Microsoft Planning Lumia 1020 Successor?

Microsoft looks to have taken a significant step forward in its efforts to further its launch into the smartphone market, according to a series leaked images purporting to be a new flagship Lumia device.

The images, which were posted on a Chinese auction website over the weekend and revealed by GeekOnGadgets, appear to show a large-scale smartphone with a significant camera bump which dominates the rear of the device.

The site identified the device as a “Nokia RM-1052”, running Windows Phone 8.1 alongside 2GB of RAM and a 5-inch 1080p display.

Large-scale

Microsoft has yet to comment on the images, but the title given on the posting has led some sources to theorise it is the cancelled Nokia ‘McLaren’ device, which was created as a prototype to test the company’s first efforts at gesture-based technology.

The size of the camera would imply that this is a high-end device, most probably the next step along from the Lumia 1020, which featured a 41 megapixel lens alongside a range of other imaging-focused features which former CEO Stephen Elop hailed as the “next chapter in smartphone photography,”

Microsoft launched the first non-Nokia Lumia device, the Lumia 535, last month, following the £4.6 billion buyout of Nokia’s smartphone division in April.

The company officially began rebranding last month, starting with the websites and social media pages formerly owned by Nokia, following the news that that Microsoft was planning to move the Nokia.com website over to its existing website as part of its Christmas consumer push.

However Nokia has announced it is looking at licencing out its iconic brand name as part of a move to ensure the company remains in the public eye.

The first such device to feature this branding, the Nokia N1 tablet, was announced two weeks ago, with the 7.9in device pitching Nokia against the likes of Apple and Microsoft in the mini tablet device range.

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