By So I just woke up to news that Nokia announced several new phones, two of which run Windows Phone 7. I won’t get into the specifics of the hardware and the announcement – I’ll just link to Engadget here and here for their Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 hands-on videos, respectively.
But I’m curious… do these phones make you wish Nokia had kept their options open for those of us who someday hope to see an Android phone by them? As we would expect with any high-end Nokia, the hardware simply looks beautiful. The Nokia Lumia 800 has a solid block of metal construction. Its blue color isn’t paint – they molded the color into the metal so that it won’t have that ugly chipped paint look over time (like many of HTC’s new Androids).
They use a curved display – nothing new to our eyes, but is consistent with the beauty of the phone. The Lumia 710 was the more affordable of the two. It boasts a plastic chassis that allows you to change the back color of the phone. Here it’s blue, but they’ve confirmed they’ll be bringing black, white and yellow colors to the market.
And then there’s Windows Phone 7, of course. I’m not all too concerned with diving too deep there. Do you see yourself wanting Android on any of this beautiful hardware? Do you think there will come a point in time that Nokia will change their mind about Android and decide to try it out? Let us know in the poll and comments section below!
[polldaddy poll=5615472]
should have kept their options open, this is going to fail
hardly going to fail. Nokia has a huge following and wp7 is looking better each day. Will I ever buy one, no. I’m in the android ecosystem for the long haul.
load up on Nokia and MSFT stock if you think so. i say FAIL!
http://www.fnno.com/story/market-movers/331-nokia-shares-climbing-higher-53-market-movers
and MSFT 26.65 up to 27.40
not bad
I agree(but you have to remember this is phandroid lol so fanboyism is going to run rampant in this article).
I actually think WP7 is getting ready to see a lot more traction in 2012
I’m betting you won’t see much for a couple of years in regards to WP picking up market share. At least not from iOS or Android. They may scavenge some BB and pick up some old Palm owners, but it’ll be another full iteration of WP before they hit big, if at all. Of course, MS can wait. It’s paying off for them with the Xbox…
Not to mention the fact that MS is collecting royalties from about half of all android OEMs..and using that money to fund the development of WP7.
Microsoft missed the boat and Nokia wouldn’t be able to reverse that. WebOS was there for ages and HP still bowed out. In terms of usabilty, WP7 is much worse than WebOS so honestly, I can’t see how they stand a chance, even with MS throwing money at it.
Not entirely sure Webos is better than WP7 given the fact that WP7 is being embraced far more than webos ever was and has a future
and most Webos owners, at least ones i’ve seen on precentral have discussed the fact they are more likely to switch to WP7 over any other OS.
The WP7 interface is all form and no function. Case in point – the amount of scrolling you have to do in order to view all of your options or applications. The interface looks like a graphics design magazine, which is great on the eye, but actual usability suffers.
WebOS, Android or iOS take a more pragmatic approach to the organization of screens and icons.
Your last point is pure bunk. I can come up with anecdotes as well.- for example, I was speaking to somebody from HP today who has a Pre and who got a Touchpad internally – and he’s really looking forward to is putting Android on his touchpad.
You’re right about the scrolling but it’s not as big a problem as you make it out to be. The icons are big and bright and the names are clearly written so even when flick scrolling you know what to look for and when to expect it. Only users would really understand this though.
You are forgetting something. Nokias developers and followers were Symbian fans, not MS fans. Symbian is most similar to android and, for the developers, is open source. MS tried to woo the Symbian developers who made some apps for wp to get free hardware but I bet the majority of their development time is spent on android. In short, people used to the symbian UI will be more comfortable with android. Nokias HUGE following is featurephones, all of their smartphone users have already jumped ship.
Even so, funding from android sales that Microsoft is collecting from Android OEMs is going towards the development of WP7.
I agree with this but if they don’t start gaining traction in the market soon, they won’t have any oem’s for wp7. Even if they do have to pay royalties on android. Manufacturers don’t like having their retailers returning hardware.
That 800 is a beautiful bit of kit. Would love any Android manufacturer to make a device with Nokia standard build.
