ESPOO, FINLAND--(Marketwire - Feb 25, 2013) -
Latest imaging, location and social applications deliver many features
unique to
Nokia
- Burton and GoPro build exclusive experiences using Nokia imaging
technology
enablers
- Exclusive Foursquare for Nokia Lumia app leverages voice integration and
augmented reality technology
- WhatsApp amplifies reach with Nokia Asha dual SIM family
- Modernized Foursquare and Line apps introduced for Nokia Asha smartphones
- Exclusive Tumblr experience developed for Windows Phone 8
- JobLens uses augmented reality to revolutionize work searching
Barcelona, Spain - Today at Mobile World Congress, Nokia announced a range
of
new applications for Nokia Lumia and Nokia Asha devices, many using unique
platform and device enablers to deliver better quality application
experiences.
To encourage further innovation, Nokia also announced the Asha Developer
Competition, a contest to encourage developers to create high quality
applications for Nokia Asha Touch smartphones. The competition is open to
mobile
developers worldwide and will award cash prizes and Nokia promotions for
winning
applications in four categories: music and entertainment; games; utilities
and
productivity; and news and information. The new apps will be judged on
creativity, user experience and market potential.
"Quality is at the center of our strategy with developers," said Marco
Argenti,
senior vice president, Developer Experience. "By making available key
technology
enablers in location, music and imaging we help developers do their best
work
for Nokia. Quality, tailor-made apps translate into increased consumer
engagement, which is the key for ecosystem success."
Taking advantage of imaging innovation
The GoPro Windows Phone 8 app allows action sports enthusiasts to connect
their
Nokia Lumia 920 via WiFi to a GoPro HERO3 or HERO2 camera. They receive a
live
preview with which they can record videos and capture photos, access and
change
all of the camera settings, and view the latest videos and photos of the
day.
The Nokia exclusive picture-in-picture (PIP) feature overlays the Nokia
Lumia
camera view on top of the GoPro camera's live view and allows consumers to
capture photos using Nokia's industry-leading camera technology.
"Delivering top-flight image quality is at the heart of everything GoPro
does,"
said Justin Wilkenfeld, Senior Director of Lifestyle Marketing, GoPro. "The
combination of Nokia's best-in-class camera technologies and the Windows
Phone
8 platform allows our consumers to do more with their HERO3 and HERO2
cameras.
That's one of the reasons we're committed to offering new features to our
Windows Phone 8 app." The GoPro Windows Phone 8 app will be available this
spring from the Microsoft Windows Phone Store.
The Burton app is the ultimate snowboarding companion, featuring Burton
Sequencer, a camera lens that leverages Nokia imaging technology to combine
a
sequence of action shots taken with the Nokia Lumia camera in a single
photo.
Burton Forecast provides up-to-the minute snow and weather conditions at
favorite ski resorts. Coming soon, Burton Friends will feature an augmented
reality-based friend finder, making it easy to locate friends on the
slopes. The
app also boasts Burton Tune up, a feature that leverages Nokia Music APIs
to
enable consumers to listen to a continuously updated selection of Burton
finest
playlists from within the application.
"Our collaboration with Nokia continues to give our customers around the
world
the best possible experience on any mobile platform," said Nick Sargent,
Global
Director of Strategic Alliances at Burton. "We are committed to providing
Burton
customers with the best entertainment, location data and information.
Nokia's
apps capabilities are world-class, and that is evident through the
innovative
features of the Burton app."
The latest augmented reality, location, NFC, and app-to-app functionality
Nokia and Foursquare collaborated on two Foursquare app variants for
Windows
Phone. First to market, and available for all Windows Phone 8 devices, will
be a
version with new features, including voice integration, which allows people
to
use voice commands to detect what's trending and to search nearby places.
The
app will be NFC-enabled for content sharing, friend requests, and
check-ins. It also integrates with Nokia Maps for a seamless app-to-app
experience.
Nokia will also bring to market a second version of Foursquare, exclusive
to
Nokia Lumia. This version includes the capabilities of the one available
for all
Windows Phone 8 devices, and adds augmented reality to enhance the
discovery
experience through Nokia Lumia camera lenses.
Foursquare also plans to introduce a modernized app experience for Nokia
Asha
smartphones. "Nokia is a valued partner for Foursquare," said Dennis
Crowley,
CEO and co-founder of Foursquare. "Nokia's mobile platform expertise,
massive
consumer and distribution reach, and commitment to work with us make it
possible
to deliver a great user experience to the Foursquare community. We are
looking
forward to seeing the Windows Phone 8 and Asha apps go live around the
world in
late Q1 and early Q2, 2013."
The highly anticipated official Tumblr Windows Phone 8 app will soon be
available for all Windows Phone and Nokia Lumia customers. The Tumblr app
will
allow on-the-go posting of text, images, video, audio, links, quotes, and
chats,
and will let people follow and experience the world's creators seamlessly
through the Tumblr dashboard. Additional features include Windows Phone
exclusive voice command integration and use of Live Tiles to display the
Tumblr
Dashboard.
"We're excited to offer Tumblr to millions of creators worldwide on the
Windows
Phone platform," said Derek Gottfrid, Tumblr's VP of Product. "Windows
Phone
offers a fresh and fast-growing opportunity for our community to create and
share what they love with the world."
JobLens connects the physical world with social networks to revolutionize
the
way job-seekers find employment. The app integrates camera functionality
with
augmented reality and Nokia Maps to offer a 'Jobs Near Me' function, which
shows
job openings inside office buildings and establishments based on the
consumer's
location. It also makes it easy to get to job interviews with 'Get You
There'
navigation and to find jobs with Indeed, the world's most comprehensive
search
engine for jobs. Featuring patent pending technology, JobLens personalizes
the
job search using social connections from sources such as LinkedIn and uses
proprietary algorithms to drive recommendations and geo-tag job listings.
Consumers will be able to check salary ranges with data from Salary.com and
neighborhood demographics from Zillow. The app will actively push
recommended
jobs based on a consumer's profile and search history, allow people to pin
jobs-based Live Tiles to their Start screen, share jobs with friends, and
store
resumes in SkyDrive.
Better social experiences
WhatsApp, which supports Nokia Asha single SIM smartphones, will soon offer
support for Asha dual SIM and unveil new features that deep link to the
platform. WhatsApp will also continue its development on Windows Phone 8
with
new features and a new user experience.
"Nokia has been an important partner to WhatsApp for many years," said
Neeraj
Arora, VP of Business Development, WhatsApp Inc. "Delivering WhatsApp on
Nokia
Asha dual SIM smartphones in early Q2, while building on the momentum with
Nokia
Lumia for Windows Phone 8, fulfills our goals of ensuring that our
customers
around the world can continue to communicate seamlessly with the most
important
people in their lives. We look forward to great things ahead with Nokia."
Line is a messaging application for smartphones known for its lovable
sticker
characters. For its first Asha app, Line will unveil four varieties of
default
stickers - Moon, Cony, Brown and James - while enabling 1:1 chat and group
chat.
"The cooperation with a global player such as Nokia is indeed an honor,"
said
Morikawa Akira, CEO of NHN Japan. "The partnership opportunity with Nokia
on
Asha smartphones will serve as an important platform for improving
awareness
towards Line's global service and attracting more new consumers
internationally.
After making Line publicly available in March of 2013, we look forward to
working with Nokia to deliver more capabilities for Asha smartphone
consumers in
the future."
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have
become an
integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than
1.3
billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access
information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's
technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most
recognized in the world. For more information, visit
http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
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(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
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Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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