Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 handsets use 3D touch

by Mark Tyson on 14 November 2013, 15:59

Tags: Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Windows Phone, PC

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Serial smartphone and tablet leaker @evleaks has revealed that the first Windows Phone Blue (AKA Windows Phone 8.1, or from now on referred to as WP8.1) handsets are codenamed the Nokia Goldfinger and Nokia Moneypenny. Sources speaking to The Verge tipped Goldfinger as the flagship model of this upcoming twosome and also made reference to a new interactivity feature called 3D touch.

So the original @evleaks Tweet doesn’t shed much light on the new Goldfinger or Moneypenny smartphones other than the fact that they will be WP8.1 pioneer devices. We don’t even get a badly exposed, composed or out of focus snap. However we already know that the new WP8.1 OS is expected to debut containing a new long-awaited notification centre, multitasking improvements and the personal assistance of Cortana.

Sources speaking to The Verge say the UI will also be enhanced using 3D Touch – making use of the smartphones other hardware sensors to detect off-the-glass interactions. This feature is further described in what sounds like a blend of accelerometer sensitivity usage and gesture recognition. It is envisaged that Lumia owners will be scrolling and flipping between apps without any screen contact at all. Microsoft has plenty of gesture control experience with Kinect so it wouldn’t be such a long shot that related tech gets into its other devices.

Other new Nokia devices coming up soon, as revealed in a simple text list by @evlinks, include; Normandy, Phantom and Spinel.

Nokia Refocus lands on Lumia PureView handsets

If you already have a Nokia Windows Phone 8 device with a PureView camera a new app has been launched to help you get the most out of the powerful imaging capability of your smartphone. A Lytro-like capability enhancement to your smartphone has arrived in the shape of the Nokia Refocus app.

The new software is described by Nokia as follows; “Nokia Refocus lets you take a photo first and choose what you want in focus later. It’s perfect when you're shooting close-ups of your subject because it allows you to show depth in your photos, and then change focal point if you want. You can also add great effects like ‘All in focus’ and ‘Colour pop’.” We are also informed that it’s easy to share your photo compositions via SkyDrive to all your favourite social media, email and messaging clients. Your smartphone needs the Lumia Amber software update before being able to use this flexible post-capture focusing app.



HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Its surprising how fast “Nokia” is churning out these smartphones. Isnt it supposed to be MS now?
theanalyzer
Its surprising how fast “Nokia” is churning out these smartphones. Isnt it supposed to be MS now?

Nope. The Nokia acquisition hasn't gone through yet. It's not expected to happen until sometime in 2014, and that's only if it's approved. Microsoft & Nokia really can't even collaborate as closely now — or they run the chance of the purchase being rejected. So anything happening since the announcement has been mostly Nokia's own doing. They pretty much are limited to planning what they want to do until it's approved.
I still dont understand this 3D touch thing. Your finger still blocks the screen.

If they really want to be impressive they need to use that harmonic chip that essentially creates a sonar field around the phone so you can do the motions anywhere, even to the side of the device.

I would provide a link but I cant remember where I saw it :D
It would be amzing (but also impossible :) ), to have a hologram that was projected in front of the phone. It would bring a whole new meaning to games, racing games would have a steering wheel you can turn, FPS's could show everything that's happening around you, and in chess, you could pick up the pieces!
If Nokia had chose Android. That would be my next phone for sure. But Windows… Meeh