LAS VEGAS, NV, United States – Anticipation for the Nokia Lumia 900 could be felt anywhere in the long, snaking queue leading into Nokia’s conference room in Las Vegas. Press turned out in their hundreds to watch Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and others take to the stage to reveal the all-new Nokia Lumia 900. Seats were full, standing room was full, people were turned away at the door. And it’s easy to see why.
As Stephen Elop began his presentation, he spoke of the pillars of Nokia’s new vision. The first pillar involving the launch of the Asha family of phones to all corners of the globe, reaching populations who desire a capable but affordable phone experience.
The second pillar involves reaching new heights alongside Microsoft to push the smartphone market in all new directions. The crowd was happy to hear Stephen announce the availability of the 710 for sale in the United States starting Wednesday, January 11th.
That anticipation from the queue built more as Stephen spoke, but not long into the conference, he played his trump card.
As Stephen introduced the Nokia Lumia 900 and showed the first introductory video which displayed the device’s curves and lines, the audience erupted in cheers.
And when Stephen showed the phone in-hand the room lit up in a sea of camera flashes.
Kevin Shields then took the audience through the features of the phone, highlighting the camera, exclusive applications and services and unparalleled design and craftsmanship. Kevin’s presentation of the 28mm focal length and how it lets you capture the moment of dining out with friends drew lots of interest from the crowd.
“We couldn’t be happier” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO
The crowd erupted when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came on stage and talked about how powerful the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft has been. Ballmer stated, “The reviews have been fantastic (for Windows Phone 7), and we couldn’t be happier”.
Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility, came on stage and confirmed the value in the Microsoft, AT&T and Nokia partnership. “Welcome back!” de la Vega told Elop, referring to Nokia’s re-emergence in the US smartphone market.
The session finished with Stephen fielding questions from the audience of press and analysts.
When a press member asked about differentiation from other handsets that have quad-core processors and high definition displays, Stephen talked about the experience of phones and how those specs don’t tell the story about how useful a phone actually is. Nokia instead focuses on experiences on mobile phones, such as an amazing user interface, and features like People Hub
When asked about a speculation about any activities with Research in Motion, Stephen answered by laughing and saying, “There never was any news surrounding us and RIM, so that’s an easy question.”
The press conference went off very well and onsite press members were obviously excited about the Nokia Lumia 900 and when the phone will be available and what the pricing will be. As ever, the gathered crowd wanted to know about next moves… to which Stephen hinted that there could be more announcements in the coming weeks and months.
And so begins another cycle of anticipation.