Nokia Lumia 900 U.S. Release Date Delayed till April 22: Buy Lumia 800 Instead?

The delay of the Nokia Lumia 900 has come as a big disappointment to Windows Phone 7 fans, who were eagerly waiting to get their hands on what is considered to be the sexiest Windows smartphone ever conceived. The Lumia 900 was scheduled to launch exclusively on AT&T in March, but likely due to the New iPad launching on AT&T in the same month, the decision was made to push back the Lumia 900 release to April 22. A month of waiting for the Lumia 900 could be a problem for some. What should the next course of action be? How about grabbing a Nokia Lumia 800?

The Nokia Lumia 800 is one of the first of Nokia’s Lumia line of Windows Phone-based devices, the first to lead the charge against iOS and Android, and the first Lumia to help guide Symbian to its final resting place. Nokia partnered with Microsoft back in 2011 to use Windows Phone as its main smartphone OS for over the next several years, a push that should see Windows Phone becoming the 3rd ecosystem behind Android and iOS, and hopefully putting Nokia back at the top of the smartphone food chain.

Is the Lumia 800 a device worth getting over the Lumia 900? It all depends on what you want, because although both devices are similar in many ways that one, there are key differences that separate them, differences that users care a lot about.

The Nokia Lumia 800: Specs and Features

The Lumia 800 is the best Windows Phone device you will find on the market. In fact, if you’re out to get a Windows Phone, there is really no reason to get any other brand apart from a Nokia due the company’s partnership with Microsoft, which will enable the latter to deliver quality applications only to Nokia devices.

Anyways, the Lumia 800 is a true testament to Nokia’s design prowess. We first saw this design from the Nokia N9, now it has become the flagship design for Nokia high-end Windows Phone handsets. The body of the phone is pure polycarbonate, a material that is used for a variety of applications, from bulletproof windows to compact disks (CDs). The main advantage of polycarbonate over other types of plastic is unbeatable strength combined with light weight. Apart from the gorgeous design and material used, the device is sporting a beautiful 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display. ClearBlack is Nokia’s proprietary technology to make blacks, well, blacker.

On the inside, lies Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango,) a 1.4Ghz single core Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 GPU, 512MB RAM, 16GB memory, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 8 megapixel camera, Gorilla Glass display, and Bluetooth. Not the most powerful device on the market if it should be compared to high-end Android devices, or even the iPhone 4S, but the Windows Phone Operating System has proven repeatedly to be faster than many Android devices with dual core processors.

Pricing for the Nokia Lumia 800 is not cheap since the device is not available on contract in the US. If you want it, jump on the Microsoft website and pick it up for $899 unlocked. You won’t only get the phone, but also a Nokia Purity HD stereo headphones by Monster, a Nokia Play 360° wireless Bluetooth speaker, and a Nokia Luna Bluetooth headset.

The Nokia Lumia 900 Specs and Features

Compared to the Lumia 800, the Lumia 900 offers nearly the same features. The main differences falls in the screen size, which is a neat 4.3-inch, an improved 8-megapixel shooter, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, AT&T’s 4G LTE, and the pricing. The Nokia Lumia 900 will go on sale on AT&T on April 22 for $99 on a 2 year contract. No word on how much it will be cost unlocked.

Should You Buy a Nokia Lumia 800 Instead?

Only if you are not interested in 4G, a larger display, and video calling. It’s a solid handset, and as we said before, the best Windows Phone device out on the market right now until the Lumia 900 comes around.

(Reported by Vamien McKalin, Edited by Surojit Chatterjee)

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