Nokia's next product launch set for October 22, Lumia phablet incoming?

Nokia’s 6-inch Lumia 1520, which we first saw in leaked images a couple of weeks back, was originally intended to be unveiled at an event next week. But amid news of Microsoft’s acquisition, rumors started to emerge that the company was pushing those plans back until October. Well, Nokia just revealed via Twitter that it’s holding an event on October 22nd, and though short on details it’s likely the phablet will be there.

Code-named Bandit, specifications for the device are said to include a 1080p display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor from their latest range, and a 20-megapixel PureView camera.

Before sale to Microsoft, Nokia was testing Android on Lumia phones

While Nokia has made a name for itself with its wide range of Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone, a report from The New York Times has revealed that Nokia was interested in Android. "Well before" discussions between Microsoft and Nokia lead to the former company buying the latter, Nokia was reportedly testing Android on their Lumia smartphones, having managed to get it running on prototype devices.

Microsoft apparently knew about Nokia's testing of Android, although it didn't form any part of discussions between the companies during the acquisition stage. Nokia had arranged a deal with Microsoft in 2011 to solely produce Windows Phones, although the deal expired in 2014, meaning Android Lumia phones might have made it to the market in under a year's time.

If Nokia had produced a Lumia-like device running Android, with features we've come to love such as 41-megapixel PureView cameras, it might have been the death of Windows Phone. Nokia makes almost all the Windows Phone devices currently available, and commands an impressive 87% share of the Windows Phone market; without them, Microsoft's small share of smartphone sales would begin to dwindle.

Nokia has had to face a large amount of criticism for choosing Windows Phone over Android. The Finnish company had a 30% of the smartphone market in 2010, before that dropped away to the 3% it is now. Smartphone buyers have also often wished that Lumia phones would run Android rather than Windows Phone, citing the weak ecosystem as a reason against purchasing their devices.

Whether or not a switch to Android would have considerably boosted Lumia sales will forever remain unknown, with the company set to produce Windows Phones from here on out.

Nokia discussing WP8 exclusivity agreements with EU carriers

Hoping to boost sales and plug its rapidly depleting cash reserves, Nokia may create exclusivity agreements with worldwide partners ahead of the Windows Phone 8 launch later this year, mimicking its US sales model with the Lumia 900 via AT&T.

The Financial Times reports that the struggling phone-maker is in talks with several European networks, including Deutsche Telekom as well as its UK-based venture, Everything Everywhere, and France Telecom. Securing such deals would guarantee Nokia dedicated support for upcoming devices, including additional incentive for partnered carriers to launch marketing campaigns -- not unlike Apple's approach when the iPhone was first introduced.

"Many European operators are already keen to help establish the Windows phone range as a third credible competitor alongside Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Android ranges, whose market dominance allows them to take almost all of the profit from the sale of handsets," the Financial Times said, citing the comments of an unnamed executive working for one of the mobile providers.

A Nokia spokesperson wouldn't comment on speculation, but said the firm has "excellent relationships and a regular dialogue with our operator partners."

Nokia says they are doing 'more than enough' for Lumia users

Microsoft kicked off their Windows Phone Developer Summit yesterday by detailing several new features in Windows Phone 8 and filling in some of the blanks surrounding the existing mobile phone operating system. Specifically, Microsoft confirmed that handsets like the Lumia 900 would not be compatible with the new OS due out later this year.

Instead, legacy hardware will be upgraded to Windows Phone 7.8, an OS that will deliver some fresh features like a new Start Screen interface. This admission sparked some debate as to whether Microsoft and Nokia are doing enough for existing Lumia owners. In search of more answers, The Verge recently sat down with Nokia’s Kevin Shields to get some answers.

In a nutshell, Shields feels that Nokia is doing more than enough, pointing out that most customers probably aren’t aware of the upgrade roadblock. He further notes that anyone that walks into a store and buys a Lumia 900 is getting a great offer on a product that has a long lifetime of innovation.

During yesterday’s event, Nokia announced a new set of apps and updates coming to Lumia phones in the US and China in the near future. The Camera Extras app includes burst shooting, an action shot mode and a panorama mode while the Play To app helps users stream photos and videos to any DLNA device, such as a Smart TV, PC, Mac, PS3 or Xbox 360. Both of these features should be available by the weekend.

Counters and Contact Share allow the user to monitor phone usage and share contacts, respectively. Both will be available to those in the US next month.a

A closer look at Nokia's Lumia Windows Phones

Last week was Nokia's turn to show what's coming from the Finnish company at their own Nokia World 2011 expo. While they were keen to unveil prototypes that included a phone with a screen that can be twisted and flexed, the company's next big thing was undoubtedly theofficial launch of the Lumia Windows Phones.

The Lumia 800 will be Nokia's first Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone. It shares many attributes with the MeeGo-powered N9, including its single-piece polycarbonate construction -- in fact both phones are nearly identical on the outside. The 800 is powered by a single-core, 1.4GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage, 512 MB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, 720p video capture and a 3.7-inch, WVGA resolution ClearBlack AMOLED display. It will be available in select markets for ~$585 starting next month, but the U.S. will have to wait until next year.

It's clear that Nokia wants to play to its strengths when they opted to go after the European market first, however it's also true that for Windows Phone to succeed and become a widespread platform that can attract developers en masse, they need a reputable global partner that can scale in the same order of magnitude as competitors Samsung, Motorola, Apple, and others who have leveraged support for the Android and iOS ecosystems.

Meanwhile, Windows Phone has HTC and Samsung, but neither is fully committed to advance the platform. Nokia was meant to be that partner, especially after they essentially abandonded the MeeGo operating system. On that same note, Microsoft will hold a Windows Phone event next November 7th, where hopefully we will learn more about their U.S. plans and Nokia's involvement or lack thereof.

Our friends at MobileBurn traveled to London for the launch event,
here's a brief video showing the smartphone in action.

Whether users will be willing to drop an iPhone or say, a Galaxy S II, for the Lumia 800 and Windows Phone is hard to predict. If you watch the video above you might notice there's something iconic about Nokia's WP 7.5 flagship handset. So you could say the hardware and software is there, but the platform is still in its infancy by sheer usage numbers and that translates into limited app support in comparison to Android, or let alone Apple's app store.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is the second WP 7.5 smartphone announced by the manufacturer. It is a lower-cost model, which can be witnessed by its cheap feel when compared to the fancier 800 model. The Lumia 710 has a 3.7-inch ClearBlack TFT LCD display and is powered by the same 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor. Both phones will go on sale in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan by the end of the year.