Sony is the only one i could ever see touching Nokia’s build quality, honestly.
Really? You wouldn’t consider HTC?
Nokia’s evertime strong side was great experience in linkage of hard and soft. Nokia phones are reliable and do what you expect of em. So, if they could link WP to Nokia body firm and efficient – they would, with no doubts, win they war at growing markets.
the 800 is the hottness, that is all.
Its still WP7.
Nope I hate how they look period and hate windows do makes me not jealous one bit but would be nice to see a Nokia Android phone thou
Those both are ugly. (o_O)
Im good with them being with M$.
Their meego phones were pretty awesome, and i wouldn’t mind an android phone from them. Too late for that, I guess. they already sold their souls.
WP7 made the phone ugly. Looks better with screen off.
I dont believe the 800 is metal. It is a molded polycarbonate material.
It’s not metal. It’s solid plastic. They just have a fancy name for it.
How thick is that 2nd phone? It looks very thick.
nope. ugly as sin.
Hear, hear, I was looking for a bucket to hurl my breakfast up into :)
I like the design of the lumia 800. If the screen was bigger and had the internals of the Nexus Prime, no hardware buttons and higher resolution of course, and maybe a little thinner, it would be a win. Pure IC of course.
Looks like a kids’ toy. The announcement was pretty hilarious, though. “It. Looks. AWESOME.” If you can’t win them over with good products, just yell at them. Sound reasoning.
Those specs are so last-year. With Android these phones wouldn’t sell at all.
In all fairness, WP7 doesn’t need the specs Android does. It’s like saying that a machine running Linux is only sporting a single core proc. It’ll still run nicely.
yeah and DOS is fine with 640k RAM :-P.
Seriously this will limit what you can do with future WP7 apps. And even if they don’t want more speed, they could at least put an high end display and a front camera.
Robb’s correct and all others are wrong. I use Android but I will not rip on WP7. MS did exactly what they needed to with a mobile phone system and it does not require the specs of an Android device. Even my device still stutters amid homescreens and other apps, whereas WP7 never does. And until Google via their OS and OEMs apply some sort of GPU acceleration to the Android display, it will always leave me wanting something more.
I believe ICS (Android 4) has GPU acceleration system wide.
just like honneycomb
exactly who would buy this considering probably next year these phones will be the same price as dual cores…..baffling. Nokia are so far behind it almost seems they’ve given up on the high end flagships and going for the mid market which Samsung has total control over right now..
Get out of your android frame of mind. Its not about specs its about user experience.
And how does a lower resolution display, less RAM, a slower CPU get me a better user experience, again?
It´s called optimiziation
So you can’t optimize a phone with good specs? Only those with crappy specs?
Have you tried a phone yet? The CPU clock speed has nothing to do with how awesome the phone displays animation, zooms, and scrolls. Its buttery smooth and I urge you to check one out in stores.
The RAM…what do you need tons of RAM for? My Sensation has half a gig of ram, maybe more and I’m constantly reloading web pages when I return to them. WP7 Mango does something (caches to storage?) where I can return to tabs I haven’t opened since yesterday and they’re there waiting for me as if I never left them. Saves on my data too. ——————————
While I do believe that together Nokia/M$ will have a great product, it is a little to late at this point. IMO they will always be in the back of the pack like BB.
I think both of those phones are really ugly. They have a huge bezel so you’re carrying around a massive phone with a relatively small screen. Compare that to the size of screen that comes on a Samsung Galaxy S2 or the Galaxy Nexus (those phones make really good use of the phone’s dimensions). If that’s the best Nokia can come up with then I’ve no problem Nokia siding with Microsoft.
Tying one sinking ship to another sinking ship won’t make either ship float.
Nokia isn’t a sinking ship LOL
I was referring to Nokia’s smartphone share which IS a sinking ship. Likewise I was referring to Microsoft’s smartphone OS market share. It is a shame when basic information needs to be explained even simpler to some people.
Nokia may not do well in America but nokias best is in Europe they do well enough there and have a good fan base.
