Nokia Lumia 800: What you need to know

Overview

Lumia 800 is the Finnish mobile maker’s first smartphone on Windows Phone. It is for the first time Nokia launches a phone on Windows Phone after Microsoft and Nokia reached in a strategic partnership for a new mobile ecosystem early this year. Nokia has started to collect preorders for Lumia 800, which will arrive in stores across the world by the end of the year. The device will most probably running on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, the latest version of the software.

Nokia Lumia 800

Pricing and availability

Nokia Lumia will have a price tag of €420 ($584) when it arrives in global markets later this year. Nokia has not specified the U.S release date of the product.

What’s great

WP 7.5 Mango: Nokia Lumia will be one of the first WP7.5 Mango smartphones in market after HTC Radar, Titan and many others. Mango is the most recent update of Windows Phone, which Microsoft recently unveiled with huge fanfare and media attention. Microsoft has integrated many cutting edge features with its WP7.5 Mango so as to make it a real challenge to Apple iOS 5 and Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

3.7 display: Nokia Lumia 800 is to sport a 3.7-inch display that curves seamlessly into its polycarbonate unibody. The Nokia phone resembles the fifth generation iPod that Apple released two weeks back with iOS 5.

8-megapixel rear camera: Nokia Lumia 800 mounts an 8-megpixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash. The camera can record HD video in 720p. Thanks to Carl Zeiss, you can take amazingly great images with the phone.

Better storage options: The Lumia 800 offers 16GB of on-device storage. Moreover, it provides 25GB of free space on Microsoft’s SkyDrive for additional storage. The cloud storage capacity is one of key features of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

Better connectivity: The Nokia smartphone has built-in connectivity options like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There is even an FM radio on the device.

What’s not so great

No dual core processor: It will be the biggest shortfall not only Nokia Lumia 800, but all Windows Phones. Microsoft has set one core processor as standard for its mobile OS platform so as to reduce power consumption. Nokia Lumia is to feature a 1.4GHz single core processor. Compared with its Android and iPhone competitors, it is a negative mark of the Nokia phone.

No front facing camera: For last 18 months, almost all smartphones came to us with front facing cameras. But unfortunately, Nokia has dropped the video chatting camera on its first Windows Phone, which had been largely awaited by technology enthusiasts.

Things to watch out for

Nokia Lumia 800 is the first Windows Phone smartphone. Microsoft and Nokia announced a strategic deal for a new ecosystem in mobile industry early this year. Since then, tech geeks have been hyping up on the first Nokia phone on Windows. Being the first Windows Phone from Nokia, Lumia 800 has to face off stiff threats from Android phones and Apple iPhone. Both iOS and Android have recently received drastic OS upgrades respectively Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and iOS 5. Many products have also arrived in stores on the platforms. Microsoft and Nokia have to take on these two platforms to gain ground in the highly competitive smartphone market.

Verdict

Nokia Lumia 800 is, of course, a grand smartphone. Apart from the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango factor, the device has outstanding features like an 8-megapixel rear camera and a chic design. It is rightly proficient to take on the challenges from Apple iPhone 4S and new Android smartphones. As well, Nokia Lumia 800 will face threats from phones of various companies on the Windows Phone platform itself. Apart from the exclusive deal with Nokia, Microsoft has almost a dozen of hardware partners including Samsung, HTC, Acer, Fujitsu, ZTE and many others for Windows Phone OS.

Word around the web

According to CNet,

Nokia Lumia 800 looks like the one to get -- it's beautifully made, with a gorgeous screen and (hopefully) a very good camera. The question is whether you want a Windows Phone in the first place.