Nokia Lumia 710 5MP Camera, 3G, 8GB Memory, 1.4 GHz Processor, 7.5 Mango, Wi-Fi, Micro SIM, Factory Unlocked World Mobile Smartphone - Unlocked Phone - No Warranty - Black

Technical Details

Nokia Lumia 710 5MP Camera, 3G, 8GB Memory, 1.4 GHz Processor, 7.5 Mango, Wi-Fi, Micro SIM, Factory Unlocked World Mobile Smartphone - Unlocked Phone - No Warranty - Black
• GSM Bands 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; WCDMA/HSPA 1900/2100
• ClearBlack display, 3.7" touchscreen
• Bing, Internet Explorer 9, HTML5, Wi-Fi
• Camera: 5 MP Auto Focus, LED Flash and HD Video
• 8 GB mass memory (no slot for micro-SD cards) plus SkyDrive cloud storage. SDRAM memory: 512 MB

 

I had been using an iPhone 3GS for a few years (and have been an AT&T customer in general for years before that) when I started to realize just how much I was paying for AT&T's service but how little I was using it, or the talk minutes part of it anyway. I had thousands of roll over minutes and hundreds expiring every month. I no longer felt I was getting any value from their service. I looked around to try and find some savings and realized that by buying my phone up front and bringing it to T-mobile, I could be saving $20 per month. The phone does pay for itself eventually.

So anyway - I am supposed to be reviewing this phone. I have been curious about the WP7 phones for a while and was happy to finally make the jump. The phone itself is attractive enough and the additional software provided by Nokia makes their handsets even better than the other WP7 phones out there. The Drive GPS app is much more than I expected from preinstalled software. It has day/night mode, a good selection of voices, and speed alerts. Plus the maps are downloaded to the phone so you never have to wait for them to load.

The hubs and live tiles concept takes a while to get used to, but now that I have adapted, I wondered how I lived without them. Hubs make the folders in iOS seem useless in comparison. And live tiles are like notifications that display on the individual tile. It is a very cool concept and well executed.

I never thought I would use the FM radio, but the park where I go to walk has poor coverage by T-Mobile and I was not able to stream internet music there. I just switched to the radio and found an appropriate station with good reception. It worked fantastic.

Also, the phone came with a pretty good pair of headphones, which don't seem to be included when purchasing from T-Mobile.

There are few negative points to this phone: It is an international phone, so I was disappointed to find that the wall charger I got was the European standard and was worthless to me. However I was able to attach the cable to the USB wall plug that came with the iPhone and charge that way. Charging seems to be a little slow using USB, but I have ordered a proper wall adapter and hopefully that will remedy the slow charging.

Also, the volume when listening to audio on the phone is good but not great. Although songs which have been downloaded through the Zune store sound much stronger than streaming audio.

8GB of flash storage may not seem like enough to some people. My old 3GS had twice as much, but I never cam close to filling it. I am trying to force myself more and more into the cloud and having a smaller amount of storage helps that. I store my pictures on SkyDrive instead of on the phone and I use streaming services when possible to keep from having to download music to the phone itself. And I imagine that Microsoft will improve the cloud features of WP7 further as the platform continues to mature.

Finally, apps. Before purchasing the phone, I had scoured the Marketplace looking for WP7 equivalents to my iPhone apps. I was not able to find everything, but in most cases I was able to find an equivalent that worked just as well. Some of the apps lack a few of the features of their iOS counterparts, but they seem to be updated on a regular basis and forum posts show a commitment to creating equal features across all platforms.

So in the end, I am happy with the phone. It is not a perfect phone, but it is a huge improvement, both in the hardware and software, over my old iPhone.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I became aware after using this phone for a while that it does not work with T-Mobiles 3G/4G network. I blamed T-Mobile till I realize that their high speed data requires a phone which operates at both the 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz frequencies. This phone can't use the 1700 MHz band. While the phone still does voice, text, and (very slow) 2G (EDGE, GPRS)on the T-Mobile network, you cannot take advantage of the high speed mobile data. Had I researched this in advance, I could have saved myself some money and both myself and the seller the hassle of returning the phone. I am not bad mouthing the phone or the seller at all. The frequencies it operates at are listed in the product description. I just did not do enough homework and was operating on assumptions when I made the purchase. I am sure it works in Europe and maybe even other mobile carriers in the US, but not T-Mobile. I still have this same phone, but have returned this purchase and bought one directly from T-Mobile.

