Nokia Windows phones revealed

Nokia has finally unveiled the first of its long-awaited Windows Phone-based smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 800.

Presented at Nokia World in London today by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, the Lumia 800 has a very similar design to the Nokia N9 with a polycarbonate finish and a 3.7 inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display.

The partnership with Microsoft has resulted in the Lumia 800 featuring a considerable amount of free software. One of the major features is the inclusion of Nokia Drive - a turn-by-turn voice navigation system.

The phone also has a new Nokia Music service called MixRadio, a free global music-streaming application that delivers channels of locally-relevant music without any need for sign-up or registration.

Through a partnership with ESPN, the Lumia 800 will also have a “Sports Hub” which will provides sports news and updates, all free of charge.

Available in cyan, magenta and black, the Lumia 800 has a 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration, a graphics processor and 16 GB of internal memory. It also features a camera based on Carl-Zeiss optics with f2.2 aperture and HD video playback.

The new handset will retail for about EUR420, and is already available for pre-order in certain countries.

It is due to be released in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November. Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan will get it before year-end, and it will be released in further markets, including SA, in early 2012.

"Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action,” said Elop.

“We're driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones."

President of the Windows Phone division at Microsoft, Andy Lees, says: "Today marks a remarkable first between two industry-leading companies. Nokia brings state of the art industrial design and outstanding global distribution, while Windows Phone brings it to life with an experience that puts people at the centre. The third ecosystem is alive and well.”

Apart from the Lumia 800, Elop also unveiled a lower-cost Windows Phone model, the Lumia 710. The so-called “no-nonsense” handset has the same 1.4GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the Lumia 800, but only has a 5-megapixel camera.

According to Nokia, the Lumia 710 is designed for instant social and image sharing, and can be personalized with exchangeable back covers. The Lumia 710 will also come already loaded with Nokia Drive and MixRadio. The retail price for the Nokia Lumia 710 will be approximately EUR270.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is scheduled to be available first in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year alongside the Nokia Lumia 800, before becoming available in further markets in early 2012.

Nokia also says it is planning LTE and CDMA products for specific markets.

IDC's senior VP for hardware, services, software research and consulting, Crawford del Prete, says: "We believe today's announcement of the Lumia 800 will put to rest the notion that Nokia cannot innovate in the Windows phone space.

“Nokia has raised the bar with respect to design and manufacturing excellence, creating a product that will stand out in a very crowded field. This combined with enhanced navigation and a simplified music experience, buying into the Nokia WP7 experience is unique, and adds value for customers."

Apart from the high-end Lumia handsets, Nokia has also unveiled a new “Asha” range of low-cost Series-40 based mobile phones, including the Nokia Asha 300, 303, 200 and 201. According to Nokia, the new phones “blur the line” between smartphones and feature phones, with QWERTY keypads and touchscreens, integrated social media and access to applications from the Nokia Store.

The lower-end devices are aimed at emerging markets and the “next billion mobile phone users”.

“These consumers want access to innovations such as easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, and third-party apps,” says Nokia, adding that Asha is derived from the Hindi word for hope.

The Nokia Asha 303 combines a 2.6-inch capacitive touch screen with a QWERTY keypad. The smaller Asha 300 has a standard numeric keypad also combined with a touch screen. Both devices have 1GHz processors, 3G, WLAN and run the cloud-based Nokia browser which Nokia says can compress data by up to 90%.

Prices will vary from market to market, but Nokia says the Asha 303 will retail for about EUR115, while the Asha 300 will retail for EUR85. Both handsets will begin shipping before year-end.

Completing the Asha range is the dual-SIM Asha 200 and its single SIM counterpart, the Asha 201. Both devices are designed for the youth market, with a colourful design and QWERTY keypad. The both handsets will retail for about EUR60 and the Asha 200 will start shipping before year end, while the Asha 201 will go on sale in the first quarter of 2012.

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