Hasta La Gadget!

It’s Windows Phone 8 day and Verizon’s brand new Nokia Lumia 822 is up on display for all to see and touch. This unit works with Windows Phone 8 of course and will have 4G LTE upon launching, right here we’re seeing specifications – and a aesthetics – that are rather similar to the Lumia 822 that exists in GSM form for both AT&T and T-Mobile as the Nokia Lumia 820 or slight variations therein. This device will be appearing with a lovely 4.3-inch display at WVGA 480 x 800 resolution and you’ve got a replaceable back cover that’ll allow wireless charging if you pick the right one.

Also inside this device is 1GB of RAM, and 8 megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Have a peek at our original 820 hands-on for more comparisons, then hear this: Verizon will be offering up this device for $99 attached to a 2-year contract. That’s a fabulous deal if you love Windows Phone 8 and want a Carl Zeiss lens on the back to back up your 8 megapixels of fury.

Of course you’ve also got Nokia’s own City Lens augmented reality explorer app, free streaming radio, and more from both Nokia Drive+ and Nokia Music. The device will be appearing soon, and very soon, since the global versions of many of the Windows Phone 8 smartphones we’ve seen this week will be available this weekend. With a Windows Phone 8 device on Verizon – this of course also the first of its kind – you can expect either a brilliant flare of sales or a complete lack of interest.

We’re expecting the first of these two options, especially since Microsoft is pushing so extremely hard at the advertising angle. Like Microsoft’s own Steve Ballmer said this week at the Windows Phone 8 reveal event – you won’t be able to turn on your television or click a webpage on the internet soon without seeing Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 somewhere or another. With that we’re going to guess that bright lights will soon be descending upon us – just wait!

Nokia Lumia 822 hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia today officially announced that it will be offering the Nokia Lumia 822 as part of Verizon’s “Fall portfolio,” bringing the Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 820 variant exclusively to Verizon’s network. This version offers wireless charging, an 8 MP camera on the back and 1.2 MP camera on the front, as well as LTE support and switchable shells. No word yet on specific availability or pricing – we might see those later today at Microsoft’s official Windows Phone event.

The Lumia 822 is aimed at entry-level smartphone shoppers and budget buyers, offering a 4.3-inch screen (smaller than its predecessor) and a less impressive camera (though the 822 has a better one than the 820 it’s based on, which is headed to AT&T). Judging by statements included in the press release by Nokia Americas President Olivier Puech, we can expect it to be priced competitively with iOS and Android devices aimed at customers new to smartphones. “With the Nokia Lumia 822, first-time smartphone buyers – and those ready to switch – will get high-quality performance on both their device and Verizon Wireless’ incredibly fast 4G LTE network,” he said in the release.

Full stats are available now on Nokia’s website. The phone has a dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, an 1,800 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM and a microSD slot that supports cards up to 64GB. It also boasts Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC.

The 822 was rumored not to have a swappabble shell earlier in October, so it’s nice to see that come to the device. Price rumors put it at around $50 on-contract, but we’ll have to wait and see whether it goes that low.

Verizon is one of the more common proponents of silly Android device names, in part through its insistence on that “Droid” prefix for some hardware. When its smartphone badges practically demand a pause for breath, you know there’s a problem. Android Central‘s purported copy of a Minimum Advertised Pricing list could show that there’s hope for the carrier yet. The chart shows the HTC DLX (6435LVW) skipping the rumored Droid Incredible X name in favor of Droid DNA — and that’s it. No superlatives, no arbitrary “4G LTE” tags to remind us of the network we already know we’re using. The 5-inch phone might have even been a reasonable launch, as the MAP shows a $200 contract price that would potentially take effect just before Thanksgiving.

Want more? Other smartphones are on the supposedly leaked MAP list as well, primarily focusing on Windows Phone 8 gear: the as yet unconfirmed Nokia Lumia 822 shows up with a $100 price and a mid-November release window, while Verizon’s take on the Windows Phone 8X is present with a $200 price and similar timing. Those who’d rather go for a Samsung phablet than HTC’s aren’t left out, either. The Verizon edition of the Galaxy Note II is on the list with a $300 price and availability that starts immediately — rather convenient, that.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Verizon

Verizon’s HTC DLX may be called Droid DNA, Windows Phone 8 devices get tentative prices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia has announced its lowest priced Windows Phone to date: the WP7.5 Nokia Lumia 510 replaces the Lumia 610 as the entry level WP handset — with an estimated retail price of $199 (excluding taxes and subsidies). India and China are the initial target markets, starting in November, “followed closely” by other Asia-Pac countries and South America.

The announcement by Nokia of a new device running Microsoft’s older OS, WP7.5 — rather than the high end, forthcoming WP8 platform — is the clearest sign yet Nokia is committed to trying to use Windows Phone as a low-end smartphone platform, either alongside its Series 40 Asha line of devices or perhaps as a future replacement OS. If Nokia does choose to focus its low-end efforts solely on WP7.5, Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza believes that could help Microsoft gain significant smartphone market share in future — predicting WP could gain a fifth of the market by 2016.

The Lumia 510 is still double the price of Nokia’s cheapest full-touchscreen Ashas — which carry a $99 price-tag. Non-touchscreen Asha are cheaper still so WP7.5 has a long way to go to achieve the same deep low end reach as Series 40. But every little bit helps to compete against Android’s sprawling mid-tier.

Gartner’s Cozza told TechCrunch: “It is critical for Nokia at this stage to drive volumes and fill the void quickly they have in their low to mid tier smartphone portfolio and so they need to broaden further the Lumia range. This should enable Nokia to better fend off competitive pressure coming from low-cost Android offerings which are increasing at a very rapid pace in emerging markets. In these markets Nokia has market reach and still a desirable brand, and can offer differentiated and value services.”

Comment on the Lumia 510 launch in a statement, Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices, said: “With the Nokia Lumia 510 we continue to meet our commitment to bring Windows Phone to new, lower price points. People who use Windows Phone quickly realize how much more intuitive it is than other smartphone platforms, and Nokia Lumia is the best embodiment of the Windows Phone experience. With the Nokia Lumia 510 we’re looking forward to welcoming more people into the Windows Phone experience.”

The Lumia 510 has a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen, with a resolution of 800×480 pixels. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon S1 chip, has 256MB of RAM, and 4GB of user accessible memory plus 7GB of free SkyDrive storage (Microsoft’s cloud storage service) — however there’s no Micro SD card slot to expand on-board storage further. On the back is a five megapixel camera. The battery is rated at 1,300mAh.

To bulk out the Lumia 510′s software offerings, Nokia has included a Camera Extras app — to add changeable, digital lens/filters to the camera — plus its Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport apps, which are also found on high end Lumias.

If you missed Best Buy’s early pre-order showing of the Lumia 920 (which soon disappeared) then you might be interested in stumping a headier amount for the same handset, off-contract. Negri Electronics is now listing the device at $699, but minus those monthly payments to AT&T. The online retailer has the yellow iteration, while it’s also stocking the Lumia 820 free from contract restrictions — and in red — for $599. The site is sticking resolutely to that pre-order label on both, however, with no mention of a possible delivery date just yet.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

Nokia Lumia 920 pre-orders reappear: $699 off-contract at Negri Electronics originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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