Get Adventurous with the Nokia Lumia Windows Phones

At the beginning of this year, Nokia has already announced 4 Lumia devices, the Lumia 800, 710, 900, and 610. Currently, 3 out of the 4 phones are available in either the two main telecoms and at the Nokia Stores nationwide. The 4^th, the Lumia 900 will eventually find itself in our shores before the year ends.

For Nokia, the Lumia line is all about Adventure; creating and saving those adventurous moments is what the Lumia smartphones are made for. With that, Nokia created a three-day event where members of the media selected one of three adventure days with the Appetizing, Aquatic, and Aero themes.

As a closet foodie, it was obvious that I’d choose the Appetizing Adventure. The Adventure involved a three-course cooking demonstration by Chef Sau del Rosario from the appetizer to dessert.

Before the program started each of us was assigned one of the Lumia phones. I was assigned the Lumia 610 which was the most affordable Lumia phone available but currently the latest Lumia out in the local market. And while it is true that some of the features have been reduced from the higher-end phones such as a slower processor, its UI is still as snappy as the 710 and the 900. The 610 does have features that the other two phones don’t such as Internet Sharing aka Tethering. I also got to play with the 710 and the 900.

Chef Sau started off with Pan Fried Fois Gras in Pineapple Compote which is basically fried duck liver with pineapple sauce to balance the richness of the fois gras. The main course is Fillet of Baby Lapu-lapu in Orange Soya Coriander Reduction with Organic Mesclun in Peppercorn Sauce and the capping of the meal was Wild Berry (strawberry and raspberry) Panna Cotta served in a wine glass.

While Chef did his thing with the ingredients, we used the Lumia phones to capture both still and video of the demonstration and with simple gestures, were posted on the different social sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

After the mouth-watering demonstration, we got to taste the food for ourselves as the waiters began serving us the menu. Although in our table, it was a struggle on whether to taste the food or play with the Lumia phones, taking photos of the food and posting them online or just generally getting our hands on time with the Lumia phones and the Windows Phone OS.

As the adventure drew to a close and wiped our lips with a napkin, my thoughts were on why Nokia thought up the “adventure” theme. Sure, these phones were tough. They could handle a few bumps and bruises, and even a drop. Then it hit me. It was all about how you’d use the Lumia phones to easily capture and remember any adventure, whether it’s gastronomic or others. As it is, the hardware features of the Lumia phones as well as the Lumia-specific apps and the snappy and easy-to-use UI of Windows Phone makes it a great alternative to the well-known iPhone and Android phones.

While the Lumia 710 is exclusive to Smart with the Plan 1000, the Lumia 610 and Lumia 800 are available at all Nokia Stores for PhP10,980 and PhP23,500 respectively. The Lumia 800 is also available through Globe for free with their Unli Surf Plan 1799.