Best Buy : Top deals for Samsung Galaxy S IV Mini , Samsung Galaxy S Duos, Samsung Tab 3, Nokia Lumia 620, Samsung Galaxy S III 32GB, Sony Xperia Z, XOLO X1000

 Presenting to you the Best deals of this week ! With Eid-ul-Fitr falling this week and Independence Day fast approaching, many online retailers have announced discounts and deals on various goods, especially mobile phones and tablets. So if you are planning to buy an Android tablet or smartphone here are top deals of this week.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S IV MINI

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, which was launched in July this year and is presently retailing anywhere from Rs 25,000 to Rs 27,000, is now avaialble for Rs 24,091 only on Ebay India. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini comes with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 960x540 pixel resolution. It is powered by a dual-core 1.7 GHz mobile processor and 1.5 GB RAM. It comes pre-loaded with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and Nature UX user interface. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini features an 8 megapixel camera at the back along with a 1.9 megapixel camera in the front for HD quality video chatting. There is 1900 mAh battery in the S4 Mini. On the connectivity front, S4 Mini sports WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS with GLONASS support. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has an 8 GB on-board memory out of which 5 GB is available for the users and one can add up to 64 GB micro SD card.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY S DUOS

Samsung Galaxy S Duos was launched in India last year at around Rs 17,000 but now it is available from Indiatimes Shopping for Rs 8,633. Users can avail the same by simply selecting the device and applying coupon code "BIGDEAL" before checkout. The dual SIM based smartphone comes with a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 7227A processor running Google's Android Ice Cream sandwich operating system. It has a 4 inch LCD display with 480 x 800 pixel resolution and 768 MB of RAM. The Samsung Galaxy S Duos utilizes a slightly older but functional Adreno 200 Graphic engine which will be good enough for most tasks but HD gaming would be one task where the device would lag. The smartphone also comes with a 4 GB of onboard storage and you can add a micro SD card of up to 32 GB capacity to expand its memory. The phone has a 5 megapixel auto focus camera that is capable for recording VGA resolution videos only but there is a LED flash provided for illumination in low light conditions. In the front there is also a VGA camera for video calling.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 3

Deal price: Rs 15,560

Normal price: Rs 17,500

Coupon code: MYSMART10

The Samsung Tab 3 T211 comes with a 7 inch display with 1024x600 pixels resolution. The 9.9 mm thick tablet has 300 gram weight. It has Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 1 GB RAM, 4000 mAh battery, 3 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front camera.

The tablet comes in 8 GB internal memory but there is a micro SD card slot to expand its memory to up to 32 GB. The Galaxy Tab 3 T211 SIM calling facility as well as WiFi connectivity.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 T211 is available for this price exclusively on Tradus.com. The Tab 3 is available for above Rs 17,000 at various other online stores.

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NOKIA LUMIA 620

Deal price: Rs 11,279

Normal price: Rs 16,000

Coupon code: DCHCEP4Y4GM5

The Nokia Lumia 620 has a dual core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 mobile processor and it features a 3.8 inch touchscreen ClearBlack LCD display with multi-touch point support. By default, this display supports 480 x 800 pixel resolution natively and carries a polarisation filter on top for better visibility under sunlight.

Nokia has also added its exclusive bit of services such as Nokia Music, Mix Radio, Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens, and Nokia Transport. Nokia Lumia 620 has 8 GB on-board storage, of which some will be reserved for the system alongside this smartphone comes with a micro SD card slot to expand memory to up to 64 GB. The Lumia 620 has a 1300 mAh battery.

The phone comes with 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash. There's also a front camera in the Lumia 620. The smartphone weighs 127 grams and has WiFi with tethering ability, micro USB, and a 3.5 mm jack. It has A-GPS and GLOSNASS access along with preinstalled Nokia Maps.

This offer is available exclusively on Homeshop18.com, and users can also opt for cash on delivery option as well while buying this.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY S III 32GB

Deal price: Rs 23,670

Normal price: Rs 28,500

Coupon code: MOBDEALS

Despite Samsung Galaxy S4 being the current flagship of Samsung, the Galaxy S3 is still a much desirable smartphone that offers great features at a much lower price as well.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. By default, this display supports 1280x720 pixel resolution and is hailed as the best display ever to feature on a smartphone.

The Galaxy SIII comes with a quad-core, 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 mobile processor that runs the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and TouchWiz user interface.

