Nokia unveils devices running Windows Phone 8: Lumia 920 and 820
Nokia introduced the Lumia 920, its latest flagship and first device running the Windows Phone 8 operating software.
The Finnish phone company introduced the phone Wednesday, emphasizing the Lumia 920’s improved camera technology, new mapping software and wireless charging feature.
The Lumia 920 will have a 4.5-inch curved-glass display that the company is calling “Pure Motion HD+.” Nokia says it’s better than HD resolution, quicker (meaning less blurry) and brighter than its competitors’ displays.
The phone will run on a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core processor and include near-field communication technology. It has 1 gigabyte of RAM and 32 GB of storage.
It will also charge wirelessly when you lay it on what the company calls the “fatboy recharge pillow.” The phone can also be charged on other plates and accessories that will work with the wireless charging technology.
Nokia said the wireless charging technology will be adopted by Virgin Atlantic Airways and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, so users in those venues can charge the phones easily. Nokia said it hopes to announce more partnerships in the future.
The Lumia 920 will also include an 8.7-megapixel rear camera with a new Nokia technology called “PureView, which lets the phone keep its shutter open longer, capturing between five and 10 times the amount of light as its competitors. The technology is supposed to produce better night shots and stabilize shots when users shoot video while moving around.
The company also announced the Nokia Lumia 820, which is a scaled-down version of the 920. The Lumia 820 comes with 8 GB of storage, and if users pop off its back shell, they also will find a micro SD card slot.
You can buy covers for the 820 in yellow, red, cyan, purple, gray, white and black. You can also buy another type of cover that will allow the Lumia 820 to charge wirelessly.
Nokia also spoke about its mapping software, which Microsoft announced would be adopted into Windows Phone in June. Nokia said Nokia Maps will be available for offline use. It will also make heavy use of augmented reality to let users see store and restaurant information displayed over what users see through their camera lens.
Microsoft was also on hand to help introduce the phone and some new features for Windows Phone 8. The new operating system will let users take screenshots, a feature that has been available on other smartphones for a while.
The Windows Phone 8 camera will also let users zoom in by pinching, and it will include lens apps.
Nokia did not announce a price but said the phone is scheduled to launch later this year.
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