41 Mega Pixel

More later.

My next phone...

With IFA now over I am now tasked with the horrible first world problem of choosing my next phone. This is by no means easy as I hate spending, even more so now that we are buying a house and are planning on dragging its skinny draughty Victorian ass to the 21st century.

Back when my Galaxy S4 committed seppuke after just barely a week, I considered getting a new Nokia Lumia as a replacement. I have a affinity for Windows Phone where others do not. Sadly the stonking pretty software isn't always matched with very desirable hardware. Still, there were two Lumia models to choose from - the Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020.

The 925 I discounted immediately due to its high price and 2012 spec. I had my eyes set on the 1020, and despite its outdated spec, that PureView camera sure looks enticing. Nokia appeared to have botched the launch of yet another flagship. Two months after its announcement, the Lumia 1020 has yet to be released here. And frankly, with GDR3 hardware (Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB RAM, 1080p display) about to hit in a month's time, why bother?

Next up on my hit list is the Xperia Z1. I played with a unit today and to be honest, I am not too bothered about the design. The design, reused from the Xperia Z, appears dated even when compared to Sony's classic Arc design from 2010. Still the specs has almost every box ticked and while the display's contrast ratio is no match for the glorious HTC One, it is a good upgrade over the Xperia Z's pitiful display. I am just not keen on that glass back, though there's nothing a case won't fix.

With Google yet to announce the new Nexus 4 (which I will likely ignore immediately because it has LG etched on it), my reluctance to hand over money to Samsung and Motorola not really bothering about this little isle means I am I a bit of a pickle. As far as first world problems goes, this is a pretty big one. HTC has yet to announce the One Max, which I am sure I will like. The rumoured Lumia 1520 'phablet' will likely take my fancy, but knowing Nokia, it will arrive on our shore in December.

Oh Apple, if only you made a 4.7" iPhone with Boot Camp on it.

On that Microsoft-Nokia sale

By now you would have read countless of op-eds about Nokia's sale of their phone division to Microsoft. Suffice to say I have nothing to add, except that I am glad that we will still be getting Nokia phones, one way or another. Sure, phones with Nokia as a brand will go away eventually, but that would happen if Microsoft doesn't buy them anyway. 

In fact, this whole sale reminds me of IBM's sale of their PC division to Lenovo. Many ThinkPad fans, like me, were understandably concerned that Lenovo would not have treated the brand with enough respect. Fortunately that hasn't been the case. Long time ThinkPad designers stayed on, and today Lenovo makes some of the best ThinkPad laptops we have ever seen. The same can happen with Nokia's phone division if handled properly.

It will be a while before we will see the benefits from the sale. But here's hoping that Nokia's phone hardware engineers and Microsoft's software engineers will work closer than ever. Past Lumia hardwares has always been hampered by Microsoft's lack of dedication to the Windows Phone platform, so a hardware division that could exert some influence on Microsoft's software division will do some good.

In any case, this sale will at least gives us hope for a Lumia Surface phone with stonking good camera. 

Halo: Spartan Assault review

When Microsoft Studios first announced Halo: Spartan Assault on Windows Phone 8, I almost reeked with disgust. Here was a franchise which gameplay was deeply rooted as a first shooter genre. I admit that I have a deep seated biased against developers who attempt to shoehorn a gameplay designed for consoles onto smartphones. It would be unplayable.

Thankfully, the developer Vanguard alongside Microsoft Studios seems to have realised that and designed the Halo: Spartan Assault around a smartphone's more limited input options. The result is something beautiful and is easily one of the best tactical based shooter available on any smartphone. This isn't yet another Halo first person shooter. The huge difference in gameplay mechanics, not to mention the platform, Halo: Spartan Assault deserves a proper examination.

In Halo: Spartan Assault, you play a series of missions/campaigns using a UNSC training simulator (yes, it's a game withing a game!) fighting off an invasion of a bunch of Covenant thingies. The biggest change over its console and PC cousins is the change from first person's perspective to overhead camera. While there is no analog pad on Windows Phone to assist in aiming or movement, the game makes do with two virtual twin sticks which while aren't as accurate as a proper analog pad, is serviceable. It is by no means a perfect solution to a long standing problem but until Microsoft adopts a universal gaming pad for Windows Phone 8 platform, this is the best we can do. According to Microsoft, gamepad support is coming to the Windows 8 version.

