14 DAY TRIAL // Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has made available for download a new flavor of the Nokia Chat powered by Yahoo! beta for its Lumia devices, namely version 1.1.
The new application iteration arrives on handsets with a series of bug fixes inside, while also featuring various new features, as well as a series of improvements.
One of the features that Lumia owners can take advantage of as part of the new update include Tap+Send (NFC) between Lumia phones.
For this to work, users will need a Lumia device with NFC connectivity inside, which will enable them to tap+send items such as their chat address, the details of a contact, and even Nokia Chat itself to another NFC-equipped Lumia.
Using the application is very simple, a recent post on the Nokia Beta Labs blog reads:
- Go to the Chat home screen menu and select tap+send to share the app, and to send your address to someone already using Chat. - Long-press any name on your chat contact list to tap+send that person’s details to another Chat user. - When you tap+send contact details, the recipient must confirm if they want to add the person shared to their contact list. If yes, the recipient will then send an add contact request to the person whose details were shared.
Nokia Chat 1.1 beta also enables users to share places. When a place is shared, the receiver will see a touchable map preview that links to place details, directions, and reviews – powered by HERE Maps, provided that they also have a Lumia smartphone.
As mentioned above, the new flavor of the mobile client also comes with a series of improvements, including some related to its performance, and others that affect its design.
For example, in conversations with many messages, the older messages are hidden by default, though they would appear when the user moves up-screen into chat history. Furthermore, message bubbles are evenly spaced, so that more of the conversation is visible on a single screen.
The sign-in process using an existing chat address is now easier than before, and the Nokia Chat beta application is now available in more countries, including Hong Kong, Macao, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Nokia Chat Beta for Lumia can be found on this page in the Windows Phone Store.