launch

WPDang has reported that the Lumia 900 is set to be released in China on June 16th, which will please those who skipped past the 800c launch to see when the manufacturer was looking to release its more advance brother. The flagship Nokia Windows Phone will be priced to match the iPhone, which is currently around 4,988 CNY (about $780).

While the Windows Phone has been unofficially available since its launch in the U.S., this version will be stripped of certain services and functionality (Xbox LIVE, etc.) Priced at 4,688 CNY (about $730), the fairly expensive Lumia 900 packs a 4.3" display, 8MP rear shooter (with FF camera), 512MB RAM and 16GB storage.

Source: WPDang; via: WPSauce

Nokia has today announced availability of the low-end, most affordable Lumia Windows Phone in the UK - the Lumia 610. The device is available in white, cyan, magenta and the usual black variants. As well as being a Tango targeted handset (only sports the minimum specifications), the Lumia 610 comes with tethering out of the box, as well as a flip-to-silence feature.

Should you be interested in purchasing one, the Lumia 610 is priced from just £15/mo on contract reportedly with O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and is stocked by both Carphone Warehouse, Clove and Phones 4u. Expect to see some stock being promoted at each supporting source. Sporting a 3.7" display, 256MB RAM, 5MP camera, 8GB storage and is powered by a 800Mhz chip. 

Originally, June 11th was on the cards for the release date, so it's good to see Nokia coming forward with the Lumia 610 a week or two in advance.

Head past the break to check our unboxing and hands on video of the Nokia Lumia 610 from a few days ago...

Around here at WPCentral, we get a lot of international users asking "When is X coming to my country?". The Lumia 900 is one of those frequently asked about and specifically in Singapore.

So we're glad to report that it's officially launching there on May 26th, fetching for S$849 (US$ 670) and available in three colors: matte-black, glossy-white and of course, cyan.

The pricing may seem a bit high, especially since in the US it can be had for $450 (off-contract). However pricing is relative and from what we understand high-end devices like HTC and Samsung often sell for S$900 or higher. In that sense the Lumia 900 is not cutthroat cheap but it's fair. Reportedly three carries will have the device available to consumers within a few weeks.

How well will Nokia and Windows Phone fair in Singapore remains to be seen. They already ave the Lumia 710 and 800 (in fact they had the 800 way back in December). Will the 900 grab that upper echelon of the market? We hope so.

Source: CNet (Asia); Thanks, Corraine, for the tip

The Nokia Lumia 900 has previously been announced to be heading to the UK shores next month, with Clove UK expecting to stock and ship the handset by May 16th. The Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U have also jumped on the Lumia 900 train with pre-order and registration pages being published for interested customers to keep up-to-date. We've now seen reports that point to a delay with the Windows Phone hitting shelves.

According to V3, a UK technology news website, Nokia has officially confirmed that the availability date for the Lumia 900 at Phones4U has been pushed back from April 27th to May 14th, due to 'overwhelming demand' in the US on AT&T. We've covered a few times how the handset has gone out of stock, and the white Lumia 900 remains to be particularly rare.

"The overwhelming demand for the Lumia 900 in the US with AT&T has, unfortunately, had a small knock-on effect on product availability in the UK. The Lumia 900 is now expected to be available from Phones4U around the 14th May."

This date is pretty much bang on with what both Clove UK and the Carphone Warehouse originally published which makes us believe that either Phones4U was exclusively set to stock the handsets first, or they were jumping the gun slightly with the estimated date of availability (Nokia hasn't officially announced a release date). But the Finnish manufacturer has been relatively broad with their statement. What's not clear is if this just affects the Phones4U white Lumia 900, or the other versions available at the three retailers.

Clove UK has remained silent on their official blog, not announcing any delay with the Lumia 900. We'll keep our eyes and ears open for any further details regarding the possible delay. Could U.S. sales really be that positive? As well as the potential UK delay, as if that wasn't enough, according to Belgium retailer PDAshop.be the Lumia 900 will be available for shipping for €599 on May 9th - a full five days before Nokia expects to be able to ship the Windows Phone in volume to the UK.