This offer is available exclusively on Indiatimes Shopping, and users can also opt for EMI option for buying this product.

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SONY XPERIA Z

Deal price: Rs 30,733

Normal price: Rs 34,000

Coupon code: SCSX99

The Sony Xperia Z has a slim profile and is waterproof. The smartphone comes with a 6.4 inch full HD display with Triluminos technology. The phone is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. Even with such large display and a powerful hardware the phone is just 6.5mm thick and weighs 212 grams. The phone has aluminum chassis instead of a plastic one that speaks of its durability.

Xperia Z has got Ingress Protection 55 and 58 certification that testifies its water and dust proof capability. This enables the device to shoot videos and images underwater. Its 8 megapixel camera at the back can capture both high definition photos and film, while Superior Auto mode automatically activates HDR and noise reduction when needed.

Sony Xperia Z comes with handwriting recognition which is compatible with any pencil and selected stylus or pen (capacitive stylus or metal pen with tip diameter over 1mm).

The phone has connectivity options like NFC, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio with RDS.

This offer is available exclusively on Shopclues.com, and users can also opt for EMI option for buying this product also they can opt for cash on delivery for the device as well.

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XOLO X1000

Deal price: Rs 13,379

Normal price: Rs 19,000

Coupon code: NA

The Xolo X1000 runs on Android ICS operating system and has 2 GHz Intel HT processor. This single core processor offers performance similar to a dual core processor with the use of Hyper Threading. Along with that the device has an 8 megapixel camera at the back and a 2 megapixel camera in front - both with BSI sensors.

The Xolo X1000 comes with a 2.5D curved Edge to Edge glass display with 314 PPI pixel density. The phone has a unibody design, which gives it a slim look. It comes without a removable battery, just like the Nokia Lumia 920, Apple iPhone, HTC Butterfly and Sony Xperia Z.

X1000 has 8 GB internal storage and 1 GB RAM along with that you can expand its memory to up to 32 GB using a micro SD card.

This offer is available exclusively on Ebay.in, and users can also opt for cash on delivery option for buying this product, which though is available only for select cities.

Top 5 mobile deals this week

Choose some the best looking and decent performance delivery smartphones in the market.

The online retail market is a competitive one and that is why we see so many amazing deals every week. However, getting the best deal is always a challenge.

That is why we bring you a mix of top deals that will get you a great discount than the actual launch price of the device.

Nokia Lumia 520

Launch Price: Rs 10,499

Deal Price: Rs 9211

Nokia had announced the Lumia 520 earlier this year for Rs 10,499. The Lumia 520 is the youngest member of the Windows Phone 8 based Lumia series from Nokia. It sports a 4-inch IPS LCD display and a dual-core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processor with 512 MB RAM. There is only 8 GB on-board storage but one can always add up to 64 GB micro SD card in the memory expansion slot.

At the rear, Lumia 520 sports 5 megapixel camera that clicks decent images with several camera settings offered. Apart from that, the smartphone features the Nokia Lumia Exclusive set of apps and services. Nokia has added 1430 mAh battery to make it last long and the phone can now be purchased for as low as Rs 9211 from HomeShop18 website.

LG Optimus 4X HD P880

Launch Price: Rs 34,990

Deal Price: Rs 19,988

LG Optimus 4X HD comes packed with the hardware competitive enough for the Samsung Galaxy SIII. LG Optimus 4X HD is the flagship model featuring a 4.7-inch True HD IPS panel touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 pixel native resolution. It has a quad core 1.5 GHz Nvidia Tegra processor with a low power GeForce graphics chip, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Optimus 3.0 UI, and 1 GB of RAM.

By default, this smartphone features 16 GB onboard storage and a micro SD card slot to accommodate a memory card of up to 64 GB. Optimus 4X HD smartphone is only 8.9 mm thick and weighs just 133 grams. In this device, LG has used an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash. This camera is capable of recording 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second. There's also a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video calling and chat.

Among other features of the smartphone include GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, accelerometer, gyroscope sensor, support for a variety of popular audio-video formats, stereo FM with RDS, WiFidirect, and DLNA compliance. LG has bundled a 2150 mAh battery to make it run longer and support talk time of about 9.5 hours over 3G.

Though was launched for Rs 34,990, the LG Optimus 4X HD can now be purchased for as low as Rs 19,988 from Reliance Digital website.

