US government shows how smartphones can help save lives, merging the iPhone and Lumia 920

The US government fired out the above promotional video, which has been captured and uploaded on YouTube. It essentially sends out the message that smartphones (and mobile phones in general) can save lives just as effectively as other technology. A weather warning is demonstrated on a Nokia Lumia 920, but it's not showing a Windows Phone screen. We're looking at an iPhone.

Sure, it makes sense why the team behind the production would prefer to show the most popular smartphone UI in the US on that device, but it's great to see them consider the award-winning design of Nokia's Windows Phone hardware. Mixing the two together is just weird, especially since they didn't even fill the entire Lumia 920 display, making it appear to cut off. Why not just use the Modern UI?

via: WMPU; thanks, John, for the tip!

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

128 Comments
  • Omg gr8
  • I want this phone
  • I do not
  • +620
  • Me not too.
  • What kind of blasphemy is this?
  • +925
  • +820
  • +920
  • +1020
  • +920
  • +everybody stfu.
  • Make me...
  • Make me make you! :P
  • Sure this system is gonna save lives, but merging a Nokia lumia 920 with iOS surely isn't.
  • Yeah, quite the opposite really heh.
  • Heart attacks n stroke's nation wide!
  • Should of just used the iPhone. This makes absolutely no sense lol. Then again, they are not promoting the phone so whatever I guess...
  • It's the US government. What do you expect? Something that makes sense?
  • Lol
  • True lol
  • And they probably spent millions of taxpayers dollars doing it.
  • They didn't want to get sued by apple for using the likeness of their device.
  • If apple sues, just tax them higher lol.
  • It wouldn't work. Their Irish overlords would probably do the suing...and we already know that they don't pay the taxes they owe.
  • *Should have...
    ;-)
  • or "should've" :)
  • "Should of", a crime against grammar.
  • Hilarious how people use "should of" instead of "should've". And don't get me started on "your" and "you're" screw up!
  • Lol
  • They did something like that on one of the first episodes of Arrow -___- got me happy when I saw the Lumia, but mad when they quickly changed it to an iPhone on the same scene
  • hmm... sure it wasn't just the other character's phone?  I noticed in Arrow a STRONG Microsoft promotion, but there was always one or 2 character who didn't carry Nokias or Win 8 products.  One was the 'Arrow hotline' that Ollie gave Dinah, it was (and alwasy was) an iPhone.  And I'm not 100% sure, but I think some of the more business-characters, like Ollie's step-dad, had a Blackberry. Truthfully, I like that its mixed up... its a little unrealistic to see every single person in one TV show with the same exact phone (yeah yea, I know... we're talking about Arrow of all things...realism isn't something that should come up...)
    But otherwise, I do love seeing the Nokia's and Win 8 machines in that show.  Makes up for all the iPhone and Macbooks in every other TV show.
  • If they could have showed an alert on WP, maybe they would have!
  • They work on my phone.
  • That's the must fugly pos I've ever seen. No disrespect to Nokia! Lol
  • I need to throw up now.
  • Throw that from the window!
  • thats funny!
  • looks like a screenshot of the ios displayed on the lumia.. but not actually running the iOS on the lumia
  • Absolutely, but even then they could have enlarged the image to at least fit the 920 perfectly...
  • Haha, yeah...
  • LOL right! iPhone and WP screens are definitely different.
  • I'm sick to my stomach...
  • Is that the new "budget" model iPhone, the iLumia 920 :P?
  • You have all missed the point, this is just Cupertino's road in to legal action against Nokia for stealing the Lumia design from the Fruit Loops. Obvious really.
  • Nothin beats the smell of lawsuits in the mornin.
  • Apple and Microsoft had agreed in cross patent licensing, so they can't sue one another in that agreement. But for the US gov, they can sue it.
  • Look at the gradient on that alert
  • it's a lumia 900  not 920  look at the windows logo 
  • What crack are you smoking? It's the 920....get your eyes checked, the logo is just blurred out but its definitely a 920.
  • USB port on the bottom, it's a 920. 
  • Yup that too.
  • Fake :) there is a app tht dies the same only its a screenshot !! Like this one
  • KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!
  • Is windows phone going to get these alerts anytime soon? I know iPhone has them.
  • Verizon WP's has the alerts, AT&T has decided that the safety if their WP users isn't important. LOL
