I agree with the above post mostly. I think Microsoft is going to have some serious pricing advantges. I think they are going to have a not only an on-contract model like they do with the current xbox at mutiple retailers, but Cable carriers may offer the 720 as a choice as a cable box as well.
On Microsofts mobile notes they and Nokia showed off the two Flagship phones for Windows Phone 8 today.
First off is the High end and Flagship phone the
Lumia 920
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8_Z7_kJ3_g&feature=plcpAs one of the first Windows Phone 8 devices to be officially announced, this device augments Espoo's line with a larger, curved 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display, dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2,000mAh battery, NFC, integrated wireless charging and an 8-megapixel rear PureView camera capable of 1080p video. The display packs WXGA (1,280 x 768) resolution, is 25 percent brighter than the next best panel on the market and it's the fastest LCD that Nokia has ever shipped on a smartphone. What's more, the screen also boasts what Nokia calls "Super Sensitive Touch," which promises to let you use it even when wearing gloves or mitts.
As you can tell from its humpless back, this PureView is not that of the 41-megapixel variety -- it's merely all about the branding, as the moniker will now ring synonymous with "high-end cameras." Despite that fall from 808 grace, Nokia's Head of Imaging Damian Dinning has assured detractors the magic is in what's done with the optics and pixels and not sheer gargantuan sampling size. To wit, the 920 employs a "floating lens," which, in layman's terms, translates into hardware image stabilization and also packs impressive low-light capabilities -- an area the company's seems squarely focused upon.
In a true return to form, the 920 also hearkens back to the Lumia that started it all, opting for the "sinuous tapering" that debuted on the 800 with glass edges that blend gently into the polycarbonate hull. Unfortunately, not all of that design language has made the transition, given its chassis now appears glossier and more polished, distancing itself from that premium matte finish. Still, as looks go, the handset's keeping to its 900 origins, appearing nigh indistinct from its predecessor save for that attention-grabbing mellow yellow hue.And as a bonus, Nokia's imbued the device with integrated wireless charging, based on the Qi standard, which corroborates those leaks we saw just last week. The Lumia 920 will arrive in pentaband LTE and HSPA+ variants and both are expected to ship "in selected markets" later this year.
and the Mid-Range
Lumia 820
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aIYm07ACkjUNo matter your budget, Nokia's got a Windows Phone 8 handset for you. While the Lumia 920 dominated today's press conference, the company's more modest Lumia 820 is planning to sneak in and capture the mid-range. The handset is packing the same 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 internals you'll find in the 920, along with 1GB RAM and a 4.3-inch display.
While the handset isn't unattractive, the design language of the 800 (and N9) that captured our hearts has been dumped in favor of something more symmetrical. The glass of its 800 x 480 ClearBlack OLED screen is flat rather than convex (poached by the 920) and the body's finish is a little more shinier than the previous generation of Nokia's polycarbonate.
Photography fans looking to get their hands on that PureView goodness will be disappointed to see that it's also been reserved for the flagship (in some form). Instead, this unit comes with the more familiar 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics we've seen before, but at least there's a front-facing VGA lens for video conferencing.
While the unit only has 8GB of on-board storage, it's packing microSD support (up to 32GB, as per usual) and you'll also get an additional 7GB of storage on Microsoft's cloud service, Skydrive. The company's including a series of protective cases in a variety of colors, including a set that add bundle QI-compatible wireless charging to the handset -- at the cost of adding an extra 1mm to the handset's overall thickness.
It'll arrive in Red, Yellow, Grey, Cyan, Purple, White and Black, with separate LTE and HSPA+ variants shipping "later in the year," but Elop and co declined to give a specific announcement on availability or price today.
The hook for the Lumia 920 happens to be the insanly cool Pureview Camera which is shaping up to be the best cameraphone on the market. Nokia has another Pureview phone boasting a whooping 41 megapixel camera and shoots better than most dedicated point and shoots. Nokia's aim here is to dispel the myth that megapixels make the camera and only using the pureview tech to have a better camera.
Too lazy to summarize it but
here] is somthing by nokia explaining it.
The Lumia's 820's hook is while not having the awesome camera,higher res screen, or intergated wirless charging like the 920 it has an microSD card and removable backs that can add the ability for wireless charging. The camera wont be uber OH MY GOD awesome but should be better than most on the market anyway.
