The Windows Phone Era Begins At Nokia: Lumia 800, Lumia 710 And Asha Line

Let the Windows Phone era begin at Nokia. While the N9 was a stunning device, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews around the Web, we all know that MeeGo isn't the future for Nokia. For better or for worse, CEO Stephen Elop made the decision long ago to pull the MeeGo plug and inject Microsoft's fledgling mobile OS into the Nokia universe. Now, we're seeing the fruits of that labor. At Nokia World 2011, the world's first Nokia-branded Windows Phone devices were unveiled. The Lumia 800, at the top end, is a dead-ringer for the N9, but it has a repositioned LED flash on the rear and it missing a front-facing camera, which the N9 possesses.

A bit lower down the line is the Lumia 710, a slightly lower-end device that still boasts Windows Phone 7. Nokia also launched four new mobile phones which feature stylish design, a rich social experience and location-aware technology. The Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201 blur the line between smartphones and feature phones, offering QWERTY and touch screen experiences, combined with fast and easy access to the Internet, integrated social networking, messaging and world-class applications from the Nokia Store.


The top-end 800 has a 3.7" AMOLED display, 1.4GHz CPU, Carl Zeiss optics, 16GB of internal storage, 25GB of free SkyDrive storage and an estimated retail price of 420 Euros, off-contract. The "no-nonsense" 710 will ship in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers, and will boast the same 1.4GHz CPU; the MSRP on this one is 270 Euros.

Both smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface; and Nokia Music introducing MixRadio, a free, global, mobile music-streaming application that delivers hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music. In an update delivered later this year, Nokia Lumia users will also gain the ability to create personalized channels from a global catalogue of millions of tracks. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, providing the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets also coming in the Nokia Music software update delivered later this year.

Completing the ultimate mobile audio offering, Nokia also introduced the on-ear Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster and the in-ear Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster, co-designed and co-developed by Monster, a recognized leader in high performance audio. Both products provide a fresh listening experience and are the first output of the exclusive long-term partnership between Nokia and Monster, intended to introduce a range of premium audio accessories to reflect the outstanding quality and bold style of the Lumia range.


The new Nokia Lumia 800 is now available in select countries for pre-order on www.nokia.com and is scheduled to roll-out across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November, with 31 leading operators and retailers providing unprecedented marketing support in those first six countries. It is scheduled to be available in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year, and in further markets in early 2012.

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 announced its plans to introduce a portfolio of products into the US in early 2012 and into mainland China in the first half of 2012.  In addition to the existing products, which include coverage for WCDMA and HSPA, Nokia also plans LTE and CDMA products to address specific local market requirements.