  • Go figure!
  • This makes no sense whatsoever. Why not just use an iPhone running iOS or a lumia running WP8?
  • ^THIS.
    Leave them as they are, as they have their own uniqueness!
  • This is pure unadulterated SACRILEGE. How dare they deface our PRECIOUS...;)
  • Lol would love a iOS Lumia
  • Your comment just gave me cancer ❕❗❕❗
  • Somebody hold me, I feel sick.
  • Lol
  • Good for a laugh
  • This is possible with live wallpaper
  • "Apple request to file suit against US Govt".... i wouldn't be surprise.... fockin fruitcakes....
  • Rather Nokia... putting that thing on a beautiful 920...
  • Half a$$ government work, what do you expect. I remember meeting a woman that rights government policies on mobile phones, shocked me when she said that she really don't know anything about the products she writes theses so called policies on.
    Useless ineffective workers doing half A$$ work. Lol
  • i work for the gov't and i agree..  but i'm no HALF A$$.. a 1/4 maybe.. lol
  • This is actually quite common, even in the private industry. Policy or instruction writers will take input from the people who know that stuff. It comes down to dollar allocation. I can pay someone making $30/hr (or more) to write documentation and policies or pay someone $15/hr to do it.
  • The intentions of the video is to let Windows Phone users about the Amber/NWS/Presidential Alert system implementation coming (which Microsoft is two years behind in terms of compliance, among other things discussed by yours truly).
  • That's cool and I think most people get it, my argument is that you don't preach about electric vehicles by show a BMW M5 with interior shots of a Nissan leaf. If you're gonna do something do it right. Do not half ass it.
  • But I already have that option on my Verizon 928.  Is this not on other phones?  Under messaging options, there's Emergency Alerts.  I can turn on Amber alerts and set what emergency alerts I receive, options being:
    Presidential only
    Presidential and Extreme alerts
    all alerts
  • I have that too on my 822
  • It's on my 822 also. I've gotten both Amber alerts and NWS alerts. Threw me off the first time it went off...I was like "What is that sound!?". It makes the same sound you here on the radio or TV.
  • Not sure how WP is behind on compliance. I receive all those alerts on my 822.
    It appears that AT&T is the one behind, as they are the only ones not putting it in their WPs.
  • I get amber alert on my Lumia 521 all the time, but my 920 doesn't get it. I guess it's a carrier feature and not a software limitation.
  • Leave it to the U.S. government to take something good and ruin it.
  • and after that, sue it to the court.
  • A Nokia device running IOS would be effing heaven. Just think about it. Notification center, bright backgrounds, apps that function properly , Microsoft apps
  • Blasphemy!!
  • Isn't it possible that this is simply an app with iOS trimmings running on the Lumia? The whole thing is running from within the boundaries of the app, right? Can't they make the app look just like they want? What am I missing?
  • That's what I thought when I saw it.
  • Run to the bomb shelter, kids!
  • Typical government...FUBAR.
  • the notification looks so ugly. Disgusting gradient
  • ha! if they're going to spy on everything we do you'd think they could at the very least get their tech vids right. 
  • That's stupid... 920
  • I think it's because Windows Phone doesn't support the EAS (Emergency Alert System).
    A few days ago, we got some harsh weather, and so all these iPhones were buzzing around me with alerts, yet my phone stayed silent. Heck, even basic feature phones got the alerts.
    I don't know whose fault it is, but it kinda irks me. Anyways, more on point: a Lumia + iOS hybrid? Gross, no thanks. How would that even work? iOS isn't designed to work with three buttons or a camera button. Likewise, the Lumia isn't compatible with iOS APIs. They must've done some serious work to get that hybrid to even turn on...
  • Not true, I've received an alert (tornado warning) from the NWS on my Lumia 928. Still have it on my phone, it was a text that read:  "Tornado warning in this area until 8:15 PM EDT. Take shelter now. Check local media. - NWS"
  • SwimSwim, Sorry, that is incorrect info
  • It's on my 822 also. I've gotten both Amber alerts and NWS alerts. Threw me off the first time it went off...I was like "What is that sound!?". It makes the same sound you here on the radio or TV.
  • Its AT&T's fault not WP, because Verizon's WP get the alerts.
    822
  • No "weirdness" here, but did you see the Surface RT with Windows 8 SigFig app on their homepage? https://www.sigfig.com/
  • That's funny.
     
