Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 Windows Phones

They say everyone’s a critic these days, but here’s a group whose critique matters: European carriers. Reuters has been asking questions at four major European telecom operators and reports that they’re all dissatisfied with the company’s current range of Lumia handsets. Describing the Windows Phone devices as overpriced due to their lack of real innovation, glitchy due to early battery life issues, and inadequately supported by Nokia’s own marketing, the carriers seem to be in consensus about the new phones’ failure to put up real competition to iOS and Android. Put in starker terms, they don’t believe that Nokia’s Lumia phones are “good enough” to compete. An executive in charge of mobile phones at one of the big Euro carriers is cited as saying, “no one comes into the store and asks for a Windows Phone,” placing at least some of the blame for the tepid start to Nokia’s reboot on Microsoft’s shoulders.

Credit rating agency Moody’s has also been piling on, following Nokia’s recent warning about lower-than-expected Q1 earnings, downgrading the Finnish company to a Baa3 rating and its outlook to “negative.” Still, in Moody’s more detailed assessment, Nokia is expected to be “accepted in the market in 2012,” with Windows Phone becoming the third leading mobile platform behind iOS and Android.

The Lumia family is growing in number today, courtesy of Nokia’s announcement that a glossy white variant of the Lumia 800 will be released later this month. Apart from its brighter case and glossy finish, this is the same handset that’s been available in cyan, magenta and black already. That means a 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, a 1.4GHz single-core processor, and Windows Phone 7.5 enhanced with a number of preloaded Nokia apps. We’ve also spotted a new Ministy of Sound application for the UK, which should be coming to all Lumia handsets in that market. Nokia reminds us that app selection will differ with regions.

Besides the UK, Nokia’s home nation of Finland will also be among the first to receive stock of the white Lumia 800, along with Russia, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Poland. Other markets in which the Lumia 800 is already out will follow on from March onwards.

Nokia’s shift to Windows Phone kicked off with a quarter in which the company lost $1.2 billion and saw smartphone sales decline by 31 percent, and outgoing chairman Jorma Ollila is warning that it’s going to take a while to see much improvement. In comments made to Finnish national broadcaster YLE, Ollila expects to see the effects of the transition “for a significant part of the year”, though Nokia hasn’t officially forecast beyond the first quarter. The company remains bullish on the prospect of eventually becoming a major player in the modern smartphone world, with Ollila saying that the slow start was expected, and that Nokia has “a very good chance” of becoming one of the three dominant manufacturers. For its part, Microsoft seems more than willing to help Nokia on its way, so we wouldn’t want to bet against their Windows Phone collaboration just yet.

T-Mobile couldn’t keep the Nokia Lumia 710 under wraps, but it doesn’t have to any longer: today, the carrier announces that Nokia’s first Windows Phone for the United States will arrive on January 11th for $49.99 on contract and after a mail-in rebate. It’s no Lumia 800, but does seem like a fair price for what you’re getting: a 3.7-inch display, a speedy 1.4GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage in a comfortable-to-hold frame with grippy matte surfaces. As leaked earlier today, the phone will come in both black and white (both have black rear covers) with Netflix, T-Mobile TV, Slacker Radio, ESPN and TeleNav GPS pre-installed, and like its European counterparts, you’re also getting Nokia Drive’s maps and turn-by-turn directions and Nokia’s Concierge helpdesk free of charge. Where’s Nokia Music? The company says the service isn’t activated in the US yet, but is hoping to have it ready for launch. What you won’t get with the 710, unfortunately, is any kind of 4G. T-Mobile briefly called it “Nokia’s first 4G phone” in our interview, but clarified that the radio only technically supports 14.4Mbps HSDPA download speeds.

Honestly, we’re slightly disappointed the Lumia 800 doesn’t seem to be showing up on T-Mobile, but the carrier insists that it’s “positioning Windows Phone against first-time smartphone buyers,” and if that describes you, the Lumia 710 might make sense. It really does feel pretty good in the hand. Like most all Windows Phones, it’s speedy to navigate the UI, and the screen looks great. We’re still not fans of the mushy, difficult to press buttons, but it’s a pretty solid package, and not bad looking either. Take a peek at our hands-on pictures below to see how it looks close up.

