Nokia is doubling down with Windows Phone, with two new phones announced today (we’re focusing on only one now). The Lumia 920 is their new flagship phone for Lumia, and for Windows Phone 8, and will feature Nokia’s PureView technology, wireless charging, NFC support and a new display that promises to be fast, bright and clear.
Of course, we’re were expecting something big – but with Nokia competing now with Apple and HTC in terms of phone announcements this month, it might be lost in the wilderness soon.
The Lumia 920 features an 8.7-megapixel lens with PureView camera technology and image stablisation that rivals many DSLRs, according to Nokia. Apparently, they decided to do a “Finnish judo trick” and add springs to it, Either way, it promises to capture blur-free pictures and videos, even in low light conditions (which it has done by increasing the amount of light it takes in). It also has several apps included, such as “Cinemograph” that would let you add some animation to add “more emotion,” and another way to simply remove unwanted things from a photo.
NFC seems to be expanded – mostly thanks to Windows Phone 8 – and Nokia is using NFC to connect to its new accessories such as a new PowerUp speakers with JBL. But the big thing for Nokia is their commitment with wireless charging, using a common mobile standard called Chi that will let charge your phone regardless of wireless charging device.
Another new feature included is ‘City Lens’ which will use your camera and add metadata to the screen of names of places like restaurants. Pressing on one of those links hovering on screen will give you additional information, such as a phone number to contact them.
Hardware-wise, the Lumia 920 is a 4.5-inch display phone with a 1.5GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor (finally, something other than single core – Nokia must be finally relieved from that restriction), 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The phone also supports LTE on the 1800MHz band – so expect this soon to be on 4G on Telstra and Optus sometime after launching in Australia.
In addition to having an 8.7-megapixel camera, it has a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera can also record in 1080p HD video recording, while the front-facing one can record in 720p HD video.
In terms of the screen, Nokia is professing that its PureMotion HD+ screen is the brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchsceen in the world – making each colour clear and crisp. It also has “Sunlight readability enhancements”, adjusting the brightness to allow for readability on the screen.
The body is still the same polycarbonate unibody that we’ve come to expect, and features the same curved screen design as the Lumia 800. it comes in red, yellow, white, black and grey – no more blue and pink for Nokia then.
The phone has no release date yet, but probably near the Windows Phone 8 launch and in “select markets later in the year”. No word if the phone is coming to Australia – but we’ll be asking in the morning.