Lumia Cyan & Windows Phone 8.1
We are now adding Lumia specific features and changes coming with Lumia Cyan firmware to this page. Just to make it clear, Lumia Cyan update brings both ( Lumia Cyan & Windows Phone 8.1 firmware ) to Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices.
Lumia Cyan imaging improvements:
- New imaging algorithms for Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon, and Lumia 930 with much better low light performance, Better colors adjustment, Better video quality. Even the raw images will look better because the sensor will be used in more clever way.
- Improved shot to shot time in the new Nokia camera app. Living images are a cool feature that Lumia Cyan will bring to only Lumia 1520, Icon and 930. As per Juha, If one removes the .thm extension of these files, you can see these as videos, because they are normal .mp4 files.
- New look Nokia Camera Roll, giving faster access to images and allowing to edit them in a lot easier way too. All your Smart Shots, Cinemagraphs, and Refocus photos will live in the Camera Roll, making it easier to access them.
- The creative studio is completely rewritten and it has new filters, and non-destructive editing. With the new enhanced Creative Studio, accessible from the Camera Roll, you’ll be able to edit photos on the fly and make the most of the five new filters.
- Nokia Storyteller includes a new video slideshow feature that can be shared via Facebook or Twitter. The new updated Storyteller has feature called story sharing that allows you to share the living images as a video.
- Lumia Cyan brings even better audio capture to Lumia flagships, which are known to be the best in capturing audio already, thanks to “directional rich recording”. Now, the Windows Phone 8.1 brings Dolby Surround Sound capture support to Lumia 1520 and Lumia Icon a feature which will be on Lumia 930 as well. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus format + Rich recording capture will be a dream come true for video enthusiasts.
- Continuous autofocus while capturing video comes to Lumia 630, Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon, and Lumia 930.
Lumia Cyan other changes:
- Lumia Cyan brings ability to stop use of Cellular data for limited WiFi connectivity
- Brightness slider. It seems Lumia 630 has three sliders, one each for three brightness levels, while other devices get just one slider.
- Miracast projection support is also coming to Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon and Lumia 930
- USB settings are now unhidden
- Display color profile has enhanced look
- Lumia 520, Lumia 525, Lumia 620 or Lumia 720 with local HERE Drive, will get a free upgrade to global HERE Drive+
Windows Phone 8.1
This page is meant for comprehensive coverage of Windows Phone 8.1, the huge Windows Phone overhaul. You will find all the new features and changes coming with Windows Phone 8.1 covered on this page.
We have also posted a series of Windows Phone 8.1 hands-on video demos CUM how to play with settings tutorials on this page. So, we will demo the changes and will also let you know how to enable the changes or get more out of the settings and changes.
All the tips and tutorials for Windows Phone 8.1 which we have covered in separate articles are also available on this page.
UI & Multitasking changes
- 3rd column of mid-size tiles on any Windows Phone 8 device
- Customizable Start screen with parallax effect
- Swipe down to close apps in multitasking
- Action center with “quick-access” buttons and notification center
- Separate volume controls for Media+Apps and Ringers+ Notification
- Devs can remove, tag, group notifications or replace with a new one. They can also set when the notification expires. They can also enable Ghoast toast notifications, which will appear only in notification center
- There is a limit of 20 notifications per app and notification for last 7 days or less will be shown. Users will be able to tap on, remove one, a group of or all the notifications.
- There will be Four Slots (Five for bigger display devices, but needs to be confirmed) found in Quick access settings of Action Center and following apps can be set for quick access,
*Camera
*Wifi
*Bluetooth
*Airplane Mode
* Rotation Lock
*Internet Sharing
*Brightness
*Do Not Disturb
* VPN
* Location and
* Mirroring
Here is the video demo and settings tutorial for UI & Multitasking changes on my Lumia 525.
Here is our second post in the series of Windows Phone 8.1 hands-on demos CUM settings tutorials.
Messaging, Browser & Apps Store changes
- Mute the messaging thread
- Browser upload and Download
- Browser password manager
- Enable Zoom in or out option on any webpage
- Stop / Refresh buttons in the address bar
- Reading mode and options of browser color and font size selection
- Tab Syncing, no limits on number of tabs
- Swipe left and right to go forward and backward while browsing
- Embedded videos play on the webpage now
- InPrivate browsing Tab
- Apps auto update and download options
- Installed apps history and re-install improvements
- Apps review related changes and developer can respond to a review
Here is the video demo and settings tutorial for Messaging, Browser & Apps Store changes on my Lumia 525.
Here is our third post in the series of Windows Phone 8.1 hands-on demos CUM settings tutorials.