Nokia are definitely doing worse in US compared to the rest of the world but they’re not doing great in Europe either. Nokia have had to cut the price of their smartphones in Europe and actually get a much higher profit margin from their dumb phones than their smartphones ( http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/07/06/nokia-slashes-smartphone-prices-in-europe-to-stem-market-share-decline/ ).
Symbian OS pretty much represents Nokia’s smartphone phone OS and as you can see here, it lost 54% (July 2010) to 38% (July 2011) ( http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/13/android-beats-ios-in-european-market-share-still-behind-symbian/ )
How did you come to the conclusion that Nokia smartphone market is doing well in Europe and they have a good fan base? Please provide links to backup any facts that you claim.
Actually they are. With Android on the scene smartphones are now cheap enough to make feature phones irrelevant, which is nokias bread and butter. This is kind of a last chance. If they don’t do well with this, they will continue to have their marketshare eroded until they have nothing and wp7 will continue to lose ground. Doesn’t matter to MS though, they make more off of android than wp anyways.
The 710 is ugly, a cheap looking HTC wannabe. I like the 800 in black, just wondering how it’s put together? From all the shots, it looks like the plastic is molded around the screen, with no removable parts to give access to the battery or sim card.
When WP’s get dual cores, then I’ll be interested in an Android version. Until then, it probably wouldn’t run that well so there’s no real reason to be excited. Personally, I don’t think WP can hold up against Android, iOS, and the die hard BB fans collectively. My only hope is there’s enough left of Nokia when their MS contract is up to get rid of Elop and jump on the Android band wagon.
You’re wrong. It runs like butter. It’s an extremely simplified UI compared to Android, and it screams. That being said, it’s not my cup of tea. But unless you’ve run it, don’t comment on it’s speed please.
Only thing is that using WP7 is like driving your car through a periscope.
And there really isn’t any way to fix it because the whole design philosophy is based around a UI conjured up by graphic designers.
What part of Android not being able to run well on this phone did I get wrong? Are people so uptight their reading comprehension is miserable?
“When WP’s get dual cores, then I’ll be interested in an Android version. Until then, it probably wouldn’t run that well so there’s no real reason to be excited.”
It’s because your comment is among the 90% off other comments on this article bashing WP7 for reason other than the fact its not android.
WP7 has an enormous uphill climb but the first year shows a lot of promise. I’m not a fan because the tiles don’t do it for me, but I’m rooting for MS to succeed with this, if there’s only two major cell OS’, less creativity will occur. I’m a die hard Windows fan, so I have nothing against their phones, it’s just not for me, which is fine. Speaking of, it’s great to see some top notch phones coming out, WP users have to be exited right now, I know I’d love to have an Android Nokia phone but it’s not likely to happen.
Everything I’ve seen and read about WP is that it’s as fast and smooth as iOS, so I’m not one of those guys who run it down for no other reason than it’s not the OS I use. From all the conversations I’ve had with WP users, they seem to be like us Android fans, we like choices and we’re tired of always being compared to the iPhone. I wonder, were there cell OS battles before the iPhone?
Won’t run that well? I’m an android lover but my work device (an HD7S) is more responsive than my Sensation. The UI is GPU-accelerated so it scrolls like butter. Try one out in a phone store if you don’t believe me. WP7 is so optimized it doesn’t need dual cores
Try reading what I wrote, I said Android wouldn’t run that well on this phone. Everyone who knows about WP7 knows it doesn’t need dual cores, but Android runs much better with dual cores, so yeah, it won’t run well on this phone.
Miscommunication. Apologies good sir.
No problem, thanks.
Really nice looking hardware. But it still has that ugly “Metro” junk that Microsoft is trying to force on consumers. The reason why people don’t buy the phones isn’t because of the hardware or the functionality of the OS. It’s because non-nerds find the UI to be repulsive! Nokia was stupid not to keep Meego or take up Android.
Yeah but meego is now going to be initially what is tizen os
Do you work in a cell phone store to actually gauge a variety of people’s opinions? Have you funded any major surveys? Or is that based on your opinion?
