Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet to launch in October-end: Report

Following several rumours that the release of Nokia's alleged Lumia 1520 has been delayed, we have the first indication of the possible launch of the device.

Pocket-Lint has reported that the Finnish handset maker may launch the rumoured 6-inch phablet at the end of October and the device can be expected to hit stores in November. The website cites a source and claims that the Nokia will be confirming details about the event soon, and the rumoured phablet will be released in the last week of October, the week starting October 21.

The site also notes that Nokia may not hold the launch even of the Lumia 1520 in the US, as thecompany launched its current flagship, the Nokia Lumia 1020 in New York back in July, and will probably prefer a different city this time.

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Nokia had delayed the launch of its large-screen phablet, originally planned for late September, following the deal to sell its handset business and license patents to Microsoft.

Prior to this, we had been hearing that the alleged Lumia 1520 was slated for release on September 26, but a rumour claimed that the release date was rescheduled to October.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 has been rumoured to come with a 6-inch full-HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a nano-SIM and a microSD card slot.

The press renders of the Nokia Lumia 1520 had already been leaked, revealing the homescreen featuring Live Tiles and the design largely resembled other phones in the Lumia family.

Previously, the rumoured Nokia Lumia 1520 was leaked in high quality images and was compared with a Sony Xperia smartphone.

Nokia Lumia 1520 makes an online appearance in purported press render

An alleged press render of the yet to be announced Nokia Lumia 1520 codenamed as 'Bandit' has leaked online.

The notorious @evleaks has posted a good quality press image of the Nokia Lumia 1520 on Twitter, that reveals the device in its clearest form yet, confirming the leaks we have seen over the last few weeks. The tweet says, "Nokia Lumia 1520, 2013" without revealing any other details regarding the internals of the device. The image shows Nokia Lumia 1520's homescreen with Live Tiles and the design largely resembles other phones in the Lumia family. The camera lens protrudes out at the back, very similar to the Nokia Lumia 925.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is rumoured to ship with a 20-megapixel rear camera.

Last week, screenshots of the alleged Lumia 1520 device's start screen complete with a number of live tiles were leaked by prolific phone leaker, @evleaks. The images revealed that the yet to be announced phablet would offer extra columns and rows for apps. It appeared that the phone will feature a new Storyteller app as its live tile was also seen in the screenshot. However, the image did not offer any other details.

Previously, an image of the Nokia Lumia 1520 pictured alongside the company's flagship smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 1020 was leaked.

Nokia 515 feature phone with aluminium body unveiled

Nokia has launched the Nokia 515 to expand its feature phone portfolio. The newly launched feature phone will be available in single and Easy Swap dual-SIM variants.

The Nokia 515 body is built from a single piece of anodised, sandblasted aluminium while the display features the scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 2 and is polarised for use under the sun. It features a 2.4-inch QVGA display with 240x320 pixels and boasts a pixel density of 166ppi. The phone runs on Nokia's Series 40 software and includes 64MB of RAM. It measures 114x48x11mm and weighs 101.1grams for single SIM and 102.7 grams for dual-SIM variant.

Nokia 515 includes 256MB of internal memory which can be expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. It sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and the camera includes options like voice-guided self-portrait for taking self-shots with the rear camera, Sequential shots and Panorama. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS, Micro-USB and 3G, while there is no Wi-Fi in the device. The Nokia 515 supports Micro-SIM instead of regular SIM.

There are some pre-loaded apps like Facebook, Twitter, Nimbuzz and Mail for Exchange that allows users people to check work email and sync their calendars and contacts on-the-go. The device also includes 1200mAh battery that can deliver up to 528 hours of standby time and talk time of about 10 hours.

The Nokia 515 will begin shipping in the third quarter of 2013, starting with markets like Russia, Germany, Switzerland and Poland. It will have an expected retail price of $149 or 115 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

However, it seems the Nokia 515 dual-SIM variant only will head to Indian market since company's official Indian site has listed the Nokia 515 dual-SIM variant. However, there is no word on possible pricing and availability of the phone.

Nokia 515 key specifications

• 2.4-inch QVGA display with 240x320 pixels and boasts a pixel density of 166ppi
• 64MB of RAM
• Nokia's Series 40 software
• Dual-SIM with dual standby
• Alphanumeric keypad
• 256MB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card
• 1200mAh battery
• 114x48x11mm

Nokia Lumia 1520 compared alongside Lumia 1020 in new leaked image

Nokia might not have confirmed anything about its rumoured Nokia Lumia 1520 big screen smartphone, code-named Bandit, but that doesn't stop rumours surrounding it from surfacing online.