We haven’t had any such problems on our Lumia 800 review devices, leading us to believe that the issue is not universal to all handsets. Nokia’s UK team confirmed to us that the statements made on the company’s support forum align with its software plans, though no further information has been forthcoming about the cause of the battery life shortcoming.

If you’re eager to get yours or just curious to try one out, head out right this minute. Some stores on Oxford Street in London are opening early especially for the Lumia 800. It also bears mentioning that the launch 800 handsets across all markets will be black, with the cyan following a few weeks later, and the magenta variant arriving a couple of weeks after that. Nokia tells us this is due to manufacturing constraints, with all of the early production capacity being dedicated to what’s likeliest to be the most popular hue.

Reviewing the Lumia 800 is a hard and, dare I say, unprecedented task. Never before have we seen a phone like Nokia’s N9 — a benchmark setter in some design aspects, yet a complete dead end in terms of software ecosystem — and now the 800 arrives ensconced in a nearly identical physical body. How do you begin to grade a device that feels, superficially at least, like a cuckoo — a parasite occupying the shell that rightfully belongs to another? Well, you probably start by dispensing with such romantic notions and treating the Nokia Lumia 800 as what it is: a Windows Phone 7.5 handset with a competitive, if unremarkable, spec sheet and the full backing of Nokia’s engineering, development, and marketing might.

The similarities shared between Nokia’s Harmattan and Windows Phone devices aren’t actually the most pertinent topic of inquiry here. What will truly matter to end users of the Lumia 800 is how much of an upgrade this new flagship phone represents relative to previous, Symbian-powered generations of Nokia hardware and, potentially, the rest of the current Windows Phone crop. Whether you’re actively contemplating jumping aboard the good ship Microkia or just a curious onlooker, read on for all the answers.

Adding to the mystery, Nokia’s US website doesn’t list T-Mobile’s 1700Mhz band in the Lumia 710’s specs, though it’s highly likely Nokia just copied over the specs page it uses for other countries. We’ll see what happens — Nokia’s promised a “portfolio” of devices when it finally brings its Windows Phone line to the US in early 2012, so anything’s possible.

Yesterday, Nokia said it’d bring a portfolio of products to the United States in early 2012... but wouldn’t promise any particular phones. Tonight, it looks like the Lumia 710 is coming home. As spotted by Techblitz, Nokia’s US website now prominently shows the 3.7-inch Windows Phone Mango handset on its product page, and the way it’s splashed across the whole website, plus a few discrepancies, make us think it’s not a simple error in the company’s database. Take a close look at the UK and US versions of Nokia’s Lumia 710 product page. We could ignore the fact that there’s a map of New York City as opposed to London there, but you’ll also see that the word “color” in the product description has been modified from the Queen’s English. We’ve got a picture of that for you right after the break. We suppose it could just be wishful thinking, but it’s deliberate either way. You bet your britches we signed up to “be the first to know” when the Lumia 710 will be available on Nokia USA.

Your average smartphone buyer likely rips the retail box to shreds and tosses it without giving it a second thought (after cutting out a proof of purchase for a mail-in rebate, perhaps). That’s not stopping manufacturers from giving their flagship devices the luxurious cradles they deserve, though — and for Nokia, the trend continues with the Lumia 800. The new Windows Phone’s box is quite a bit like the N9’s — which makes sense, considering their shared heritage — but the Lumia kicks up the flair a bit with flashier shots of the phone printed around the outer sleeve. Pulling the inner box out reveals the device itself, and rest assured, we had to resist the urge to tear open the anti-static pouch within; sadly, this particular phone isn’t ours. Follow the break for more shots.

Though today’s announcements out of Nokia World lack an American focus, that doesn’t mean American carriers aren’t interested in what’s going on here — but we were particularly intrigued to see a Verizon Wireless staffer hovering around the Lumia 800 demo area. This lines up nicely with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s statement that CDMA Windows Phones are on the way. Is this a lock for new Nokia gear on Verizon? Of course not — but Verizon customers looking for something newer than HTC’s old Trophy should be feeling good that their carrier is taking a keen interest in what’s going on here today.

