Nokia debuts first Windows 7 smartphone ‘Lumia’

Nokia has launched the Lumia, its first Windows 7 smartphone since its partnership with Microsoft earlier this year, as the worlds largest phone manufacturer looks to topple Apple and Google in the smartphone market.

The Lumia 800 will go on sale in the UK within weeks, and Nokia began accepting preorders this week.
Stephen Elop, Nokia chief executive said the new handset is the “first real Windows phone”. It has a 3.7-inch screen, eight megapixel camera and runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 software.
The firm has been working with Microsoft since the pair announced a deal this year. A cheaper version running Microsoft software, the 710, was also announced and Nokia unveiled four new handsets aimed at emerging markets.
Nokia’s Lumia 800 will be priced at some EU420 ($580), and Lumia 710 with a price tag of EU270.
Nokia stock was up more than 1 per cent at euro4.89 ($6.81) in early afternoon trading in Helsinki.
The Lumia 800 features Carl Zeiss optics and 16GB of internal memory, and will be available in some European countries in November, including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Britain. It will ship in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the year-end.
The Lumia 710 will feature a 1.4 GHz processor, navigational applications and Nokia Music – a free, mobile music-streaming app. It will first be available in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year.
“Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action,” Elop said at a Nokia presentation in London. “We’re driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones.”
The world’s top cell phone maker launched four smartphones aimed at emerging markets, with QWERTY keyboards and touch screens, aimed at helping “the next billion” users connect to the Internet, Elop said.
The new Asha range, priced at euro60 to euro115, some with twin SIM cards, music features, interactive maps and the popular Angry Birds game pre-loaded, will be shipped globally in the fourth quarter or early 2012.