Nokia Lumia 930

The Lumia 930 is the first flagship Nokia device to be unveiled since the company was absorbed by tech behemoth Microsoft. The typically colourful phone is a distinctive addition to the Nokia lineup and arrives running the latest version of Microsoft's operating system, Windows Phone 8.1. It goes on sale 17 July in the UK, and if you buy it within the first two weeks you will get a portable wireless charger, a portable wireless speaker and a £20 app voucher. As well as being available in black, neon green and bright orange, you will also able to get your hands on an exclusive white version if you buy the 930 from Phones4U.
Design and screen Nokia's Lumias have always set themselves apart from other smartphones with their colourful shells and bright, tiled interfaces. But the Lumia 930 sports undoubtedly the most polished look we've seen yet. Our review unit had a matte, rounded luminous green back that felt extremely smooth in the hand. The rectangular chassis has a 9.8mm-thick aluminium rim running around the outside, which gives it a dash more finesse than previous Lumias. It's neither particularly slim nor light, weighing in at 167g, but the upside of this is that it feels reassuringly expensive and solid -- we have no issues with build quality whatsoever. The phone is such a size that we were just about able to operate it with one slightly smaller than average hand. UEnlargeKatie Collins Running down the right-hand side of the phone are the volume, power and dedicated camera shutter buttons (in that order) and while being very discreet, they can be fiddly to grapple with at times. As well as being bright and bold, the 5-inch screen has a real sense of depth thanks to the fact the whole front of the phone is covered by a layer of convex Corning Gorilla glass. It's nice and sharp too, with a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, meaning it has an overall resolution of 441 pixels per inch. Processor and features For a Windows Phone device, the Lumia 930 has powerful innards that mean it can tackle pretty much any task you throw its way with aplomb. Under the bonnet you'll find a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM, which will see you nipping through Six-Guns and use Microsoft's new free video-editing app Video Tuner without a single hitch. With an AnTuTu benchmark score of 26,500, the phone outperforms many mid-range Android devices, which run more demanding software -- although it's not a patch on the flagship Android smartphones, most of which now score over 30,000 on the same test. With all the benefits of Windows 8.1 the 930 really is a pleasure to use with its cool, if slightly dizzying floating backgrounds and extra row of tiles. The Word Flow keyboard works seamlessly, which is excellent news for typo-prone smartphone users out there. Microsoft's voice assistant Cortana is lurking in the phone somewhere, but hasn't landed in the UK just yet -- we can't wait to try it out and give it a go when it does. Regrettably, the Windows Phone Store is still lacking. Even though it now has many more key apps than it has ever had before -- and that is growing every day -- we still found there were apps that we'd use everyday on an Android or iOS device, which were either missing important features or missing completely. Windows Phone has demonstrated remarkable growth, but now that the conversation surrounding wearables and home automation are heating up, it faces brand new challenges. The 930 has a unibody chassis with no microSD slot, which means you'll have to make do with the 32GB of in-built memory and 7GB free OneDrive cloud storage. Despite having a 2,420mAh battery tucked inside it, we found that the Lumia 930 didn't have the level of stamina we'd expect. Battery seemed to last fairly well for most of the day, but would suddenly drop off very quickly. Fortunately, having a wireless charging pad on the office desk all day meant that this did not take its toll on evening plans. It would be a shame to own this phone and not take advantage of the wireless charging capabilities. The battery saver feature also allows you to see which apps are draining the 930's juice most quickly and stop them from running in The Lumia 930's 20-megapixel camera takes natural, well-balanced photos with plenty of detail. In our sample photo of an ice cream van we spotted on the streets of London you can make out the grooves on the ice cream cones when zoomed in, despite the shot being taken from some distance. In our shots of the London skyline, there's no evidence of overexposure and the phone copes well with light, clouds, sunshine and shadow. Close-up shots are bright and crisp and are fun to play with using the Nokia Refocus app -- just one of several tools that makes photography on Nokia phones a fun and rewarding experience.

