Nokia Windows Smartphones | What You Need To Know

Nokia�s new Windows Phones running Lumia phone range landed in SA at the of last month. It makes a much important departure from Nokia�s old and tired Symbian OS, to the brave new world of Windows Phone. Here is all you need to know about the top of the Nokia�s chart new Smartphones Lumia 800 and Lumia 700.

Expected Features:

Office and SkyDrive

A key benefit of phones being Windows based is Microsoft Office integration in the form of the Microsoft Office hub. This is one of the strongest documentation creation and editing packages on offer for any mobile OS, and includes the mobile versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint as well as SharePoint. Users also have access to Microsoft�s SkyDrive, a free cloud-based storage service offering users 25 GB of online storage for documents, music, photos and videos.

Nokia Drive and Maps

Users of Nokia�s Symbian operating smartphones as well as the N9 will be very familiar with the company� excellent Nokia Drive, their free turn by turn drive and walk navigation offering that boasts voice guidance. Nokia Drive will also be available on their new Windows based devices and helps set Nokia�s devices apart from the other crop of Windows Phone OS running mobiles out there. It includes the ability to employ maps in either a 2D or 3D view and also to change the screen contrast to enhance the readability of the display during night driving.

Smartphone + Xbox360

Xbox fans will be happy about the close knit integration between the 360 and Windows Phone. Upon downloading the Xbox Companion App from the Windows Phone Marketplace, you will be able to do things such as using your smartphone as a remote control for the Xbox. Users can edit their Xbox Live avatar, keep an eye on their achievements and receive messages from friends who are on the Xbox Live network, informing them amongst others to join them for a quick gaming session in games like Battlefield 3.

Nokia Radio and Music Store

Mix Radio enables Nokia users to stream a massive library of music for free (besides the data cost involved of course) by utilizing a 3G or Wi-Fi connection, while the Nokia Music Store portal allows users to buy music and download it straight to their device.

Nokia - Why to Choose Windows Phone?

Year 2011 was a very turbulent year for Espoo-based giant Nokia, as its CEO Stephen Elop admitted that Nokia was in trouble, not having products close to offering a user experience that rivaled Google�s Androi or Apple�s iOS. This prompted the company to abandon the Symbian OS �burning platform� as well as ill-fated MeeGo OS it developed together with Intel, in favour of Microsoft�s new Windows Phone OS. The move looks set to benefit both companies with Nokia receiving a much needed OS restructuring, and Microsoft a willing handset partner ready to build on Windows Phone which, up until this time, had limited support from other handset manufacturers.