Does size matter? A Nokia Lumia 1520 Review

I recently got contacted from the lovely guys over at Connects, who asked if i was interested in looking after a Nokia Lumia 1520 for a couple of weeks. How could I resist? Well I'm glad I took the opportunity, and what better way than to share my views with you lovely readers on my blog!

Here it is.......

A phone review wouldn't be a review without some geeky tech info but i do feel that it's essential when talking about this phone!

When I first opened the box I was rather surprised to see how large this smart phone was, at 162.8mm in length, 85.4mm in width and a depth of 8.7mm, when i'm used to the Apple iPhone 5 which in comparison is a lot smaller at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm.

I have used an iPhone for the past three years and I totally couldn't imagine my life without it, before the iPhone I was in love with my Blackberry, but now i'm all about the Apple brand, I have the iPhone 5, an iPad Mini and a MacBook Air. So this was a nice change to see how a Nokia Lumia worked.

Heres some facts to consider about the Lumia

1. Battery
    3400 mAh, (this is massive), in normal terms 32 days on stand by and 27.4 hours talk time. I did put this to the test and for the whole two weeks I didn't actually charge the phone until I had to send it back (out of politeness) as it didn't need charging! I even left it on over night and used it throughout the day just because I could!

2. Snapdragon S800
    The first ever windows phone to pack a quad core processor! In normal terms, it's well fast!!!!!

3. Camera
    20 mp Pure View, more detail than most cameras! Pictures come to life on your screen.

4. Display
    The display is a massive 6 inches!!! And is the first Nokia smart phone to have a HD screen.

5. Memory
     32 GB


The phone itself was a little difficult to get used to at first, pretty much just trying to find my way round took longer than normal. The reason for this though is because this phone packs so much into it, its easy to get lost on the way round!No joke! I actually didn't put my sim in to the phone, instead I just connected it to my wifi, as I pretty much just use a phone for all the social media apps such as instagram, twitter and bloglovin to name but a few,  rather than call people! I know, I know, so unsocial it's untrue!
   The size of the phone was surprising, being so large, but we are now a society that has literally gone from taking the house phone round with us, to phones that were so small they would get hidden at the bottom of a bag to back full circle with bigger phones again. When I first had the iPhone it seemed massive, now the Nokia lumia makes it look small in comparison. With being a blogger we have ideas that pop into our head every day for new posts, or ideas on what we can next shoot to put on instagram, and this phone was great for popping things down! It was nice to see my ideas on such a large screen instead of having to enlarge things like when using an iPhone and one of its apps. For this reason it beats the iPhone hands down, but when I pretended to make calls, (weird, but just to see), it felt too large against my face, like i was holding my iPad mini to my ear!

   The camera was immense and the picture quality was as good if not better than my actual holiday camera. I personally liked how much detail could be seen from as something as simple as taking a picture of a flower.
   Now the battery!!! Where to start? Well as previously said I didn't have to charge the battery the whole time I had it, and the only time I did was just before I sent it back! But not just that it also has the option of wireless charging! Can you imagine! Wireless charging!!! I don't know about you but I have probably had five new cables this year alone! iPhone chargers always seem to loosen up at the point near the plug and then BANG! Your phone no longer charges!
   The story book feature is great as it stores your pictures based on time and location, so you will never forget what day you took the picture, which is another godsend when blogging as you have so much going on you can forget what day it is!!! That teamed with the lush camera equals some pretty awesome pictures in detail!

Since looking after the Lumia I noticed how many people actually had this phone! One that I hadn't really heard too much about or really considered was pretty out there with different age groups using it day to day!

Now the big question! Would I go buy one or get one on contract?
  In all honesty I would actually consider it, if the contract was a good one once my iPhone contract was up. I quite like that its a phone thats like a tablet with extras and like I said in the blogging world you have to keep in the know to know whats hot and whats not! I really enjoyed having this phone and learning its features for the past couple of weeks, and I absolutely recommend if you are in the market for a new phone! Don't dismiss it for its size, take a look and see all the amazing features it can offer you.