LG Optimus L7

Launch Price: Rs 19,900

Deal Price: Rs 11,490

LG introduced Optimus L7 about six months ago and it has a 4.3-inch display supporting WVGA(480x800) pixel resolution. The Optimus L7 has a unique L-Style design styling and features comes 5-megapixel camera with LED flash at the back which is capable of shooting 720p HD videos. It has a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera too for video chats.

The Optimus L7 is also the first device to feature LG's Optimus 3.0 user interface and also the QuickMemo note taking feature. In its 8.7 mm slim body, the Optimus L7 packs a single-core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 mobile processor with 1 GB RAM and 4 GB onboard storage. However, there is a micro SD card slot to expand the storage space. This smartphone also features WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and GPS sensors. The LG Optimus L7 also features built-in LG Mobile TV- application where users can view 50+ live TV channels, online widget support, on demand service and free TV viewing for two months from the date of activation.

LG offers Optimus L7 with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the company is yet to announce whether it will get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update. Adexmart website is offering good discount on the Optimus L7 and you can purchase it for as low as Rs 11,490.

Sony Xperia Z

Launch Price: Rs 38990

Deal Price: Rs. 31851

Sony's top of the line Xperia Z smartphone is both dust and water-proof. It features a 5 inch LCD display with full 1080p HD resolution. The Sony Xperia Z runs on a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 mobile processor, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB on-board storage. The large display and minimally skinned TimeScape UI on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update are absolute bliss to use.

Sony has offered WiFi, 3G network connectivity for faster mobile web experience in the Xperia Z. At the rear, it has 13.1 megapixel camera with LED Flash and autofocus to click high quality images with variety of features such as Face Detection, HDR and more. This camera can record full 1080p HD video and there is 2.2 megapixel camera in the front for video chats.

Sony has packed 2330 mAh battery to make this smartphone run for long time. Though was launched at Rs 38,990, the Xperia Z can be purchased for as low as Rs 31851 from Tradus website.

Sony Xperia Neo L

Launch Price: Rs 18,499

Deal Price: Rs 11,000

Sony Xperia Neo L is a Playstation certified device. It has a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a dedicated Adreno 205 graphics engine. It has 512 MB of RAM and a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 854 pixel resolution.

The Xperia Neo L runs on Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich that has hundreds of free and paid games. If that is not enough then users can also make use of the Playstation Suite-a dedicated store for Playstation certified devices for more content such as optimized games and multimedia content as well.

The deal is available on Shopclues.

Comparing MotoX with Samsung Galaxy S IV , Nokia Lumia 1020 , Sony Xperia Z Blackberry Z10 HTC One

Motorola has unveiled its much-awaited flagship smartphone Moto X. The all-new smartphone built under the tutelage of Google offers several new features including customizable design.

Wonder how does the phone which some are calling as the new benchmark handset in the Android universe competes with some of the best smartphones in business today? Here’s comparing the new Google phone Moto X with Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 1020, Sony Xperia Z, BlackBerry Z10 and HTC One.




Display

Moto X: 4.7-inch AMOLED display with 1280x720p resolution, 312ppi pixel density

Samsung Galaxy S4: 5-inch SuperAMOLED touchscreen with resolution of 1920x1080p, 441ppi pixel density

HTC One: 4.7-inch Super LCD3 screen with 1920x1020p resolution and pixel density of 469ppi

Nokia Lumia 1020:4.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen with PureMotion HD+ and ClearBlack display technologies; 1280x768p resolution, 332ppi pixel density

Sony Xperia Z: 5-inch TFT touchscreen 1920x1020p resolution, pixel density of 441ppi

Blackberry Z10: 4.2-inch TFT display with 1280x720p resolution and 355ppi pixel density

Operating system

Moto X: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

Samsung Galaxy S4: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) 

HTC One: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradeable to Android 4.2 

Nokia Lumia 1020: Windows Phone 8

Sony Xperia Z: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

Blackberry Z10: Blackberry 10

Processor & RAM

Moto X: 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM

Samsung Galaxy S4: 1.9GHz quad-core and 1.6GHz octa-core processor options, 2GB RAM

