Stephen Elop: First Nokia WP7 devices coming to China March 28

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Just days after a Chinese Lumia 800 surfaced sporting an updated version of Tango, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop told media outlets that the first Chinese Nokia Windows Phone devices will launch on March 28.  Elop did not confirm what model that first device would be, but it is expected to be the Lumia 800, which has been in testing for some time.  Other Lumia phones, will follow sometime in April and beyond.  Word has it those models will include the 710, 900, 610, and as one Weibo user discovered, possibly even the 719:

Nokia is looking to capitalize on what was a good chunk of business for their Symbian operating system.  They were beaten to the Windows Phone punch by HTC, who just launched in China, but it looks like they will give HTC a run for their money with a wide offering of devices.

Source: 21st Century Business; Via: Engadget, TechInAsia

Seth Brodeur
Seth Brodeur
13 Comments
  • First,
    Glad to see Nokia announce a release date ....FOR CHINA?!?!?!??!!??!?!?!!??!?
    Where is lumia 900 for U.S???  ball has been dropped!
  • Lol!  Well, apparently, the China telecom has green lighted the release and confirmed the date, thus this announcement by S Elop.  So, when AT&T gives the green light and date, safe to say that Stephen Elop will make an announcement as well.
     
     
     
     
  • While I'm also disappointed by no Lumia 900 confirmation date yet, I'm not surprised. USA market is already freaking bad for Nokia, so the only way to go is up from here. Why hurry and try to make gains or stop losing share in a country like China? I don't know, just trying to put myself in Elop's leather chair.
  • I understand your point, but devil's advocate here. 
    For NOK, it would make sense to release the phone shortly after the announcement in January.  The excitement for a new product is typically the highest right after the announcement which results in higher sales and adoption. 
    Also consider that the WP OS is way behind in market share so you need all the pub and excitement possible.  At this point, Apple can announce the iPhone 5 today and not saying anything until release in October and people will still buy the phone. 
    NOK and WP7 does not have the luxury and do not have the type of following.  Considering that the specs are not up to par with other devices (i understand WP7 doesnt need high specs) and people have the "more power, more better" mentality, NOK and WP7 will always being playing catch-up. 
    Now that they have killed pretty much any hype regarding the phones as people who are not patient have moved on to other devices, chances are the the Lumia 900 will have trouble getting traction in the market.  The more traction you get now in the U.S, the more willing manufactuers will be willing to make phoens, the more willing carriers are willing to carry you phones which in turn leads to potentially higher market share. 
    This is a very cookie cutter evaluation that i made, but if they continue to delay and wait, lumia 900 will fail and the adoption to wp8 may hurt as well. 
    People are invested with apps on their droid/iphones which is why the ecosystem is very important, no adoption now, will hurt wp8 in the future.   So hook them in!
  • At&t Execs are too busy trying to figure out how to rip off their customers enough to pay back the Billions they lost on the T-Mobile debacle to worry that China Telecom is far better at satisfying their Customers needs in a timely fashion.
  • Well good for china, I wish the 800 would have gotten a big push over here on any carrier. Still waiting on US love.
  • What is Tango? Oh, you must mean Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh... :)
  • wasn't the Nokia 719 the "Ace"? I forgot if there are any leaked pictures.
  • At&t Execs are too busy trying to figure out how to rip off their customers enough to pay back the Billions they lost on the T-Mobile debacle to worry that China Telecom is far better at satisfying their Customers needs in a timely fashion. Great Leadership :S. When will their Board dump these losers and get on with making their Customers happy as a model for running a profitable business?
  • Well for those dwelling on the lack of a US date lets consider the China news for a moment. I think China Telecom have some 650 million subscribers of which 100+ are 3G so with this possible spread of 3G capable devices we can see massive WP growth. This kinda of secures the OS in my opinion beyond any doubt.
  • Yea good point
  • The US is usually behind in alot of things,especially when it comes to workers rights and healthcare.
  • @welsbloke...i love it when Americans get our shorts in a bind about these release dates. The US is only about 5% of the world population. MS/NOK are looking to the future...