Nokia has unveiled the Lumia 800 smartphone — its first smartphone using the Windows platform, to be rolled out starting next month on selected markets.
Chief executive Stephen Elop in February announced a radical company restructuring and the phasing out of Symbian as Nokia’s smartphone software in favour of a partnership with Microsoft.
“Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We’re driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones,” Elop said at a Nokia event in London that was webcast live.
“We are very proud of Lumia and everything it represents. Lumia means light, this is a new dawn for Nokia,” he added.
The Lumia 800 will feature Internet Explorer 9, free voice-guided navigation services and free music and image storage.
It will go on sale in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan by the end of the year.
A simpler version, the Lumia 710, will go on sale by year-end on most of the same markets.