Conor Pierce, a Nokia vice president, said "We see the Lumia 920 as one of the most exciting phones we have launched at Nokia, it includes some truly groundbreaking innovations: wireless charging, a screen that automatically adjusts its color and brightness, depending on sunlight and a touchscreen that even works when you're wearing gloves."
One insider at a rival company said Microsoft was "risking their goodwill" if it was encouraging Nokia to claim that the Lumia 920 was the "flagship" device on the market for Windows Phone 8. Analysts expressed surprise at the bold claim.
Last night, at a combined launch event in San Francisco, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said Windows Phone would allow users to personalise their devices to make them "as individual as they are".
Announcing devices that had already been teased by Nokia, HTC andSamsung at their own individual press launches, Microsoft repeatedly stressed that Windows Phone 8 integrated seamlessly with its new Windows 8 operating system and that it allowed users to easily access the things that were most important to them, such as contact details and information about family members.
The news came on the same day as Google announced its new mobile phone and tablet, the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, as well as a new music service.
Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's head of Windows Phone said the new devices were "a phone made for you – the most personal smartphone operating system you can get; the perfect companion for your Windows PC and your Xbox." He said that each Windows Phone could become "a unique reflection of who you are, like a fingerprint".
Among a small number of new features unveiled in the new operating system, Microsoft included a 'Kids Corner' feature that provides a walled garden for parents to select which apps, games and settings that children can use when they ask to play with an adult's phone.
Microsoft also emphasised that its apps, which it dubbed 'Live Apps', would integrate with its operating system more deeply and be allowed to show limited information on a device's lock screen. The company emphasised that it would have 46 of the world's 50 most popular apps available at launch, including improved versions of Twitter and Facebook. A new data sensor will allow people to monitor their data usage and American users will also get a year's free use of music service Pandora.
Miniature social networks, called Rooms, would also allow users to share, for instance, family photographs easily and solely with family members, backed up by integration with Microsoft's cloud storage system SkyDrive and its note software OneNote.
No comments:
Post a Comment