The week of the 925, 928 and YouTube Apps

My Appearence on The Phones Show

When I first got interested in Smartphones, one of the best resources I had for information was The Phones Show hosted by Steve Litchfield (Find his website here) which reviews mobile phones, does a quarterly Top 5 Best Phones list as well as other phone related pieces.

Well, Steve reached his 200th episode of the Phones Show, and as a celebration had asked his viewers to submit a 30 second video clip consisting of a congratulatory message. Well, I submitted one, and it made the cut. The video is below, it starts with an 11 minute review of The Samsung Galaxy S4, which is followed by the viewers submissions. I appear at more or less bang on the 13 minute mark.

Google, Microsoft, YouTube,

If like me you are a Windows Phone user, you may be aware that Microsoft updated the platforms official YouTube client a week or so ago. The update brings a lot of improvements to what was just a wrapper for the mobile website, and now features swiping left and right for additional options, and even the ability to download videos for offline viewing. Then, barely a week after the update is pushed out to users Google issue MicroSoft with a Cease and Desist, demanding that the app is removed from the Windows Phone Store within 7 days (Read about it here). The problem (beside Google hating MicroSoft)? Well apparently the new app blocks ads, which deprives YouTube and the content creators revenue. Now, I could understand this, if Google where issuing the same Cease and Desist letters to all the other developers of the countless 3rd party YouTube apps across different platforms which do exactly the same thing. Also, ads don’t come through on the mobile website either, which is what most will use as an alternative.
If you ask me Google are just being spiteful. Now I’m not saying that they don’t have good reason to be for things which went on in the past, but as with then, the only people who really lose out are the consumers. Personally I prefer MetroTube and MyTube on Windows Phone, as these allow you to watch the streams in HD. UPDATE: There is a setting on the official YouTube app to stream videos in HD.

Announcements and Stuff

In the last week or so we have seen a few press events, one coming from Nokia in London on the 14th May where they announced the Nokia Lumia 925, a slimmed down version of the 920 with very similar specs. The screen is still 4.5 inches with a resolution of 768×1280, but now has an AMOLED ( Active Matrix Organic light emitting diode) screen. Now I am a big fan of the screen found on the 920, but one thing I miss from my time with the N8, N9, Lumia 800 and 900 is the beautiful colours and deep deep blacks produced by an AMOLOED screen. Just before that, on the Sunday before in fact, Nokia quietly launched the Nokia Lumia 928, exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the USA. If you want to know more about these devices, have a look at these links; Here for the Nokia Lumia 925 and Here for the Nokia Lumia 928
And of course, how could we forget the Google I/O conference? Well, I didn’t forget, just don’t care. Sorry, Android isn’t for me. Or at least has never appealed to me so far, and until it does, I don’t have much to say on the matter. Oh, I don’t know. Something about a new Nexus Tablet. How’s that?

Well I’m hoping to get a post like this out about once a week, more if possible, so find the Follow(+) button somewhere on this page to keep up with the latest posts from me. Will be back soon.

Wright On N9 Is Changing

Time for a change me thinks. Wright on N9, Wright on N9 and Lumia, call it what you will. The name is changing. In fact, if you look at the top of the page, you will this blog is now called Wright On Mobile.

Also, the content is going to be changing. I have to face facts, no one comes to this blog for the latest news on the latest phones. I never thought they would, mind you, it isn’t that sort of blog. Wright On N9 was always a place for my opinions, the odd device review and perhaps a How To guide. While I am not ruling out do anything like that again, I feel it is time to get back to basics.

Also, the regularity (or lack of) with which I post to this site is going to change. I am going to try to post at least one blog post a week. (When possible of course!)

So, what can one expect to find on Wright On Mobile?  The plan is a weekly post on the world of mobile phones. I am not limiting what I blog about to just one device, or even one range of devices (a la N9 and Lumia). But my opinion on anything which has been happening in the world of phones, smart, feature or dumb. I had thought of doing an occasional video post, you know, me in front of the camera talking. But not too sure on that, I may spare you that for now.

I would like to know what you think, if you happen to be a regular reader of my blogs. Please leave a comment below, and remember, you can follow me on Twitter by clicking here

N8 Lumia 920 Camera compared Round 2

Hi, I got an invitation from Lenny Bonsignore (find him on Twitter here) to write some posts for Nokia Innovation.
Well, after copying over my last post, Actual Lumia Quarterly sales my next submission was round two of my camera comparison between the N8 and the Lumia 920. find it here.

As always I’m interested to hear what you think of my posts, please leave a comment bellow. You can also find me Twitter I will be back soon with some more.
Take care.

Actual Lumia Quarterly Sales

You may have caught my earlier post where I estimated sales of Nokia Lumia smartphones for the first quarter of 2013 would be between 6.5million and 7.5million. Well, the actual numbers turned out to be 5.6million (of which 3.8million were Windows Phone 8 powered phones). So I was a little bit out, but apparently these sales numbers where higher than forecasts (the professional ones, I mean) had predicted. They also marked a 27% increase in sales of the Lumia range.

I think these numbers are still good, even if slightly less than I was expecting. One comparison I have seen made before is the numbers of Lumia’s sold in their early quarters compared to how many iPhone’s sold in their equivalent quarter. For example, in the Lumia’s first quarter, which was Q4 2011 they sold 1 million handsets. While the Apple iPhone in their first quarter, which was Q3 2007 sold 270,000 phones. In fact, I drew up this graph below to demonstrate what I mean. It doesn’t mean a lot, other than a bit of perspective on how a smartphone currently selling huge numbers performed in its earlier months.

My graph shows that in their first 5 quarters of availability the Lumia range sold more handsets than the iPhone did. And as history has shown, you can say what you like about the iPhone, but one thing which can’t be faulted is its popularity.

