GLOBAL – The Live Tiles on the Nokia Lumia 710 and the Nokia Lumia 800 keep you updated with the latest news from your friends and family. But they can also be a deep link into apps, so that when when you tap them, they can bypass all the irrelevant stuff, and go straight to what you need to know, in an instant.

Here’s a look at how Live Tiles work, using the People hub as an example.

Once you’ve added your contacts to your Nokia Lumia 710 or Nokia Lumia 800, the people will sit there on the homescreen and random faces from your contact list will start to fill the tile. If you’ve connected your phone to your social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, you’ll see new profile photos appear as and when they change it. This keeps you close to your friends right from the homescreen. It keeps it all “live”, in real-time.

With Nokia Maps on the Nokia Lumia 800, finding your way home is as simple as a single press of a Live Tile. Firstly, you’ll need to find your home address using the Nokia Maps app – or any other favorite location for that matter – and press the pin icon at the bottom of the screen. This will send that map location to your homescreen ready to be used whenever you need it next from wherever you find yourself. Especially useful for guiding cab drivers from an unfamiliar area.

For people facing the hassle of the airport, Live Tiles can cut some of the fumbling around for your boarding pass or standing around glued to TV screens looking for your flight updates.

The British Airways app, for example, places your boarding pass on your homescreen. All you need to do is to show the QR code on your homescreen and you’ll be boarding in no time.

Keeping up-to-date with the latest news from around the world can all be achieved from a Live Tile. The BBC News app, for example, delivers the latest news feeds and important newsflashes to the homescreen. Not just in text form, but also with pictures from the leading stories appearing from time to time. This brings more depth and context to your fingertips.

The Pictures tile is a standard feature that already exists on the homescreen, however there is another Live Tile that can take you straight to your favorite photos. From within the pictures hub, you can do one of two things. Select your favorite photos that you’ve taken with the phone from the camera roll section, or browse your friends’ social network sites and save them to your phone, then save them to favorites. This tile can be placed on the front screen, for instant viewing.

These are just a few examples of how Live Tiles on the Nokia Lumia 800 can make tasks simpler and more fun.

Are you looking forward to Live Tiles on your Nokia Lumia? We find they make the homescreen more interactive, don’t you?