Jumped on the Lumia Bandwagon

[msalmank]

Hi All!

Finally jumped onto the Lumia 920 bandwagon yesterday. I haven't disposed off of my iPhone 5 so now have the best of both worlds at my disposal. I actually had to purchase a WP device for development purposes (somewhat covered by my office) and ended up getting the Lumia 920 instead of the HTC 8x or Lumia 820 given that I got it at an extremely reasonable price.

I'm not completely new to the windows world - I've been an avid user of Windows Mobile as well as Windows Phone 7/7.5 in the past, so am kind of familiar with the operating system to a large extent. So i've kinda settled in comfortably already. It troubles me a bit, the lack of application availability, but then again, every platform has its weaknesses and sooner or later MS will get most of everything that's anything useful added to the marketplace.

Anyhow... Two things I need advise on;

• Should I get a cover for the Lumia 920? It's the gorgeous yellow variant that I got and I'd hate to cover it up as it looks frickin' awesome as is! However, after just one day's usage, and very careful handling, I somehow did manage to get a very slight bump on one of the edges of the device - probably when I placed it onto the desk or something. Cover or no cover? I actually did find a few covers here in the local market (Pakistan!!) and I didn't personally like 'em too much. Perhaps I might be able to find something worth getting online...
• Any Pakistani on this forum? Know of any good Navigation software that has Pakistan maps on the Windows Phone? Nokia Maps doesn't have much to it for us here unfortunately...
• Best Camera Apps!! Which ones? Already downloaded Camera 360 and ProShot. On the iPhone I am addicted to the KitCam app (which is kinda discontinued now).
• How to download apps that aren't available in my marketplace? There are some applications that I wanted to install which weren't available for Pakistan! Any way to get around that?

Looking forward to enjoying the best of both worlds!!!

 

[crash1989]

Hi,

Welcome to the WP world which got way better since 7/7.5 days. Do feel free to browse and post in the forums.

I personally use a back cover for my device. BUt in case you want to showcase your colorful device I suggest you get the GadgetShieldz full protection laminate, it is quite strong and protects the phone. Trust me Lumia 920 is a tank and no small bumps can do it harm. The bumps should be barely visible from a distance.

Second, someone else can answer. I think India and Pakistan are well covered. New Delhi is fine in Nokia maps.You can also try GMaps application for any missing POI.

There are ton of good apps out there. The ones you downloaded are pretty much top notch. Some more are Instance (Itsdagram),#6sec for vine, swapchat for snapchat, Fotor,Phototastic,Lomogram are a few more better camera apps. Keep searching you will find good ones.

Fourth - Well, ideally you shouldn't :winktongue: .

 

[Muessig]

Hey Namish, great to see you here!

1. I'd look into getting a CC-1043 Nokia case for your phone. It's made by Nokia so it fits perfectly and doesn't ruin the look or feel of the phone, and doesn't add much bulk but gives you peace of mind that your phone itself won't get damaged at all. This is the type of case I like to run with, but I still like to use my phone without a case sometimes. Be warned, though, some people have had issues with the coloured CC-1043 cases with the corners getting a little dirty after a month or so. I'd argue that's the cover doing it's job but I thought I should warn you.
2. I'm sure I've seen people from Pakistan around the boards, but they'll have to introduce themselves to you.
3. Generally speaking, if you want to take photo's like your phone is an SLR Camera 360 and ProShot are the ways to go. If you want to take more instagram-style pictures I think Camera 360 has filters etc so it has you covered there too. A recommended lens to get just because its cool is Photosynth. Click my signature below for more Camera app recommendations.
4. I'm really not sure about this. There are some hidden links you can get access to within the store, like when the new facebook app was in beta, but I'm not sure this applies to apps that are regional. I'd have to look further into this.

If you have any more questions or comments about your phone, you're in the right place to ask them!