The 800 is beautiful.
I’ll be ditching my Sensation for it. Mostly work related reasons but this looks so nice that it makes me less sad to leave Android.
looks nice but WP OS is not that great…
Window phones are fast. Some are as fast as dual core Androids. Wow!
There are some DOS Pentium 1’s that are as fast as a Windows machine with a dual core proc as well.
If you don´t believe him, why do you reply to his post? Android stutters and lags sometimes, WP7 does not, live with it.
Sooner or later they will have to make Android phones, at least if they want to be competitive again. If they are content being a small player, the has been they’ve become overnight, then no, they will dwindle into oblivion. It was a dumb mistake when NOKIA picked Windows over Android. My hunch is a year from now we’ll see them switching to Android. They would have been smarter to have picked up Palm than Windows.
I think WP7.5 IU and the phone design match perfectly.
That is a really beautiful piece of hardware…
I agree with this. For those fashion conscious they could change the theme on their phone and the back cover to their phone accordingly.
No these phones are super ugly.
The phone hardware seems to be robust, but there are some big drawbacks:
1 – Micro$ott software
2 – There are no rounded corners, I would be afraid to have that on my pocket
3 – Big borders make a big box for a smaller screen
4 – No Front Facing Camera
5 – Flipping the phone with screen facing down might spin too long not to scratch it
6 – Devil partnership with 2 BIG consumer suckers: we as Android users have aleready been robed by M$ TAX in other OEM phones, why would I pay again for the same “IP” in windows?
I have ALWAYS said that WP7 appeals to me.
Attractive UI Vs Android(Stock) and way more
fluidity and consistency throughout the entire UI.
Now, I can officially say that Nokia’s hardware is
definitely miles above ANY android phone i’ve seen
or owned currently(and i have owned 20 plus in
3 years almost…addiction)
Nokia is the best(although Sony makes the best looking
hardware for Android). Can’t wait for US variants of their
phones to be released
20 devices in 3 years? Where do you get the money to burn and are you holding seminars? Anyone else go through devices like that?
I’ve probably had 10 in the last 2 years. Not quite as bad granted.
LOL I used to buy them full out but i realized that was costly so now i look on craigslist and trade :)
Whenever I get my SGS2 out (with Cyanogenmod7 installed) there’s always a feeling of excitement from others. I just can’t see anyone getting excited and wanting a look at one of the Nokia phones above.
The last Nokia phone I had was about 6 years ago, which says it all about how I view their phones.
I continue to hear the greatness of Nokia hardware. That makes sense because Symbian couldn’t compete even with the great hardware as soon as IOS and Android defined great operating systems. I don’t believe the hype that Mango is anywhere close to IOS or Android. So, if it’s the hardware that’s so great, all Nokia would have to do it’s build Android. Their market share would increase dramatically. With Windows they will be a small time player, never coming close to what they were pre IOS and Android.
I predict that within a year the bozo Elop will be gone and Nokia will have to switch to Android if it’s not too late. Their problem it’s that by then the other manufacturers hardware will be so good that Nokia won’t have anything to differentiate them from Moto, Sammy, and especially HTC.
I think people get to attached to the companies that make their phones.
Nokia should make tiles transparent and add a wallpaper to the background.
The 800 looks an awful lot like the iPod Nano. (I think I’ve got the right model?) If it had been made with anything Google as an OS, Apple would sue. I suspect since it is WP7 instead, they won’t though since it is outside of SJ’s personal vendetta.
Aesthetically, I don’t care for the phones. However, I couldn’t base a decision like that on couple of pictures and some print. Would I leave Android for WP7? No, and not because I’m a “fanboy” (I could never be a “fanboy” of anything, anywhere – I have these things called objective thoughts). I wouldn’t switch because I don’t care for the look and feel of WP7. Also, I’ve spent two years (almost – since the day the OG Droid was released) learning the Android OS in my spare time from rooting to themeing to tweaking and tailoring ROMs, etc. I have too much fun flashing new ROMs and kernels, changing the entire look of the UI, etc.