So there you have it. A little insight into the Nokia Lumia 1520. Hope this helps sum up any queries you had about the phone because its definitely one to consider!!!

Vicki xoxo

   

Accessorising Gillibean Style

With summer finally upon us and the music festivals in full swing, its the perfect time of the year to be accessorising your wardrobe. Statement pieces of jewellery can really change the way an outfit looks, literally taking the outfit from day time through to the evening!
     During my daily rummage through Twitter I came across Gill O'Toole's splendid array of jewellery, ranging from friendship to festival to charm style bracelets.
     Former "Desperate Scousewive" Gill O'Toole first hit our screens back in 2011 on the reality show which people loved to hate. For me it was more of a guilty pleasure with the show showcasing the ladies to have fabulous lives up in Liverpool. The first episode gained great ratings but there after were significantly lower. However, since the axing of the show after it's first series,  many Tv fans up and  down the country have begged E4 to bring back the reality series to see such favourites such as Gill and her younger sister Debbie to be back on our screens! When the show did end a year later Gill decided to turn what would once be a fun hobby into a business. With a mass audience of 50k followers on twitter and a further 10k on instagram, Gill had the great start needed for any business to run, an already awaiting public, her fans!
   The idea originally started after a trip away when her sister Debbie brought back as gifts mini friendship bracelets. Taking the concept of friendship bracelets on board, Gill researched online and found she could buy friendship making kits from eBay at a relatively low price. Once she posted a few pieces on twitter her followers wanted more and before Gill knew it she had a brand!


Here are some of my fave pieces from the Gillibean line!

Best Friend Friendship bracelet £12.50

           
    Summer / festival bracelets £11.50 each                          

Hasma hand stretch bracelet £15

Initial bracelets £13 each

Love and be loved bracelets £15 each

Heart rings £8 each

Heart earrings £4 a pair











What I love about Gillibeans is the fact they are affordable to everyone and so easy to wear! You can wear the items on their own or stack the bracelets, for example, for more of a "trendier" look! I like the charm bracelets and the bracelets where you can have your own initials on or your friends to really make it a much more personal gift. At these prices the jewellery range is great for presents being personal and fashionable they truly are ideal!

To order and have a look at more of Gill O'Tooles Gillibean range then head over to twitter at twitter.com/gillibeanjewels and either message Gill on there or email her at gillibeanjewels@hotmail.co.uk .



Let me know what you think of Gills range and if you will be ordering some fab jewellery!

Vicki xoxo

Futurocks Finest

Theres nothing better than hearing the postman drop a parcel through the letter box. Excitement grows when the packaging is plain and only your name is on the front! Carefully opening up the seal I pull out the funky looking cardboard box to find..........

Yes, the latest phone case from Futurocks ! I have wrote a previous post on their latest collections of their new phone cases and this one was one of my favourites! What I love about this phone case in particular is the fact that is a complete replica of the Chanel ombre bags, but at the fraction of  the price!

Don't you just love it? The phone case can be yours for a mere £14.99! So what are you waiting for? Head over to www.futurocks.com now to have the latest fashion item at the end of your fingertips!!!

Style at it's best!!!!

Vicki xoxo

The Ones To Watch. A Designer Special

We all love designers right? We all aspire to have particular high end brands in our closet, whether it be a particular shoe, handbag or special dress. Every woman wants something thats maybe a little out of her price range, but we are human and we have dreams. So where am I going with this??? Well I was contacted by the lovely people from Farfetch who invited me to explore there site and i wanted to then share with you lovely readers about new and upcoming designers.
      First things first, who are Farfetch? Farfetch describe themselves as " a global community of over 300 visionary fashion boutiques offering an inspirational shopping experience to fashion forward customers. The independent boutiques within our community have been carefully selected for their forward thinking attitude, unique approach to merchandising and diversity of brands.They are located everywhere from Paris, New York and Milan to Bucharest, Riyadh and Seattle, but united in one e-commerce website. Farfetch showcases over 1000 labels and is dedicated to supporting independent fashion and to the cultural diversity that comes from uniting the perspectives of hundreds of different buyers, each with their own unique style and vision."

