It’s easily the most interesting Windows Phone 7 device in the world, the Dos Equis of WP7 devices. Nokia, a company whose name is rarely seen these days, and for the past few years has been mostly absent in the US (though their presence in the states has always been slim, though they’ve been the largest worldwide phone maker for years), is finally coming back in a big way. Not only did they just release the Lumia 710 (another WP7 device that we’ll take a look at soon) with T-Mobile, the Lumia 900 will be exclusive to AT&T. It won’t even come out internationally. Not right away, anyways.

In the hand the Lumia 900 has a unique shape. The specialized plastic is firm and good to grip, and doesn’t give way. It’s the sort of material that you might wish you had if you’ve broken an iPhone’s glass or the case has fallen apart if you dropped an Android phone. It’s strong as an ox, and uses a unibody design more similar to a laptop than to a smartphone. The two colors I’ve seen, black and sky blue, contrast each other so much that if you saw them both in a store, you might think they were completely different handsets.

The 800, left, and 900

The 4.3″ display is sharp, but the WP7 max resolution of 800×480 is starting to take it’s toll. Larger phones like the 900 and the HTC Titan II are all too easy to see individual pixels. The speaker takes up the entire bottom of the phone, more similar to Apple’s mono-speaker design than most Android phones which place the speaker on the back and make it directional for when it’s resting on a flat surface. On the one hand I think this design is much better for listening to music and for audio quality in general, but on the other hand the bottom of the phone is best left for the charging/data port for the use of docks. When I asked Nokia representatives about it, they told me that they had a choice: put the speaker on the back like everyone else and lower the quality, or put it on the bottom. I think it could have gone on the top instead of the charging/data port and SIM card slot.

Aside from that the only physical controls are the three standard WP7 touch buttons on the front and a volume rocker power, and dedicated shutter release on the right side. What is interesting is that unlike most Android phones from Samsung (since Samsung is the only company that places the power/standby button on the right side of the phone instead of the top), Nokia has placed that button below the volume rocker, almost in the middle of the handset. They say that it’s easier to reach that way, which thereby makes the phone more comfortable because users don’t have to use two hands to use it ever.

I like the way the phone feels. It’s light yet sturdy, though a bit angular at the top and bottom. It doesn’t stand up straight on it’s own, though the top and bottom are both flat surfaces. The unibody design does mean that there’s no battery removal or expandable memory, which is a shame, and so far only a 16GB variant has been announced. This likely won’t matter to WP7 users until more and larger apps are available in the store, which may take some time.

However, the 8MP camera capable of shooting in 720p may change that. Nokia has always been known as one of the best camera phone makers, which is one of the main reasons some US users have stuck with Nokia through the rough of Symbian all these years. The 900 is no different, with a Carl Zeiss f/2.2 lens, and an f/2.4 front-facing camera. I’ll reserve my thoughts on the camera in my full review, but I honestly can’t wait to try it out. It’s been too long since I’ve had my hands on a serious contender from Nokia, and with the upgrades to camera quality from companies like Apple, Samsung and HTC, seeing what Nokia can do against such stark competition should be interesting.

The Lumia 900 will release within the next few months exclusively from AT&T.

Nokia and T-Mobile today announced the launch of the Nokia Lumia 710, a Windows Mobile phone, here in the US.  It will arrive January 11, 2012 for $49.99 on contract.

For that you’ll get a phone that sports Microsoft’s latest mobile OS, as well as a 3.7-inch ClearBlack 800×480 scratch-resistant display, a 1.4Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 5 megapixel camera and access to the newest apps, such as Netflix, Windows Phone Office Hub and Xbox’s latest Live app that lets you interact with your gaming console and online friends.  There is also the standard assortment of other specs, which include WiFi, Bluetooth, 512MB of ram, 8GB of storage as well as 4G connectivity.

When it goes on sale next year, you’ll be able to choose from a black or white finish.  You’ll also need to send in a $50 mail-in-rebate, which is an annoyance, but considering the price and all together feature set, it ain’t that bad of a deal, provided you’re of the Windows Mobile ilk.

Vertu is killing it compared to its parent company, Nokia.  And to insure that the company stays relevant, and more importantly profitable, they’ve released a touchscreen version of the handset called the Constellation T.

We haven’t been able to dig up an official price list, but we’re hearing that the cost of this handset, which includes 1-year of Vertu’s concierge service, will range from £3,900 ($6k) for the satin-brown finish and go up to £9,600 ($16,000) for the red-gold version.

For that kind of scratch you’ll get Vertu’s most advanced phone, thought it’s still is a far cry from an iPhone or Android handset when it comes to features and more importantly operating system.  This includes a 3.5-inch 640×360 AMOLED touchscreen (a first in a Vertu), WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 32GB of built-in storage, Symbian 7, and HSPA+ connectivity.

In addition to white crocodile skin and diamonds galore, the Vertu Constellation ships with exclusive ringtones from the London Symphony Orchestra piped through what the company calls a high fidelity loudspeaker.

Still no word on a release date.  However, it might already be available, which further echoes just how exclusive Vertu’s handsets are.

Nokia is hardly on the cutting edge of handsets.  Heck, the company has fallen into obscurity and almost shambles, largely because they refused to adopt Android.  An over simplification?  Absolutely.  However, the company is still driving forward with new products despite their shortcomings and their latest, the Nokia Luna Bluetooth headset ain’t looking too shabby.

Much like the Jabra Stone, the Luna includes a a base for charging and storing your headset.  Removing it from the base automatically powers on the Bluetooth and thus saves on battery life when it’s not in use.  On the converse, place it back in the base and the Bluetooth will power down. But that’s not the only connectivity punch this diminutive sized headset has to offer.  Nokia has stuffed it with an RFID chip, allowing you to pair it with a smartphone bearing the same tech simply by physically tapping the two together. Brilliant.