HTC One: 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM 

Nokia Lumia 1020: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM

Sony Xperia Z: 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM

Blackberry Z10: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM

Storage

Moto X: 16 and 32GB onboard storage options

Samsung Galaxy S4: 16, 32 and 64GB built-in storage, up to 64GB microSD support

HTC One: 32 and 64GB variants

Nokia Lumia 1020: 32GB internal storage

Sony Xperia Z: 16GB onboard storage, microSD support up to 64GB

BlackBerry Z10: 16GB in-built storage, up to 64GB microSD expansion

Connectivity

Moto X: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC

Samsung Galaxy S4: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC

HTC One: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC, Infrared

Nokia Lumia 1020: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC

Sony Xperia Z: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC

BlackBerry Z10: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC

Camera

Moto X: 10MP ClearPixel camera with LED flash on the back, 2MP front unit

Samsung Galaxy S4: 13MP rear camera with LED flash, 2MP front-facing shooter 

HTC One: 4MP UltraPixel camera with LED flash, 2MP front snapper 

Nokia Lumia 1020: 41MP PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED as well as Xenon flash, 1.2MP secondary camera

Sony Xperia Z: 13MP camera with LED flash on the back, 2.2MP front camera

Blackberry Z10: 8MP rear camera with LED flash, 2MP video calling unit

Battery

Moto X: 2,200mAh

Samsung Galaxy S4: 2,600mAh

HTC One: 2,300mAh

Nokia Lumia 1020: 2,000mAh

Sony Xperia Z: 2,330mAh

BlackBerry Z10: 1,800mAh

Another unusual feature of the Moto X, apart from the customization option, is that it's always listening for its owner's voice. When it hears the phrase, "Ok, Google Now..." followed by a command like "Call Bob" it will wake up from standby and execute the command, provided it understands it. Most smartphones offer voice control, but it's usually activated by pressing a button.

Moto X comes with a 4.7-inch touch screen. It runs on a no-frills implementation of Google's Android operating system (Android 4.2.2). This is in contrast to the phones from Samsung and HTC, which put their own stamp on the software with various add-ons.

he smartphone has a 10-megapixel camera at the back, and a 2-megapixel on front. It comes in 16 or 32GB memory options. There is no option to expand, however, Google is offering buyers 50GB storage free on Google Drive for two years.

Moto X dimensions are height: 5.09 inch; width: 2.57 inch; depth: 0.41 inch. The smartphone measures 0.41 inch at its thickest point and weighs 130g.

Moto X comes with a non-user replaceable battery. It offers a talk time of 13 hours, according to the manufacturer.

Google Moto X runs on a 1.7 gigahertz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Motorola developed twin lower-powered chips to run alongside Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro main processor. The multi-chip system is reportedly designed to save battery life by letting the processor sleep while the lower-power chips work in the background.

The Moto X is due for US release in late August. It will also launch in Canada and Latin America in the same month. The Moto X is going on sale at all four wireless carriers in the US — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Moto X will have a starting price of $199 in the United States if bought along with a two-year service contract with a telecom service company. Initially, only AT&T will offer the customization option, but Google said it hopes to make it available across all carriers soon. The company will offer 18 different back covers ranging in colour from "spearmint" to "cabernet," a choice of black or white fronts and seven different metallic accents for details like the volume button. That makes for 252 possible style variations of the phone.

The Moto X is the first smartphone to be assembled in the US. Though many phones are designed in the US, the vast majority of phones are assembled in Asia.

Motorola has become marginalized in the global smartphone market, taking just 1 per cent of recent sales, according to research firm IDC. Google has slashed Motorola's workforce to 4,600 people, down from 20,300 last year.

A largescreen Nokia phablet or Tablet is up soon with Snapdragon800

We’ve been down this road before so take this with a pinch of salt. A Windows RT tablet by Nokia showed up in GFXBench scores. The device carried the model name RX-114, RX-108 was a model name associated with Nokia tablet early this year (maybe this Tegra 3-powered tablet).

The benchmark reported a resolution of 1371 x 771 pixels for the screen, presumably a minor error with the real resolution being 1368 x 768, the standard 10.1″ Windows RT tablet resolution.

The GPU was listed as Adreno 330, which so far is used only in Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipsets. Sure enough, GFXBench found 4 CPU cores, but unfortunately it has nothing on the clock speed.

By the way, the rumor mill is also waiting on a 6″ phablet from Nokia.But consider that – what if it is a large display-toting smartphone? We just saw a faceplate that might match up in a 6-inch panel leaked to a factory floor, and the Nokia Lumia 625 was just delivered with a low-resolution display and a small price tag.

