lumia

Just a couple days after the Lumia 900 showed up for sale on a Czech site, it looks like the its brethren Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 are headed that way too.  Computerworld.cz is reporting that the two Nokias are coming to the Czech Republic on February 1.  They will be available on all of the country's carriers (O2, T-mobile and Vodafone), along with the Electroworld retail chain and Alza.cz e-shop.  Word is that the 710 will fetch about 7,990 CZK and the 800 an estimated 12 490 CZK. 

The two handsets will come with the Nokia Collection, Nokia's own app marketplace, as well as a twist: a choice of search engines.  Users will be able to select the factory-installed Bing search or opt for Czech search engine, Seznam.cz. 

"Seznam.cz is a Czech company focused on the Czech market. We are glad that we got the opportunity to offer our users the Czech search. In cooperation with the Czech representation of Nokia, we modified the home page as searching and displaying results specifically for phones Lumia, to the best possible user experience, "says Ivan Mikula, product manager for mobile services Seznam.cz. (Please forgive the Google Translate)

The search engine option is surprising, given its tight integration in Windows Phone and Nokia's close relationship with Microsoft.  However, it's also a great way for Nokia, and Microsoft for that matter, to break into smaller smartphone markets around the world.  A similar strategy was taken up by T-Mobile who had Google as their default search engine and later offered a selector to choose between Google and Bing.

Source: ComputerWorld; Thanks for the tip, petibear!

Nokia hasn't failed when it comes to hosting some awesome events and parties, neither has HTC for that matter. We looked at the Lumia launch event in Copenhagen, Denmark earlier today that was held at a football stadium, and now we have the Korean Lumia 710 launch party (December 30th), which looks pretty darn awesome.

There appears to be a lot of drink, food, live music performances and prizes - we wish we could have attended. Oh and if you're interested in the tune, it's "Believe" by Elite Force and Meat Katie.

Source: YouTube, thanks Ellis for the heads up!

A reader over at Smartphone France has tipped them details of pricing for the Lumia 710, which is heading to Orange FR. As is the case with Rogers in Canada, which we covered earlier today, the 710 will be aggressively priced and will be fairly cheap to purchase SIM-free (for the quality of the handset).

• €1: packages from €49/mo
• €49: packages from €39/mo
• €89: packages from €29/mo
• €109: M6 or smart packages from €21/mo
• €149: any package for less than €21/mo
• €229: SIM-free

While the handset is still not yet available, the above photo is proof of it circling around. If you're looking for the Lumia 800, take note that Orange France is running a deal where the carrier pays for the first 5 apps purchased from the Marketplace.

Source: Smartphone France (translate)

Marios Karagiannis, the developing superpower behind the title MonsterUp, has published an interesting article on his blog detailing how 2012 is going to be the "Year of Nokia" for Windows Phone. Looking at the above charts, on the left we have the total breakdown of Windows Phone OEMs since early 2011 and on the right we have the representation of the month of January 2012 only (data is extracted from devices playing his games).

There's a clear trend that is noticeable when comparing both charts. Nokia is on the rise (within the Windows Phone market anyway), helped by the quality of the handsets manufactured and the sheer scale of marketing. HTC is still the clear giant, but with the 900 uprising, as well as the probability of the monster Lumia handset being available on a global scale, we should see a further increase to the chunk Nokia owns.

While we have no exact figure for the amount of handsets Nokia has sold, apart from the 1 million shipped estimation by analysts, this is an indicator that the Lumia family is selling. Especially with the 11% jump in Windows Phone OEM shares in just under a month.

Source: Marios Karagiannis

We've already covered the Lumia 710 landing on British shores soon enough, but according to the Nokia Lumia Momentum Map (for world domination), we should be looking at a date of February 1st. Three UK is one carrier who has made public their plan to stock the 710, and have the status set at "coming soon". 

Sporting a 3.7" display, 5MP camera and 8GB storage, the 710 is the baby of the Lumia family with the 800 and 900 the "beefed up" brothers. Although the specifications don't match the high end handsets, it does sport a 1.4Ghz chip that will ensure your Windows Phone experience is top notch.

Should you be looking forward to the 710 (review) and reside in the UK then the wait is almost over for you to snap on your favourite back plates and rock out with the Lumia Windows Phone. We expect other major UK carriers to jump on board with Three to provide further choice for customers.

Source: Nokia Lumia Momentum Map

Singapore's SG Best, an online retailer, is listing the Nokia Lumia 900 as "coming soon", following the Carphone Warehouse posting (which was subsequently removed). This is further confirmation that the 900 will be coming to those who reside outside the U.S., which shouldn't come as a surprise - it makes sense that Nokia will have three Windows Phones to cater for three audiences.

The listing is not by accident neither as the specifications and display image all fit in line with the device. Although no date has been provided (the Carphone Warehouse stated June as the month for availability), SG Best at least reinstates hope of the handset traveling across the world.

Source: SG Best, via: Techin5; thanks Jubbing for the tip!

Bloomberg has compiled an average estimation of 22 analysts for just how many Lumia Windows Phones the Finnish manufacturer has shipped. According to the compiled data, the estimated figure is 1.3 million. The projections range from 2 million to a single analyst predicting under the 1 million marker - 800 thousand.

Lee Simpson, a London-based analyst at Jefferies International, had the following to say on the estimations.

"There weren’t a lot of the hero handsets out there -- HTC were struggling, RIM didn’t have a show-me device, Sony Ericsson and Motorola weren’t really stepping into the mix, so there was probably enough space for Nokia to be able to point to fourth- quarter numbers they were happy with."

This fits in with what Morgan Stanley had in their chart for the 37 million Nokia handsets being shipped in 2012 prediction. If investors regain confidence in the company, and analysts continue to calculate impressive figures for the platform, we could hopefully see some positive marketing come from the headlines that will be pumped out.

Source: Bloomberg, via: Business Week

T-Mobile U.S. is hosting a "My First Smartphone" sweepstake on their Facebook page. What are the grand prizes? Nokia Lumia 710 handsets and a free year of service, for four lucky winners. All that's required from entrants are personal details (as is the case with any Facebook promotion) as well as describing what smartphone feature(s) would change your life in 100 words or less.

The competition is perfect for those who are yet to upgrade to a smartphone with the Lumia 710 being a superb low-end Windows Phone. Competition ends on February 17th. Be sure to check out the sweepstake rules.

Source: T-Mobile US Facebook, thanks Kyle for the tip!

Windows Phone is on the rise in France, as can be seen in the above browser share chart. The OS is almost hitting Blackberry, which appears to be still in decline (is there ever any good news when it comes to Blackberry?). This goes on top of the French developer who saw a noticeable increase in Lumia 800 activity using his apps on the Marketplace. If we remember the chart that the developer provided, no other Windows Phone dropped to make way for Nokia's handset so one would assume we've had a number of French platform adopters.

Although it's not all roses in the garden, prior to what seems to be the end-of-2011 surge (thanks to Nokia's marketing frenzy), the graph doesn't show the kind of growth we'd hope to see. But if the sharp increase continues with more Nokia and Microsoft marketing, we should see some positive results indeed.

Source: StatCounter, via WMPU