The ear piece itself weighs 5g, while the charging base is 18.3g, so it should be very pocket friendly.  It supports Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and multipoint connections, enabling you to pair it with two devices simultaneously.   In terms of battery life expect 8 hours of talk time and 60 days of standby.

The Nokia Luna, which comes in black, white, fuchsia, green, yellow and blue will arrive sometime probably in the next 30 days and will cost about $95.  No word if we’ll see it State Side, though.

This is Nokia’s latest smartphone, the N9.  Without a doubt it takes many of its design cues from the iPhone.  That isn’t to say it isn’t worthy of being titled an opulent, well crafted device, because from where we stand it’s just that.

Nokia is pushing the “swipe” function, which does away with a physical home button (the iPhone 5 is rumored to be the same) and instead relies on the user swiping from the edge of the screen to return to one of three home screen.  Home screens you ask?  There will be 3: Events (what friends are doing), Applications (everything you can do), Open Applications (everything you’re doing now).   And much like iOS there is a quick launch bar at the bottom of the screen containing your four most used or sought after apps and a set of hard keys on the side to access the handsets volume.

In terms of the hardware, we’re not sure on the processor, but we know it will ship with an 8 megpaixel camera with a dual-LED flash, GPS, NFC capabilities, a unibody build and a 3.9-inch AMOLED touchscreen that is curved at the edges to help you swipe.

Nokia hasn’t announced an official launch date for the N9, but they say it will happen sometime later this year.  When it does become available for purchase, you’ll be able to choose between two capacities (16GB and 64GB), and three colors (black, cyan, and magenta).

Checkout the product video after the ‘leap’

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Power up your mobile experience while giving yourself plenty of options. The Nokia N8 comes completely unlocked and offers you a multitude of connectivity options with Quad-Band GSM for many frequencies all in one. It is powered by the new Symbian 3 UI which gives you quick on demand access to all of your social networking as well as Internet capability which is powered by 3G wireless. It has a large 3.5-Inch AMOLED touch display for crystal clear viewing of content and media and comes with an impressive 12 Megapixel rear facing camera for taking huge pictures at insane quality. It offers you full Bluetooth 3.0 Connectivity as well as having 16GBs of Internal Storage right out of the box. It gives you up to 5.8 Hours of 3G talk time.

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While the Nokia X7 will probably never hit US shores, UK residents will eventually be able to snap one up over at Three in the United Kingdom.  It will run the Symbian^3 Anna OS (it features 50 new enhancements) and includes a 4-inch AMOLED 640×360 touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash that captures 720p video, a 1200mAh battery, WiFi b/g/n, 1GB of built-in storage (8GB memory card included),  Bluetooth 3.0 and more, all encased in a stainless steel body.  Flash 10 is supported as is a faster browser, a full on screen portrait QWERTY keyboard and a new split view which lets users can see their message conversations, webpages, maps, contacts or email while writing.

Pricing and availability will be announced shortly.

Nokia X7 coming soon to Three.

Today Three confirms that it will range the Nokia X7. Built for multimedia, it showcases a 4″ touchscreen with an OLED Clearblack display, HD video and an 8MP camera with dual LED flash and zoom. All this and it is still pocket-friendly.

Underneath the stainless steel construction and smooth curved edges, the Nokia X7 runs on the new Symbian Anna operating system, which features more than 50 new enhancements. Highlights include a faster browser and full on screen Portrait QWERTY keyboard. Plus, with the new split view, users can see their message conversations, webpages, maps, contacts or email while writing.

The X7 also includes Nokia’s best in class free navigation that now allows check-in from the homescreen direct to destinations such as Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter.

Sylvia Chind, head of handsets commented, “The Nokia X7 is a great multimedia device, combining picture, video and mobile internet needs into one savvy smartphone. With a best-in-class four inch OLED ClearBlack display, superb camera and fully customisable operating system, our customers will have a great entertainment experience on this phone using out super-fast 3G network.”

Key features:
• Symbian^3 OS
• 8MP camera Dual LED Flash
• 4.0″ OLED ClearBlack display, widescreen 16:9
• HD Video recording
• Flash10
• Expandable memory of up to 32G
• Ovi store access
• 256MB RAM, 1GB ROM memory

Pricing and availability will soon be announced, but in the meantime check out the sneak peak video which has just gone live on the Three blog.

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Nokia’s new N8 Smart phone has a slew of new features, the first notable being the High Definition 720p video recording right off the phone itself. It also can snap images quickly and easily at a whopping 12 Megapixels resolution which can all be uploaded easily to share with friends and family as soon as they have been taken! The phone can easily be connected to a TV or computer to playback or upload recorded videos as well for even more convenience.

The N8 also packs on a full 3.5-Inch touch screen display which then can become a fully capable GPS packed with voice-guided navigation from ovi maps with 3D location sensors. You can also share your locations with friends and family right from the phone easily.

Ovi app store provides and new and intuitive way to get apps to your phone and also features an attractive and modern design so you can show it off wherever you go.

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Two photos isn’t much, but in this case, and not in the case of the Yeti, two photos have been proven enough to confirm the existence of Nokia’s X7 gaming phone.

AT&T is in on the deal, as their badge features prominently on the phone, making it the first Symbian^3 device to surface on the network.

With four speakers at the helm, the X7 will pump up more volume than a whole choir of your regular, wimpy, non-gaming phones, and with inside specs probably similar to the N8’s, it will have enough ooooomph for 3D games.

Also similarly to the N8, its resolution will be stuck at 640×360, although the X7 will have it spread over a larger, 4 inch screen.

No pricing or delivery information is available as of yet.

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