Cortana, Quiet hours & Inner Circle
- Cortana has a Live Tile and can be access by tapping on this tile and then pressing the microphone button or by long pressing on Bing search button. The Live Tile itself flips and presents news or stuff based on your interest as saved by Cortana on her notebook.
- It brings Universal search with itself. Can search both your phone and web.
- Cortana can tune in music for you, take orders, save alarms and reminders and modify them as well, make calendar entries, write messages and call friends. It can use maps and Bing search to find nearby restaurants, places of interest.
- Cortana is really smart and it can not only handle your orders smartly but also surprise you with some Jibes and offer smarter suggestions.
- Cortana can work when power saving kicks in. This can be enabled in settings.
- You can turn off Cortana and will stop receiving the reminders, alerts and ideas.
- Cortana is tightly integrated to Bing Account and the profile data saved with Bing Account remains synced across devices. Even if one deletes the data on phone the cloud profile data remains intact.
- Cortana’s language can be changed. Initially it supports only English US though.
- Cortana can save some data on her personal notebook based on your usage and permission! This includes your interests, name, places, inner circles, your reminders, settings etc. You can select to clear or change the data on her notebook!
- Cortana saves the things she learns about you in the cloud as well as on your local device.
- Cortana will handle your calls and texts and will silence other notifications during those “Quiet hours”. You can turn it on or off or set it to turn on automatically.
- Inner Circle is the circle of friends who can still reach you during “Quiet Hours”, and that can be changed in settings as well
Here is the video demo and settings tutorial for Messaging, Browser & Apps Store changes on my Lumia 525. You can try our tutorial or watch the video below for getting Cortana on your device even if you are not in US.
Here is our fourth post in the series of Windows Phone 8.1 hands-on demos CUM settings tutorials.
Speed Dial, Storage Sense, Apps on MicroSD card, Background tasks control
- Speed dial is finally here
- Enhanced call history in dialer app
- Apps, Podcasts, Downloads, Music, Video, Photos can be stored on MicroSD card and settings can be enabled by using storage sense.
- Already installed apps can be moved to SD card from Phone and Vice-versa
- Background tasks can be controlled from Battery saver now
- Apps can be set to be always allowed to run in background, even when the battery saver is on
Here is the video demo and settings tutorial for Speed Dial, Apps on MicroSD card, Background tasks control changes on my Lumia 525.
This is the fifth post in the series of our Windows Phone 8.1 hands-on demos + settings tutorials.
Camera, Data Sense, WiFi sense, Calendar
- Calendar has added not only weekly view but also yearly view. Now one can set different colors for all apps with calendars support. For example, one can set various colors for various Facebook events like B’days, invitations and more
- WiFi sense allows one to connect to even those WiFi hotspots which require some additional info for connection to go through, as one can key in and save info in WiFi sense. One can share used secure WI-Fi Networks with contacts.
- Camera app named as “Microsoft camera” has one new mode: Burst. It comes with customizable viewfinder. One can choose which buttons to see in the UI.
- Data sense enables one to input Monthly data limit, billing cycle period etc and displays the overall data consumption further breaking into WiFi vs Mobile and to the much detailed app level consumption as well.
- It can be set to restrict data consumption when the monthly limit reaches or even control data consumption during roaming
Here is the video demo and settings tutorial for Camera, Data Sense, WiFi sense, Calendar on my Lumia 525.
Windows Phone 8.1 tips about Notification center, Manual apps updates, Browser & Keyboard
Time for miscellaneous Windows Phone 8.1 tips about Notification center, Manual apps updates, Browser & Keyboard!!
Windows Phone 8.1 brings ability to check apps updates manually and even allows auto-update of apps if enabled. Check the video for how to do it.
Notification Center can even be accessed when your phone is locked, but what if you want to disable it. You can do it in settings and once disabled one can swipe down to reveal quick-access buttons from the lock screen but not the notifications.
We covered browser in detail. But, two new cool features were amiss. So, you can go back and forward in the browser by swiping left or right from the current page. Also learn how to do “InPrivate browsing” which allows browsing without any session data getting saved.
Keyboard we also covered in some detail, but the video demo tells you about the swiping experience and how precisely emoticons and other icons are suggested by new Word Flow Keyboard.
Check all the tips in action,
Windows Phone 8.1 Keyboard: How to write faster, add life to messages & more tips.
Windows Phone 8.1 comes with a great Keyboard called “Word Flow” keyboard, which holds world record in fastest typing speed. This has been possible by combining Windows Phone’s already capable keyboard and new swype-like input method.
Still there are some tips and settings which may make using this Keyboard faster and more enjoyable for you.
