The Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia 710 will be officially launched here in Malaysia tomorrow but already the recommended retail pricing for the device has been revealed by local device retailer IMCC.

Officially the Lumia 710 will retail for RM999 and as earlier indicated, the Lumia 800 will be priced at RM1,650.

At just a smidgen under RM1,000 the Lumia 710 presents an enticing value for consumers as it delivers the same level of performance as the Lumia 800 because they have identical processor and RAM – 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 chip with 512MB of RAM. The two devices even have the same screen size and resolution at 3.7-inches and 800×480 pixels but the more expensive Lumia 800 uses the brighter AMOLED technology while the Lumia 710 uses standard TFT LCD.

Other differences between the two devices: The Lumia 800 has an 8MP camera where the Lumia 710 only has a 5MP shooter but then again we all know that pixel count is not what defines camera performance so there might not be much separating the two devices in this respect. The Lumia 800 also features a bigger 1,450mAh battery compared to the 1,300mAh on the Lumia 710, though we suspect the bigger battery on the Lumia 800 is to accommodate the more power hungry AMOLED screen so you’re not going to get much gain in battery performance there.

Where the Lumia 800 sits in a price bracket with a number of very capable dual-core Androids with bigger screens and arguably better cameras, the Lumia 710 sits in a price point where there’s fairly not much competition. There are the of course a few good Samsung Android phones below RM1,000 but with its refreshing Windows Phone OS and free turn-by-turn navigation that works really well here in Malaysia the Lumia 710 is a competent and comparable value-packed alternative to the Android set.

Android smart phones are getting bigger and LG seems to be catching up with their upcoming LG Optimus Vu which features a 5″ display that’s rather different. While most Android smart phone displays are 16:9 aspect ratio, the LG Optimus Vu 5″ screen has an aspect ratio of 4:3 and supports a resolution of 1024×768. This makes the screen more square rather than the usual long rectangular shape. On LG’s blog, the direct translation read “the human hand can be seen in the perfect aspect ratio”. Well, we will only find out if this is practical with a hands-on.

Design wise, it looks like a Prada 3.0 with its slim profile with rounded edges and circular design. Internally, it is said to be running on 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm WPQ8060 processor, 1GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage. At the back, there’s a 8MP camera. The Optimus Vu is expected to be revealed at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2012 which is happening at the end of this month.

Head after the break for the teaser video.

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DG Smart Plan 48 (12 months) – RM1,449
DG Smart Plan 48 (24 months) – RM1,299

DG Smart Plan 68 (12 months) – RM1,349
DG Smart Plan 68 (24 months) – RM1,099

Currently only the Black version is available for pre-order and it takes about 3 days for delivery.

For more info, head over to DiGi’s Online Store.

Nokia has announced its global roll out of the latest Symbian Belle update for Nokia X7, N8, C6-01, C7, E7, E6 and Nokia Oro. For Nokia 500 users, the update will be available much later in couple of weeks time. This is the 2nd Symbian^3 upgrade right after Anna rolled out about 6 months ago.

Symbian Belle aims to offer refreshed new experience on the same Symbian device. So what’s new? Belle now offers 6 customisable home screens, a new notifications bar with power toggle switches and an enhanced new Nokia Maps.

To upgrade to Belle, you would need to connect your Nokia device to the PC via Nokia Suite which is downloadable here. In terms of availability, Malaysian users should be able to update right now as indicated on their Belle availability page.

Head after the break for the step by step video.

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Nokia has confirmed that its Windows Phone powered Lumia 710 smartphone is suffering from an issue that causes the device to show a call is still connected even when the user ends the call leading many to think that they are being charged for additional call time despite trying to hang up. The only way to temporarily solve the problem, it seems, is to power off their Lumia 710 and switch it back on again.

As we approach the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 here in Malaysia, will this be a cause for concern for prospective buyers? Well not being able to end a call is certainly something to worry about but Nokia is quick to point out that the problem is a software bug and the company is “close to a fix”. Nokia added that the fix will be available via Zune but “it is difficult to say when” the fix will be available.

Nokia also says that the inability to end a call is actually a display bug and Lumia 710 shouldn’t worry about incurring additional charges to their mobile bill. Official Nokia Support representative ‘Unwired’ issued the following statement, detailing the issue:

One other important fact about this issue is that the phone modem is responding to the call disconnect signal from the touch display, the call is taken down as it should. The issue is that the user interface displays the call disconnect button but is should not. Consequently consumers are not being excessively billed for a call that seems to be staying up.

In any case, we’re not able to determine if Lumia 710 units sold in Malaysia are affected by this problem but we will definitely test it out once we receive a review unit.

This is not the first time that Nokia has seen issues with its Windows Phone smartphones. An early firmware version in the the Nokia Lumia 800 caused some battery issues not allowing users to turn on their device if the battery had drained.

For Malaysians, this is nothing to worry about as Nokia Malaysia has assured us that the Lumia 800 sold here will come preloaded with the latest firmware that fixes the problem.