 

[msalmank]

I personally use a back cover for my device. BUt in case you want to showcase your colorful device I suggest you get the GadgetShieldz full protection laminate, it is quite strong and protects the phone. Trust me Lumia 920 is a tank and no small bumps can do it harm. The bumps should be barely visible from a distance.

Thanks! I'll check out the GadgetShieldz protection. Their website is apparently down for maintenance or such at the moment. Will check on Amazon if they're carrying those.

Second, someone else can answer. I think India and Pakistan are well covered. New Delhi is fine in Nokia maps.You can also try GMaps application for any missing POI.

Tried Google Maps, but unfortunately that didn't include offline maps for Pakistan either. I'll keep an eye out for any other good ones and search online to see if there is any application that provides PK offline maps for Windows Phone 8. (iPhone & Android have Sygic)

There are ton of good apps out there. The ones you downloaded are pretty much top notch. Some more are Instance (Itsdagram),#6sec for vine, swapchat for snapchat, Fotor,Phototastic,Lomogram are a few more better camera apps. Keep searching you will find good ones.

Grabbed some of these!

Fourth - Well, ideally you shouldn't :winktongue: .

I know! :wink: But there are some that I would love to have access to. Epicurious is just one example...

I actually changed my location on the phone from Pakistan to United States and restarted the phone. It automaticaly switched the store for me and I was able to grab the applications I needed to install (all of 'em free so far). I believe that when the time comes for me to install a paid application, my PK CC won't work on the US store and I'll have to switch back again. Which makes me wonder if I would be able to easily switch back and forth after I've tied my CC info to my account! Guess will have to wait and see.

 

[msalmank]

1. I'd look into getting a CC-1043 Nokia case for your phone. It's made by Nokia so it fits perfectly and doesn't ruin the look or feel of the phone, and doesn't add much bulk but gives you peace of mind that your phone itself won't get damaged at all. This is the type of case I like to run with, but I still like to use my phone without a case sometimes. Be warned, though, some people have had issues with the coloured CC-1043 cases with the corners getting a little dirty after a month or so. I'd argue that's the cover doing it's job but I thought I should warn you.

Ok, that one does look promising! I can understand the corners getting a little dirty - my wife has an Android and is using what seems like a similar case to the CC-1043 for the Nokia Lumia 920. After every few days or so, she has to remove it and scrub the dirt as well as any colours (From clothes!) that it may have captured.

2. I'm sure I've seen people from Pakistan around the boards, but they'll have to introduce themselves to you.

I can understand. When I had originally purchased the HTC Mozart... I barely ever saw anyone using Windows Phone down here. But lately, with Nokia pushing it with everything they've got and enticing HTC devices as well, I've occassionally seen people using WP8 here... Which kinda makes me happy.

3. Generally speaking, if you want to take photo's like your phone is an SLR Camera 360 and ProShot are the ways to go. If you want to take more instagram-style pictures I think Camera 360 has filters etc so it has you covered there too. A recommended lens to get just because its cool is Photosynth. Click my signature below for more Camera app recommendations.

Thanks! will check out your app recommendations and try some of 'em out. So far the Lumia 920's native camera app hasn't disappointed either. Nokia Sophie Lens is quite exciting too - which I was able to download once I switched my location to US.

4. I'm really not sure about this. There are some hidden links you can get access to within the store, like when the new facebook app was in beta, but I'm not sure this applies to apps that are regional. I'd have to look further into this.

I kinda worked around it for now by switching my location to US. Will probably have to switch back once I want to purchase an app, as i'm sure my PK CC won't work on the US store, but then it might. Fingers Crossed!!! :winktongue:

 

[hegalong]

Buy a case, otherwise, your phone will end up like mine...

 

[msalmank]

Buy a case, otherwise, your phone will end up like mine...

Thanks!! Planning to go to the shop shortly...

 

[msalmank]

UPDATE: Was able to purchase from the US store using my Pakistan Credit Card!!! (This wasn't possible with WP7.5 as I tried on that as well at the time)

PERFECT!!!