Microsoft set to lay off 1,800 staff

Update: 7/17/14 - As reports suggested, the layoffs at Microsoft are real and the largest in company history. Up to 18,000 jobs will be cut, with most of the pink slips going out over the course of the next six months. More than half of the cuts are coming from the Stephen Elop’s devices group. /end update Microsoft is poised to layoff thousands of employees according to a report from Bloomberg, in an effort to remove redundancies from the tech giant. It will be the largest round of layoffs since 2009. While many of the cuts will be from the recently acquired Nokia handset division—30,000 jobs were added as a result of the $7 billion deal—marketing jobs in other divisions such as Xbox may also take a hit, according to the sources. The job cuts are part of CEO Satya Nadella’s sweeping changes to the company, as he transitions away from former CEO Steve Ballmer’s vision of a “devices and services” company toward a “mobile-first and cloud-first” productivity firm. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admires the new Nokia 930 smartphone. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admires the new Nokia 930 smartphone. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg “Nothing is off the table in how we think about shifting our culture to deliver on this core strategy,” Nadella wrote in a letter to employees. “Organizations will change. Mergers and acquisitions will occur. Job responsibilities will evolve. New partnerships will be formed. Tired traditions will be questioned. Our priorities will be adjusted. New skills will be built. New ideas will be heard. New hires will be made. Processes will be simplified. And if you want to thrive at Microsoft and make a world impact, you and your team must add numerous more changes to this list that you will be enthusiastic about driving.” In 2009, Microsoft laid of 5,800 employees in the largest round of layoffs at the company to date. The Nokia acquisition added 30,000 jobs, swelling Microsoft’s employee count to 127,104 as of June 5th. The upcoming cuts are likely to top the 2009 culling, making this the largest round of layoffs in Microsoft history. I’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment on this report and will update this post accordingly with any response.

An indestructible ball

Imagine this scene in your neighborhood: A group of kids plays a pickup soccer game. They kick around the ball in the street or maybe in someone's backyard. The ball bounces from child to child, off of feet, knees, heads. Now, imagine that same scene in a war zone. In a landscape peppered with barbed wire, broken glass and thorny brush, that same soccer ball has a lifespan of about one hour. It was this realization that led Tim Jahnigen, a former lyricist and chef, to take action. In 2006 while watching a news story on Darfur, Tim noticed children kicking around a ball of trash with a string and recognized a need for a ball that could withstand harsh conditions during play. Tim mentioned his idea to a well-known friend from his time in the music business, Sting, who urged him to pursue the idea and provided initial funding and support. In 2010, Tim and his wife, Lisa Tarver, launched One World Futbol Project, an organization that hopes to foster the healing power of play by producing nearly indestructible soccer balls for disadvantaged communities. Made from a unique plastic that's lighter and more flexible than rubber — a material similar to Crocs shoes — One World Futbol never needs a pump and does not go flat, even when punctured. And trust me, I tried. As Tim and Lisa shared their story with me, I was particularly struck by One World Futbol's potential for healing. Lisa says research continues to show that play is one of the few forms of activity that actually helps people recover from traumatic situations. "So when children are in refugee camps or recovering from natural disasters, the opportunity for play is vital to that community's recovery," she explains. One World Futbol Project operates on the "buy one, give one" model, similar to other mission-driven companies such as Toms shoes and Warby Parker. Buyers can purchase two balls for $39.95, which covers one for themselves and one to be donated to a community in need. To date, the organization has supplied over 850,000 balls, but distribution doesn't come without challenges. Because the balls cannot be deflated, they are significantly more expensive and difficult to ship than traditional soccer balls. And the question still remains of how something that supposedly lasts forever can be commercially viable. There’s little need to ever buy another! Still, there’s so much hope in something as simple as a ball. Regardless of geography, kids are kids, and the enthusiasm over a soccer game played with friends is something that’s universal, from Detroit to Darfur, Miami to Malawi. yahoo.com