Windows Phone 8.1 Should Be a Huge Upgrade

Just one week ago, we talked about how Microsoft was contemplating axing licensing fees on its Windows Phone and Windows RT OSes in order to help spur adoption and exposure to Microsoft services and advertising. As it turns out, that’s not the only big shakeup Microsoft has in mind with regards to its mobile OSes. While no details have yet been officially released, sources have revealed to The Verge that the next version of the OS will pack some major (and much needed) additions.

The most long overdue feature addition that is likely to appear in Windows Phone 8.1″Blue” is a notification center. Unlike Android and iOS, Windows Phone currently has no centralized place for notifications to be read, acted on, and dismissed. But in internal Windows Phone 8.1 betas, a new notification system is present. This notification system is two part: a short swipe from the top exposes quick device settings, whereas a longer swipe from the top displays your full notification history.

In addition to the notification center, WP8.1 is also rumored to feature the “Cortana” digital assistant. Allegedly, this has already been in testing for months, and it is set to replace the current system-wide Bing search. It will also likely feature location-aware automatic reminder capabilities such as what’s already present in Google Now.

Finally a few other small tweaks are set to appear in WP 8.1 such as on-screen navigation buttons (seen in the mockup image courtesy of Evleaks and TheVerge), smart search results similar to what is already present in Windows 8.1, VPN support, independent volume controls for media playback and ringtone volume, and the separation of Xbox Music and Xbox Video. The company is also reportedly planning on allowing social media apps to interface with its People hub to an even greater degree.

Microsoft certainly has some rather large tweaks in store for Windows Phone. Regardless of what happens with the licensing fees, Windows Phone looks like it is about to catch its second wind. Do all these new tweaks make the prospect of owning a Windows Phone more appealing to you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Nokia Lumia 1520 Launched at Rs.46,999

Nokia has launched its first Windows Phone phablet in India, the Lumia 1520, at a 'best buy price' of Rs. 46,999. The Lumia 1520 will be available in Red, Black, Yellow and White from Monday.

Nokia had unveiled the Lumia 1520 at Nokia World this year. It features a bevy of new hardware and software features, with the latter introduced with the third Windows Phone update. It runs Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 with Lumia Black and comes with the third Live Tile column in the Start menu.

Nokia has also launched a case for the Lumia 1520, the CP623, at a price of Rs. 2,999. The front cover of the case is flexible. Nokia also announced the Lumia 1520 will have the entire Microsoft Office mobile suite free for life.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 comes with 6-inch full-HD (1080x1920) LCD display, the biggest seen on a Nokia phone yet and sports a 20-megapixel PureView camera accompanied by dual-LED flash. 

The newly launched Nokia Lumia 1520 also is the first Windows Phone to feature the new quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and also includes 2GB of RAM. It packs a 3400mAh battery, with built-in wireless charging functionality. 

The Lumia 1520 also features a front-facing 2-megapixel HD camera, and Nokia says it has included four microphones on the new flagship, for surround-like recording, and noise cancellation.

The Lumia 1520 packs new preloaded apps, like Nokia Storyteller app which integrates clicked images and recorded videos with HERE maps, and a new Nokia Camera app with Pro Camera UI.