Nokia previews its future Windows Phone 8 smartphones

By Nicholas Montgomery

New York - Nokia showed off  the result of many months of work today with two new working Windows Phone 8 devices. Previewed today were the Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 which are expected to launch in the US later this year but which have not yet been slated for Canadian release.

Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop kicked off the press conference earlier in New York by describing how the past 18 months have been all about adapting to the new needs of the mobile consumer since partnering with Windows Phone.

Nokia dumped its long-standing Symbian OS as well as the up and coming Meego operating system in favour of running Microsoft's Windows Phone OS.

The ties between the two companies run deep as Elop was previously Microsoft's head of the Business Division which was in charge of Microsoft Office.

Nokia's adjustment within Windows Phone is from solely products to complete ecosystems complete with app stores, accessories and cloud components. Ingredients that are present in competitors like Apple, Google and Research In Motion.

While Nokia has been seriously struggling diminishing market share in with North American Markets they view Chinese markets as very important to them,  Elop announced it was the largest potential market for Windows Phone in the world.

Nokia's Lumia 920 and 820 smartphones are their fifth and sixth Windows Phone devices since announcing their Microsoft Partnership a year ago. The new Lumias are the first Windows Phone 8 devices that run on the newer mobile OS which supports dual core processors and shares many design and functional elements with Windows 8 PCs.

The design of the new Lumia devices is absolutely stunning, not your typical black and rectangular  smartphone design but with a more sculpted look and feel.. Derivative of the earlier Lumia unibody design, the finish is more glossy and less matte. it is interesting to note how Nokia has gone from world leader of the smartphone market to a middling player in just a few years.

As a Windows Phone partner, it now not only competes with the likes of BlackBerry, Android and Apple but with every other manufacturer making Windows Phone 8 devices.

The specs of the devices are nearly identical to the leaked ones we reported yesterday. The Nokia Lumia 920, now Nokia's flagship product, sports a 8.7 MP camera and a 4.5-inch display with 1280 x 768 resolution. The 820's screen is smaller 4.3-in. display but with similar touch features. The 920 phone is .42 in. x 2.8 in. x 4.06 in. in size and weighs 7.2 ounces.

The main feature that separated the 920 from competitors aside from the design is the new PureView camera, which through a floating lenses gives clearer pictures. It captures 5-10 times more light than other smartphones, which allows it to reduce blur and capture great photos in low light conditions.  

Live Tiles are more alive

With the first large demo and preview of Windows 8, the mobile OS brings several new key features, as well as many small improvements. Tiles on the home screen can now be dynamically resized, not just moved, to create a more personal phone experience.

Along with the existing Lumia colors, It will come in 3 three new colors; yellow, red, or gray, and the Lumia 820 will also come in purple. Aside from improved camera specs, the new Lumia devices will offer users inductive charging options. This technology has been around for some time now but Nokia is pushing for it to become a standard. 

Nokia's announcement today shows the partnership between Microsoft being mutually beneficial and potential for the platform to rise as a strong competitor in the smartphone market on the back of compelling smartphone products.

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Contributing Editor Nicholas Montgomery is the Technology Expert for The Marilyn Denis Show (CTV). You can follow him on Twitter, like his Facebook page or read his blog.