Nine a.m. sharp London: October 26, 201
Note from ed: TOP LINE, ELOP STARTS WITH ASHA, THEN MOVES TO THE FIRST WINDOWS PHONE 7.5 MANGO, the Lumia. That comes at the end.
Event in London begins.
Steve Elop now on stage. He's the ex Microsoft exec now running Nokia, who shocked at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona when he announced he was "transitioning his smartphone devices to Windows phone."
Elop, here in London, is talking about a standing start to "18 million devices in Q3." 1:15 a.m. (9:15 a.m.) "Seven of our devices now (have ) NFC" — we are the leader. There will be FOUR ASHA phones. They will feature touch tech. The Asha 300 "beautiful, sleek .. one swipe away from favorite games," says another exec. "Cost is an important element," it says. Then there is the NEON GREEN Asha 200. "life is way too short for switching sims!"
Third phone is the Asha 201. "It is easy to see who's on it and you can start chatting straight away." Fourth phone is going to be the high-end. It includes an MP3 player, 32GB RAM, and one of the LOUDEST sounds Nokia has ever produced, the exec says, as she plays Shakira. Now for the big phone — the big mama. The Asha 303. That is top of the line.
Large capacitive screen, QWERTY keymap, metallic curve back, this one has a 1GHz engine and wireless LAN and 3G. I'm impressed so far. These are a "helluva wonderful package," the exec says.
There's a Nokia browser — told you Microsoft would help them out, localized (watch for BING). Four great new babies, she says, adding that in Pakistan today, 20 percent who purchased Nokia devices were first-time users.
1:27 a.m. PT/ 9:27 BT. Still no mention of Mango. "Innovation is happening in the mobile phone space … but it is a market that is far from mature. But these phones … represent something that is deeply Nokia." He claims to be well acquainted with a Finnish artisan and designer – Nokia Asha design roots "all crafted to be highly inspirational." Goal is to bring next billion people to
1:30 PT/9:40 BT Elop: We believe the world is ready for something new, something more beautiful. I am so excited to introduce you to the NOKIA LUMIA 800. Specs? Stunning N9 design, he says, inky blackness of the glass. Each individually milled. Whether physical or digital, every feature has earned its place .. what we left out is as important. We believe this is the first ever phone — Lumia is the first real Windows
Specs for the Lumia 800: Kevin Shields is on stage. "With the Lumia 800, our ambition is to surprise you at every turn. It looks AWESOME! (yes, he shouted.) And he keeps shouting: IT FEELS GREAT IN YOUR HAND.
"It screams premium, outstanding antennae performance, defies convention. Beauty on the inside … a BEAST on the inside." (I love how KEVIN SHOUTS!)
Specs: Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, curved clear light display, interface seems to lift to surface of display, an underlying technology that seems to .. glide (content) directly to the screen."
1:47 PT, 9:47 BT: "For many people on the windows phone, there first experience is going to be on this Lumia device." Now he is saying why he loves WP7.5 Mango — interface, etc. Tiles. "What you don't see is a lame grid of application icons sitting there doing NOTHING (yells!). Applause.
1:48: WHERE ARE THE SPECS? Sorry to shout, but dude, you started it. He is doing an uber enthusiastic demo of Windows Phone 7 Mango. He is talking about a movie Horrible Bosses. He says, he wouldn't know. He is making me wish I could check out Helsinki and work for his boss, LOL. More tile showing.
He shows his avatar — which he says "looks exactly like me!" He is doing a lot of rehash on what we all know about WP7.5 MANGO
Now he is showing Internet Explorer – the same IE 9 w/hardware accelerated graphics — a version of which is on the Lumia. "We've invested in navigation, location, sports …"
Okay, it's been an hour. WHERE ARE THE SPECS AND PRICING. (shouting not mine, but Kevin's). "lumia turns, with Nokia Drive, to a full turn by turn, online type ahead suggestions, a lot of places."
MUSIC: Kevin says "it is just too hard." He announced NOKIA MUSIC and a feature called Mix Radio — "an effortless way for me to discover and acquire great music," Kevin says. Premixe
AND ONE MORE THING: Nokia Lumia is the second, 3.7-inch display, affordable, comes in stealthy white as well as black. "To match the tiles in Mango!" Too bad he couldn't get it the ring tone to ring, though.
Elop: "We, I, and our entire team … announce .. the way we differentiate the Nokia experience. But our aspiration is much larger. We are taking real information … relating them with real activity .. we call this type of information contextual knowledge. Today we are announcing public transportation .. in 71 cities .. and live view .. in next two days we will announce more, a growing ecosystem .. great apps on Lumia with partners with Sesame Street, ESPN, Twitter, Twist in India .. we are helping global deveopers like Four Square" reach into global and local experiences."
For the first launches in six countries .. unprecedented global exposure … retailers all over the world. "Nokia is putting and seeding more retail devices into the hands of these retailers
"The commercial target is a 25 year old, and it means if we aim for the 25 year old inside each and every one of you," says the retailing guy they brought up stage. This group is not brand-loyal, he says. So "we are launching the Nokia smartphones — with the "amazing everyday." Every day can be amazing is the marketing line, he says. "It's amazing to take an experience you've seen and instantly share with the social network of your choice .. and get the buttery smooth UI. We are going to fill the world with tiles. We are going to fill the world with tiles."
