There’s a truly awesome community of bloggers writing about Nokia technology today. From seasoned technology writers and professionals to super-keen users and lifestyle icons, the one thing that unites them is their enthusiasm. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that any of these sites are Nokia fan clubs. Sure, they’re enthusiastic about the kit – but more than that they’re excited about how the products can evolve and become even better. This week’s blog star is no exception. Please offer up a communal high five to Nokia News.
What is it?
The blog is a Nokia focused stream of reviews, news, views and information sharing. Underneath its Nokia-esque corporate look, there’s a very personal style and angle on every page.
Who runs it?
The About page on Nokia News is elusively minimalist, but happily we know – that the blog is written by Joao Luis Costa, Daniel Delgado and Cristian Trohin.
Joao Luis is a Spanish developer, “borderline Social Media addict” and is the JC behind app building JC Mobile Solutions. Fellow compatriot Daniel, when not running his social media company, is a big fan of Biomechatronic R&D (who isn’t?), enogastronomy and VW cars. Meanwhile, Java and WordPress developer Cristian blogs for the team from Romania. They all describe themselves as Nokia evangelists and addicts, which is obviously something we like to hear.
What we love about it
Their hands-on practical walkthroughs are great – like Daniel’s recent exploration of Lumia low light capabilities. As his Flickr stream shows, he spends a lot of time photographing the important things in his life (especially food – remember, he’s the enogastronomist in the team), and in this article he looks at some of the more subtle differences between the Lumia 720 and the Lumia 920.
It’s unusual to see accessories getting reviewed in as much detail as the phones themselves, so it’s good to see the extras being put through their paces on Nokia News. In this review of Nokia Coloud headsets, Joao Luis manages to combine the essential info with a few handy pointers on button control along the way.
And sometimes, when the mood takes them, they’re prepared to let their enthusiasm simply gush. Cristian opens this short blog with “I’ve never written this kind of post before, but I’ve gotten so addicted to this Color Pop feature, that I just had to write about it…I absolutely love it to bits.” Cristian, we feel the same, and I think it’s important to know when and how to gush like that, especially when it’s about cool technology.
What’s its stand out feature?
What jumps out most is the depth, quality and personal angles of the reviews. When Cristian writes about the Nokia Lumia 920 (his ‘mega review’ as he calls it) he covers the hardware and design upfront, then takes us on a brilliantly detailed ride through the functionality – from start screen and photography to browser, maps, kids’ stuff and a host of other apps.
He even manages to give a layman’s explanation (from a thoroughly knowledgeable standpoint) of the technical improvements that make Windows Phone 8 rock. “Many of you may not care about the fact that Windows Phone 8 shares a common core with Windows 8,” he writes to open a section titled The Kernel, “but let me explain why this is very, very important.” It’s definitely worth a read to find out why.
Hooking up beyond the blog
Of course you can find these guys on Twitter and Facebook, but the biggest off-blog chatter happens among their 61,000 followers on Google+. You can also say hi to the guys on their personal Twitter accounts at @joaoluisc, @ctrohin and (winning the award for cosiest Twitter handle ever) @warmth.
So I mentioned Cristian’s brilliant breakdown of what makes Windows Phone 8 so great. What else in the world of mobile technology could use some similar consumer friendly translating?
Image credit: Christmasman