Alleged shots of Nokia prototype Windows Phone 8 device leak, shows 54GB of storage

Alleged photo of a Nokia prototype running Windows Phone 8

As we get closer to finding out about Windows Phone 8, more leaks are expected to happen. Such is the case on WPXAP where some alleged shots of a Nokia Vertu Windows Phone have shown up.

Vertu was Nokia's "high end" fashion phone division which is currently up for sale. The phone here, only partially displayed, shows Windows Phone 8 OS including some new features like native "Cloud Storage" (SkyDrive) support and what looks to be a whopping 54GB of storage (some presumed it to be a 64GB device).

The photos are reportedly only 3 weeks old and the leaker alleges that Nokia now may not being selling the Vertu division as evidenced by these photos. However, Nokia is reporting this moring that they have sold Verto to EQT VI.

Another interesting bit leaked is that " existing models all can be upgraded to WP8, but the function reduction (including the second generation functions) will be reduced" (translation). That backs up the current thinking of many that indeed current phones can run Windows Phone 8 but with more limited functionality e.g. no NFC or multi-core support.

What makes all of this frustrating of course is we cannot even see the phone (and what we can see looks...odd). Hopefully we'll see more of what's coming this fall soon.

Edit: As many have noted in the comments, this is probably not a 64GB device but rather 32GB with SkyDrive being counted towards the total. The math works like this (Thanks, Anthony):

"A 32GB device would have 32 / 1024^3 * 1000^3 = 29.80GB If you add the 25GB on skydrive, you get 29.80+25 = 54.80GB, which is almost on the dot for the 54.72GB figure."

Another interpretation is that this is added SD card memory as WP8 will support removable storage.

Source: WPXAP; Nokia; via WMPU

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been here covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics and ran the projectors at movie theaters, which has done absolutely nothing for his career.

63 Comments

Pretty sure that's an 800x480 screen, there's not even a tiny sign of the fonts being smaller or sharper. So I gather this is bogus. I highly doubt there would be a 64GB device out there with this screen resolution when WP8 will allow for much higher ones
Prototype though and last we checked, 720x1280 screens are not too common in production yet.
That 54.72GB storage doesn't make sense. This would imply that of the 64GB storage, the OS image itself is taking up close to 9GB. Unless MS wants Apollo to be impossible to load on lower end hardware (that have 4 to 8gb internal memory), this is probably wrong. WP7.5 currently takes less than 1GB in storage (My Focus has 7.4GB available out of 8GB flash memory), closer to 600MB.

Since the screenshot shows skydrive native integration, is it possible that this is a 32GB device with integrated skydrive, with 32GB+25GB (skydrive) = 57GB? This would leave a bit over 2GB for the core OS and applications.

This number seems more reasonable, but I'm not sure how or why they might want to integrate skydrive with internal memory like that, or how they might have implemented it. We'll probably find out soon though
Good point!!!
Why assume that the prototype only has the stock OS on it? Seems much more likely that 7 or 8 GB are used by other software/media/etc. Assuming that it either must be the OS, else it's SkyDrive related is begging the question rather profusely. It's hard to tell if it's real, never mind what's ACTUALLY on the device!
because other media/software wouldn't count towards the read-only part of the memory, so it would be counted in the 54GB. Also, what can you possibly think of that will take close to 7GB?
Sorry, my mistake, I only looked at available storage. Regarding total storage you are correct, 54GB is a figure that makes little sense.
I suppose the Skydrive theory is plausible, but as you said, why would it be included in (what I assume is) the total for physical memory..?
Or maybe it's just vertu being vertu, weird looking devices and weird looking internal storage ;-D
64000000000/1024/1024/1024 gives you only 59,6 GBs, so that makes the OS "only" close to 6GBs. But that 6GB may contain some bootloader, recovery and backup stuff, so that's nothing conclusive. Anyways, skydrive and internal memory cannot be "integrated", that is just impossible. They can only be synchronized.
That is true, but 6GB sounds pretty unreasonable for the purposes you described. Unless Apollo got a lot more massive, Mango uses very little space for all of those things, far less than 1GB, let alone 6GB.