Although it was fully expected after all the rumors in recent weeks, it’s still disappointing to hear that Nokia won’t be launching its new Windows Phones in the United States until 2012. On stage at Nokia World, CEO Stephen Elop promised that Nokia would “introduce a portfolio of products into the US in early 2012 and into mainland China in the first half of 2012.” Careful (and paranoid) readers may note that the statement isn’t a promise to deliver the just-announced Nokia Lumia 800 to the US, but we don’t think its time to sound any alarm bells there yet.

Elop also mentioned that Nokia fully intends to create both LTE and CDMA phones “to address specific local market requirements.” That ties in nicely with the idea that Nokia will deliver a full “portfolio” to the US and it’s the first sign we’ve had in a long time that the company might finally be repairing its damaged relationships with US carriers. Of course, it would have been a better sign if Nokia were actually shipping to the US at the same time as Europe and Asia, but it’s no surprise given how long it’s been since Nokia has had a smartphone presence in the US.

After checking out its higher-end big brother, the Lumia 800, we’ve spent a little time with the Lumia 710. There’s no question it feels like a lower-end device, dispensing of the 800’s high-quality matte shell for a few glossy components and a chunkier body overall. The screen looks quite good even in the positively strange lighting we’re seeing here in the expo center, so that’s an encouraging sign.

Nokia is keen to show off the fact that the battery cover is interchangeable, and they’ve got a variety of colors on-hand that they’re mixing and matching with the black and white fronts (I especially appreciated the white front paired with the red rear). Interestingly, the covers are available both in matte and glossy variants -- your choice. Pictures and video below!

Did you think an N9 clone would bask in all the Windows Phone sunlight at Nokia World 2011? Not at all -- it’s sharing the shine with the Nokia Lumia 710, a far more affordable smartphone. For €270 (about $375) unsubsidized, the 710 has a 3.7-inch 800 x 480 LCD, 1.4GHz processor, 512MB internal memory and GPU as its pricier cousin. It also features 8GB of storage, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1300mAh battery good for 6.9 hours of talk time, quad-band 14.4Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and A-GPS. The plastic body comes in both black and white and there is a small spectrum of colorful (and swappable) rear covers to choose from -- black, white, cyan, fuchsia, and yellow.

It’ll be available first in Asia, with Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year. There’s no word on a confirmed US release. You can get a glimpse of Nokia’s exclusive Windows Phone software, including Nokia Drive turn-by-turn directions, in our Nokia Lumia 800 post.

It’s all come down to this. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop showed us his flagship Windows Phone over four months ago — a spitting image of our beloved Nokia N9 — and today we finally find out what’s under the hood of the Sea Ray, and how Windows and Nokia combine. This is the Nokia Lumia 800, and according to Stephen Elop, it’s the “first real Windows Phone.”

There’s a single-core 1.4GHz processor inside the Lumia 800 and 16GB of internal storage, you’ll find its curved 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED screen framed by a black, cyan or magenta case with individually drilled speaker holes, and unlike the N9, there’s a dedicated camera button for that f/2.2 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens to make use of. On the software front, we’re of course looking at Windows Phone Mango, and the Lumia 800 comes with a free 25GB of SkyDrive storage to get you started in the cloud, plus Nokia Drive, a free turn-by-turn voice navigation program, a first for any Windows Phone. There’s also Nokia Music with Mix Radio, a global service with no subscriptions or log-ins required for “hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music,” and an ESPN Sports Hub — those are three programs you won’t find on any other WP7 device.

The Asha 300 is the logical continuation of Nokia’s “Touch and Type” line of candybars, featuring a resistive touchscreen mounted above a numeric keypad. It’s got a 1GHz processor (a rarity in Nokia’s stable), HSPA data capability, and a preview version of Angry Birds installed -- the very first port of the inescapable franchise designed for Java. This one is actually already shipping in select markets for €85 ($118).

Finally, the Asha 303 is the flagship of the Asha range, and it’s billed as a proper C3 replacement -- a stylish portrait QWERTY device -- and this one’s got a capacitive touchscreen to boot. Like the 300, the 303 features 3G data support and should be shipping “shortly” for €115 ($160).

Update: Considering that the Lumia 800 was just announced, it looks like the N9 and has no interchangeable battery cover, it’d appear that the Bluetooth SIG has the wrong product description attached -- in other words, it lines up with the Sea Ray leaks after all.

Update 2: Be sure to check out our hands-on photos and video of the Nokia Lumia 800.