If the WP8 has a very easily customizable UI, I may get one to play around with, but I wouldn’t leave Android for it. I don’t see myself actually leaving Android anytime in the near future. Obviously, things change over time, but I don’t see Google doing anything incredibly stupid to Android (apparently, some people were confused as to what happens to their buttons if they upgraded to ICS), and I haven’t seen anything mind blowing coming from anywhere else. I’m happy with Android for the most part, there are some things I would change or implement,(like a universal docking system for Android handsets) but nothing is perfect.
What I would do for this hardware to be on Android! It’s lovely. The screen size could have been larger though but its absolutely stunning.
I like Nokia because they are the only one’s who can challenge the iPhone’s aesthetics and hardware build quality. Samsung / HTC build cheap crap.
Android needs a quality hardware builder. Motorola is somewhat better but could definitely need a lot of improvement.
The 800 looks okay: it’d possibly look a whole lot better in black. The 710 is cheap looking like the Nuron from a while back. WP7 isn’t strong enough to win my vote, but looking at the tablet previews of Win8 and factoring in integration across phones, tablets, PCs and xbox, I have to say I’m intrigued.
The Lumia 710 looks like a toy, unfortunately reminding me of far too many Android phones. The 800 is a beautiful design that could actually rival Apple in terms of “sexy” looking hardware.
Of course this is all personal opinion, but I can’t help but think that HTC/Motorola/Samsung just keep missing the mark. They certainly aren’t putting out the designs that I want, but I’m more or less stuck with them if I want to stick with the Android OS (and I do).
So am I disappointed that we don’t get another handset manufacturer? Yes. Yes I am.
Honestly, I was going to buy one as a backup, but these don’t interest me at all. They both look ugly (especially the cheap one), they both have tiny screens, etc. If I wanted a screen that size in WP7, I’d get the Radar.
Nokia made the first cell phone I ever had, worked well for over 2 years. I never owned another one, but not because I didn’t like them, just were too expensive for me at the time (college). The 800 looks pretty cool, but too much border and not enough screen IMO.
I think it’s funny how people are responding “no” to “do you wish these had android” with the reasoning of “i don’t like windows”.
for myself, they look like toys; something to market to tween girls. since you didn’t give any specs all we have to go on is the looks. DO. NOT. LIKE. try a better color scheme and get back to me.
I’d love to see that running ICS on a 4inch screen. If only the lock button was on the top left, or even top center.
I think the extra button is the dedicated camera button – which I have to say would be nice on Android at times…
Wow, this phone actually almost wants me to switch to WP7. Why can’t any of the other android manufacturers have the same quality of build as Nokia? Even better question, why didn’t Nokia go for Android? I’m sure M$ gave them a lot of money, but in the long run, I think Nokia would have made more money if they had switched to android.
Oh well, just gotta keep hoping for awesome hardware to go along with the awesome OS.
This is far from impressive. Its okay in the looks department.
The 800 is machined from a solid block if polycarbonate and I believe the internals are screwed in on machined stand offs. I’m not sure how the screen is installed they don’t show that in the video that was on engadget recently. But I like having access to a battery and the top opening little parts seem flimsy.
I agree with Carmen, I don’t believe Web OS could hold a candle to wm7. I don’t own either os on a phone but do have a touchpad and an asus transformer and think honestly the touchpad os stinks. I keep it for my son to play with, he’s 4 and loves learning so it’s good for him. Me, I’m 42 and don’t like learning anymore so I use my transformer.
I also don’t think the form factor if the 800 will be very comfortable to hold our have in your pocket. Atleast the way I hold my phones while texting or emailing the flat surface would dig into my palm and I don’t think I would enjoy using it as much. They should have rounded those corners off in my opinion.
I wish that Nokia had pushed their MeeGo phones harder. I’m going to need a replacement for my trusty Zaurus SL-5500 in the near future and MeeGo is about as close as it gets.
Windows should cut it’s losses on mobile, and concentrate making the desktop not suck anymore. Win 7 is nasty.
I think this phone looks very ugly and fat