The 5th of September is going to be make or break time for Nokia. They are due to announce their new range of Windows Phone 8 powered Lumias. A lot of people will be watching this event with great interest. We have most corners of the tech world going to eagerly watching to see what they announce.
The Nokia fans
Nokia have repeatedly posted some awful revenue and profit figures over the last few quarters. Nokia fans are going to be a little worried by this loss, whatever they announce in September will hopefully slow down the loss. Windows Phone 8 has been flaunted as the answer to all of Nokias problems, in much the same way as Windows Phone 7 was. I really hope they come out with something decent.
The Windows Phone fans
Nokia are going to be the first manufacturer to publicly announce a Windows Phone 8 device. Yes we have seen sdk emulators running WP8 so we now what it is going to physically look like. But that is no substitute for an actual device, the combination of new hardware and new software is always something special. I for one can’t wait to see what they release.
The iPhone fans
Apple fans are also looking forward to September. September the 12th is going to be “new iPhone” day, which will be followed by “camp outside your local Apple shop” day. I imagine there are quite a few people out there who have seen the leaked images for the “new iPhone” and they have heard about iOS 6 and they are just going to see what WP8 brings before they commit to buying an iPhone. Nokia are quite lucky that Nokia World fell just before the “new iPhone” event.
The other Windows Phone 8 manufacturers
HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and Huawei are all meant to be releasing WP8 devices. So far I think the most exciting leaked device is the HTC Zenith (the WP8 version of the One X) it inspires me more than a WP8 refresh of the current Lumias. These manufacturers will no doubt be watching to see what Nokia do eventually release.
Lastly we have
Little old me
I will watching to see what Nokia release for sure. Mainly to help me decide which WP8 device I buy but also to see if they are going to push the boundaries a little.
So this is where I get to my wish list for the Nokia devices. I think there are quite a few niches that would certainly help Nokia out in the fight to stay afloat.
First of all they need a 3.5″-4″ Touchscreen phone. To fill the current space occupied by the Lumia 800 and 710. This phone is for normal people who don’t want anything too fancy and they just want a normal sized phone.
Next they need a 4″-4.5″ Touchscreen phone. It needs to be higher spec than the previous model, it would be for power users. Sort of like a souped up Lumia 900.
Next they need a 5″-6″ Touchscreen phablet (sorry). It again needs to be of a slightly higher spec, it would appeal to some of those 10 million people who bought a Galaxy Note. My time using the Galaxy Note has certainly made me appreciate the bigger form factor.
Next they need a 7″ Nexus 7 style device. The ebook reader, media consumption device certainly has a market and the new features for WP8 will suit media consumption (memory cards).
Lastly they need a qwerty device. Be it a Blackberry style device, a Dell Venue Pro style device or a HTC Pro 7 style device. Any will do, I will be happy. Along with many many others.
Oh and a big 10″ Windows RT tablet would be pretty cool as well.
As to what they actually announce we have no idea. Only time will tell. Which of these would you go for then? Let us know below.
The key will be the software for me. If WP8 looks good, still smooth, interesting and well integrated with Office, SkyDrive, etc… then I will jump from Android. Especially as I can see some good deals coming for these phones – WP8 needs to get in the market and low price is always a great way to grab attention.
As for manufacturers, I’ll sit back and see. The best thing about WP8 is that it should largely be a hardware shootout between the manufacturers, as the OS will be essentially the same. Key will be build quality & camera lens quality. Nokia may have an advantage as well as they tend to get OS updates sooner, though not 100% on that.
I am hoping they have bribed/encourage/asked a lot of big name app developers to jump on board this time. I’m really looking forward to see what arrives.
Yep, agree with that too. And importantly, those developers will need to have produced the apps by the time the phones go on sale, so as to reassure the public that Windows Phone has most of the major bases covered, app-wise.
Which you would think some of those new apps might have leaked out by now. In screenshot form only of course.
i say get rid of zune software, i dont want to load software on every pc i want to drag/drop files to. one main reason why ive never used WP!