The first image of the alleged phablet from the Finnish handset maker emerged on The Verge forumposted by one of the members. The image reveals the yet to be announced Nokia Lumia 1520 pictured alongside the company's flagship smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 1020.

The leaked image does not reveal a lot of details related to the alleged Nokia Lumia 1520 phone except indicating its expected size. The image shows the two devices, the Lumia 1020 and the alleged Lumia 1520 kept side-by-side with the display of the both the devices switched on.

In the image, the alleged device seems much larger compared against the Nokia Lumia 1020 that features a 4.5-inch display. The Nokia Lumia 1520 will reportedly feature the biggest display on a Lumia device launched till now.

However, The Verge notes that it was unable to fully confirm if the image was accurate. Earlier, @evleaks claimed that Nokia's alleged Bandit phablet will be dubbed as the Nokia Lumia 1520.

Previously, it was reported that Nokia was currently testing a 6-inch device running an updated version of the Windows Phone 8 OS. The device was said to be code-named 'Bandit' and expected to include a full-HD (1080p) display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor.

It also suggested that the alleged Nokia phablet would ship with a 20-megapixel rear camera and may borrow the rear panel features of the Nokia Lumia 925 to accommodate the camera. However, the device may not be unveiled before Microsoft rolls out the GDR3 update to existing Windows Phone devices. Microsoft is reportedly testing the GDR3 software update for Windows Phone 8.

Nokia starts rollout of Windows Phone 8 Amber update for Lumia smartphones

Nokia's long-awaited Amber update for its Lumia Windows Phone 8-based smartphones has finally started rolling.

The Amber update is built upon the latest update for Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft with some exclusive features added by Nokia. The update will be applicable for current line of Lumia smartphones that includes the Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820, Nokia Lumia 720, Nokia Lumia 620and Nokia Lumia 520.

The new Nokia Lumia Amber software update adds some new and improved features like Nokia Glance Screen with the standby clock and a better imaging experience, a new FM Radio player, improvements to Xbox Music and the default browser, Internet Explorer for Nokia Lumia users.

In a blog post, Nokia has noted the details of phones to get the Amber upgrade and what features will be included on each phone. The blog post also notes that the rollout starts now for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in selected countries as well as the Lumia 521, Lumia 810, and Lumia 928 in the US. Exact delivery timings will vary by region, phone and operator, but Nokia says the update will reach Lumia 520, Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 users by the end of September.

The biggest improvement with the update is to camera capabilities of the phones that will now feature the all-new Nokia Smart Camera mode that debuted on the Nokia Lumia 925. It allows users to create high quality images and offers the ability to take ten shots at a time and then edit with tools and effects like Best Shot, Action Shot and Motion Focus.

Another addition will be the Pro Camera app that was introduced with the Lumia 1020 and it will be rolled out to Lumia 920, Lumia 925 and Lumia 928.

Other features include flip to silence, double-tap to unlock, storage check and faster map updates. Another major new feature is Glance Screen, that brings a clock to your screen when the phone is inactive, along with indicators to show the battery level when running on a low battery or the phone is charging, and whether your phone is set to 'silent'. Nokia says that Glance Screen will be available for all Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices except the Nokia Lumia 520 and Lumia 625, which have a smaller display memory.

The Amber update is the biggest change to hit Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones since they were launched. The update was announced at the time of the launch of Nokia Lumia 925, that shipped with the update pre-installed.

We earlier reported that the Nokia Lumia phones might get the Windows Phone Amber update in August.

Nokia shipped 7.4 million Lumia smartphones last quarter

Nokia missed analysts forecasts for sales of its handsets in the second quarter as the company struggles to recapture market share it has lost to rivals Samsung and Apple.

Nokia said it shipped 7.4 million Lumia smartphones in the quarter, up 32 percent from the first quarter but fewer than the 8.1 million units analysts had anticipated in a Reuters poll.

That shows Chief Executive Stephen Elop, hired in 2010 to turn the company around, has yet to prove his bold choice in 2011 to adopt Microsoft Corp's untested Windows Phone software was the right one.

Sales of regular mobile phones, which still account for over half of its device revenues, were also weaker than expected. Shipments of such handsets fell to 53.7 million units, far lower than the market's average forecast for 56.2 million.

That showed customers are switching to rival handsets and upgrading to smartphones more quickly than expected.

Nokia has been cutting costs and selling off assets to buy time for a turnaround. Its net cash reserves fell to 4.1 billion euros from 4.5 billion euros in the previous quarter, in line with expectations.

Shares in the company fell 5 percent following the update.