It has been some time since Nokia has been making any major name for it self in the smart phone market since the release of its N9 Nokia has been somewat of a sleeping giant. With the major partnership of Microsoft and Nokia we are starting to see high quality handsets hitting the AUS market.
The Phone
Nokia officlly launched its Lumia 800 series in Australia on March 1st fom Optus, Vodafone and Telstra with its Cyan, Black and Pink models followed weeks later by its While Glossy partner.
News on the features and details of the Lumia have been done to death since its offical launch in AUS last month and from its US launch earlier this year so the following is a few of the key things to note about the Lumia 800.
- Display Size : 3.7″ Gorilla Glass ClearBlack AMOLED display
- CPU : Single Core Qualcomm 1.4GHz
- Storage : 16GB
- RAM : 512MB
- Battery : 1450mAh
- Camera : Rear 8MP Carl Zeiss Optics (No FFC)
- GSM : 850/900/1800/1900
- WCDMA (3G) : RM-801 (Optus/Virgin) 900/1900/2100
- WCDMA (3G) : RM-819 (Telstra/Vodafone) 850/1900/2100
Currently, in the Aus market, this lattest release phone from Nokia puts it as the most feature rich phone available.
The Delema
As mentioned in the above specs, we have been faced with one small minor issue when hunting for your next Lumia 800 series phone. Due to the carrier split we have in Australia (Which for people who do not follow Mobiles closely, we have Telstra and Vodafone who utalise the 850Mhz spectram and Optus and Virgin who use the 900 Mhz spectram), Nokia has been “kind” enough to split the options into 2 phone models.
Making the selection for some users will be easy as each carrier will be stocking its relevent model, it does however leave an issue for anyone who is purchasing their new Lumia 800 outright. Due to the major split in the telcos, it does mean that users will be restricted to selected carriers when choosing their phones. forcing users to ensure they are
The Upgrade
Since last year I have been able to enjoy the wonders of WP7 going from my HTC HD2 running custom ROMS, upgrading to its WP7 brother the HD7 later that year. As detailed back when I upgraded to my HTC HD7 the phone suited my needs and network with no issues (Running on the Optus/Virgin 900 network). As with the WP it self, alot has happened since then, I’m now running on the Vodafone network which sadly requires a 850 phone to fully benifit from its new 3G network.
The benifit of the new Lumia series launching in Aus did allow for a new line of 850 phone hitting the shores, but it also meant I have to now be more careful when purchasing imported phones as the 850 Mhz phones tend to attrach a higher price point. Lucky for me I was able to aquire a new Vodafone 850Mhz Lumia 800 at a bargin price.
Over the next few days i will be posting some overview, basic unboxing (as there is already 100s of them out there), my personal experiance going from a 4.3″ HD7 to a Lumia 800 and lots more.
Its been quite for a bit but lots of good things to come this month!