Nokia USA and Amazon have officially posted
While the phone was originally not intended to be sold in the US on an official level, unexpected consumer demand prompted Nokia USA to reconsider its original decision to not launch the phone in order to focus on its Windows Phone initiative and push the Lumia series with carriers, although the current middling position of Windows Phone despite millions of dollars in marketing and promotion may have forced Nokia’s hand in launching the phone despite confirmation that the underlying tech in the PureView would be included in future Windows Phone devices.
With Nokia currently struggling in the marketplace and this week’s announcements regarding Windows Phone 8 being taken into account, the PureView release in the US could be taken as a further sign that it is scrambling to find a short-term fix for its revenue and profit woes before the expected release of its first Windows Phone 8 devices later this year, while its current Lumia series will be stuck with Windows Phone 7.8, which is little more than an appearance update that back ports the Windows Phone 8 Start screen changes and little else besides Nokia’s own slate of exclusive apps.
While the phone will be sold unlocked via Amazon for $699.99, this is actually in line with the cost of the phone in other territories and will be fully warrantied by Nokia USA, unlike the international versions already available which usually require phones to be sent back to their country of origin in order to receive warranty service.
Outside of the camera sensor and unit, the phone features a 4-inch display with a Gorilla Glass front, Nokia’s ClearBlack light filter display technology to improve outdoor visibility and color saturation, 16GB internal memory, microSDHC card slot, HDMI output, DLNA support and Dolby Surround audio support for video capture all underpinned by Symbian (nee Nokia) Belle Feature Pack 1.
The phone will be released on July 8th, with those that pre-order now receiving the phone first. Unlike previous reports which were initially given by Nokia regarding the availability of complete US 3G support in the device which were eventually corrected, the 808 will feature complete support for AT&T and T-Mobile 3G in the US.
