Singapore

The Lumia 620 is hitting the shores of Singapore, thanks to a tip from a mobile phone specialist store Adix82 located in the country. As one can see from the photos we've been sent in, the Lumia 620 is looking rather good in pink. The device is priced at SGD 310 ($250), which is a steal for Windows Phone 8 hardware.

HTC Singapore has published an enticing Windows Phone 8X deal on its Facebook page. The Windows Phone is stated to be on sale from tomorrow onwards, and will be available at just SGD $828 ($778 when taking into account the deal). Not only that but the manufacturer is offering the first 25 customers to purchase a HTC 8X from Challenger Funan will receive a SGD $50 off the retail price and take home a Microsoft Premium gift.

Microsoft and Nokia held a developer event in Singapore recently that focused on platform development and the advanced functionality available for app / game creation in Windows Phone 8. According to a tip from an attendee of this event (who wishes to remain anonymous), the Head of Nokia Asia Pacific Developer Relations informed the audience that Windows Phone 7.8 has been RTM (Released To Manufacturers) this week.

Nokia launched the Lumia 900 in Singapore with a media blitz

We mentioned last week that Singapore was due to receive the Nokia Lumia 900 on May 26th and sure enough, the flagship Windows Phone has launched today on SingTel and at various locations. It joins the previously launched Lumia 710 and 800 in the region.

The device seems priced well, S$248 which according to the site WP7SG is "considerably cheap" as the HTC One X  is being offered at S$318 on the same contract.--that's important and good news as the One X is considerable competition.

What's more, advertising for the device, while a bit late for WP7SG's tastes seems quite ubiquitous with no less than four ads in The Straits Times for StarHub, SingTel, Nokia and M1. However, the papers TODAY! or The New Paper did not carry ads at least not yet.

Two more ads for the Lumia 900 in the paper

Nokia's Facebook page did boast the fact that the first five customers to their Nokia stores who purchase the Lumia 900 will get a free Xbox 360 Kinect Holiday Bundle, which is a heck of a deal and some great enticement. Since the 900 is off contract there at the Nokia stores, the price is considerably higher: S$849 at Nokia Store and "approximately S$720 at some stores such as Adix"

Featuring a 4.3" Super AMOLED screen with ClearBlack, 16GB of storage and an 8MP rear camera (plus front facing), the Lumia 900 ships with OS 87730 ("Tango") and should make quite a splash in Singapore.

Source: WP7SG; Thanks, ReignOfComputer, for the tip

Yesterday we showed you how to get the latest firmware for your Lumia 710, version 12070, on your device early but those in Singapore won't have to. As promised earlier, Nokia has started rolling out this update officially for that device in that region meaning all you need to do is plug in your phone to your Zune Desktop.

Singapore is also getting the 12070 firmware update for the Lumia 800 as well.

The update addresses an annoying issue where some users can't end  call once initiated, instead they have to pull the battery or shutdown the phone. Further, this update brings other "performance enhancements" to the table e.g. we notice our phone turns on faster now when we hit the power button.

This is also a good sign that Nokia will begin rolling this update out more globally in the next few weeks, dependent on carrier request.

Source: Nokia, Facebook; Thanks, Ramesh T, for the heads up

No word in what form, where or how but the Smoked by Windows Phone campaign is coming to Singapore "soon...very soon". So says the official Microsoft Singapore Facebook page.

The Smoked by Windows Phone campaign started off in CES, moved to some stores in California and most recently appeared at the Mobile World Congress. In addition, Microsoft said they would expand the campaign to include TV and presumably other areas and this looks to be the case here.

It should be interesting to see what happens.

Source: Facebook; Thanks, Naz, for the link

Here's a site we hope to see more of: ordinary people lining up to get a Nokia Windows Phone. We mentioned the Singapore launch for the Lumia 800 a few days ago and now we have some photos of people braving the...ummm...temperate conditions for nearly 8 hours to get their 800's.

Of course those first 100 people did get a free Xbox 360 with a Kinect for their suffering, so we suppose we'd line up for that too. Great to see, regardless.

Source: Nokia Devs (Facebook); via: The Nokia Blog