HTC 8X gets Windows Phone 8 GDR2 OS update

5-10 minutes + 2 hours

To owners of unbranded HTC 8X, you should be receiving Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update now. The OS update is being seeded alongside a new firmware update.

The update would normally take 5-10 minutes to apply, unless you encounter a 'spinning cog' bug, in which case you may have to wait up to a couple of hours while fearing you may have bricked your device. Unfortunately for my 8X, the dreaded spinning cogs bug hit and it took two hours of sweating nervously before the installation was successful. So have patience.

Once the update applies the OS version should read 8.0.10327.77 and firmware version 3030.0.33501.401.

iOS finally goes modern (sort of), Sony wins E3

I haven't blog for a month now, which is pretty long I guess. It's been a busy time in my life, but I am planning to get back to blogging here slowly once again. Let's just say that house hunting in London is a little more overwhelming than we should have allowed it to be. I am pretty sure I aged ten years in these last couple of months.

I just want to put a few thoughts about the latest tech news and what I think about them holy hell, iOS 7 looks a heck a lot like Windows Phone doesn't it? I mean it still features a boring old grid design with static icons and inconsistent UX, but look at that multitasking page and flat(er) UI design! The drop shadows and fake 3Ds and textures mimicking real life products are all gone. It finally looks the bit of a 21st century OS. Barely.

O hai modern UI wannabee

Still, it's shift from skeuomorphism to something a bit more modern is something I can accept - after all I have been calling for Apple to ditch their 20th century design paradigm and follow Microsoft halfheartedly into the brave digital world. Even Palm OS, which you know, powered touchscreen smartphones way back in 2002, featured a slightly skeumorphism-less design and nobody had a problem using it. Depending on how Microsoft responds with Windows Phone Blue and how Apple will design the iPhone 5's successor, I might even consider an iPhone. Maybe...

Argh, colour gradient icons! Ew...

...or maybe not. Sorry Apple, must try harder.

Sony has proven again why it is the top dog when it comes to living room gaming with yesterday's E3 announcement. While Microsoft's Xbox One looks like an admirable effort (hardware wise, used games policy - not so much), Sony's new PS4 strategy has confirmed that I will be sticking with them through the next gen. I am no Sony fanboy but I have stuck with Sony and Nintendo for my living room console gaming. Nintendo appears to have gone wayward a bit, and I can't forgive them for the Wii's dire software library, but I can see a future where their consoles or games are still part of my life.

You hideous thing but I still want you

Back to the PS4. As the PS3 is still going strong, I will likely only enter the next gen gaming a year later, perhaps after the first PS4 price drop. This is a strategy I have been using for every console, and while £350 is a good price, we are in this whole house buying... I am also not too keen on the design of the PS4, but hei, it's a gaming device not a piece of decor. After all, the PS3 wasn't exactly a Red.dot winning product. And gaming is exactly what the PS4 appears to be designed for. Good job Sony. You almost lost it in the early years of the PS3 but you have done well here. Just keep all that 3D bullshit to yourself and we will continue being friends.

Itsdagram, an Instagram client for Windows Phone 8

Instagram (update: since renamed to Instance) has finally come to Windows Phone! Well sort of. Itsdagram is the first fully featured Instagram client on the Windows Phone Marketplace to allow direct uploading. In fact, it is the first fully featured third party Instagram client on any mobile platform that will allow you to register, upload, like, follow and comment.

This is particularly impressive, when you consider that Instagram has yet to open up their upload API to the public.

For a first version release, Itsdagram is impressively featured. Apart from Instagram's stock filters, it can do everything that an official Instagram client on iOS and Android can do, and more, including features exclusive to Windows Phone. For example, you can pin hashtags and users to the homescreen for easy access, something the official Android app can't do (iOS don't even support widgets).

BBC forgets its public service remit

This news is about two weeks late, but better late than never, eh? Ever felt that as a license fee payer you don't feel like BBC has your best interest? Well Windows Phone users do. For more than two years, Lawrence Gripper, a developer at Microsoft, has developed and maintained the brilliant none-commercial BBC News third party application. His dedication to bring us the service BBC themselves refuses to provide against their very own charter, should be applauded.