Heres the best bit..... Welcome the Designers!!!!!

You may of heard of ASHISH due to the recent collaboration with the high street chain Topshop, with every celebrity posting pictures on instagram of their tshirts with unique wording on them but more so the white led trainers which have become a massive hit. ASHISH produced his first ever show at London Fashion Week in 2004 and has since won the New Generation Award three times.
As you can see ASHISH has reinvented sequins to make them cool again and used old skool logos with vibrant prints to stand out amongst the fashion IT crowd.

Mother Of Pearl founder Maia Norman has worked with acclaimed artists to recreate such bold prints on each of its collections. Norman is known for its sports luxe creations with fabulous fabrics that has since created its mass cult following.
For me anything with a bold floral style print or stripe is a massive thumbs up, as I particularly love the way the two looks are blended to create a unique look.

Stine Goya was founded in 2006 by the designer of the same name from Copenhagen. The use of mosaics and her own designed prints has made Goya become loved in the fashion world. Goya has received many recognition for her work and won awards from DANSK in 2011 for Designer Of The Year. Her recent work showcased the mosaic print with vibrant colours setting the influence from the Scandinavian design. I personally love the simple lines blended with the deeper prints.

The Stella Jean Collection demands your undivided attention, with bold prints and bold colours to match, heads definitely will be turning when you step out wearing something from the label! Using her own metissage and Creole heritage to blend old cultures with new, to add authenticity to each garment produced. I love a statement piece to wear, whether it be an accessory or a piece of clothing, but not just that, an item that has more depth and meaning due to the designer behind it makes it a really special piece.

The last designer for me to show you is the rather wonderful Simone Rocha, who was born in 1986 in Dublin and showcased her first fashion show at London Fashion Week in 2011 which gained critical acclaim. Rochas design take on an edgier look, with earlier collections using sic-fi influences but more recent shows using more complicated construction techniques instead of layering ruffles and feminine fabrics. Simone Rocha is another favourite designer of mine as I loved the look books she created with the twist of feminine looks with a sexy sheer fabric.

Who are you favourite designers at the moment?

Any of these take your fancy?

For me it's between Ashish and Simone Rocha whose collections just stand out the most this season.

Vicki xoxo

Futurocks "Chanel'-ing The Ombre Trend

Ever since I came across the website www.futurocks.com my phone has been more fashion conscious than my outfits! This is no joke! I love their stylish cases for my iPhone and how many comments I get per day on each of the cases I have. People from my work place to people working in retail have come up to me to specifically ask where my amazing cases are from. I think what makes these cases so special is their unique perfume bottle case with the double c branding on it. I have recently been to New York and have seen many stores there selling different phone cases but none as stylish as this. Long gone are the days where people are wanting a plain case, its all about the Chanel style. And whats better is that Futurocks have some new styles coming to their website very soon, so you must keep an eye out for these too as it won't be long before these sell out. Yes it's a case "Chanel"-ing the ombre trend, we have done it to our hair so why not our cases!!!

I can't wait for the new styles to come into stock, still can't decide whether to get the blue or the pink? The second picture shows just some of my purchases from Futurocks, but hey don't just take my word for it, the celebs have finally cottoned on to this trend and are loving their cases too!!!

 Kim Biermann is a Real Housewive from Bravos television hit series and clearly the second picture is of Kelly Osbourne showing off her lovely new case!

What are you waiting for? Head over to www.futurocks.com now and be ahead of the trends with these phone cases for this summer!




Just a quick note I have not received any payment for this post!
Let me know which case you have in your collection!

Vicki xoxo

First Day In The City Part One!

