brazil

Nokia will be launching the Lumia 920 on February 14th, according to a report over on Gizmodo. The flagship Windows Phone will be available for R$1,999 (approximately $1,000) and in the black version. The pricing may appear to be slightly on the high side, but Nokia will attempt to dampen the blow with a USB portable DC-16 charger (not wireless) bundled with the first customers who pre-order the handset.

Sure we love bringing you folks the latest on Windows Phone 8 or what executive is leaving Microsoft this week, but what many of you really want to know is what about the 7.8 upgrade?

While we still don’t know what it will contain, or rather if it will have more than just a new Start screen, we always knew it was destined to come after Windows Phone 8 comes out. Now, Windows Phone Brazil (official Twitter account), has responded to a question about that update to current Windows Phones.  The answer is that the 7.8 update is expected for Brazil in Q1 2013, which sounds about right to us (and is vague enough to leave some wiggle room).

Boring phone with outrageous price?

We’ve reported on Samsung’s Omnia M phone in the past noting that their latest phone is a low-end, borderline Tango entry meant for new and developing markets. That translates into ho-hum specs (4” display, 1GHz CPU, 4GB storage, 5MP camera) and in theory, a low-entry price.

For whatever reason though, we’re not seeing Samsung place nice with local markets with their pricing of the Omnia M borderline unreasonably high for such a mediocre device...

According to a Brazilian Nokia blog, Microsoft has reportedly added over 300 games to the regional Marketplace boosting it from just over 90 games the other day. Most thoughts will now be: "wait, what?" and rightfully so. It would appear as though the Brazil Marketplace is restricted by tighter certification regulations than other markets. This requires a clear guide to be published on each title that is available on the Marketplace detailing censorship (much like PEGI) and approval by the Ministry of Justice.

Google with their Android Play market reportedly gets around this by hosting the content in the US and having it only accessible via web (and paid in US dollars).

We'd like to chime in with a quick search performed by us reveals that some of these newly added titles don't sport visible ratings -- The Impossible Game being a good example, though it's good to see more content being added for markets to download and enjoy. There's nothing worse than owning a smartphone, yet not being able to access the catalogue of content.

With the new additions, the Brazilian Windows Phone Marketplace now boasts over 7,000 titles which is a start.

Source: TouchNokia (translation); thanks Little Angry for the tip!

Seems like everyone is getting the 8107 update today, well everyone except us in the States. Now we're getting word from a few readers that those down in Brazil who have the HTC TITAN, which goes by the name of HTC Ultimate down there, is getting two updates: 7740 followed by 8107.

No other goodies on board but why would you need anything else when you're getting two solid OS updates in a row? (For the record, if you get 8107 you always get 7740 before hand if you don't already have it). That's one more country/device down though for that nasty keyboard bug!

Thanks, Jonathan S. & Ricardo T., for the tips!

The Samsung Omnia W, which was approved by Anatel (Brazil's version of the FCC) earlier this month and was rumored to be heading to TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile), has popped up for sale on Brazil's FNAC.  This is an unlocked version that is selling for R$ 1299.00, or about $799.00 US.  The price tag seems a little bit steep, even for an unlocked handset.  But it's not so bad, considering they are asking R$ 1799.00 for a Blackberry Bold.   The Omnia W is a solid mid-range WP7.5 phone, equipped with:

• Super AMOLED screen of 3.7 "
• 8 GB of storage
• 512 of RAM
• VGA Front Camera
• Rear 5 MP camera with LED Flash and Autofocus
• 1500 mAh battery
• Dimensions of 115.6 x 58.8 x 10.9 mm
• Weight 115 g
• DNLA
• WiFi HotSpot

Source: FNAC (Thanks for the tip, John!)

Now that the HTC Ultimate is available in Brazil, people need to know about it.  That's where this full-page ad in Brazil's Veja magazine comes in.  Veja is a weekly publication that tackles culture, politics, economics and entertainment.  According to Wikipedia, "it is the leading weekly publication in the country, and one of the most influential outlets of the Brazilian press."  

It looks like the folks at Microsoft and HTC have made good on their promise to start marketing WP7 around the world.  Both HTC and Samsung, with help from Microsoft, have committed more money to advertising in order to push the new features of Mango and hopefully jump to #3 in the smartphone operating system race.

Source: Veja; Via: @RodoCarmo (Thanks for the tip, Rodolpho!)

We've mentioned how the HTC Ultimate aka Titan, with its massive 4.7" Super LCD screen managed to pass through Brazil's FCC equivalent ANATEL. That's a pretty good sign that the phone is coming to Brazil sooner than later, heck we even saw its accessories and manual to boot.

Now we have a date for its announcement (but not release): October 20th

On that day, HTC is set to reveal "the launch of the year" with Lee Ittner, Vice President from HTC Latin America, Cristina Palmaka from MS Brasil and Hilton Mende from Vivo (a Brazilian carrier) in attendance.

At the press conference, we can expect to see the Ultimate née Titan in its full glory and we bet a release date will be given too. Our guess is it won't be more than a few weeks into November, which gives you some time to save up for that slick phone!

Source: Gizmodo BR; Thanks, Lucas S., for the tip and translation!