Not according to BBC that is. Allegedly, someone at the Beeb has got their knickers in the twist and decided to come down hard on the app. Perhaps it is because the app is so good (in many ways, even better than BBC's own mediocre official offerings on iOS and Android), they felt embarrassed, maybe. This resulted in the developer being forced to de-list the app from the Marketplace. If you haven't downloaded it yet, tough luck. You will just have to get your news from BBC's rather rubbish mobile site.

According to the developer, the app has been downloaded by over half a million users - a staggering number for a platform that many has insisted is dead. You would think that with such a high demand for a quality BBC News app, Aunty themselves would develop their very own app, or at the very least, turn a blind eye on Mr. Gripper's work. Well you don't need me to tell you how many feels about BBC's own policy towards mobile platform neutrality (*cough* there isn't).

If you are a license fee payer like I am, and feel that the BBC has been most unjust in the way they are treating Windows Phone users, please feel free to send them a polite complaint, perhaps also reminding them that not everyone worships the House of Cupertino and Margaret Thatcher. In any case, the moment we move home, we think our license fee is better spent on something a bit more worthwhile, like Netflix.

Auto Trader for Windows Phone 8

I admit I know nothing about cars, apart from it gets you from A to B. And despite not being a keen driver (I haven't drove in ten years), I am rather fond of the Auto Trader people. While the print industry is being embattled, they have chosen to embrace the digital age by creating a slew of neat apps and digital magazines. I have also met several of them, and they are always enthusiast about the industry.

While it appears that their primary development platform is iOS, this is slowly changing. Still there is a bit of good news last week when an Auto Trader app appeared on the Marketplace. In fact last I heard, the parent company of Auto Trader, Trader Media Group, was planning a possible move to the Windows Phone platform. This evaluation has perhaps resulted in a more receptive opinion of Redmond's gorgeous mobile OS.

The Auto Trader app is rather basic, but it touches on the core of what makes Auto Trader such an institution in Britain - their extensive listing of vehicle adverts available from their website. The Windows Phone app isn't a straight up iOS port as the UI here follows the fundamental Metro modern design language. So not only is it pretty, intuitive and fast, it is also nice to see an app developer who respected why owners of Windows Phone went with the platform.

HTC 8X wins red dot award in product design

Amid all the bad news HTC has been receiving lately (the brilliant HTC One has been delayed due to manufacturing set backs), here's some good news for them. The HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S has won the prestigious red dot award in product design for 2013.

Having been using the 8X as my main daily driver for close to two months now, I believe that the 8X thoroughly deserves the award (I never reviewed the 8S, but it does look neat). The HTC Windows Phone 8X features a fresh take on smartphone design - it not only looks great, but also feels great. In fact, the soft 'rubbery' texture used on the 8X feels a lot better than the fingerprint-magnet gloss and slippery matte finish preferred by other manufacturers. Well done to the engineers and design team behind the product!

It isn't perfect (nothing is), and if there is one problem with the 8X from a design's perspective, it is the awkwardly located power button. But let's not take away from the fact that the 8X is still a beautifully crafted product, which design complements the Metro design language well. Now, that's not to say that the Nokia Lumia 920 isn't beautiful, but for a design that debuted in 2010, it has somewhat lost some of its freshness. On the bright side, this will hopefully spur designers from both companies to further compete together and with the wider industry, as well as taking the leadership in product designs.

Incidentally, Windows Phone 8 has also been nominated for another design award, this time by London-based Design Museum. Good PR like these aren't dished out all the time, so if only HTC would leverage these and gave their Windows Phone products a bit more push, that would be swell. The 8X deserves a bit more than the indifference given by its own creators and their PR team.

via WPCentral

Photosynth

Microsoft Photosynth is an app created by Microsoft and University of Washington, designed to create panorama 3D-dimensional models based on multiple images. Using the free software available from their website, users can stitch and synth their images and then share them on the Photosynth website. 20GB of storage is available for users.