The leaked image of Nokia phablet

Nokia to launch a 6" device with a very thin Bezel (leaked image)

Nokia is on a product launching spree, rolling out as many as seven handsets in a span of just four months. Now, a leaked picture suggests that the Finnish company is working on its biggest smartphone eveWe've heard rumors of a phablet in the works from Nokia for a while now. Back in May we even saw a (blurry) glimpse of what appeared to be a large-screened Nokia device, expected to see the light of day as the Lumia 1030.

This latest leak which supposedly comes from a factory floor in China brings the phablet one step closer to reality. It measures 6-inches in diagonal and is supposedly already being mass-produced by Nokia.

As you can tell from the image, it has a very thin bezel and looks to also feature a slot for a front-facing camera. Unfortunately there's nothing else that we can make out from it and the source didn't provide any additional specs either. The publication adds that Nokia is already mass producing the deviceThat would put it right along with humongous devices like the Galaxy Mega series, if true, of course. Judging by the size of the device compared to how small the hand holding it looks like, we have no reason to doubt this.That would allow a 1080p display that almost seems like a must for such a huge screen.

It's possible Nokia may be readying this device for the anticipated Windows Phone GDR3 update. The new release is set to start seeding by the end of the year and will add support for 1080p resolution to the Windows Phone 8 platform as well as an additional column of tiles - perfect for larger, phablet-esque displays.

Nokia rolls out a YouTube app to help Lumia users upload

Nokia has a new app designed to help Lumia users post their videos to YouTube. But for now it seems limited to just the new Lumia 1020.

Now available in Microsoft's Windows Phone store, YouTube Upload allows users to select and post their video onto YouTube directly through the Photos app, or trim it with the Nokia Video Trimmer app and then post it. The app is also described as working for "all videos shot on Nokia Lumia phones with Windows Phone 8."

However,  the app worked only on the new Lumia 1020. Trying it on a Lumia 800, Lumia 900, and a couple of other Lumia phones proved to be a bust. But based on the app's description and its support for WVGA displays, Nokia is likely to extend its support for other Lumia devices equipped with Windows Phone 8.

Lumia 1020 not a 'buy' for non-phamera users

A niche device, the Lumia 1020 is pricier than most high-end smartphones that will make some salivate.

Nokia's new Lumia 1020 is the company's most significant device yet. Announced only a few weeks ago, the handset's biggest selling point is easily its 41-megapixel camera sensor, which Nokia paraded around as the best mobile camera the industry has ever seen.

Having seen the gadget in action, it's easy to see why Nokia is so confident.

But even with such an enormous sensor, how does it stack up against the competition?

Apple's iPhone is currently the most widely used camera in the world (data is available for Flickr only) — that's an accomplishment in and of itself. And while it doesn't have the highest megapixel count, or even the most robust feature set, the iPhone 5's camera is still more than capable of producing excellent results. Apple says its cameras are so popular because the company focuses on more than just megapixel count.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone's camera captures extremely high-resolution images with fine detail, and puts creative controls at your fingertips.

A niche device, due to its extreme focus on its camera, the Lumia 1020 is USD 100 pricier than most high-end smartphones. Having said that, for the aficionados there are relevant high points, but for the general user, the lens makes it a little bulky while multiple camera apps are confusing. It lacks manual f-stop control and presets for common shooting scenarios.

Lumia 1020 high-octane shooter, along with camera app, defines this marquee Windows 8-based smartphone. What will make photographers salivate is that 1020 pushes the smartphone camera envelope with a combination of raw image-capturing prowess and close-cropping capability that makes it one of the most artistically-enabled smartphone cameras that we've tested.

Casual users may not venture from automatic settings and may not notice much difference in image quality unless they frequently crop photos tightly

First Nokia Lumia 1020 units now in hands of AT&T customers

The first Nokia Lumia 1020 customers, who've pre-ordered the smartphone, have started to receive their units today. The Lumia 1020 turned out to be extremely popular for the carrier, which sold out all available unitsin the second day of its pre-order campaign.

While the WP8 cameraphone is exclusively sold by AT&T in the US, people living in Europe have a wider choice of carriers. In Germany, Vodafone will give you the Lumia 1020 only for €29.90 if you opt for a two-year contract with a €70/month tariff (calls and data). T-Mobile's cheapest offer, on the other hand, has the Lumia 1020 listed at €149.90 with a 2-year contract and €80/month plan.