Between July 2007 and December 2008 Apple sold 13.2million iPhones. While Nokia, between October 2011 and March 2013 have sold 20.2million Lumias.

I would like to point out, that the Lumia range of smartphones were available in more countries than the iPhone during these stages. Also, while Nokia Lumia phones came out at a variety of price points, generally the iPhone release just one high end device a year, although when a new iPhone model is launched, the previous model does remain on sale at lower price points. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be against Samsung’s Galaxy range, but then you are including tablets.

Well, make of my comparison what you will, I would be interested to hear your views. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Also, you can find me on Twitter here.

Hope you enjoyed my post, I will be back with more soon.

My Lumia Quarterly Sales Estimate

Nokia are about to release their quarterly sales results for the first quarter of 2013 today, so I would like to get my estimate out there for sales of Nokia Lumia handsets. In case you are unaware, Lumia is the brand name given to the Finnish companies Windows Phone handsets.
I would like to point out that I do not have any expertise in this area, and it is based solely on my guess work. As far as subjects like profits, Average Selling Price etc etc, I do not have a clue. Also sales of Asha devices and feature phones is another area I won’t make a prediction on, due to my zero knowledge in the area.
My Prediction: Nokia will announce sales of Lumia devices for Quarter 1 2013 to be between 6.5 million and 7.5 million.

How do I come up with this number? Well, looking back at the previous sales numbers, shown in the graph below, we see that sales were doubling up until the 3rd quarter of 2012, when they dipped from 4 million to 2.9 million due to the fact customers were, according to Nokia, waiting for the new line of Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8. This seemed to be proven as sales for the 4th quarter of 2012, for which Windows Phone 8 devices were available for only two of the three month, increased to 4.4 million.

Nokia’s Lumia sales per quarter.

I remember thinking at the time that 4.4 million was less than I guessed they would sell (I expected 7 million or so.) We were hearing reports that Lumia 920′s were selling faster than Nokia could produce them. So, I don’t think Nokia will double the sales of the last quarter, due to January and February being a notoriously slow month for any product to sell (excluding hot water bottles, if you’re in the UK). But, with the availability of the cheaper Lumia 620 released in January, as well as the Nokia Lumia 920 launching in China with a TD-SCDMA variant (Chinas 3G band) on the nations largest Mobile Phone operator, I do think sales number will continue to grow.

Oh, while I’m here I will take a stab at Apple iPhone sales for the last quarter. Apparently Q4 2012 saw them shift something like 48 million devices (either sold to customers or distributors, not sure.) I think that number will come down for Q1 2013 to between 40 and 43 million.

Remember, You heard it here first.

Well, in a few hours we can find out how accurate my guess is, until then I would be very interested to hear your opinions on this post, and any predictions you may have. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Hope you enjoyed the article, and if you want to reach me, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I shall be back soon.

MY BLOG GOT BLOGGED

My Pictures on My Nokia Blog I was Chuffed

Hi all, hope you are all well. Firstly I’d like to share my joy at finding my previous post “Reunited with My N8″ covered on the excellent Nokia fan site My Nokia Blog (Read it here). If you are not familiar with the site I’d highly recommend taking a look at their latest stories if you want to keep up with the latest goings on with all things Nokia related. Anyway, needless to say, this exposure was much appreciated. I’m glad people found my comparisons between the cameras on the Nokia N8 and the Lumia 920 interesting. I have taken some more comparison shots between 0n both cameras in various settings and should post them here soon.

Also, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I have changed the name to Wright On N9 and Lumia. It doesn’t have quite the same ring as Wright On N9 but is a lot more accurate a description of what I will be writing about as I do not, at the moment at least, own a Nokia N9. Also, I have changed the heading, if you look closely you may spot what could be considered an anomaly. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter, you maybe familiar with the original picture.

Anyway, I’d love to hear any comments or questions from you, please leave them in the comments section below. I shall be back with more N9/Lumia related thoughts soon. Take care.

Reunited with My Nokia N8. Two Cameras Compared.

I recently got back my Nokia N8 which I haven’t seen or used for well over a year. It was nice to be able to try out the camera again, and I decided to do a comparison with my current phone the Nokia Lumia 920, and see how the pictures they produce compare.

N8 outdoor scene, camera set on Auto

Lumia 920 outdoor shoot, also set on Auto

Close up comparison of the gnomes in the shot, Lumia 920 on the left N8 on the right.

Close up shot taken on the on the N8, it was set to Auto but better performance would have been achieved with setting on Macro..

Close up shot taken on Lumia 920. Again, set to Auto, but would have been better setting it to Close Up

A comparison of the two shots. Lumia 920 on the left N8 on the right

Just from these pictures I draw the conclusion that when set to Auto, the Lumia 920 produces better, clearer pictures than the N8, I believe this is due to the 920 having Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). When the flash is switched on however, the N8 and its Xenon flash really produce fine, crystal clear images. Look at the shots below, taken indoors under a pretty dim bulb.

Taken on the N8 using Flash.

Taken on the Lumia 920 with its dual LED flash.

The shot looks more colourful on the Lumia 920 but when you see look close up at the fabric on the mice, detail is perfect on the N8, while the Lumia 920 can’t quite produce as real a picture.

When the same shot is taken without the flash though, the N8 struggles, and the picture comes out blurred. I believe due to the OIS in the 920, and possibly because of its lower F number.

Taken on the N8 without flash.

Taken on the Lumia 920 without flash. Really good low light performance, in my opinion.

I must point out I am no expert on Phone camera technology, and could have made some errors when trying to get technical. If I have made a blunder, please let me know in the comments below. I would also like to hear everyones opinion on the shots taken.

You can also follow me on Twitter, my username is @chriswwwright click here and follow me.

Thanks for reading, hope you have found it interesting.