Two type of images can be created - a panorama, which is created using an Image Composite Editor and the Photosynth app, or synth - a collection of high resolution images, which is more detailed, but lacks the seam-less transition of a panorama image. Here is an example of a synth I made using stills I took last December at Sushisamba in Heron Tower, captured on a Canon S90 and synth'ed and uploaded using the Photosynth desktop client:

And here is the panorama version of the same images when ran through the ICE application first before uploading to Photosynth:

The recently released Windows Phone 8 app also means that Windows Phone 8 owners can finally join their fellow iPhone and iPad users in capturing and creating Photosynth panorama easily and directly from their smartphones. Owners of the Nokia Lumia 920 and iPhone 4/4S/5 owners will get better results, as these phones contains the necessary gyroscope hardware, which combined with the accelerometer, will provide a more precise information over the devices' 6-axis movement in space.

Defeat Windows Phone 8 'Other' Storage with Shrink Storage app

Windows Phone 8 has a strange storage 'bug' that keeps eating away at your storage space if you are not too careful. Now this happens all the time (it happens on my Android and iPhone as well), but on my HTC Windows Phone 8X, with its limited 16 GB of storage (12 GB after formatting and system allocations) and no ability to expand storage via microSD slot, this can lead to tons of frustration.

A Windows Phone developer once told me that all Windows Phone apps are run sandboxed, meaning if you delete them, everything associated with the app goes. This also means there is no reason for a file explorer or registry so you can go an manually delete any orphan and temporary files. Unfortunately this isn't always exactly true.

It appears that Windows Phone 8 uses a susbtantial amount of storage space which is labelled as 'Other'. And like the misunderstood villains of the first few series of Lost (before the series turned into an orgy for writers to make stuff up as they go along), the 'Other' can turn your Windows Phone 8 stay into a rather unpleasant one.

From what we know, the 'Other' is where temporary storage like web browsing cache, e-mails, text messages, attachments, possibly Facebook galleries/cache, app cache and data, and map data are stored. But this doesn't account for how fast the 'Other' can rapidly expand. On my 8X, 4.02 GB of storage was taken by the 'Other'. This despite only having a handful of sub 20 MB games and only having downloaded the map data of England (around 240 MB).

I have read a couple tales of woes by users who has their 'Other' taking up 10 GB of storage space! There are speculations that SkyDrive cloud storage is also causing 'Other' to bloat. This issue also appears to plague Windows Phone 7 as well, as I remember vividly having to battle to regain storage on my old Lumia 800, where it would occasionally run out of storage but a sync through Zune would then bizarrely free up some storage.

Fortunately an enterprising developer has created an app that forces the 'Other' to flush some of these redundant data and free some storage up for users to claw back. Called Shrink Storage, the app will attempt to free up storage by tricking the phone into believing it is running out of storage - by actually filling up the internal storage with useless data. This forces the OS to release some additional storage allocation from the 'Other', resulting in some gained storage. After using the app for the first time, my 'Other' shrank to 2.87 GB, freeing an additional 1.15 GB for me to use, so yay, it works!

Now, it's fair to say that Microsoft has engineered Windows Phone 8 to use those other empty storage space to speed up operations by caching stuff. After all what is the point of ignoring a perfectly good empty storage? It's a valid point, but I disagree. Some users (like me) allocate some storage for later use, so we don't appreciate when an app or OS would reserve them. I can remember several occasions where I was recording HD videos of live shows, only for the phone to rudely interrupt the recording because the storage filled up quickly. Because of the 'Other'.

All this would be moot if Microsoft would mandate a minimum amount of storage that OEMs must ship their phones at. Surely in 2013, 32 GB should be bare minimum for a phone that comes equipped with a camera capable of recording 1080p video files. Expansion slots should also be encouraged. After all, what is the point of crafting a multimedia phone when I can't even use it? It is in Microsoft's best interest to ensure a good user experience. At the very least give us a way to control how much space is reserved for 'Other'.

Until then, if you are a Windows Phone 8 user needing free up some storage and defeat the bastardly and evil 'Other', Shrink Storage will do you good.

