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Nokia lets Lumia 820 owners 3D print their own case

The birth of BYOP?

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Nokia has posted the templates 3D printer users need to make their own shell or case for its Lumia 820 smartphone.

The mobe is already designed to swap some of its plastic parts, with the rear plate available as inert plastic or one of Nokia's inductive charging gadgets.

Three different batches of files are offered to DIY mobe-case makers.

Nokia says the decision to release the files is motivated by its belief that “a rich, vibrant ecosystem isn’t just a matter of apps and services; it’s also hardware—physical things that enhance and personalize your experience with your phone.”

Dozens of Chinese factories figured out the same thing quite a while ago, and 3D printers still sell in low volumes and require expensive “media” that make a DIY case or shell rather more work and expense than can be had with off-the-shelf alternatives.

3D printer owners would almost certainly respond that the fun of rolling their own outweighs any savings. Given the Lumia sales aren't setting the world on fire, Nokia's motivation for releasing the printing plans could be similar. ®

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Re: I suppose

@ Eadon - No. You have rejected Windows Phone and you insist on applying your viewpoint to everybody. The fact that you insult anyone who has a Windows Phone ("who wants to be a saddo that has windows on his phone?") is proof of this.

The fact is that Windows Phone (not Windows Mobile) is just over two years old. Two years after its unveiling, Android had only approximately a 3% market share - and this is with a practically empty playing field (since Apple operate by their own rules), as opposed to facing a well-established, popular competitor.

This article is about a neat little idea that a handset manufacturer has had for their devices, and the manufacturer/device combination happens to support Windows Phone, so you felt compelled to rant about your views on Windows Phone and how it is inferior to said well-established competitor that you favour.

That, sir, is the behaviour of a shill.

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Re: I'm sure the handfull of real Windows Phone users are delighted

a) Nokia, not Microsoft.

b) Shut up Barry.

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Anonymous Coward

Re: Nokia - another Microsoft victim

@Eadon - By your logic Red Hat should just give up and become a Windows reseller.

Do try to think your arguments through before vomiting them onto your keyboard.

A monoculture is bad on desktop, servers or mobile devices, there is room in each market for a competitor, I would say that each market actually needs a competitor. Where is the incentive for Google to innovate in Android, if they don't have any competition?

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