Nokia live: Instagram comes to Windows Phone, Lumia 1520 launched

1.13 pm: Nokia launches Lumia 2520 tablet Flipboard also comes to Windows Phone 8

“It’s a natural extension of the Lumia family” Elop says. He also talks about how they plan to give users a tablet that is more mobile and ensures that people use it every hour of the day and not just during early morning and late evening. (According to Elop this is when tablets are most used)

Lumia 2520 has a Qualcomm chipset, 4G connectivity as well. It has a Gorilla Glass 2 screen. Nokia says users can read on the tablet even in bright sunlight.

The tablet has the same camera app as the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. The images being shown on the screen do look stunning. The Storyteller app is available for the tablet as well. Users can link the app to Facebook as well. It has a 6.7-megapixel camera with an f/1.9 aperture. A 2mp camera on the front for video calling.

Ifi Majid who is on stage also shows a video-editing app for the tablet.

The tablet runs on Windows RT. Which is kind of sad as most people will be asking why not proper Windows 8.

Nokia tablet also has a power keyboard which can be wrapped around the tablet as a cover, but unfolds to be a full keyboard and trackpad. It also gives an extra 5 hours of battery life, total battery life is 16 hours, and the tablet has 2 USB ports.

The tablet is priced at $499, $149 extra for the cover. First launch in US and UK in 2013.

1.00 pm Nokia Lumia 1320 is also announced

This too has a 6-inch screen, but a five-megapixel camera and a dual-core processor. It has a 720 p screen resolution. It supports Nokia’s new Beamer app ( which allows people to share their screens with others by sending a link over SMS, or email).

Lumia 1320 is coming to China first. Priced at $339. It will roll out to India much later.
Lumia 1520 is priced at $749. Will roll out in Hong Kong, US etc first. No word on India launch date yet.

New Windows Phone 8 update is also coming for Windows Lumia device. The update is called Lumia Black.

12.59 pm: Instagram comes to Windows Phone 8 Temple Run 2 also comes to Windows Phone 8

Elop announces that users can shares their photos on Instagram as well. He says that Microsoft, Nokia and Instagram have been working closely together for months on the app. Temple Run 2 is also available on Windows Phone 8 as well.

This is definitely good news for the Windows Phone 8 platform and Lumia devices as well.

Lumia 1520 also comes with 7GB SkyDrive space. Elop also talks about business apps include Microsoft Office 365. Not too many people interested.

Lumia 1520 also has Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor as predicted.

12.57 pm: Nokia Storyteller app is launched

As was predicted in the leaks, the app organises photos based on location from HERE maps. You can see exactly where the photo is taken. Sung gives a pretty cool demonstration of how the app works.

Incidentally the Lumia 1520 has 4 microphones for ensuring best audio when you’re recording. Should be great for video capturing.

The Lumia 1520 has 32 GB memory on board with a microSD slot with a 64 GB limit.

12.52 pm: Nokia Lumia 1520 is launched

The smartphone has a 6-inch screen with full HD 1080 p screen. There’s also a Black version of the smartphone made out of recycled polycarbonate.

Prima Sung, product marketing manager is also on stage.

Elop talking about the Third Live tile on the screen as well. More apps without having to roll down all the time, which is great news.

Lumia 1520 has 20 megapixel camera as was predicted. Nokia also has a new Nokia Camera app. The app has three modes: Smart Mode which takes a number of images and you can choose the best one, video and camera mode.

FYI she’s a taking a picture of a camel statue. All the manual features of the camera can been seen on the screen before taking the picture. It’s pretty cool but looks a little too complicated as well.

12.50 pm: Pricing of three Asha smartphones

Nokia Asha 500 is priced at $69 and will roll out this quarter. It has a 2 megapixel camera.

Nokia Asha 502 is priced at $89 and will be out this quarter as well. This has a 5 megapixel camera.

The Nokia Asha 503 is priced at $99. Will be out this quarter too. All phones have a Single and Dual SIM option.