    Also funny in the video is after "dad" gets the warning, his face is pretty funny. I imagine its the same face Clark Kent has before he dashes into a phone booth to become Superman.
  • Lumia with IOS ? GOOD IDEA, ,,,,,,, say no to LAGndroid
  • Oh dear. Nostradamus predicted this would happen...
  • Bastard child with good looks and severe brain damage
  • LOL!
  • Very disrespectful to the Lumia.....
  • +infinity
    I'd rather leaving it as it is when I'm chosen to make that advertisement.
  • True
  • That's just ghetto.
  • Sure, the US Goverment saves lives by merging technology.
    That's exactly what the NSA is doing with PRISM....
    If Edward Snowden only understood. Remember kids, Uncle Sam saves lives. No matter what anyone says they do.
    </sarcasm>
  • I guess it is kind of funny since the Lumia 920 is not compatible with the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system  but the iPhone is.
    http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?&sid=KB410692&cv=820#fbid=9ikw21jEn-w
    Click on the question “Are Wireless Emergency Alerts available on all devices?”
  • I was just going to ask that question.  Would kind of be nice if we were able to get them.  Anybody know what the reason is?
  • I get them on my 822, I wonder if it's a carrier thing.
  • From the info I have seen on Ready.gov ( ready.gov/alerts ), the CITA site about WEA ( http://www.ctia.org/consumer_info/safety/index.cfm/AID/12082 ) and AT&T’s site it looks to be carrier and possibly phone hardware OEM dependent.  AT&T also states ( http://www.att.com/gen/public-affairs?pid=20107 ) that they have chosen to offer WEA within a portion of its service area, so it looks like they don’t even have the service in all of their markets.  I guess the question would be if the Lumia 920 currently has the required hardware/software and AT&T just has not enabled the service for their Lumia models or if the Lumia models AT&T has don’t have the needed hardware/software like the Lumia 822 Verizon has.  However, unless Verizon has not updated their list ( http://support.verizonwireless.com/information/wea_devices.html ) of compatible phones the Lumia 928 is not listed.  Verizon does list the Lumia 822, the HTC Windows Phone 8x and the Samsung ATIV™ Odyssey as compatible.
    Also refer to the FEMA fact sheet on it for more info: http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=7249
     
  • Didn't think many brought the 822, how do you find it? Do many ppl ask about it? I don't think the carrier gave it the credit it deserves
  • How dare he!!!!!!????
  • I'm not the little bit bothered with iOS on a Lumia. Actually, given the slow pace at which Microsoft updates WP and their lack of effort into bringing Apps to the platform, I would welcome Nokia to put iOS in the Lumias. And I don't even like Apple. Anyway...if the US Government tries to convince you of something...keep in mind they're just trying to spy on you.
  • Lack of effort to bring apps to the platform? That's just not true.
  • Pouring money isn't enough. They should make the platform more flexible. The amount of restrictions without appearent motive helps keeping developers away.
    I'm not saying "open your legs" like Android, but loose up the restrictions a bit.
  • Ummm...did anyone else notice that not only was it a 920 with iOS on the front in blue...when he picked it up it became a White 928...?
  • Looks like a white 920 when he picks it up to me, the back of it looks like the 920.  It also looks like a white 920 when it is on the table.  I think it is the lighting in the room that is causing the white 920 to have a blue hue.
  • I noticed after a friend showed it to me on their computer is looks white as well...and the backs are more similar than I thought.
  • you can see the area around the hardware button is clearly white.  if the phone suppose to be blue it will be cyan, not something like light cobalt.
  • What yours doesn't change color when u pick it up? Must be faulty bro I would take it back
  • It may be iOS, but you see the Windows icon. Free advertisement.
  • Actually, free *hidden* advertisement.
  • What the actual ****
  • Just make smartphones unique by leaving them as they are, NOT by merging them! It's the most weird combination, though I prefer NL920 over the iPhone. Is the video edited, or the government hates WP8 so it decided to merge iOS into that?
  • An iPhone with a back button, finally!
  • LOL /FACEPALM
  •   BLASPHEMY!
  • HOW DO WE DO THAT?!
  • I get them on my 950 and I'm with at&t