Nandagopal Rajan
Nokia has finally launched its
flagship Windows 8 phone, the Lumia 920, in India. The Finnish phonemaker, which has been struggling to hold on to its historical dominance of the Indian smartphone market, is hoping that its bouquet of Windows 8 Lumia devices will let it recapture the market.
On paper Nokia has a winner in the Lumia 920, which among other unique
features has a stunning 8.7 MP camera that uses the company's Pureview Camera technology along with optical image stabilisation.
Nokia claims the camera is the best in class as far as low-light photography is concerned.
Then, the Lumia 920 introduces wireless charging which lets users power-up the phone by just keeping it on a charging surface. Nokia is also bringing in a host of accessories that will put this capability to good use.
The 920 uses a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor and has a 4.5" PureMotion HD+ WXGA (1280x768) IPS LCD and a 2000 mAh battery.
However, all this makes the Lumia 920 an expensive phone at a best buy price of Rs 38,199, around 10 per cent more than competing devices on the same platform. But online retail sites were already quoting cheaper rates with Saholic.com at Rs 36,499 and Flipakrt.com at Rs 36,999.
To be relevant across various price points,
Nokia has also launched a cheaper phone, the Lumia 820. This phone has 4.3" OLED WVGA 800x480 display with a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor and 1650 mAh battery. The 820 has a 8MP camera, though witout PureView. This model is priced at Rs 27,599. The Saholic.com price for the model was 26,499, while Flipkart.com was charging Rs 500 more.
"The launch of Lumia 920 and 820 has instantly catapulted Windows Phone into the high-end smartphone shootout," said P Balaji, MD and vice-president of Nokia India.
The company also announced an even more affordable model, the 620, but refuced to divulge the price or date of availability. In all probability, the 620 will be the cheapest Windows Phone 8 device when it hits the shelves later this year.
Vipul Mehrotra, Director and Head - Smartphone Devices, Nokia India said the roll out of not two, but three devices marks Nokia's intent and agility, as well as its commitment to Indian consumers.
Coorection: An earlier version of the story mentioned the scrensize as .5" PureMotion instead of 4.5" PureMotion
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P Balaji, MD & VP of Nokia India, with Vipul Mehrotra, Director & Head, Smartphone Devices, Nokia India, at the launch of Lumia 920. 
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