Nokia has announced it will release its first Windows Phone this month. The device, codenamed ‘Sea Ray’ is the first to be released after the contract signed between Nokia and Microsoft earlier this year. With a lot of the excellent Windows features on board, Nokia Lumia contracts will be much more affordable than those of the iPhone 4S – while offering an equally excellent user experience.
The Lumia 800 is a stylish looking phone with a Gorilla Glass screen – most famously seen on the Samsung Galaxy S2. The design is similar to that of the Nokia N9, made from the same polycarbonate plastic but with a smaller screen. The N9 was 3.9” but, to fit in with the specification of Windows Phone, the Lumia 800’s screen in 3.7” still coming in with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is an AMOLED and Clear Black Display technology.
The device will be able to hold its own in the smartphone market, although it won’t be the most powerful out there. It runs on a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm SnapDragon S2 processor coming with 16 GB of memory and 512 MB of RAM. The operating system is Mango, the latest version of Windows Phone 7.
Windows Phone has struggled to compete with Android and iOS. Yet with Mango and Windows Phone 7.5 which runs on the Lumia 800, the focus has shifted to completing tasks and receiving notifications, including via social networks and emails which has been praised by reviewers. Earlier versions of the operating system struggled with social networking sites, although this updated version now works well with twitter and Linked in. Interaction with contacts through social networking sites is interwoven into email and messaging updates on each profile, integrating it across the phone. The Me tiles puts updates from sites like twitter, Linkedin and Facebook in one space so what each contact is saying is easy to see. Nokia has made additions to the features on the device with a new music and a map app.
In terms of dimensions the device measures at 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm.
In terms of usage there are three touchscreen buttons below the screen, back, Home and Search. The Search button directs straight to Bing. Two slots on the top of the device offer access for a microUSB charge and a microSIM slot. Volume buttons, a Zoom for the camera, screenlock and dedicated Capture button for the camera are on the right hand side.
The camera is an 8 megapixel with a dual-LED flash with autofocus and Carl Zeiss optics. Video comes with a resolution of 720p. There is no front camera. The phone comes with 16GB internal storage, although no mircoSD slot so pictures can be transferred via USB or messaging to external devices for backup. The Lumia will come in black, cyan and magenta.
Those looking at the specs of smartphone devices like the Galaxy Nexus, iPhone and Motorola Droid RAZR might be disappointed when they look at the Lumia 800. It is not as powerful as those devices, but nor does it need to be. Nokia has built its reputation on strong and stylish devices. Coupling that with an operating system that intends to rival Android and iOS this is likely to be a device that holds its own in the market.
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