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Nokia and Microsoft executives are scheduled to appear together at a Sept. 5 New York City event to unveil some of the first Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Specifically, Nokia is expected to show off the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, according to several reports.
Several other phone makers are expected to follow as Microsoft looks to boost its weak share of the smartphone market.
The Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 are expected to include a new feature called wireless charging, according to the Website TheVerge.com. Wireless charging is based on the Qi wireless power standard and uses a process called magnetic induction to recharge the phone battery, according to the Wireless Power Consortium.
The base station that sends the recharging signal to the phone has to be plugged in, but the phone can simply be placed on the flat surface of the base station, avoiding the hassle of carrying the phone power cord and searching for an outlet.
The Lumia 920 is also reported to include 32GB of device storage, 1GB of RAM, and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. The screen on the 920 is 4.5 inches, while the 820’s is only 4.3 inches in size, measured diagonally.
Nokia and Microsoft have entered into a partnership under which Nokia will replace its Symbian operating system with Windows Phone. Nokia already sells the Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.
The Verge also reports that the Lumia 920 will include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with a technology Nokia calls PureView, which offers advancements in image stabilization and other new camera software capabilities. There will also be a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls.
Other device manufacturers are also teasing their new Windows Phone 8 models. Samsung introduced the ATIV S smartphone at IFA, a consumer electronics show in Berlin.
HTC is jumping on the Windows Phone 8 bandwagon with three models, the entry-level Rio, the midrange Accord and the flagship Zenith, according to The Verge. The Accord will feature a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch display, an 8-megapixel camera and microSD card support.
HTC, which makes phones using both the Windows Phone OS and Google’s Android OS, slipped in the second quarter of this year as smartphone rivals Apple and Samsung gained share in the space, according to IDC numbers that track unit shipments. Apple’s sales rose by 27.5 percent in the second quarter, giving it a 16.9 percent share of the global smartphone market, but Samsung’s rose by 172.8 percent to capture 32.6 percent of the market.
Apple won $1.05 billion in damages from Samsung after a jury in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., found Aug. 24 that Samsung infringed several Apple patents in designing its smartphones and tablet computers. The verdicts are expected to be appealed.
HTC, meanwhile, saw its sales fall by 24.1 percent to give it a 5.7 percent share, down from the 10.7 percent share it enjoyed in the second quarter of 2011. Nokia’s sales fell by 38.9 percent in the quarter, which IDC attributes to a “transition” the company is going through as it phases out its Symbian OS, and a Linux-based OS called MeeGo, in favor of Windows Phone.