Windows Phone 8 and what needs fixing

I have been using Windows Phone 8 for a solid two months now, first with the Nokia Lumia 920 and then the HTC Windows Phone 8X. And just like it was a year ago with Windows Phone 7.5, and the year before that with the original Windows Phone 7, I am in love with this OS. The beautiful Swiss-style Metro UI is just perfect for my mobile needs. It's so intuitive even a bloody cat can operate it. I can't go back to using an Android or iOS device without muttering, bloody Xerox grids. Go back to the 1980s where you belong.

But as before, Windows Phone's great UI and UX aren't enough. There is so much to Windows Phone 8 that doesn't deserve Microsoft's inaction. I understand they had to get Windows 8 launch out of the way, but their strategy with Windows Phone is now making less sense than ever. They stumbled upon such a beautiful UI that they even made their core OS and Office products out of it, so the first product line to ever use it (Zune doesn't count) should deserve more than being just existing as a beautiful empty vessel.

The thing that Windows Phone does best (apart from featuring a modern design), is integration. Facebook is already so well integrated with Windows Phone 7/8, I hardly if ever, use the official Facebook app or their mobile site - in fact I call Windows Phone the real Facebook phone (sorry HTC ChaCha). I would like to see Microsoft take this integration to social network further - first by introducing more Twitter features into the People Hub and second by integrating other social networks such as Foursquare. If it weren't for the lack of Direct Messages and Reply-to-All feature on the People Hub, I wouldn't be using a third party Twitter client.

Design Museum: Designs of the Year 2013 nominations

London-based Design Museum has announced the nominations for this year's The Designs of the Year awards. The award will showcase innovative designs spanning across seven categories: graphics, transport, product, fashion, digital, furniture and architecture.

Among those nominated., these includes the A Room for London, a pop up hotel currently sitting on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall building at the Southbank Centre; The Shard, Europe's newest tallest building build in the London Bridge district and Kapow!, the book set about in the Arab Spring.

From a digital/mobile technology perspective (only because I blog a lot about phones), Windows Phone 8, the Swiss style inspired mobile OS reboot by Microsoft - which I recently reviewed with the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 920, was also nominated.

HTC Windows Phone 8X vs Nokia Lumia 920

The HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 920 are two of the best Windows Phone 8 smartphones currently on the market, so it makes sense to put these two head to head. Consider this a rematch of my HTC Radar vs Nokia Lumia 710 post.

Both the 8X and Lumia 920 are first generation Windows Phone 8 smartphones and comes powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 SoC with a pair of Krait CPU and Adreno 225 GPU. Both these devices are clocked at a modest 1.5GHz speed and are augmented by 1GB RAM. While the SoC here is regarded as mid-range, the processor is more than capable of everything thrown at it. Windows Phone 8 appears to be efficient.

The Lumia 920's 4.5" display is a tinge larger than the one on the HTC Windows Phone 8X. With a smaller display, the HTC 8X's 4.3" screen features a slightly higher pixel density and hence sharper, on paper. In real life, there is little to distinguish between the two when it comes to sharpness, though the Lumia 920's has an advantage when it comes to outdoor readability and display sensitivity, and its high contrast ratio thanks to Nokia's proprietary ClearBlack Display filter. Regardless, whichever device you go for, you won't be disappointed by the display. Despite the almost similar size in screen and thickness, the 8X is significantly slimmer due its narrower aspect ratio. Keep in mind that some apps, such as Netflix, has not been updated to support the new 16:9 aspect ratio, as used by the 8X.

Snes8x Super Nintendo emulator for Windows Phone review

Windows Phone platform has a surprising number of working emulators. The first released was vNES, an emulator for the Nintendo Entertainment System also known as the Famicom in Japan, a relatively old console and hence easy to emulate. There are also emulators for the Sega MasterSystem, Sega GameGear and Nintendo Game Boy Color. For a walled garden platform, Microsoft has been surprisingly lenient when it comes to allowing such apps on their Marketplace. Perhaps this is Microsoft's way of compensating and apologising for the severe lack of Windows Phone Xbox Live games...

