Nokia takes high-end innovation to new audiences at Mobile World

MANILA, Philippines - At the recent Mobile World Congress, Nokia announced plans to extend high-end innovations to more people in more markets.

Four new devices bring innovation to new price points, while Nokia’s HERE location suite becomes available for non-Nokia phones in the Windows Phone ecosystem.

Nokia also announced new developer partnerships that use Nokia expertise in imaging, location and entertainment to deliver exclusive application experiences.

Finally, Nokia and Microsoft are combining their strengths in the enterprise sector to bring more business customers to Windows Phone.

“The momentum behind Nokia is gathering pace. The launches reflect our commitment to broadening our devices and services portfolio to meet the demands of people and businesses around the globe,” said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia.

“By offering better experiences at a more affordable price we are reinventing the battle for affordable mobile devices, and Nokia has to the building blocks to win,” Elop added.

Nokia Lumia 720, Nokia Lumia 520 expand Windows Phone 8 portfolio

The Nokia Lumia 720 delivers a high-end camera performance at a mid-range price point. A large f/1.9 aperture and exclusive Carl Zeiss optics are designed to deliver bright, clear pictures day and night, while the HD-quality, wide-angle front-facing camera makes taking pictures with friends and video calling more enjoyable.

The sleek and stylish smartphone comes with the latest high-end Nokia Lumia experiences, including Nokia Music, the HERE location suite, and the option to add wireless charging with a snap-on wireless charging cover.

The Nokia Lumia 720 comes in five colors, with an estimated starting price of 249 euros before taxes and subsidies. Rollout is planned to start in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore in the first quarter before continuing into broader markets in the second quarter, including China as well as key markets in Europe, Asia, Africa and India.

The Nokia Lumia 520 is Nokia’s most affordable Windows Phone 8 smartphone, delivering experiences normally only found in high-end smartphones, such as the same digital camera lenses found on the flagship Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Music for free music out of the box and even offline, and the HERE location suite.

A four-inch super sensitive touch screen makes for a more responsive and immersive content experience than can usually be found at this price.

The Nokia Lumia 520 comes in five colors, with an estimated starting price of 139 euros, before taxes and subsidies. Rollout is planned to begin in the first quarter in Hong Kong and Vietnam, before expanding broadly in the second quarter to markets in Europe, Asia (including China and India), Latin America and Africa. The Nokia Lumia 520 is also planned to roll out in the United States with T-Mobile.

Nokia also announced that following the launch of the Nokia Lumia 920T by China Mobile last year, the world’s biggest mobile operator would bring the Nokia Lumia 720 and the Nokia Lumia 520 to China.

Nokia 105, Nokia 301 add aspirational Lumia experiences

Nokia also unveiled the Nokia 105, its most affordable phone to date, and the Nokia 301, for more affordable Internet and e-mail access, and camera experiences inspired by Nokia Lumia smartphones.

The Nokia 105 is the ideal device for the first-time phone buyer, featuring a bright color screen with clear menus and essentials like FM radio, multiple alarm clocks, speaking clock, a dust- and splash-proof, pillowed keypad, and a flashlight. Its durability and up to 35-day battery life also make it ideal for people seeking a back-up device.

The Nokia 105 is available in black and cyan for a recommended price of 15 euros. It is planned to start rolling out in the first quarter and is expected to be gradually expanded to in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam and other markets in Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The colorful Nokia 301 delivers elegant design and a bold color palette, with a fast, 3.5G Internet connection and Nokia Xpress Browser preloaded for up to 90 percent more data efficiency.

It is the most affordable Nokia device to offer video streaming and also comes with new smart camera features, inspired by the digital camera lenses on the Nokia Lumia smartphones.

The Nokia 301 is available in cyan, black, magenta, yellow and white for a recommended price of 65 euros. It is planned to start rolling out in the second quarter and is expected to be available in more than 120 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Middle East and Latin America.

HERE expands its reach

Nokia also announced that while HERE, its new brand for location experiences, will continue to offer first and best experiences on Lumia, HERE Maps, HERE Drive and HERE Transit would become available for non-Nokia Windows Phone smartphones in selected markets.

The new HERE Maps comes with the integration of LiveSight, Nokia’s set of augmented-reality technologies. LiveSight uses “sight” as a fundamentally new way to discover and navigate the world, recognizing what people see through their phone’s camera and layering that view with relevant, place-based information.

LiveSight also powers Place Tag, a new digital lens introduced for Lumia today. Combining Nokia’s unique capabilities in location and imaging, Place Tag adds location stamps to photos with relevant information about pictured places.

Developers gain access to exclusive Nokia technology

Nokia announced that with more than 130,000 applications now available on Windows Phone, it is opening up its APIs in imaging, location and music to encourage developers to build unique and innovative application experiences for Lumia.

New apps from Burton, GoPro and FourSquare are taking advantage of these opportunities, while Nokia announced a new cooperation with Dreamworks Animations SKG. The partnership will see Dreamworks developers use Nokia APIs to deliver rich, interactive entertainment experiences, exclusively for Nokia devices, starting from the second half of the year.

Nokia and Microsoft sharpen focus on business customers

Finally, Nokia and Microsoft are sharpening their focus on bringing business customers from competitor platforms to Windows Phone using the combined strength of Windows Phone 8 and the popular appeal of Nokia Lumia smartphones.

In addition to announcing recent business wins, Nokia confirmed operators, including Everything Everywhere, Elisa, Orange, Telstra and Vodafone, are ranging Nokia Lumia smartphones as their business hero devices.