Nokia to hold MWC press event on February 25, could a Windows tablet be the headline release?

By Andy Boxall January 30, 2013

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Nokia has announced it will be holding a press conference at Mobile World Congress late next month, and to prove it means business, it’s scheduled for 9am on February 25 – that’s about as early as they dare on the very first day of the mobile trade show. Nokia’s invitation is a bit strange though, as it shows a woman clutching a fork, with the words At Home in Barcelona printed in bold type next to it. We’re used to press invites giving nothing away, but this one is especially cryptic.

If there is anything to be read into the invitation, it’s the use of, “At Home,” a phrase which doesn’t scream smartphones, which would be better described by saying, “Out and About in Barcelona.” Instead, this could refer to a device we more commonly use at home – a tablet, for instance. If the rumors are to be believed, Nokia is busily working on a tablet running Microsoft’s Windows RT platform, and a Mobile World Congress launch has always been on the cards.

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Tablet aside, Nokia has also been linked with a series on new Windows Phone 8 smartphones, including the Catwalk and the EOS, both codenames referring to the Lumia 920’s replacement and what has been described as a true PureView Windows Phone. However, as the Lumia 920 only went on sale in November last year, surely Nokia isn’t about to release its replacement? We’d say the Catwalk is a better candidate for Nokia World towards the end of the year.

The EOS is a better bet, as last year’s Mobile World Congress played host to the 808 PureView. While the Lumia 920’s camera is excellent, we’ve yet to see a true follow-up to the 808 PureView, and as Symbian has finally been laid to rest, this seems like a good opportunity.

As Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona, Spain, the 9am start time converts over to 3am Eastern Time for those in the USA. Don’t worry though, we’ll be at the show to bring you all the news if you don’t want to wait up.

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Big-screen Windows Phones are here, as Nokia launches the 6-inch, 1080p Lumia 1520

Lumia 1520 Group

Nokia got off to an early start today, as it announced a variety of new products during its Nokia World conference in Abu Dhabi, with the exciting Lumia 1520 being one of the standout new pieces of hardware at the event. Introduced by Stephen Elop, it’s the first big-screen Nokia Lumia phone, which comes with the new Windows Phone update.
The device was extensively leaked before the event, but it’s great to have all the official details, even though there weren’t many surprises. The screen measures 6-inches and has a 1080p resolution, made possible by the new version of the OS, which means an extra column of Live Tiles can be squeezed onto the home screen. Inside the phone is a quad-core, Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.2GHz, another first for Windows Phone thanks to the new software version. It's supported by 2GB of RAM, and the phone has 32GB of internal memory with the option to increase this by 64GB using a microSD card.
On the rear of the device is a new 20-megapixel PureView camera with six-lens Zeiss optics. Nokia has added optical image stabilization and a new Nokia Camera app, which brings features seen in both the Pro Cam and Smart Cam apps from the Lumia 1020 to the phone, plus there's the usual range of editing tools, filters, and effects. On the front of the phone is a 1.2-megapixel video call camera which can shoot 720p video.

As for the design, the Lumia 1520 shares the familiar Lumia shape and bright colors - a big yellow version was used for the on-stage demos - while the black polycarbonate version will be made using recycled polycarbonate. It's a big phone, so it's no surprise to see it weigh 209 grams, challenging the HTC One Max for the honor of being the heaviest smartphone/tablet hybrid out there. At 8.7mm thick, it's surprisingly slim though. The Lumia 1520 has 4G LTE connectivity, along with NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and GPS.
Nokia will be putting the Lumia 1520 on sale before the end of the year, initially in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. The SIM-free, unlocked price has been set at $750.

Mobile

Prepare for the Lumia 1520, as Nokia has announced a special event for October 22 (Updated)

Nokia October 22 Invitation

Following on from the news Nokia may have canceled a late September event in New York, we’ve now received official confirmation it’s set to hold an event on October 22. The gossip surrounding the canceled September get-together included talk a late October replacement was being considered, with one source saying it would take place the week beginning October 21.
The invitation shows a desert scene with, weirdly, skiers on the dunes, and has three hashtags in the center. Neither #blazing nor #stories mean much at this stage, but #innovationreinvented will sound familiar to long-term Nokia fans, as it used the very similar #zoomreinvented hashtag on its promo material when it introduced the Lumia 1020.
Aside from the date alteration, we’d also heard the location would be changed from New York. While London has been favored by Nokia in the past, we wondered if it would choose Finland due to this being one of the last major mobile announcements the firm will make, but it may have chosen Abu Dhabi instead. Apart from the hint dropped by the desert on the invitation, a tweet from @evleaks said, “Nokia is hosting an event on October 22, I heard Middle East, possibly Abu Dhabi.” This has been subsequently confirmed by Nokia, and details are in the update below.
So, what is the innovative product Nokia has to show us on October 22? There’s an excellent chance it’s the Lumia 1520, it’s first attempt at a smartphone/tablet hybrid, and at the moment, the only example of the genre we know something about to run Windows Phone 8. Leaks have shown it to be a real powerhouse, with a 6-inch 1080p display and a quad-core processor, both of which are made possible by the addition of the Windows Phone GDR3 update. The Lumia 1520 may also be joined by a Nokia tablet running Windows RT at the event.
We’ll bring you all the exciting news from the event as it happens.
Updated on 09/24/2013 by Andy: Nokia has confirmed the October 22 event will take place in Abu Dhabi in another tweet, this time accompanied by a picture of someone parasailing, and the hashtags Closer, Way Forward, and Innovation Reinvented. It's worth noting the event has been re-branded as Nokia World, so expect a lot more news to come on the day.

Mobile

Rumor: Nokia pushes its Lumia 1520 launch event to late October

Nokia Lumia 925 back camera side

If you’re excitedly looking forward to the Lumia 1520’s launch, then be prepared to wait a little longer, as according to various new reports, Nokia has delayed its previously planned end of September event for later in October. Reuters initially said the get together had been shifted to a later date, before The Verge claimed it would be coming in mid-October. Now, Pocket-Lint says it has been informed the event will take place nearer the end of October, perhaps during the week beginning October 21.
It also says Nokia has altered the venue, deciding not to reveal the big-screen device in New York, but somewhere else. Nokia launched the Lumia 1020 in New York, however in the past it has also held events in London. Perhaps, as this will almost certainly be the final major press event for Nokia - at least where new mobile hardware is announced - it’ll want to hold it in its home country of Finland.
The reason for the delay isn’t known, and while some speculate it may be due to Microsoft’s recent acquisition of the firm, we wonder if it’s to do with the Windows Phone GDR3 update. It’s likely to be essential to the Lumia 1520, as it should bring support for quad-core processors and full HD screen resolutions to Microsoft’s OS. If it’s not quite ready for the public, then Nokia won’t be able to announce the phone. The GDR3 update hasn’t been officially detailed by Microsoft, and it doesn’t have a final release date.
We’ve been expecting the Lumia 1520 for a while, and if the rumors are correct, it’ll sport a 6-inch, 1080p display and a quad-core processor, making it the largest, most powerful Windows Phone device released. It’s not only the Lumia 1520 which has been affected by the delay, as Nokia could also out its much-discussed Windows tablet at the same event. We’ll bring you any updates on the phone, tablet, and Nokia’s event plans as they happen.