Nokia Archives - MomStart

Cricket Lumia 530: The Ideal Smartphones for Kids & Teens

December 8, 2014 by Momstart 1 Comment

I’m working with Cricket, an affordable Cell Phone service. They sent me a Lumia 530 for review.

According to a new report from The NPD Group, almost one in five kids between 4 and 14 owns a cellphone today. With high tech gifts likely on most wish lists this holiday season, parents may need some help in deciding which smartphone is going to be the best fit for their children. I was surprised that my son wants a cell phone for Christmas, he’s only six and I think that’s too young, but what is the right age, I have no idea. I think it depends on your child, and what type of phone.

The Lumia 530 is a great phone for children because it’s light, small and well built. For the screen to crack it’s going to have to have just the right hit on a rock to break, plus it’s a great price. It’s even free right now at Cricket when you sign up for a new plan.

Stay connected with Cricket’s reliable nationwide network and fast 4G LTE speeds. Our simple, straightforward monthly prepaid phone plans include mobile data access and unlimited talk and messaging. Plus all prices include taxes and fees so there are no surprises.

For parents who want to keep affordability in mind and make their kids happy this holiday season, the new Nokia Lumia 530 is a full-featured smartphone that is supported by some of the best apps for work and play, including Facebook, Evernote and Twitter.

Equipped with Windows Phone 8.1, this smartphone comes with Microsoft services built-in and features Cortana as a personal assistant that can help remind kids of their after-school commitments or to say happy birthday to their best friend when they arrive at their house. Regularly Priced at just under $50, the Nokia Lumia 530 is the practical choice for parents looking to give their children that coveted smartphone, fully supported by essentials like Xbox, Skype and Microsoft Office applications, without breaking the bank this holiday season.

My kids use my phone all the time so it was nice to have a phone for them to use for a while. They play games and we use Cortana for school time. I love using Cortana for my calendar and asking her questions like today we asked her what the definition was for hue. Cortana learns about your specific interests and the things you care about the most, makes recommendations and anticipates your needs. From warning you about impending road conditions to reminding you to pick up flowers for a loved one’s engagement, she’ll keep you close to the people who matter most. My kids love to listen to music and it’s really easy to use Pandora or MixRadio. And the games are practically endless. They play tons of different Disney games.

If you are thinking about getting a phone for your kids I wanted to share these tips with you that Cricket sent to us.

· Start planning early – according to advertising consultancy Communicus, 18% of pre-K children now ask their parents for a smartphone. Finding a phone that provides both gaming apps and productivity tools will help kids early on to find the balance between work and play.

· Price matters – Weighing both cost and utility is important for parents who want to provide their children with a useful device without paying the price of a premium smartphone. Let’s face it – kids break and lose important things all the time. Starting kids off with an affordable device will teach them the value of the technology.

· Choose a phone that is productivity focused – 46.3% of teens with a cellphone agree with the statement, “My cellphone should help me get work done when and where I want,” according to data from Simmons. Kids have busy schedules – connecting them with their email and word documents opens up opportunity to get work done wherever they are, whether that be while waiting for sports practice or at the park on the weekend.

· Get extra help – not all digital personal assistants are created equal. Some only provide reminders at a specific time, neglecting the opportunity to integrate people or location specific information into the alert. Choosing a smart device with an intuitive and adaptable digital assistant can be incredibly useful for a child – particularly for keeping track of homework assignments and afterschool activities.

Become a Filmmaker with a Nokia Icon & Win $10K Production Budget #VZWBuzz #LumiaIconChallenge

April 22, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

In my family we are big fans of the Nokia phone series. I have the Nokia Lumia Icon and my husband has the Nokia Lumia 920 series both amazing phones on the Verizon Wireless. We took them with us in vacation and using the 4 speakers on our phone were able to catch some really fun family videos.

The “Lumia Icon Video Challenge” is asking talented, but under-equipped, filmmakers to compete for a $10,000 production budget and filmmaking kit to create cool content using the Nokia Lumia Icon. Powered by creative community, Rippld, aspiring filmmakers will have the chance to showcase their technical skills, personal style and artistic vision to create original video content for a grand prize. They will also document their behind-the-scenes process to show the real and true workings of a director/producer absorbed in the art of great filmmaking.

What are They really looking for? They will check out your Rippld portfolio and demonstrated ability to create compelling video or cinematography. They will also be scoping out your Rippld Profile and About section to get a feel for who you are. Your video proposal should wow us and feature something that would typically be unseen or unheard, since Icon lets you “see and hear what you’ve been missing.” The more wow, the better!

Anything else you should know? Your video concept should obviously be compelling and have mainstream consumer and media appeal while highlighting Icon’s awesome recording and audio capabilities, including its 20MP image sensor, PureView Zeiss 6-lens camera, and precise placement of four high performance microphones. Oh, and they will give a little extra consideration to people who share their submission for the Lumia Icon Challenge on their social channels using hashtag #LumiaIconChallenge.

So please visit bit.ly/1p1GphZ to learn more about the project and show off your creative chops.

Tour of The Seahawks CenturyLink Field With The Nokia Icon #VZWBuzz #LetsGoPlaces

April 7, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I was invited to a media event sponsored by Toyota. There I meat with the execs and talked about how their review program works and they also gave us a tour of the CenturyLink Field home to the Seattle Sounders and the Seattle Seahawks.

During this tour, I used my new phone that Verizon gave me to review: The Nokia Icon and it’s known for it’s amazing photos and operating speed. It’s a super fast fully integrated WIndows Phone and what I mean by that is that I can now do all of my social media needs for work on a Windows Phone. The apps I need are there, the only one missing is Candy Crush and guess what? That just increased my productivity.

The Tour of CenturyLink field reminded me of marching band in high school. There is something really amazing about walking down that same path that the football team uses when they enter the field before the game starts. We saw the press booth, which by the way Seattle has the best press booth out of all the stadiums. The Press Box is on the same level as all of the VIP booths and you get free food and drinks and free admission. I was told that Seattle’s press box is the only free press box in the NFL. I haven’t verified that fact.

We were also allowed to walk through the locker room of the Seahawks. I took a photo of quite a few different lockers, but I had to share that even in the off season Marshawn Lynch’s locker is full of skittles.

The candy brand announced on Tuesday January 28th a formal deal with the Seattle Seahawks running back, whose relationship with the product dates to when his mother started giving him what she called "power pellets" in his Pop Warner playing days.

There is even now a Seattle Skittles package:

I had my picture taken as if I was a victor from the field and was being interviewed by the press.

I’m really amazed though at the quality this camera has with night shots. I love how the light was reflected in this photo of CenturyLink Field from the VIP level.

This is a picture of a 12th man flag that has been signed and is used as good luck before each game. The players tap the 12th man flag as they are walking down the hallway to enter the field for the game.

I had a great time learning more about my local football team. I will cherish the photos that were taken on my Nokia Icon for quite a while thanks to the automatic upload to my skydrive account, I can go ahead and let my husband have my Icon. He’s been drooling over it since Verizon sent it to me to review.