While writing if you tap and hold some of the keys you get to many new key inputs and that saves lots of time for you. Have a look at some of the examples below. You can find some more by yourself.
You can press and hold on the currency €, to show more currencies. This one is for our Indian readers and now you have a dedicated “Hinglish” keyboard. For changing Keyboard you need to press and hold the Keyboard key.
While writing a word, you can select and use the Shift ↑ key to capitalize the first letter or the whole word. The new Keyboard is very rich when it comes to letting your message speak with emoticons and images. While typing itself you will be suggested emoticons by the keyboard. It is not only about emotion though and you can chose food, animals and so much more to insert into the message.
Changing various keyboard settings:
Go to Settings—-> Keyboard and tap on any keyboard. You will be presented with lots of setting options. There is also something called advanced settings tapping on which presents you with option of comma and switch back to letter after typing emoticon.
Windows Phone 8.1 tip: How to Project phone’s screen on a PC
Windows Phone 8.1 brings ability to project phone’s screen on a computer, TV, Projecor etc. While the wireless projection may be possible with “Miracast” in selected devices like Lumia 930, Lumia Icon and Lumia 1520 when Lumia Cyan hits them, the screen projection with help of a USB connector is possible for all the devices, even Lumia 520 and Lumia 525. This tutorial aims to tell you, how to do that.
First you need to download and install the “Project my screen” app on your PC. Click here. 
Once you have this app installed and opened on your PC, connect your device to PC with help of the USB connector and you should see a prompt on your device asking for your permission to project your screen. Allow it to see your device getting projected on your PC. You can see controls available in PC app and you can use them for screen orientation. The best part about this USB connection and “Project my screen app” is that it really works in real-time and what is happening on your phone screen promptly reaches to your PC screen. On your PC, you can use alt+enter to control the full-screen app view.
By going to Settings—>Project my screen on your phone, you can enable “Show Touch” in the advanced settings and you can also chose in which color your touch will be shown.
Windows Phone 8.1 tips: Improving Battery life & converting Text, SMS & Mail to Calendar entries
Two hot tips for those on Windows Phone 8.1 already. Windows Phone 8.1 comes with huge number of improvements over Windows Phone 8 and the improvements run deeper than one can imagine. Here is one example.
Whenever, the phone running Windows Phone 8.1 finds a future date in your SMS, Text and Mail, it underlines the same. Now by just tapping on it you can create a calendar entry as shown below. See, how from the mail itself I could save the date of 1st may as a calendar entry.
Some of you are complaining about Battery life issues with Windows Phone 8.1. So, some of the blame goes to increased interaction with the phone post Windows Phone 8.1 update and especially with Cortana. But there are some tips, which can still help in getting more juice out of the battery.
- You can put the location off when not needed, though for Cortana to work it should be on.
- Background tasks enhancement with Windows Phone 8.1 has made more tasks running in Background possible and some can run even when Battery saver is on. This is also a big Battery killer. So, you can manage which tasks to be run in background by going to Settings—>Battery Saver—->usage or check the video demo and tutorial here.
- Go to Notification + actions in settings. Here you can control for which apps you need notifications and you can also manage sounds for push notifications. You can also set whether you want to play sound for Key press, camera shutter and System alerts. Check the video demo and tutorial here
These tips should help in prolonging battery life on your Windows Phone 8.1 running device. In case you are still facing issues, try a reset. But, above three tips should help in any case.
Windows Phone 8.1 Facebook & leaked Twitter Beta apps show “the new deeper social integration”
If you are on Windows Phone 8.1 then you may have already updated your Facebook app to latest version 8.1.4.4 and if not you may like to do so. This version of Facebook brings a different kind of integration to Windows Phone. Till Windows Phone 8, the Facebook was baked within the OS and with the new app it still is deeply integrated, in fact slightly better. So, what has changed from Windows Phone 8 to Windows Phone 8.1 in terms of Facebook integration.
- No Facebook chat in messaging and it seems because of Facebook’s thrust of having a separate messenger app on all platforms.
- There is no Facebook account configuration needed in “email+accounts” settings, once you have installed the latest Facebook app.
- As you can see now there is “connect with the phone” settings in the new Facebook app itself and switching this settings on makes Facebook integrate to “People hub, Photos app and even the calendar, which is an improvement over Windows Phone 8. As can be seen, in the 3rd screenshot above, now B’days of Facebook friends appears automatically in Calendar.
The Twitter Beta which has appeared and later withdrawn from store comes with similar integration and that is not a bad thing. Separate apps not baked in OS allow for quicker updates and new features can be added much faster.