You're right though, integrating skydrive memory with internal memory sounds ridiculous, but the numbers make a lot more sense than the 64GB number.

Actually, if you go by the 1024byte model, you have:
32GB / (1024^3) * (1000^3) = 29.80GB

29.80GB+25GB Skydrive = 54.80GB. Adds up to the "total memory" number (54.72GB) perfectly.
There is no other way to explain this.
Well 54.80 doesn't perfectly equal 54.72. It could be simply a coincidence that the number 25 almost fits there. Especially when free skydrive is now only 7 or 8 GB, one can easily extend it to 100GB. And you can use the phone wihout even signing in to Live. The phone information page shows details of the device, not some online services. "total storage" referrs to physical memory in the phone. One thing that could change in WP8 is that it may include the additional SD card memory.
"One thing that could change in WP8 is that it may include the additional SD card memory."
That's also a good angle as WP8 does support removable storage.
Can't wait! Biggest issue with WP7 handsets is woeful storage. I've got 16GB (14.5 in real terms) and it's simply not enough. I want 64+
Well for one, on my Samsung focus I shoul have 8GB * 1000^3 / 1024^3 = 7.45GB, but my phone reports only 7.39GB total memory (0.06GB difference)... which is in line with the 54.80GB vs 54.72GB here

It could be additional SD memory, but since cards only come in 8, 16, 32gb variants, it doesn't explain the 25GB either.

I agree that integrating skydrive with internal memory would seem ridiculous, but the numbers add up and unless it's a REALLY big fluke, it's hard to explain.

Also, legacy skydrive accounts are still 25GB :)
The OS stuff taking up 6GB is still more plausible than the wishful thinking around the number 25 coincidence. Online storage cannot be considered part of memory in a mobile device, that is just silly, it can't work like that. Meanwhile there are reasonable possibilities for what could have eaten that 5gb of space. Including but not limited to: an SD card split into multiple partitions for dual boot or some other reason. That kind of shenanigans have already been done on HTC HD2 for example.
Dual boot with what OS? Nokia and MS wouldn't be working on a phone running any other OS. You're right. It could be partitioned.. but to think that the OS takes anywhere close to 6GB is silly. Nokia just announced that they are going for low end hardware. Do you think that is going to happen if the OS image itself takes up 6GB of memory, when the phone only comes with 4GB or 8GB built in?

The skydrive theory doesn't make a lot of sense, if at all... but it's the only way the numbers add up. 6GB used for anything else doesn't make sense.