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The Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 will be launched here in Malaysia in a few days but if this photo – accidentally mistaken for a Lumia 800 by Nokia themselves — is anything to go by, then we can expect at least one more Lumia making its debut here.

Earlier thought to be a US-only version, what we see here is very possibly a GSM version of the Lumia 900. What’s the difference between the device you see here and the recently announced white Lumia 800 we mentioned earlier? The biggest difference between the Lumia 800 and 900 is of course the screen size but that’s not clearly obvious in pictures, what is evident is the difference in the placement of the micros USB slot. On the Lumia 800, the micro USB slot is located underneath the micro SIM tray cover at the bottom of the device but on the Lumia 900, the slot is located exposed at the top, as you can see in the picture above (thanks for correcting us on this in the comments joevo2).

We’ve established that this is a Lumia 900, but what makes this a GSM version? For one, the obvious omission of the logo of US carrier AT&T is a tell-tale sign. Currently the Lumia 900 is only sold in the US by AT&T, so what’s with this official looking press picture not having an AT&T logo? That points to the device being available for other operators, very likely on GSM networks as well.

The Lumia 900 brings a larger 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display versus the smaller 3.7-inch AMOLED CBD display on the Lumia 800 but with identical screen resolution at 800×480 pixels. Also, you get a 1.3MP front camera and because the Lumia 900 is running LTE in the US and have a bigger screen, the device also gets a bigger 1,830mAh battery compared to the 1,450mAh in the Lumia 800.

Those are the features that separate Lumia 800 with the Lumia 900. The 1.4 GHz processor, eight-megapixel rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash, 16 GB internal memory and 512 MB RAM are identical on both devices. We’re hoping the larger battery stays in the GSM Lumia 900 as well.

So can we expect the Lumia 900 to come to Malaysia? It’s very possible but without an official word form Nokia, don’t expect this phone to be here anytime soon. Although we do expect to see the GSM Lumia 900 making its debut at Mobile World Congress at the end of this month.

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Update: Word has it that Celcom and Maxis will jump on the Nokia Lumia bandwagon as well. Expect plans for the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 from Celcom, DiGi and Maxis at launch day (February 10)

The Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 shall be officially available this coming Friday, 10th of February. If you’re wondering which telco is offering it on contract bundle, DiGi has posted a teaser on its Facebook page.

It will be offered on DiGi’s Online Store just like the recent new devices and there’s a possibility that DiGi might be doing an early pre-order where you can order it and have it delivered directly to you on launch day. If you want to try it out, the Lumias are already being displayed at several Nokia stores.

Don’t forget to check out our hands-on video for both Lumia 800 and 710 if you haven’t.

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HTC is expected to make a come back this year and the next biggest thing from the Taiwan maker is the HTC Ville. Earlier on, the HTC Ville was rumoured to be under 8mm thin and runs on a dual-core 1.5GHz processor.

Now a couple of hands-on photos of the HTC Ville has surfaced with more details of the device. According to the source, the Ville will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0 UI.

In terms of hardware, it doesn’t differ from what was revealed earlier with a 4.3″ AMOLED qHD Display, 8MP Camera, 1GB of RAM and comes with 1,650mAh battery. For audio, there’s the usual Beats Audio enhancements as well.

Currently the HTC Ville is expected to be officially revealed at MWC 2012. From the pic, the back appears to have a gradient metal finish and capacitive buttons are also visible on the front. Overall, it’s a sleek looking device but the design remains very conservative. Hopefully the final product would look better than these photos.

Head after the break for more photos.

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With over 20 million users there’s no denying that Instagram is a very popular application but at the moment it is for iOS only. The developers have mentioned that an Android version is currently in the works but there’s no indication of when users can expect the popular app to make the leap. But if this screenshot captured from a promotional notification on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is anything to go by, Instagram for Android may only be days away from its much-awaited debut.

This is still far from definitive but it gives a glimmer of hope that Instagram could only be a few day away from being available in the Android Market. Would Instagram for Android be a big deal for you?

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Crittercism — a mobile app monitoring startup – painstakingly compiled data of mobile app crashes between November and December 2011, covering over 23 different permutations of the iOS operating system and over 33 Android versions, and over 214 million app launches between all those OS versions.

The data shows that iOS apps crashed more frequently than comparable apps on Android. As you can see in the data presented, iOS apps on iPhone, iPad and iPods Touch make up nearly 75% of total crashes in the period that the data was gathered.

The researchers suggests that the reason why Android apps see far less crashes than iOS apps is because the Android platform allows developers to send out updates faster and users are able to set their Android devices to auto-update apps which allow bugs to be fixed much faster than can be done on iOS. On iOS developers pushing updates have to go through an approval process which can take weeks and there is no auto-update for users using iOS.

From our own experience, we agree with the data. On a day-to-day basis we do see more app crashes on iOS than on Android. The apps that we use that crash on a daily basis include Safari, Twitter for iOS and Facebook for iOS, just to name a few.

So iOS and Android users, offer your thoughts, is the data indicative of your own user experience? Let us know.

A more detailed break down of the data sets is available after the break.

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