Windows Phone 8 - Making Nokia Lumia More Than Just a Handset

**Nokia’s mastery of all things Windows Phone has not gone unnoticed, with its range of Lumia handsets selling well in recent months and users becoming familiar with this platform as an alternative of iOS and Android **. Microsoft makes sure that the Windows Phone 8 user experience is consistent across the devices that run it, with the same interface present on every mobile from Nokia and its rivals.

However, there are a few unique Nokia Windows Phone 8 apps that can be found on Lumia handsets. Here is a quick look at the best examples of its home-grown software.

Nokia Music

Nokia’s take on the music streaming app is fully featured and benefits from an attractive interface that is all about presenting an attractive way to engage with your favourite artists. As well as being able to stream tracks for free over a data connection, you can add your music collection to your phone and then enjoy local playback even if you do not have Wi-Fi or 3G available.

Nokia Lumia music fans can even purchase tracks from a huge catalogue of songs and download them direct to their phone, so this is a mixture of iTunes and Spotify rolled into one.

Nokia Here

The basic mapping app that comes with all Windows Phone devices is adequate, but not necessarily the most fully featured of services, particularly if you want to make the most out of your phone’s GPS capabilities.

Nokia smartphones can benefit from Nokia Here, which is the company’s own mapping and navigation software suite. In includes HERE Drive+, which is designed to give you the ability to navigate from A to B while you are on the move in a motor vehicle, with full directions provided so that you never lose your way. There is also HERE Transit which lets you find out about other transport options; and HERE City Lens, which is an augmented reality app that lets you point your phone’s camera at the urban area which you may be visiting and see local amenities and attractions that are nearby.

One of the best features of these apps is that the mapping is completely available offline, which means that if your data connection ever drops you will still be able to navigate. This is a capability that is not commonly found, particularly on apps that are freely available to Nokia Lumia owners.

Man of Steel

The recently released blockbuster movie Man of Steel has done well at the box office and Nokia has also used it to help market its Lumia 925 handset. There is even an exclusive Man of Steel app that is only available on Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia handsets. As well as giving you the ability to get behind the scenes info and content on the film itself, you can also unlock additional multimedia elements including lock screen wallpapers, ringtones and even digital comic books from DC.

All of these apps for Nokia and much more can be found by search the marketplace from your Lumia phone or visiting the manufacture’s website.