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Windows Phone Steals Third Position in US Smartphone Market

When it comes to the smartphone market, the first two positions are taken. Apple and Google have been going at it for a couple of years now, with the Cupertino giant unlikely to cede its position for some time to come. The other companies in the market are left to scrap it out for the remainder of the market share, which isn’t much as the two leading giants take up a large piece of the pie. This is the case for Microsoft and Research in Motion (RIM), who have been battling for third position in the US market.

Microsoft Topples RIM

According to the latest reports, the BlackBerry OS has been overtaken by Windows Phone to the third position. The performance for devices running on Windows Phone has been far better than BlackBerry during the last quarter of 2012. The strong showing in the market enabled Microsoft to topple RIM and take the number three spot in the smartphone market in the US. The amazing thing is that this is the first time in nearly seven years that Microsoft has gone ahead of RIM.

BlackBerry in Trouble

BlackBerry is in trouble. There is no doubt that the smartphone has not been selling as well as it should have been. Microsoft has swooped in and taken up a significant portion of its market niche. Some reports suggest that BlackBerry sales are the lowest they have been in the past decade. This does not bode well for RIM or for BlackBerry. Its hold on the fourth position is starting to look shaky and it is quite possible it might be overtaken in the not too distant future.
However, the situation may actually improve for the smartphone once the new model hits the market. BlackBerry 10 has recently been launched around the globe and will come to the US in a couple of months. It all depends on whether the devices running on BlackBerry 10 manage to perform well in the other countries. A failure to perform well would mean the trend might continue when the devices are finally released in the US.

Microsoft on a Roll

The Windows 8 OS might not have performed to expectations but Microsoft is on a roll as far as its Windows Phone devices are concerned. A recently released report shows that working people are more inclined towards buying Microsoft tablets as compared to the iPad. Being able to topple the BlackBerry OS in the US smartphone market represents another victory for the company. It gives them a chance to answer the critics that had stated Microsoft won’t be able to compete in the handheld devices market.
Windows Phone 8 devices have been praised and continue to sell well. At present, more people are using Windows Phone 8 devices than Windows Phone 7. If this trend continues, Microsoft is likely to strengthen its hold on the third position and maybe even make a move towards second. It all depends on how well BlackBerry 10 fares after being released in the US.
source:http://techbeat.com/2013/02/windows-phone-steals-third-position-in-us-smartphone-market/

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HTC Windows Phone 8X

HTC being a loyal user platform Windows Phone (WP) since two years ago when Microsoft announced WP7. WP7 phones including the HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Mozart and HTC HD7. Then, when Microsoft launches WP7.5 Mango in september last year, HTC launched the HTC Radar participate.

When Microsoft launched into one of the top three operating systems in the mobile market with WP8, HTC is one of the four co-mentioned hardware. Not to be outdone by Nokia, HTC and Microsoft simultaneously announced two special phones for Microsoft's new mobile operating system - Windows Phone 8X and 8S.

Windows Phone 8X is a high end HTC phones, which will compete with the Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung Ativ S. How HTC severity compared WP8 phones with the same operating system? Here's a brief description of the specification and its comparison with three other WP8 phones.

 

Known as the HTC Hub, which was later renamed the "HTC", this application provides access to weather information, statistical and share news. In addition to these three categories, users can add more countries or cities (for the weather), the index (for stocks) and subscriptions (for news).

The main features of HTC Windows Phone 8X

•      Windows Phone 8
•      4.3-inch Super LCD 2/1280 x 720 pixels
•      Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.5 GHz
•      RAM 1 GB
•      16 GB internal memory (no memory card slot)
•      8 megapixel camera, auto focus / lens F2.0 / BSI / HTC ImageChip / 1080p video recorder
•      2.1 megapixel front camera / Ultra-wide-angle / lens f/2.0 / HTC ImageChip / 1080p video  recorder
•      Hardware and software Beats Audio
•      1800 mAh battery (non-removable)
•      132.35 x 66.2 x 10.2 mm
•      130 grams

As WP8 phones have been marketed, HTC WP8X features three touch navigation buttons (Back, Home, Search) under a 4.3-inch Super LCD. The camera is located at the front left corner of the screen, which seems unusual since most phones put the camera in the middle front or right of the screen.

Though charming design, ease of access to the Power and volume controls are not we found on this phone. Both of these buttons are too deep and does not stand out at all from the phone body, causing difficulties when pressed. This is quite disturbing considering the design of this phone spends a long time, regardless of the aspect of usage.

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