The biggest new imo is the including of wireless charging in the 920 and within the optional 820 shells. After seeing Palm have somthing similar with webos and touchstone and the 3DS and its charging cradle (not excatly the samething) I've wondered why no one else has tried to intergrate this tech into the mainstream. Microsoft and Nokia are doing just that by teaming up with coffe shops around the country to have these charging devices built into the tables.
as per engadget
So the big buzz of the day's just passed, but now's the time to focus on the lesser details of Nokia's big Windows Phone 8 / Lumia presser: the accessories. Revealed during the presentation today, the Lumia 920 and 820 both incorporate Qi tech for wireless charging (albeit, optionally in the latter's case), a perk that will let users choose from the company's own stylish, soap-bar like dock, Fatboy pillow or an NFC-equipped charging stand. All three function exactly as advertised -- put the phone on top and it starts charging right away. The basic dock is the same sort of plastic that now graces the outside of the Lumia line. It's simple, slightly shiny and comes in a variety of hues. The Pillow is broad, flat and not exactly comfortable. The charging element sits right in the middle and is surrounded by beanbag-like cushions on all sides save for the top -- we wouldn't advise putting it under your head to go to sleep.
The most interesting peripheral is definitely the charging stand. It's the least cumbersome of the charging options and it's got a neat trick up its sleeve. An NFC chip embedded in its base can be used to tell a Lumia to launch an app when you place it in the dock. So, you could easily put a 920 down, keep it charged and automatically open your music player or alarm clock. You can see the NFC trick in action in a video after the break.
The phone's also boast some impressive screen tech that allow's for the phones screen to be used even with glove's on. (they uses oven mitts in the live demo)
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[size=1px !important]in[/size]Share As you might have heard this morning, Nokia's new Windows Phone 8 devices have a rather intriguing new feature built right into their screens: you can use the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 with gloves on, or even with your fingernails. The "Super Sensitive Touch" technology isn't wholly a Nokia design, though — it's a feature that Synaptics has added to its ClearPad Series 3 touchscreen digitizer, which means it's quite likely to appear on other devices in the future. Presently, capacitive image touchscreens "see" your fingers by bouncing a signal off them, then measuring disturbances in the waveform. Here, the company basically increases the sensitivity of its sensors on the fly to detect gestures even if they're merely in the same vicinity. Synaptics actually showed off the feature back at the Mobile World Congress show in February of last year, detecting touches through a stack of business cards, but we're pretty sure the new Lumia smartphones are the first to actually use the idea. As much as we like the notion, though, we've got a few reservations. Our handsets are rather sensitive already, if last night's pocket dials were any indication.
Speaking of Synaptics, the company is also working on a number of other interesting things as of late, like thinner, touch-detecting laptop keyboards, force-sensitive mousepads, and touchscreen panels for laptops with up to 17-inch screens.
Update: Synaptics says it has distinct profiles for glove, skin and fingernail applications, and switches between them as necessary, so perhaps pocket dialing won't be such an issue.
There were some other OS features shown as well but i'm done for the night. This along with the Microsoft service is probably as close as we will get to seeing to seeing Microsoft's answer to the Vita and 3DS.
and on that note Micropsoft announced a windows Phone spin off to Crimson Dragon its panzer Dragoon spirtual speaker made by well the Panzer Dragoon team. Note they say they are intrested in the game as a franchise. Hopefully that means they can succed where Sega failed.
We are excited to announce that Crimson Dragon: Side Story is launching on Windows Phone September 12th! The Crimson Dragon franchise is important to us and we’re doubling down on the series. Enjoy Crimson Dragon: Side Story and stay tuned for more updates coming soonGame Features:• In Story Mode, take control of Sana and her dragon White Reaver as they are sent on a special mission revolving around the mysterious pandemic called “Crimonscale Disease”.
• In Mission Mode, the player faces a variety of situations such as high difficulty stages and continuous boss battles, competing for high scores while collecting powerful skills.
• Over 170 Skills are available to be unlocked in-game, and the unlocked skills can be “awakened” in the dragon by using “jewels”. The more powerful the skill, the more jewels are required for awakening.
• Jewels are available not only through the gameplay, but also can be obtained using a location service based on calculation of the distance a player traveled per day in the real world. Additional jewels are also available for purchase. Enter a world dominated by dragons
dem mobile game graphics *barfs*
can tell this was made as a WP& and not WP* game. That or the dev was lazy.
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and the ones that were delayed were usually a carrier thing. Windows Phone 8 is an entirly different thing as its honestly a seprate os than windows phone 7 and is using an entirely different kernal. From what I understand it would be possible to put wp8 ona wp7 machine but it would take a lot of time and the 7 device wouldn't benefit that much. But microsoft is planning to fix that with bupassing the carriers with. Updates from now on like apple.
