Nokia’s Windows Phones finally unveiled

Almost 8 months after the official announcement, the fruits of the relationship between Nokia and Microsoft are ripe and ready to hit the market. The Finnish company has finally revealed two of its newest products, which will be the first to integrate Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system into them. Are Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 the devices that will mark the beginning of Nokia’s resurrection.

Nice smartphones, even nicer prices

After the presentation of the new products, one thing became clear about Nokia’s strategy: the company will not only be building more robust devices, relegating the too-bloated-to-be-true Symbian to its lower end phones, but that’s also out there to compete in all fronts with a Killer price.

That might be the key to understand these new phones, especially since their specifications aren’t that flashy to begin with. Take the Lumia 800, for example: with a N9-like look, it sports a 1.4GHz ARM processor and graphics acceleration, 16GB of internal storage, 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and 3.7-inch AMOLED display, this model just fits today’s standard. In other word, nobody expected less than what’s included. But with a price tag of $560, the offer just appears a lot more interesting.

On the other hand, the Lumia 710 is a bulkier and more rough model than the Lumia 800. It can be seen as a cheaper Lumia 800. The main differences between the two models are to be found on the cameras (Lumia 710’s is equipped with a  5-megapixel, no Carl Zeiss lens camera) and in the display (this model incorporates a TFT screen). All in all, the Lumia 710 is a pretty decent phone, especially when you just paid $360 for it.

A new generation of Windows Phone-powered devices

But apart from the attractive colored-cases and the good-looking screens, what’s most likely to catch your eye the most is the OS itself. Both models include Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, which is an elegant and powerful piece of software.

Filled with improvements and functions, the OS will give its users real third-party multitasking, more precise searches through the Bing engine and some special and exclusive apps for all Nokia users. Nokia MixRadio, an app that streams about 100 radio channels, and Nokia Drive, a navigation app, are just two of the features users will find in Windows Phone.

Market share, market share, my operating system for some market share

It’s clear that with the launch of these devices, Nokia seeks to regain part of the lost terrain in today’s market. Once a proud king of the mobile business, the Finnish company saw its market share shrink at the hands of new competitors such as Android and iOS. It’s obvious that Nokia just didn’t know how to jump into the smartphone revolution in time and fresher and simpler OS claimed its throne.

Although this alliance between Nokia and Microsoft doesn’t pose a problem for iOS and its line of high-end phones, it certainly is a threat to part of Android’s reign. This becomes clear when comparing the similar prices between Nokia’s models and some of the Android’s phone currently on the market.

It appears as if Nokia is just addressing one of its competitors at the time, in spite of its multiplatform strategy expressing the opposite. As a starting point, Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 are a great move to back up that strategy. But seeing how long it took for Nokia to come this far, one can’t help but wonder if it will be enough.