Nokia Lumia 920, 820 in India on January 11: Everything You Need to Know Price, Competition and More

After the successful release of the Windows Phone 8 based handsets - Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in several countries, Nokia has been highly hesitant to reveal when the duo handsets will be released into the Indian market.

There were speculations since October 2012, claiming that the handsets will be landing in India in November 2012, then in December 2012 and finally in January 2013.

Now, the Facebook fanpage of Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 has posted a pictures showing a Live Chat with a Nokia Care employee. According to the chat record, Nokia seems to have set the date for the release of Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in India as January 11. The photo also reveals that Lumia 620 will be released in the fourth week of this month.

However, when it comes to the Indian market, Windows Phone 8 based HTC 8X and 8S have already been announced in November 2012. Moreover, the high-end HTC 8X is also available in the retail stores with a price tag of Rs 35,032. When it comes to 8S, the handset is available from a couple of online retailer for Rs 19,359 and hence, it will also be making its way to the retail stores pretty soon.

Nokia has definitely got its fans in India, who are eagerly awaiting the release of its Windows Phone 8 offerings, but, as the similar handsets from the rival company - HTC have already been made available, how can Nokia be successful despite of entering into the market late?

Speaking of specifications, Lumia 920 packs a 4.5 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels along with PureMotion HD and ClearBlack display technologies. The handset is equipped with an 8.7MP rear camera with PureView branding, 1.3MP front camera, 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB internal memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro USB 2.0, NFC connectivity and 2,000 mAh Li-ion battery.

Nokia Lumia 920,820 vs HTC 8S, 8S

Lumia 920's direct rival, which exists in the market is HTC 8X with similar features including a 4.3 inch Super LCD 2 display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 16GB internal memory, 512MB RAM, microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 32GB, 1,800 mAh Li-Po battery, Beats Audio integration, NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features.

When it comes to the mid-range Windows Phone 8 offerings from Nokia, its Lumia 820, which comes with a 4.3 inch AMOLED ClearBlack capacitive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels. The handset has a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, 8MP camera with the PureView technology, a VGA front camera video calling, NFC and 1,650 mAh Li-ion battery.

At the same time, HTC 8S the mid range WP8 handset from the Taiwanese firm features a 4 inch Super LCD display with 480 x 800 pixel resolution, 1GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 512MB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 5MP rear camera, VGA front camera, micro SD card slot for expandable memory support, 1,700 mAh Li-Po battery, Beats Audio integration, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features.

Price Points

On the pricing front, Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 are right now available for pre-order at The Mobile Store, a popular handset retailer in the country for Rs 39,999 and Rs 29,999 respectively. However, once the handsets are outed into the market, their prices are estimated to be Rs 34,000 and Rs 28,000 respectively.

When it comes to HTC offerings, 8X is available at a price of Rs 35,032 and 8S is available for Rs 19,359 respectively.

Moreover, the Nokia offerings come with several groundbreaking features including wireless charging, glove-friendly touch screen display and more. Also, Nokia will be offering the handsets in four color options - Black, White, Yellow and Red.

Hence, for those consumers who are looking for more advanced features and not concerned on the slight price variations can opt for Lumia 920 over HTC 8X as it comes with PureView camera performance. On the other hand, for music enthusiasts, HTC 8X could be the right choice.

When it comes to the mid-range offerings, if the concern is on a better screen display, pocket-friendly lightweight gadget and Beats Audio technology, HTC 8S could be the right one. At the same time, if a good camera and advanced connectivity features such as NFC are the main concern, then the Nokia Lumia 820 should be a better option.