I was beyond excited to be arriving in New York! It felt like we had been planning this trip for ages, when in reality it had only been a few months! A few hours before we had stepped off the plane, a little worse for wear, with the journey being so long, British Airways is no luxury way to travel, (must note to spend extra and go with Virgin), we were finally in the city of big dreams! But its no dream when you get off the plane and have to then wait in line for your passports to be checked again,  and with your fingerprints to be taken! All I wanted was get our cases and to get in a big yellow taxi!!!!

Ok, so the taxi wasn't that big, but still I'm in a yellow New York taxi! I'll take it!
The ride was crazy, swerving in and out of lanes that didn't exist, and overtaking when there was no room to get back across, but thats the craziness of New York driving! The survival of the fastest!
 About an hour later we ended up at our hotel the InterContinental New York Barclay, and I was not disappointed! The concierge were waiting on the steps to take our luggage in, with their right hand extended for their tip. And so it starts, the tipping! There is no choice in this, its expected!
Anyway, onto the hotel itself! I wanted a Home Alone New York hotel, you know the one where he uses his dads credit card and eats all the ice cream. Well this hotel was so like it, down to the 1920's decorative touches and the extremely large reception area. I loved it! The decor was rich in exterior and ceiling lights brightening the seating area, this was one of New Yorks finest and I was staying here!

Yeah I know a little random to take a picture of a door, but hey I'm in New York so why the hell not!!!!

Now lets venture inside........

In keeping with the downstairs of the hotel, the theme ran throughout its bedrooms with extremely large beds and fancy bedroom furniture. If you prefer modern then this hotel is not for you, as it  has more traditional styles.

Waking up in the city!!!!

5am and I'm awake and ready to take on this city.

Stepping out into the fresh air to go get some breakfast, the sight was breath-taking! I couldn't believe my eyes. Yeah I have seen New York in the films, (I have been Las Vegas and been up the Eiffel Tower), but  this was simply amazing! The scale which all the skyscrapers are built on is beyond anything I have ever seen before and out of this world! It's like they tower above the clouds. Walking along the streets you can't help but have your mouth wide open and your camera clicking away at literally anything! 

   We decided for the first day to have a general look around and just to get our bearings with the grid of New York. But before we knew it we had ended up outside Grand Central Station!! Both of us had this on our lists of things to go and see and here it was not far from our hotel. It was so amazing. For me being a massive Gossip Girl fan I couldn't wait to get inside. It was magical seeing the stairs for the scenes where Serena Van Der Woodsen entered my life. The stairs grand and the ceilings high, the tourist in me took over.

After taking a million pictures and literally squealing like a big girl at everything we finally left to get some breakfast. As it was sunday not much was open at eight in the morning so we headed into (insert embarrassed face here) to Mc Donalds! I know, i know all that way and we go McD's, but we were hungry and it was quick and convenient! And apart from the rubber egg was soooo good!

 Walking the city streets and taking in all the sights we then ended up at another tourist spot that was on my list of things to do! The FlatIron building! The reason I was so excited for this building was simply because of the design of it, as it's so unusual. It's called the FlatIron building as it has the same shape of a clothes iron.

 A little bit of history for you.... The building was completed in 1902 and located on 175th Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It's one of only two skyscrapers north of 14th street, which is pretty crazy considering how many skyscrapers are in New York. The neighbourhood surrounding the building is known as the FlatIron District and the building itself was designated a New York City landmark in 1966. You simply can't go New York without visiting this district as it's simply beautiful and so peaceful compared to the craziness of Times Square.

Wandering around this area for about an hour or so we decided to see what else we could find just simply by walking round and not concentrating on the map. The streets seemed to get much busier as the day went on and before we knew it we saw the bright lights and extremely large billboards flashing the latest advertisements in Times Square! This was crazy! So many people crammed into one space all taking selfies with the massive buildings in the background, with police around on every corner making sure everything is in check! 

 We had brought with us our New York Passes, which we paid for before we came out here and we saved so much using these as you get in to virtually all attractions for free, you just pay for the card but the savings are massive compared to what you would pay on the day! We had seen Madame Tussauds was on our card lists so headed on over.........

That's all for now!!! Keep checking back for the 2nd part soon!

Vicki xoxo