Nokia Invite Hints At Windows Phone 8 Launch On 5 September

Troubled Finnish phone maker Nokia has sent out invitations to an event on 5 September, which is widely expected to see the company unveil its Windows Phone 8 devices.

The invitation for a New York meet includes two telling references to Windows Phone and Nokia Lumia devices, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The event starts at 9:30am, which indicates a launch.

Chris Weber, Nokia sales chief, hinted at an imminent launch over Twitter too: “Samsung take note, next generation Lumia coming soon.”

Nokia World also kicks off on 5 September, so that now looks like the date when the first Windows Phone 8 devices will be announced.

Opening Windows

There have been numerous rumours about when Nokia was going to introduce its next set of Windows Phone devices, with many believing it would get them out before Apple’s iPhone 5, which is also expected in September.

This week saw a confidential document seemingly originating from Nokia leaked to the press, showing what to expect from Windows Phone 8. According to the document, seen by SmartPhone France, users of the OS will be able to enjoy a host of fresh features, including Internet Explorer 10, a ‘Wallet’ app, secure boot and encryption, device management and other enterprise-ready features, such as the Company Hub, an app distribution and management mechanism.

The Nokia devices also look set to come with Near-Field Communication (NFC) support, MicroSD card slots, dual and quad-core processors and 720p WXGA screens, the document indicated.

Yet those with old Lumia devices will not be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8. Those with Windows Phone 7 will have to make do with separate upgrades, which are unlikely to have the same level of features as the new OS.

Meanwhile, a Nokia engineer has released a video showing the Mozilla mobile operating system Firefox OS running on a Raspberry Pi. We don’t think this is a Windows Phone backup strategy, but it’s a nice idea.

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