Pricing in the rest of the EU should be pretty similar. The Nokia Lumia 1020 will go on sale in Europe in September though, so you will have to be patient.

Nokia Lumia 625 brings a 4.7" screen, LTE to the masses

Nokia's teaser from yesterday promised something big for today and it delivered, sort of. The Nokia Lumia 625 is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset with a rather big (for the class) screen – 4.7".

That's not groundbreaking, though as the WP7-powered HTC Titan had a 4.7" screen back in 2011. The Lumia 625 is mostly a stretched out 620 with some additional extras.

The Nokia Lumia 625 has a 4.7" IPS LCD with WVGA resolution (480 x 800, 201ppi) and "2.25D" curved Gorilla Glass 2 ("2.5D" has curved edges, we guess "2.25D" means less curvy"). The screen packs Nokia's proprietary image tuning options that let you change the color profile. It has super sensitive touch too, meaning it works with gloves and fingernails.

The phone measures 133.3 x 72.3 x 9.3mm and weighs 159g, roughly the dimensions of the One X, but 29g heavier.

The Nokia Lumia 625 continues the WP tradition of having entry-level phones with fairly high specs (compared to Android's entry level). It packs a dual-core Krait processor at 1.2GHz, 512MB RAM and 8GB of built-in storage, expandable with a microSD card slot.

There's HSPA+ and 4G LTE connectivity, along with Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE and GPS + GLONASS for positioning. Nokia's HERE mapping suit is on board with HERE Drive beta (it gives you free offline GPS navigation for one country).

The main camera is a 5MP shooter that can capture 1080p video and the front-facing camera has VGA resolution. There's an LED flash and one HD mic. Other goodies include Smart Camera and FM radio, meaning the Lumia 625 comes with the Amber update. Free Nokia Music subscription is also included.

The Nokia Lumia 625 will launch in China, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa and Latin America in Q3 2013 in a variety of colors (orange, yellow, bright green, white and black), with exchangeable semitransparent shells to easily switch colors (just like the 620).

In the UK, the Lumia 625 is expected in September for £200 though EE, Vodafone and O2 as well as retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. Elsewhere the price will be €220 before taxes and subsidies

Nokia promises affordable headsets

Nokia has announced three new affordable headsets in association with co-branded headphone maker Coloud. These three new Nokia accessories are Boom, Knock and Pop. These three Nokia Coloud headsets are expected to be priced at Rs 2125 (27 Euros), Rs 1730 (22 Euros), and Rs 1415 (18 Euros) respectively. Nokia plans to make these new headsets available from September onwards.

Nokia has partnered with number of companies proficient in the headphones segment. After Beats Audio, Nokia has now partnered with Coloud to bring couple of affordable headsets. Three new Coloud branded headsets bring the basic colour flaunting design.

The Nokia Coloud Boom promises less ambient noise due to its closed shell construction. Packing 40mm high performance magnet drivers, this on-ear headset pair features directional microphone and speaker impedance of 32 Ohms.

Nokia Coloud Knock is the on-ear type headset with flattened wire design for tangle free usage. Very similar to the Boom, the Knock is lighter and carries Y style cord.

Nokia Coloud Pop in the in-ear style headset with light weight profile and great style design. These headsets will be offered in three colours - Yellow, Red and Cyan.

How Nokia CEO Elop helped build the Lumia smartphone brand

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop recalls a meeting in August 2011 in which the company’s leadership struggled to decide on the name of its new smartphone, the first using Windows Phone software.

“We almost fell into the trap that had often befallen Nokia, which was… let them work on it a bit longer because we couldn’t quite reach agreement,” Elop said. Instead, he demanded a decision that day.

“Why wait till tomorrow or next week? We could make the decision today. And we did.” Lumia was the result.

Senior Nokia employees say Elop, hired in 2010 to revive the once-undisputed leader in mobile phones, has forced them to make faster decisions, which has sped up everything from restructuring to the development of new handsets.

There is no time to waste. Nokia’s ability to compete in the global smartphone market is increasingly questioned; its market share is stands at around three percent, far behind Samsung and Apple which control around 50 percent between them.

Second-quarter Lumia sales missed market estimates, and with cash reserves falling, some investors worry how much time Elop has left to validate his decision to adopt Microsoft’s untested Windows Phone software. The transition to Windows, which he said would take two years, is now in its third.

Nokia Lumia 920 in this file photo. Reuters

Nokia has picked up the pace of product launches this year, including the 11 July unveiling of its Lumia 1020 with a 41-megapixel camera.