Although dates are being flung left, right and centre, we'd recommend readers keep a mid-May release in mind when considering the Lumia 900. Should delays to the UK prove to be reality, it may well affect other European countries too in the U.S. backlash. On a brighter note, at least AT&T's CEO Ralph de la Vega can have a laugh on CNBC with the Windows Phone.

Source: pdashop.be, V3, via: Inquirer; thanks to babse and Michael for the tips!

If there is one thing you can count on, it's Nokia throwing a great launch party regardless of the location. From London to New York, Nokia has some great flair for device announcements.

A few weeks ago we broke the news of Nokia launching the Lumia 710 and 800 in the Philippines -- an important region for the Finnish company and Windows Phone. The Lumia 710 was launching on Smart while the Lumia 800 was going to carrier Globe. Tonight that launch happened and globe-trotter Mark Guim who runs The Nokia Blog (and the always interesting Married 2 Travel site) was there to film it.

Besides DJs, a great light show and...is that the Blue Man Group?...Nokis seems to have thrown together a popular and successful launch. Kudos to Nokia and to the Philippines -- welcome to the Amazing Everyday.

Source: The Nokia Blog

With the confusion this week of some news blogs publishing alleged photos of a Lumia line waiting to purchase a Windows Phone at launch that later turned out to be an iPhone launch, we feel the need to relay some positive coverage of the Lumia launch in China. China Telecom released the Lumia 800c late last month, and announced along with Nokia that both companies have plans in place to market the handset.

According to the photos published on the Meizu discussion board, the Lumia 800c launch was well received by consumers with a healthy line being illustrated. It's a positive sign to see such interest shown for Windows Phone. Bravo, Nokia.

Check out more photos after the break.

Source: Meizu, via: @Jubbing

So we just came back from Times Square here in New York City where Nokia was throwing a lil' party right in the center of Manhattan for that Lumia 900. Turns out, as you probably know by now, that superstar Nicki Minaj was performing live. In fact, she performed three songs to a fairly massive crowd that was certainly very receptive to the whole scene.

After the songs they introduced the Nokia Lumia 900 while a DJ spun some music -- it was similar to the London-Deadmau5 event, though obviously not as massive. To the side, while the music was pumping, a giant high resolution LCD screen showed off an exciting light show leading up the Lumia 900 finally appearing.

Times Square crowd image via Sokane1/Instagram

All in all in was a fun albeit short event (it lasted about 30 minutes). While not as wow-worthy as the London 3D projection, it will certainly grab a lot of attention and is certainly some great publicity. Oh and a lot of the footage shot there will evidently be used in an upcoming video with the liver performance showing up tomorrow on Facebook.

After the break, you can check two videos we recorded (the second one starts shaky, sorry 'bout that, but it gets better). Also, we have some photos to boot.

The Lumia 900 will be available on Rogers from $99.99 with an attached plan or $524.99 as an outright purchase, according to pricing revealed by MobileSyrup. The Lumia 900 was previously rumoured to be heading for the Canadian carrier in May. 

Run through of the Lumia 900 expected pricing on Rogers:

• 3-year contract price: $99.99
• 2-year contract price: $424.99
• 1-year contract price: $474.99
• No-term contract price: $524.99

No date has yet been announced but MobileSyrup is looking at April 10th.

Source: MobileSyrup; thanks Donny for the heads up!

We knew Nokia wasn't going to just sit by and let the AT&T Lumia 900 launch without an "event" to go with it. Low and behold, that whole countdown on the SmartphoneBetatest.com site was counting down to this very day.

The launch party is happening in New York City, specifically Times Square at 7 pm and is open to the public. There will be a live performance from....someone and we're hoping for something awesome visually (Lasers? Can we get some lasers?).

Of course being that we're in New York City, heck we're not too far from Times Square right now, we should be able to be there to cover the event with video, photos and a full report.

Stay tuned...

Source: Twitter