With the Symbian OS having been swiftly eclipsed in the battle of the mobile operating systems, Finnish outfit Nokia is trying to reinvent itself via Microsoft's Windows Phone interface.
The Nokia Lumia 800 is Nokia's brand new Windows Phone 7 smartphone. In fact, it's the Finnish firm's first handset to be packing Microsoft's mobile operating system, and to say there is a lot riding on it is the understatement of the century.
We might not have to wait much longer to see the fruits of the new relationship between Nokia and Microsoft, if reports are to be believed, with Nokia set to announce two new Windows Phone 7.x handsets at Nokia World.
If you happened to be watching the dross that is X Factor on UK television last night, you might have noticed some odd teasers for what appeared to be a smartphone, though they were so short, it wasn't entirely clear.
Picture yourself back in the 2006 holiday season: if you were a geek, you were most likely struggling with your Windows Vista upgrade (those were the days!) and dreaming of owning that then-brand-new smartphone. More likely than not, it had a physical keyboard, had a rudimentary built-in web browser and definitely not a multi-touch display. When the iPhone first launched, the whole smartphone space was taken into a whole different direction.
Today saw some movement in the Microsoft and Nokia debacle, with the two companies releasing an invitation to a joint event, to be held in Cologne, Germany.
Nokia’s N9, which officially runs on MeeGo, has been shown off a few days back, albeit in a slightly modified form, running Windows Phone 7 already otherwise known as the “Sea Ray”. Today, you’ll get to see the same smartphone running Android.
It's been a bad few months for all involved with Nokia. A new head-honcho in Stephen Elop, a deal with Microsoft to use Windows Phone 7 that threatened to split the company in two and a lack of any kind of roadmap for the future have all caused many pundits to write off the once proud Finish mobile phone manufacturer. But things might, just might be on the up for Nokia.
Nokia, which had disputes with Apple over patents for years, agreed to drop the charges in exchange for a one-time licensing fee, along with a royalty fee for every iPhone sold. Yes, Apple will now be paying Nokia money for every iPhone it sells.
According to a report from Japanese market analysis firm Nomura, Samsung is set to overtake Nokia as the world’s largest smartphone maker this quarter. Not only that, Apple, with the iPhone as its one and only smartphone, is set to overtake Nokia in the next quarter; ending Nokia’s 14 year old reign at the top.