Elop reckoned the company spent 22 months on the N8, which used the now-obsolete Symbian operating system and was launched shortly after he joined the company.

“A number of our Windows Phone products are on six to eight month delivery cycles. We are moving so much faster,” he said.

Apple has been launching a new iPhone around once a year, and analysts have said it may need to speed its cycle up to compete with the frequency and variety of Samsung product launches. The South Korean company has close to 40 versions on the market compared with around 20 for Nokia.

Nokia’s 1020 is the most advanced of its Lumia smartphones, and followed the 925 and 928 launches in May. In February, it introduced the more basic Lumia 520 and 521 models.

Also this year, it announced a 15-euro phone, its cheapest phone ever. It has also upgraded its line of feature phones with the Asha 210 and 310, as well as the more powerful 501 with built-in social media applications.

Elop said the older Nokia prioritised quality and features but was less disciplined about the time it took to deliver.

“There was a pattern in the past where, with Symbian and everything, lots and lots and lots and lots of things got added and it took a long time to get the quality up to the right level,” he said.

It has cut one in three jobs under Elop, and some employees say the leaner structure means things get done faster.

BUZZ

Samuli Hanninen, who was in charge of building the imaging software for Lumia 1020 and had returned from its launch event in New York several days earlier, said he was enjoying the same kind of buzz he felt in his early days at Nokia a decade ago.

“We had a culture where we never gave up, we were always working very late, you could call guys at any point of the day to say this needs to be fixed,” he said. “We somehow lost it. The process became more important than the product and consumer.”

Elop, a Canadian and former Microsoft executive, replaced Olli Pekka Kallasvuo, who led the company from 2006 and was criticized for being complacent about the rise of smartphones.

Elop was the first non-Finn to become CEO of the 148-year-old company, which started as a paper mill and at one point made rubber boots. Many initially wondered whether he could fit in.

His enthusiasm quickly endeared him to staff. In person, he is quick to laugh and to offer jokes, with a down-to-earth style that has little in common with the Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer or Apple’s former CEOSteve Jobs.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in this file photo. AFP

He can also be blunt. In a now-famous 2011 email to staff, he compared Symbian to a “burning platform” that needed to be abandoned. The switch to Windows was a shock, but many said Elop won support with his frankness.

Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner who has followed the industry for over a decade, said the switch was the right choice and one that could only have been made by an outsider.

“You needed someone who wasn’t personally invested, who could take a harsher look,” she said. “If you’d been there, you’d obviously have been part of what the problem was.”

DON’T BE ARROGANT

The problem, Elop says, was a stubbornness that came from years of being at the top. He says he has encouraged employees to adopt a “challenger mindset”.

“What I really mean is, don’t be arrogant,” he said. “There’s a number of examples over the last six, seven years, where Nokia heard trends but decided to ignore those trends because it felt that it somehow knew better… And that hurt the company badly for many years.”

Alf Noto, head of Nokia’s customer care division, said that approach was reflected in the way it now deals with customers. Elop answers around 10-20 customer emails each day, he said.

Others say Nokia has also become more humble towards its partners, including carriers and retailers who sell handsets, as well as developers who create the apps for phones.

“He took a lot of the arrogance out. For a while we were behaving like a market leader and we weren’t,” said Christof Hellmis, an executive at Nokia’s Here navigation business.

Elop, however, has yet to prove he was right to switch to Windows, with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS running around 90 percent of smartphones sold today.

He was speaking to Reuters the day before it announced it sold 7.4 million Lumia phones in the second quarter, a 32 percent improvement from the first quarter but fewer than the market’s consensus forecast of 8.1 million units.

It chose not to predict future Lumia sales and some, including Pierre Ferragu at Bernstein Research, are skeptical about Nokia’s ability to compete in smartphones.

Nokia shares, now around 3 euros, are a fraction of their 2000 peak of 65 euros, and its bonds have junk ratings.

Chris Weber, executive vice president in charge of global sales and marketing, said its expanded product line, as well as a joint marketing push with Microsoft and AT&T for the Lumia 1020, should help boost sales ahead.

Gartner’s Milanesi was also optimistic.

“They’re now behaving the way they should, fighting and thinking differently,” she said. “Things don’t change overnight… But I think the 1020 is going to be the spark to get customers to pay attention to Nokia.”
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