With Nokia’s new Windows Phone 8 devices, including the Lumia 620, Lumia 810, 820, 822 and of course 920, one feature that was previously available on earlier Lumias went missing: Flip to Silence. Part of that reason may be due to the curve screen on the Lumia 920, but it doesn’t explain the 8xx series or 620 as those are flat.
New firmware found on Nokia’s servers for the Lumia 620 hint that this feature is on its way back. The firmware (1030.6402) looks to be still experimental and it is difficult to download but one of our readers did manage to grab the files and flash his Lumia 620 (we tried but received some errors).
Our reader noted that with the new firmware, the 620 appeared to get better battery life, increased device performance and the inclusion of the aforementioned flip-to-silence feature. The OS was not updated with the firmware and it remained on Windows Phone 8 OS build 10211.
Our bet is Nokia is diligently working on porting over some missing features to their Windows Phone 8 series, including DLNA support and flip-to-silence. The former is expected soon as Nokia even admitted recently when asked about their missing PlayTo app. Now we’re seeing the first evidence that this useful phone feature is coming as well.
Flip to silence is a fairly standard smartphone feature that enables a user to literally turn their phone over if a call is coming in and disable the ringer. While certainly not a “must have” or groundbreaking feature, it’s one of those little things that make smartphones more useful.
It remains to be seen if such a feature will be used on the Lumia 920 where placing the phone display-down could risk scratches.
Thanks, tungha, for the files and screenshots!