Chrono Trigger, still one of the best Japanese RPGs

One of the newer and perhaps more impressive emulator on the platform is Snes8x, an emulator for old time gamers who wishes to relive their favourite childhood SNES games, many of which rivals even modern gaming. What is a SNES? Well any self respecting gamer will know about the SNES, Nintendo's second home console. The Super Nintendo is known to have created a whole new generation of gamers - in fact its influence can be felt up to now. Many of today's famous franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy and Street Fighter flourished on it. It isn't a surprise that the SNES became the dominant 16-bit home console to own in the early to mid 1990s.

RPGs like Final Fantasy VI plays well on a touchscreen display

Snes8x code is based on Snes9x, a popular free SNES emulator that works on a variety of platforms including Android and Windows. For a freeware app, Snes8x features a high list of features including options of import and export both game and save states via SkyDrive and portrait/landscape mode. The app also supports full screen mode, but this stretches the game to fill the display, ruining the aspect ratio. ROMs have to be uploaded to a SkyDrive account, of which every Windows Phone users will have one anyway, before being downloaded via the Snes8x import utility app. Update: with the latest version, Snes8x now allows you to import ROM files via e-mail attachments or direct download from a webpage - awesome! It's a painless process. Individual games can even be pinned onto the start screen.

HTC Windows Phone 8X review

It hasn't been a good 2012 for HTC. The Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer started the year fine, announcing a new range of One series flagship phones at MWC, including the One X, one of my favourite smartphones of last year. They promised to streamline their products and not dilute the brand name. Such promises did not last long as they went back into their bowl of alphabet soup to dish out devices after devices with no real differentiation. Count them: Desire C, V, VC, VT, X, SV, U, One SU, SC, ST, X+, VX, SV. Phew.

Thankfully, HTC were much more restrained when it came to releasing their first Windows Phone 8 devices. Two smartphones were announced, the high-end 8X and mid-range 8S, both which adhered to Microsoft's strict chassis guidelines. Nonetheless, the two features unique design and more importantly, for me at least, a coherent naming scheme. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is what I will be reviewing here, and it is a wonderful thing.

Specifications!

• Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 SoC with dual core 1.5 Ghz Krait and Adreno 225 GPU
• 1GB RAM and 16GB built-in flash storage (no expansion slot)
• 4.3" Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1280 resolution (342 ppi)
• Quad band GSM and 3G (LTE on select models)
• 42 Mbps DC-HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 8 Megapixel autofocus camera with single LED flash and 1080p30 video recording
• 2.1 Megapixel front camera with 1080p30 video recording
• Bluetooth 3.1 and WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n
• GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS
• NFC and microUSB
• Available in black, red, blue and yellow
• 1800mAh battery (none user replaceable)

The 8X features a brand new polycarbonate unibody design by HTC, something they very rarely do. It is refreshing to see a HTC device with a very none-HTC look. Despite the design not setting my heart fluttering as their One X did, it grew on me. And thanks to the tapered edges, it feels great in my palm. The colour scheme is not exactly my cup of tea, particularly the decision to have the ear piece coloured. Either way, like the Nokia Lumia 920, the 8X is available in a wide range of colours. The choice of rubber'ised matte finish is certainly unique and is one that makes me happy. Finally, a flagship that isn't glossy.

With a resolution of 720x1280, the 4.3" Super LCD2 display offers a pixel density of 342 ppi and is immensely sharp. I am honestly surprised by the size of the display. With the trend moving towards 4.7" and 5" displays, it takes a lot of guts by HTC to release a flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone with a now relatively small 4.3" screen. While I am no fan of the 16:9 aspect ratio chose here, it does have it advantages - namely, it makes the phone narrower, and thus easier to hold. Unfortunately, while the Super LCD2 display technology used is the same as the One X - the contrast ratio and level of blacks is noticeably less. It is still a great display, but I consider it a downgrade compared to even the iPhone 4/4S and Lumia 920.

HTC Windows Phone 8X camera review

I have been using the HTC Windows Phone 8X extensively over the past two weeks, during which time my blog was unceremoniously, and rather cruelly taken off the web by Google with no explanations. It has since been restored, as you can see, again with no explanations. Rather than spend my time dwelling on how Google has completely dropped the ball, I spent the time not blogging with more time playing around with the 8X.

