Nokia Lumia 920 local release info revealed

Finnish phone giant Nokia has announced that its Windows Phone 8 powered Lumia 920 smartphone will be launched in South Africa during November 2012.

The Espoo-based firm’s flagship Windows Phone 8 device will be available from both MTN and Vodacom, whilst Nokia also revealed that the Lumia 920 will be joined by the Lumia 820 smartphone before the end of this year.

The Lumia 920 (130.3 x 70.8  x 10.7 mm; 185 g) is powered by Qualcomm’s 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and boasts a 4.5" Nokia PureMotion HD+ (1280 x 768; 332 ppi) IPS LCD Super Sensitive touchscreen that the company asserts is so sensitive users will be able to use it even whilst wearing gloves.

This smartphone further features built-in wireless charging support, 1 GB of RAM, near field communication (NFC) support, Bluetooth 3.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 n, a 8.7 MP rear-facing camera as well as a 1.2 MP front-facing snapper for video calls, and 32 GB worth of internal storage.

The rear-facing camera sports Nokia’s latest PureView imaging innovations that makes use of advanced floating lens technology and optical image stabilisation, which compensates for any degree of hand movement whilst snapping photos to help prevent blurry shots.

According to Espoo, this snapper also takes in five times more light than competing smartphones without using flash, resulting in clear, bright pictures as well as video being captured indoors and at night.

Unlike the Lumia 920, Nokia’s Lumia 820 (123.8 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm; 160 g) includes a micro SD memory card slot to expand upon its 8 GB memory. It is kitted out with a 4.3" (480 x 800 pixels) ClearBlack OLED touchscreen and checks 1 GB of RAM and a sizeable 1650 mAh battery with support for Qi wireless charging off its extensive feature list.

The Lumia 820 is powered by the same 1.5 GHz dual-core processor doing duty in the 920, and sports a VGA front facing snapper as well as a 8 MP rear-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash, which is capable of recording full HD (1080p) videos.

Both smartphones will be available with pentaband LTE (4G) support with pricing, contract details as well as available colours being announced closer to the start of sales.

“With the first wave of Lumia we launched something completely new. We now have a range of four Lumia smartphones in the market and we have been very encouraged by the response from both consumers and our operator partners. We are seeing the same commitment behind the next wave of devices which underscores the momentum behind both Lumia, and the broader Windows ecosystem,” stated Gerard Brandjes, VP of Nokia South- and East Africa.

In related news, Nokia also recently released its Q3 2012 interim fiscal report, showing that the Espoo-based firm only managed to ship 2.9 million Lumia smartphones during Q3 2012 as customers hold off on purchasing new Lumia devices until the arrival of the Lumia 920 and 820.