12.50 pm: Elop talking about Fastlane which is a kind of a news/app feed for Nokia Asha phones

Fastlane shows you, upcoming events, social networks updates, messages in one feed. Nokia’s new Asha phones now have better privacy settings and will allow for more personalisation.

12. 45 pm: WhatsApp finally comes to Asha platform: Download next month.

Jan Koum, CEO of WhatsApp, is on stage. He says, “This is a dream come true for me. As a kid growing up in Russia, I always wanted a Nokia phone.” He’s also going about Nokia connecting people.

Koum announces that WhatsApp has 350 million active users. Wow.

WhatsApp will be available for Asha phones from next month, says Koum. All the features of regular WhatsApp will be there on Asha phones as well. Group Chat, Voice Messages and Photo Sharing.

“Every day, we register 250,000 people across all Nokia devices,” says Koum. That is a mighty big number.

12.40 pm: Nokia launches 3 new Asha phones

Elop announces Nokia Asha 500, Asha 502, Asha 503 with 3G. The devices have a new dual-shock layering design for making the phones sturdier. They’re also colourful like other Asha and Lumia phones.

Mohamed El-Sheakhi, who’s in-charge of product development on stage talking about the phones. He’s talking about how he spoke with developers from across the world.

Both Asha 502 and 503 have 5 megapixel cameras with flash. Users can just swipe down on the screen to access camera. Double-tapping anywhere during camera mode will show all the possible settings that users can go for. Nokia’s Asha phones are all swipe based.

Awkward picture taking session of Stephen Elop. Actually the picture doesn’t look too bad. Users can share the image from the camera itself onto Facebook, other social media.

12.30 pm: Nokia’s event begins: Stephen Elop on stage.

Nokia’s event has begun in Abu Dhabi. Lots of Lumia smartphone images floating around on the screen. The keynote address will begin soon. Nokia’s former CEO Stephen Elop is on the stage and he’s talking about the new products that Nokia will be launching.

He’s talking about the Nokia Asha smartphones and the launch of new Asha smartphones.

12.00 pm: What to expect from the Lumia launch

Nokia is holding its Nokia World conference in Abu Dhabi today and the company is expected to launch a slew of new devices. The most prominent among them are the Lumia 1520 with a full HD 6-inch screen ( the first Windows Phone 8 device which will support 1080 p resolution) and the Lumia 2520 tablet which will be the tablet by Nokia and is rumoured to run the Windows RT platform.

Nokia is running a live webcast of the event which you can watch here.

Here’s a quick look at some major devices which will be released:

**The Lumia 1520:**Specs for this smartphone has already been leaked by none other than Nokia itself. TheLumia 1520 was spotted on the company’s online Chinese store Tmall with all the detailed specs. It will have 6-inch screen, 20MP PureView camera and quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. The device is expected to be priced close to Rs 50,000 if one were to go by the pricing on the Chinese store.

The Lumia 2520: The Lumia 2520 will be Nokia’s first tablet and will run Windows RT. According to the rumour mills, this will have a1080p display and come powered by a quad-core Qualcomm processor. Previously The Verge had reported that the tablet would have a 10.1-inch screen and be thinner than the current iPad 4.

**The Lumia 1320:**The Lumia 1320 is expected to be another phablet with a full HD screen but a 5 megapixel camera. Trusted Twitter source evleaks put out pictures of the device today and while it looks like a standard Lumia device, expect it to have a bigger screen.

Asha phones: Nokia is also expected to refresh the line of Asha series with new Asha 502 and 503 smart devices. Images of the Asha 502 and 503 leaked online by a tech blog called ThisIsNokia in August this year. According to the blog, the Asha 502 will be slimmer and lighter than the Asha 501, will have a screen resolution of 360X640 pixels and a 5 megapixel camera. The processor is rumoured to be 1-1.2GHZ dual or single core. Asha 503 could be a 4G enabled budget phone.