It's possible that MS has made much deeper integration with Skydrive in WP8 that we just know nothing about yet. I would wait and see.
Dual boot doesn't mean the device is running a different os, there van be two versions of windows for test purposes. And that is just an example why would someone partition the memory card in a funny way. You can't extend a mobile devices memory to the cloud, it would lead to data correption the second you walked into an elevator.
You may sync with the cloud, but that doesn't add space to your device but rather uses part of it. If you are that desperate to match the numbers and link it to SkyDrive: do you know Mesh? MS promised years ago that it would sync data between phones and pcs and whatnot, but never delivered it to WP. And do you how much storage space does Windows Live Mesh currently support? Exactly 5gb - that's circa what that 64gb prototype is missing.
There, I solved that mystery for ya :p
So that would mean that only 0.20GB is the maximum for the Apollo installation files? 54.72GB minus 54.52GB
Don't assume that the OS that runs on new handsets is the exact same as the OS running on upgraded handsets.
Can't see the os taking that much space. I can see, however, that if this is a real prototype that perhaps there are music and video files synced to the device to test sound and video quality.
Please please please please please let them change the start screen or home screen ..what ever you call it the arrow taking up part of the screen has got to go I mean do the iPhone have a arrow to tell people there is more over there.
Since iPhone has no arrow, WP mustn't.
If WP were to copy iOS we'd have a really shitty operating system
What iPhone has to do with this? In fact, what your entire comment has to do with the article?
Lol.....right, I come here for wp7 no ios crap....
NO! the arrow, and thus the off-centering of the tiles, is very intentional and plays a pretty large role in the aesthetically pleasing nature of the start screen (and overall UI) design.
i know that sounds pretty subjective, but it's not. the placement, as it is, shows very serious consideration towards optimal spacial alignment.
it wouldn't look right if there was no arrow. (correct me if im wrong) I think majority of iPhone users think that's all there is to their home screen. The main screen. I heard you can scroll left or right to get to the options menus. Don't really care if I'm right, I have the only OS I'll actually use WP. My first smartphone and I'm glad I waited. Feels good to be different.
That looks like a legit camera that is on the phone, maybe 12 mp preview, cause the sender and lens size is way bigger than on the Nokia lumia 800 and 900
Its probably Nokia 900. Its size its larger than many people think. Also, if this would be a new phone I would assume that the photo would be taken of the entire phone instead portions of it. Not to mention blacked out version number and so are other specs. I don't believe it's a new OS either (especially it came from from site with xap in it) or the phone unless i see all specs and an actual entire photo of the mobile phone.
That screen is clearly LCD, so it's not a Lumia 900
Not the Lumia 900. Main reason being that clearly you can tell that it is an LCD screen. The Lumia 900 does not run that.
Ok then HTC titan.
That "cloud storage" settings menu is pretty interesting.
I'm glad Nokia has sold Vertu - I don't like the idea of using WP on devices targeted at nouveau riche and other people lacking good taste.
I love the idea. Vertu was always extremely exclusive; not the bs limited edition crap you hear about. A phone truly made for the rich and elite (like any other category of things to purchase such as cars, shoes, even houses). I was in the Dubai airport in 08 and saw Vertu at the duty free. Even though I had an iPhone, I wanted the outdated bar phones that costed more than 100 times my iPhone. The cherry on top is that it's windows phone. A
Everyone has Androids and every hobo can afford an iPhone on launch thanks to subsidies. With this variety of WP, it is truly a status symbol.
Did everyone see the $2,000+ Android Lamborghini phone and tablet
The phone is running on old shitty android gingerbread lol
I'm a longtime WP user, but I just played with my friends galaxy nexus s running ICS and I was jealous. Doesn't help that WP has NO exclusive features over android right now.... Thx xbox companion app team...
Had the same feeling when I played with a HTC one X recently. Oh and btw my keyboard dropped like three times while writing this. but hey my tiles are much more esthetic.
You're free to go buy them...
I had a feeling someone would comment like that. I'm on this forum because I love the Metro UI and I'm a big fan of microsoft and I hope they pull through.
I truly think that Windows phone is better than the iphone in every way, shape, and form. But when it comes to android, we still can't compete feature for feature. And no, I'm not saying specs wise, I'm talking about pure features and functionality.
I think that Microsoft can make lots of tiles and apps in the future with the framework they have, but it's hard to deny the amount of functionality available in an android ICS right now. And as much I'd like to come out and say that Mango is more intuitive and easier to use... I had absolutely no issues whatsoever navigating the Nexus S, and it didn't lag once and was just as smooth as my Titan.
