released the long awaited Windows Phone 7.8 Update. The Update features

1. A whole new Windows Phone 8 like start screen.

2. The lock screen will be customizable - users can pick an app to update the lock screen periodically, something that sounds a lot like WP8's Live Apps service.

3. Internet Explorer will be updated with enhanced security, but it seems like Windows Phone 7.8 will keep using IE9 and won't get IE10.

4. MP3 editor that can be used to create ring tones out of songs.

5. There will be more system colors available too, for a total of 20.

Here is a post regarding the update release :

Reports have been flooding in detailing an update for Windows Phone 7.5, which can only mean one thing - Microsoft has begun rolling out Windows Phone 7.8 for those who own previous generation hardware. Windows Phone Central readers, as well as WP7.nl have received notification of an available release on the Lumia 800.

  

Windows Phone 7.8 is a major update that Microsoft announced alongside Windows Phone 8. The release is to implement new features on legacy hardware, including the new start screen Live Tile layout and other goodies. Those who have managed to receive and apply the 7.8 update have noticed a new splash screen and Xbox Live Tile that are present on Windows Phone 8.

According to WP7.nl, the update process for the Lumia 800 includes a number of builds as well as a Nokia update. Reported OS version 7.10.8773 is bumped to 7.10.8779.8, and is then proceeded with the update to 7.10.8783. This then prepares the device for the final update to 7.10. 8858.136. Welcome to almost-Windows Phone 8.

We're yet to get our Windows Phones to register the update, so be sure to let us know if you've received the one in the comments, along with which Windows Phone you're using and carrier (if applicable) you're with.

[Note: This could be a staggered rollout, dependent on carriers and OEMs, so don't get your hopes too high just yet. Microsoft has yet to announce anything official about this occurring, meaning this is still limited to just a few users and phones.]

Nokia Lumia 800 Review : My new mobile

     Being tired of using my HTC Desire HD for last 6 months, I badly wanted a change from Android OS. The only two option I has was IOS and Windows. Considering the price factor, UI Design, Mobile Design and service availability I decided to go for a Windows phone. I found HTC Titan 2 was the best in market. But it isn't available in India yet. The only high end mobile available in local market was  Nokia Lumia 800. The price was much lower than many other smart phones. The design was attractive, UI was sleek and stylish and something different from regular Android and IOS screens. Considering all these I bought my new Nokia Lumia 800 from Univercell for Rs.23,800. Its exactly 2 weeks since I have got this new mobile in my hands and it time for me to share my views about this mobile.

Design and UI:Nokia Lumia 800 is equipped with a beautiful 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive multi touch screen (16M colors) that produces a resolution of 480 X 800 pixels with (252 ppi pixel density). The combination of both Clear-black OLED screen and AMLOED technology gives excellent visual experience and also the pictures in the phone look so sharp and crispy. The brightness and sharpness of display is outstanding and user can read and see the text matter clearly even under broad daylight. It also has Gorilla Screen which is unbreakable and scratch proof.

Having used a huge 4.7 inch  HTC Desire HD screen before, I seriously dint feel a big shift to this smaller screen. The sleek and stylish design of the mobile makes it looks rich while its stunning colors in menu and UI will surely make you love using your mobile. 

Operating System:Nokia Lumia 800 has Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS. Mango is the latest stable update for wp7 which brings major improvements on Multitasking, Sync the contacts and inbox emails, battery backup extend, Bing search also working great without any bugs, inbuilt browser quite seems fast, touch and GUI responds more faster. 

I personally feel the music, PC Sync, Memory management, Response, Camera software, settings and marketplace are all better and simpler than Android. 

A big drawback of this mobile and Windows OS is the lack of apps and games.

Having using Android apps for almost all my daily needs from booking tickets to planning my schedule, Unavailability of similar apps in Windows OS is really disappointing.

Processor RAM and Memory Storage

The phone is packed with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon single core processor which is enough to handle more applications running on simultaneously background without any lagging. It has 512 MB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with no card slot to increase the memory using micro SD cards. Seems to be more number of windows phone available in the market is not equipped with expandable memory.

Camera:

For those people who are fond of clicking pictures, it has a rear camera with 8 MP camera with a maximum resolution of 3264X2448 pixels. It is equipped with a Carl Zeiss optical lens, auto focus and has dual LED flash which will be helpful to take pictures in low light conditions. It’s too bad to say the phone doesn’t have front facing camera for video calling. The phone has basic camera enhancements like geotagging, image stabilization, night mode and smile detection.

 

It can make HD videos in 720p resolution with 30 frames per second.  The photos taken in daylight are extraordinary without any noise, contrast, white balance, saturation levels are managed very well. Nokia has especially concentrated on camera section to make the phone into Digital camera level. Finally one word to say the camera of Nokia Lumia 800 is on par with Iphone 4s and HTC One X. 


Music

The music experience in Nokia Lumia 800 windows phone 7 is too good. There is manual option to change the equalizer settings according to your music interest. You can manage your library and playlist only with the help of Zune Software installed in your PC. The phone comes with decent quality headphone with mic but it is not earbud model, you need to buy separate earphones to enjoy the nonstop music.

 

Gaming Experience

Xbox live is the excellent feature that makes windows phone 7 very big successful in the mobile market. The phone have equipped with powerful Aderno 205 Graphics which is sufficient to play all kind of games. In Xbox live is a gaming place where users can play games in online and you can also connect with other friends but they need to have Xbox live account in order to access and play games with other members. Games other than Xbox live games aren't entertaining enough.

Preloaded Applications

This phone has some preinstalled apps which gives you more entertainment without downloading them. In People Hub you can able to connect to other friends with the help of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. Here some other apps which you use it on phone itself Document viewer/editor, video photo editor, voice memo/command/dial and Predictive text input.

Internet

The mobile comes with a preinstalled Internet Explorer 9 which is comparatively less user friendly and does not stream videos from sites.  Nokia Lumia 800 gives you better download speeds than Android mobiles with same data connection.

Battery

Nokia Lumia 800 has a strong 1450mAh Li-ion battery that provides you decent battery life (backup) with talk time of 13hours on 2G and up to 9 h 30 min on 3G.You can also play the music up to 55 hours.


Summary

Wish stunning Design, User Interface, Messaging and Social networking, You will love your experience with the new Nokia Lumia 800. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter and Mail better than other OS. When the music experience is made very well, the small screen doesn't gives you much from the videos. Lack of apps in Windows market place is a big issue. Still it is a great buy for those who are tired of the  Android and Iphone screens.

By Yash Sachein