Windows Mango – Nokia Lumia 800 and 710

by Yale Holder

Let’s face it, Nokia and the North American market are like oil and water – they don’t go well together. In fact, Nokia has lost significant market share over the last 2 years largely to Apple and Android devices. But can its partnership with Windows turn these fortunes around?

Nokia, currently the largest handset maker by volume, is set to debut its latest devices from its new partnership with Microsoft. Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS hasn’t done too well either, losing significant market share in the US from 20 per cent market share in Sep’09 to about 6 per cent in Jul’11.

Windows recently released their new OS “Mango” which will debut in Europe and Asia before making its way toNorth America. Two phones are likely to be debuted by Nokia include the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 both look impressive on first view (see specs below).

Nokia Lumia 800 – Quick Specs

1. 1.4GHz process with graphics processor
2. OS Windows Phone Mango
3. 16GB of internal memory and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage
4. 720 HD Video Playback
5. 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera
6. 3.7″ 800 x 480 AMOLED ClearBlack curved display
7. One-touch social network access, integrated communication threads and IE 9.0

Nokia Lumia 710 – Quick Specs

1. A lower end version of the Lumia 800
2. 1.4GHz process with graphics processor (same processor)
3. 8GB of internal memory and 8GB expandable microSD storage
4. HD Video Playback with a Carl Zeiss Camera not 8MP
5. 3.7″ 480 x 800 WVGA AMOLED ClearBlack curved display
6. One-touch social network access, integrated communication threads and IE 9.0

In order for Nokia to regain its market share here inNorth America, they will have win over the carriers and that includes Verizon. Given that Nokia is a GSM main stay, it will have to launch LTE devices in order to get Verizon interested. Added to that it has to come out with a major marketing campaign along with Microsoft to get people interested in Windows again and Nokia. To seal the deal they will have to ensure that there is a healthy stream of apps available to Nokia Mango users to keep their interest alive.

Do you think Nokia can regain its market share given its new relationship with Microsoft?