The nexus is cool ice cream sandwich looks cool but it's not Microsoft so I wouldn't east my time on that shitty software lol
I know youre probably joking, but just in case:
Im always the first to defend WP, but competition drives the market. We need discussions like this to not only hope for improvements in our product, but also to keep our knowledge up to date; lest we sound like the people talking bad about pre-nodo WP that ignorant people still think run on our phones.
ICS may not lag but the features offered on the greatest and latest on Android aren't even worth switching for - the cameras are at par with WP, dual cores (thanks to which Android runs about as smooth as WP and iOS) are not needed at this point, expandable memory is being done away with in a few models, NFC chips are rather useless - why should I switch? The UI is still terrible, it's designed for tech nerds with the spacey blue feel (the photo display is abysmal) and the Play store, inspite of being rich in applications, is still a mess to move around. Not only that, both iOS and Android lack a native music subscription option and that's a deal breaker for me - I can literally download any track with Zune Pass and it stays in my library instead of buying each track seperately from iTunes or Play Store which is a pain.
Android is designed with flexibility in mind and that is it's biggest strength but it doesn't play nice with what I want. I hate having to navigate around menus and trying to arrange my screen real estate to my "taste" or having 17 icons displayed on the notification bar, or having to kill tasks, or being spammed with ads to protect my Android from potential threats - it's a big fragmented mess and it's such a turn off. ICS is certainly an attempt to clean this up but it's not going very far. The only phone I'd consider is the Galaxy Nexus because it runs stock Android. The point is, I don't want Windows XP running on my phone - it's great for my laptop since I can decide what I want to run but not so much for my phone which is saddled with a weaker processer and battery. This active user management should be left to computers; don't bring it over to phones because a) they only harm the device from functioning properly and b) require tons more power to run (hence the dual/quad core "innovation" in the Android camp).
Wp8 better be amazing!
Why can't nokia shut the hell up? All leaks are always from nokia
I'm going to go you a tissue for those tears, hold on, be right back...
First, that's because nobody else is doing anything related. Second, I kinda appreciate the leaks.
Ya, damn nokia and all those companies putting out leaks to get people excited about their products. /s
You're somewhat of an enigma to me Hiiiiiii. Sometimes I read your posts and think, how does this guy have this much time to troll. But sometimes you have legit points, regardless of what some of the responses may be. Usually more the former than the latter though ;-)
...thanks att for the 8107 update or really helps with everything...oh wait I don't have it..i guess all us att WP users will go without the update and gp straight to Apollo and beyond.
ATT cannot defend their position on this. They are truly awful to their customers.
Given the fact that Nokia just sold Vertu, it seems strange that they would use that particular phone to run a new build on.
I think, maybe, they are using it because of the processor, or some other technical specification.
I really hope this is a fake because it looks just like Windows 7.5; Windows 8 should be customizable with custom start screen back ground picture options and new accent colors for tiles. I've said it before and I'll say it again; haveing just a black or white background is so iPhone 1 or Meegoo.
Oh really? You can see all that from these mere pictures? Do go on. Its in testing, probably to check for stability and bugs, why would they customize it? But I really dont think the black and white thing will change much, I think it looks nice. Though I do like the concept in the app phone 8 (transparent tiles for a background image). But whatever they do is anyone's guess at this point.
Now I am mad! I can get Windows Phone 8 on my Lumia 900, but without multicore support? That's how we can see that Nokia let us down!
Sarcasm right? I really can't read emotions on these things. The '/s' is not out of style. Funny though, multicore support on a device with a single core.
Wow, a Windows Phone device with more than 16gb, I'm getting excited....
Wow
Interesting how one picture shows check boxes to select items while another shows the standard mango slider.... um... Very interesting....
It's nothing new. WP currently uses both sliders and checkboxes.
Sliders are used when there is need for an ON/OFF switch like for WiFi or Bluetooth. Checkboxes in other cases.
I think that it may be a 64 gig because unless its two different phones the cloud storage doesn't show any space at all. Meaning the device technically isn't connected to SkyDrive. Plus wouldn't it be more fair to not include that as people have different size accounts. You got to think windows phone 8 will have alot of software integrated this making the system image larger. Kinda like asop vs sense for android. Those are starting to get into the 3 gig range for the rom. Just saying....
Why is there a Transformers face on it? lol...
Caught by a Transformer!

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