Last year's HTC One X was one of my favourite smartphones of 2012. The design was brilliant and the camera was stunning. While the 8X's design is an acquired taste, I have grown the appreciate it. The 4.3" size is also a welcome downsize from the ridiculous 4.7" form factor that every manufacturer seems to believe everyone wants now. HTC has set the bar high when it comes to image quality, so I was excited when the 8X landed on my lap. Here was a Windows Phone 8 device that can finally deliver on its imaging promise.

Well, not quite. Based on the specifications, the 8X and One X's 8 Megapixel camera are essentially the same, but short of gutting the two phones, I can't be sure. What I can for sure is thanks to HTC's own proprietary ImageSense chip, the camera is fast. On my previous WP8 phone, the Lumia 920, where it would take a second or two to focus, and then another to defocus, the 8X tends to require about a second, from focusing to capturing. Even my dedicated digital compact, the Canon S90, can't do that. The settings does not appear to be quite as extensive as on the Lumia 920, but you will have access to the white balance and ISO dials.

Nokia Lumia 920 review

Nokia's first Windows Phone device, the Lumia 800, was a beautiful thing. In fact, it is often heralded as a piece of design marvel, one engineered almost to perfection, at least when it comes to what you could get out of a piece of polycarbonate. Despite being a disappointing seller (and also a phone at times), the design was iconic, so much so that for its follow ups retains the same basic design with some tweaks. Nokia's Windows Phone 8 debut, the Lumia 920, follows this formula.

But first, for specification lovers:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 SoC with dual core 1.5Ghz Krait and Adreno 225
• 1GB RAM and 32GB built-in flash storage (no expansion slot)
• 4.5" LCD IPS capacitive touchscreen with 768 x 1280 resolution (332 ppi)
• Quad band GSM and 3G (LTE on select models)
• 42 Mbps DC-HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 8 Megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash and 1080p30 video recording
• 1.3 Megapixel front camera with 720p30 video recording
• Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi 802.11b/g/n
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• Qi contactless charging, NFC
• microUSB
• 2000mAh battery

The Lumia 920's design doesn't differ much from the Lumia 800. The microUSB port has been moved to the bottom, which is an improvement. It is weighty, perhaps too much. At around 185g, the Lumia 920 sits right on the the heavy end of scale. I have nothing against heavy phones but the Lumia 920 is just a tad too heavy for me. The 2000mAh battery is respectable in size, but could have been larger. After all if Motorola can do it, why couldn't others? Still, the battery life is somewhat okay, capable of lasting a full day on moderate use. Power users will want to look into investing into a portable charger.

In any case, the Lumia 920 is a brilliant designed phone, just a tinge over designed compared to the Lumia 800. With a resolution of 768x1280, the curved 4.5" IPS display is one of the biggest yet seen on a Nokia device, and also one of the sharpest. As I personally abhor the 16:9 aspect ratio on smartphones, I am glad the display here has a bit more horizontal pixel than normal. The IPS display coupled with Nokia's own ClearBlack filter is close to the brilliant of the iPhone 4S, but comes just short of the magnificence shown on the HTC One X. Still, it's an amazing display and I am glad Nokia has finally ditched AMOLED. The display's touchscreen features a technology stupidly called PureMotion+ HD, which turns the sensitivity up so it can be used with a pair of gloves or any other materials.

Nokia Lumia 920 camera review

Nokia has a lot riding on the Lumia 920. Their flagship Windows Phone 8 device is supposed to be the device to propel them back into recovery. The Lumia 800 which I praised a lot last year had plenty of faults, one of which includes the sub-standard camera expected from Nokia - but hei it was a stop-gap device, one they engineered and got onto the market in nine months. The Lumia 920 on the other hand, is pretty much their first real made from scratch Windows Phone smartphone, one not bound by previous pre-Windows Phone era projects.

Nokia also prides themselves as a big camera company, one that makes smartphones with the absolute best imaging hardware - that many of their fans insists will bring about the downfall of dedicated photographic companies like Nikon and Canon. The Lumia 920, the second of their device to has the PureView brand attached to it, is one such device. Never mind that physics dictates that a device the size of the Lumia 920 can't possibly bet as good as a five year old compact or even the PureView 808, we were told that it was technically brilliant.

No, it isn't.