Nokia unveils first Windows phones

Nokia unveiled two sleek new Microsoft Windows phones, a first step in the ailing cellphone maker's fightback against Apple and Google.

London, Oct 27 (ANI): Facing fierce competition to remain the world's top mobile phone maker, Nokia has launched two new smartphones that are based on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7.5 operating system.

The Finnish company launched its 'Lumia 800' and the 'Lumia 710' to mark the beginning of Nokia's fightback against Apple's iPhone and rivals using Google's Android software, the BBC reports.

In a bid to retain its strong hold in the Indian market, the company named its new series of smartphones, which includes four other basic phones, 'Asha', a Hindi word meaning hope.

According to the BBC, the phones will be relatively cheap, and will sport features like touch screens, 5 mega pixel cameras, bright screens, 32GB storage for music and long battery life.

Nokia's new boss, Stephen Elop, had previously warned that the company was stuck on a "burning platform". Now, he said that the launch marked the "rebirth" of Nokia.

Elop said the phones would blur the boundaries between feature phones and smart phones, bringing the internet "to the next billion people".

He acknowledged that the Lumia 800 was a design development of a previous Nokia phone, the MeeGo-based N9.

Elop said the "Lumia is the first real Windows phone" and predicted the company would be the leader in "smartphone design and craftsmanship". (ANI)

The phones will go on sale in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year.