Nokia has shown its first Windows Phone to the world, perhaps by accident.
The phone is codenamed "Sea Ray," and is the first of many Windows Phones that Nokia will build in partnership with Microsoft. Hungarian blog Technet posted videos and photos of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop presenting the phone to employees, just after asking them to turn off their cameras because the device is still confidential.
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If the Sea Ray looks familiar, it's because Nokia introduced a similar phone, the Nokia N9, earlier this week. But while the N9 is based on Nokia's MeeGo operating system -- a platform that Nokia will treat as a "learning experience" -- Sea Ray represents Nokia's future, as the company adopts Windows Phone for its principal smartphone strategy.
Nokia didn't reveal many specs for Sea Ray, except for the same 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens that graces the N9, plus an added camera shutter button. But from the N9's specs, we can guess that Sea Ray will have a 1 GHz processor, a 3.9-inch AMOLED display with 854-by-480 pixel resolution, scratch-resistant curved glass, a polycarbonate body and either 16 GB or 64 GB of storage.
That last point would be huge. To date, all Windows Phones come with either 8 GB or 16 GB of storage, which can be a dealbreaker if you listen to lots of music or watch lots of movies. I'd like to see Windows Phones make the jump to dual-core processors, but it's not clear whether that'll happen with Sea Ray.
Elop told employees that Nokia has other Windows Phone devices in working condition, so Sea Ray may not be the only handset we'll see from the company this year. But for Microsofties who saw the N9 and hoped for a Windows Phone version, your wish has been granted.