I recieved the latest smartphone, the Lumia 830, to be my sidekick during the busy holiday entertaining season! It has a personal digital assistant named Cortana. It also features tons of music, recipe, and photo apps . Let me show you how the Lumia 830 is the complete package for holiday hosting.
Did you know you have your own Holiday Hosting Assistant on your Lumia Smartphone?
Your personal digital assistant is named Cortana. Cortana can help with your party prep by reminding you to pick up dinner ingredients when you’re near the store, track flights to let you know when family has arrived to town, and more.
Cortana understands how precious our time is. She helps me stay one step ahead during the holiday season. The Daily glance feature shows helpful info like travel time from work or to the mall. If there is an accident which makes traffic horrible, Cortana will alert me to leave early. You can even check the weather forecast and let your guests know if they need to bring snow boots or a raincoat!
I used Cortana to help me find a theme for my Holiday Party. She even showed me where to buy the items that would make my party a success.
With the power of Bing behind her, Cortana gets to know you and looks out for you. She’ll keep track of things that interest you, make helpful suggestions, remind you of meetings and appointments and help you stay closer to the people who matter most.
Cortana is the only personal smartphone assistant with people based reminders. That means she can remind you to congratulate a friend on his promotion when he calls, or to send your mom a birthday card. Thoughtfulness is just a voice command away. While you are tackling the holiday rush, she won’t let your forget your Mom’s birthday.
The Notebook feature stores your interests, friends and routines and provides proactive, timely and useful recommendations. This is perfect for those that forget their wedding anniversary. Cortana remembers the date and will suggest a gift!
Try out this Lumia Windows Emulator HERE. It shows you how to use the phone, the apps and even how Cortana works. Give it a try. Cortana has a great personality. She can chat with you like a real person, is funnier than most of your friends and will root for your favorite team with you. Go ahead, try to stump her, just be ready for what she might say!
Try these apps to make your holiday hosting even easier!
Evernote:
Evernote turns your phone into an extension of your brain. This award-winning app lets you remember and recall anything that happens in your life. You can keep track of that HUGE to-do list so you can stay organized for a Holiday party to remember!
MixRadio:
This is the best way to add that holiday spirit at your party! Play Christmas Music with MixRadio! MixRadio is a streaming music service. It brings you free, personalized music with no advertising. Start listening with Play Me, an ever-changing mix based on the music you love. Use Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down to make the mix better each time you play. It’s like having your own personal radio station. Also includes hundreds of handcrafted mixes, create a mix, gigs, artist notifications, mp3 store and player, and of course the ability to save your favorite mixes for offline playback so you can listen even without an internet connection.
BigOven:
Do you need some great party recipes? Check out BigOven- they have over 350,000 recipes! Find inspiration for your next meal. Access over 350,000 recipes, featured collections and menus, curated by season, holiday, course, lifestyle, diet, and more. Read reviews and ratings by fellow home cooks to help you decide what’s for dinner. You can even use the grocery list and menu planner to keep your party well organized!
Fireplace:
Nothing makes a party more cozy than a fire burning in the fireplace. No need to worry if you don’t have a fireplace. This Virtual Fireplace makes a nice ambient wood burning sound. What a great atmosphere for a holiday party!
Afterlight:
If you’re like me, you take MANY pictures at your holiday gathering. Need some help editing them? Afterlight is the perfect image editing app that has powerful tools to give you the look you want in seconds!
Don’t forget the music! Need some help getting big sound from a little speaker? Check out the Nokia Portable Wireless Speaker! Listening to your favorite music is now simpler than ever. With its ultra-compact design and coming in a range of beautiful colors, the MD-12 is small enough to slip into your pocket. Perfect for those times when you need to be on the move at a moment’s notice. It’s wireless too which makes it perfect for music anywhere during your holiday party!
Are you interested in getting the Lumia 830 for someone you love this Christmas? It’s the perfect phone to keep you organized, takes great pictures and is fun to use! Check it out on our Christmas Gift Guide along with many other items for everyone on your list.