Nokia Lumia Black Update Improves App Folders And Camera

Nokia has started the process of rolling out a software update called Nokia Lumia Black to its Windows Phone 8 handsets, bringing a number of new features and updates to its smartphones.

Lumia Black was announced at the launch of the Nokia 1520 and 1320 phablets in October and brings a number of innovations from the Finnish manufacturer’s newest handsets to its older models.

Many of these relate to photography, including the Nokia Camera app, which combines Nokia Pro Camera and Smart Camera features. Nokia Camera has been available for all PureView smartphones since last year but is now available for all of Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 handsets and also introduces support for digital negative (DNG) format to the Lumia 1020, which will let photographers view pure and untouched visual information.

Nokia Lumia Black

Nokia claims that imaging algorithms have also been improved, especially those relating to the 1020’s oversampling, while Nokia storyteller lets users arrange photos by data and place.

Users can now sort applications into folders on the home screen, while Nokia Glance 2.0 shows notifications such as calls, messages, emails, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, handsets with 1GB of RAM or more will receive Nokia Refocus and Nokia Beamer, which enables users to share their phone screen with any HTML5-enabled display using a QR code.

Also on board are a number of Microsoft features, including safe driving mode, customised ringtones for individual contacts, lock screen rotation and the ability to close applications from the multitasking screen. The update is initially available for the Nokia Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925 and will be made available for other Nokia smartphones in the near future, including the Lumia 920, 820, 720, 625, 620 and 520.

“Nokia Lumia Black updates the imaging experiences on your Lumia and makes using the Windows Phone even more fluid,” says Samuli Hänninen, vice president of software program management for Nokia’s Smart Devices business. “New App Folders and the ability to close apps in multitasker are my personal favourites. I also encourage everyone to try out the Nokia Refocus app that introduces a whole new dimension to photography.”

Nokia is the most important manufacturer of Windows Phone hardware and has contributed to the operating system’s recent success in Europe, where its market share is higher than ten percent in some countries. Microsoft is expected to complete a £4.6 billion takeover of Nokia’s devices and services soon, having agreed a deal last year.

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