Nokia to start selling Lumia 920 in November

Nokia will start selling what is considered to be its make-or-break smartphone, the Lumia 920, in November, according to Reuters that cites a source at an Eastern European carrier.
During the announcement earlier this week, Nokia did not reveal any specific launch timeline or pricing for its new Lumia smartphones. Instead, all it said was the devices will be launched in select markets in the fourth quarter.
At the moment it is not known which countries would be in the first wave of launch as Nokia has followed a staggered launch pattern with its Lumia smartphones unlike Samsung that talks about launching its flagship products globally within a span of a few weeks. Very little is known about Windows Phone 8 on which the Lumia 920 runs as Microsoft is keeping its features secret and is expected to reveal them in the latter half of October.
A November launch for the Lumia 920 would pose a few challenges for Nokia considering it won’t be the only vendor to launch Windows Phone 8 devices. Samsung, which announced the ATIV S at IFA last week and HTC, which is expected to announce the Accord (HTC 8X) on September 19, will also have their devices clamoring for shelf space. However, judging from the way things stand, Nokia’s Lumia 920 is certainly superior than Samsung’s offering and HTC is unlikely to change the status quo.
It would also be over a month later than Apple’s iPhone 5, which will be announced on September 12 and is expected to go on sale on September 21 in select markets. By the time the Lumia 920 is available, the iPhone 5 would be available in almost all major markets. The Lumia 920 will also face stiff competition from Android smartphones, considering Google is expected to launch multiple Nexus smartphones with multiple vendors in time for the holiday season. And not to forget Samsung’s Galaxy Note II that is expected to be available next month. In the meanwhile, Nokia is reported to be slashing prices of its older Lumia smartphones.
Nokia has done its bit and everything now depends on whether Microsoft can dazzle potential buyers with Windows Phone 8 operating system.
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