Can a Windows Phone be classed as cool? For years, Apple have paraded their crown as the Kings of Cool. Their innovation and ability to offer exciting software and devices has helped Apple climb to the dizzy heights of their iPhone success. Advertising campaigns for iPod with silhouette dancers grooving to Caesars “Jerk it Out” made Apple fresh, youthful and cool.  A series of Mac campaigns featuring David Mitchell & Robert Webb, personified Windows PC as a rigid and predictably dull system against the liberal, easy going Apple Mac. Anything Apple creates has become the must-have hot product, always in demand.

Fast forward to 2011. On the 28th November, crowds gather outside the Millbank Tower in London to witness the launch party for the Nokia Lumia 800. Musical icon Deadmau5, echoes dance beats across the city. With advanced 4D projection technology, the buildings infrastructure appears to shake. It’s a jaw-dropping sight. Then as the music kicks in, an awe of colour illuminates the Millbank Tower for five minutes of visual perfection. The audience go crazy and admire the spectacle, even applauding the announcement of the Lumia 800 at the end of the performance. What may surprise you though is that the Nokia Lumia 800 is a Windows Phone. Has Windows become the new cool?

How it looks?

Collaborating with Nokia was a wise choice. The vibrant Cyan shell design of the Lumia 800 stands out against the predictable Black & White colours of an iPhone. The polycarbonate body ensures your Windows Phone will stay Cyan, unlike paint scratches that wear away the aesthetics of other smartphones. The unique curved shape and feel, offers something different to the iPhone 4S shape that has become commonplace within the smartphone industry.

Operating System

The announcement of Windows Phone 7.5, also known as Mango is where things really start to get exciting. The interface forms the perfect middle ground between the customisable features of Android, against the simple yet stale iOS. Windows Phone isn’t sitting on the fence, they’re simply providing the happy medium that smartphone users crave. With large colourful tiles and effective integration of contact info with social apps, Mango will fill the appetite of any smartphone user hungry for change. If you currently own an iPhone or Android device, you can view a demo of Windows Phone Mango OS on your current handset to see if you like the feel of the layout at http://aka.ms/wpdemo. Apps are currently limited in number but make up in functionality. The Xbox Companion app turns your Windows Phone into a remote and catalog for your Xbox 360.

The Techie bits

For a smartphone to stay cool, it needs to keep future proof and relevant. The 1.4 GHz processor, though single core, still offers a rapid performance as it processes images onto the stunning AMOLED display. The 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens offers a premium photo quality ideal for capturing and recording memories in High Definition. The Nokia Lumia 800 may have some flaws such as the absence of a front facing camera but this hasn’t stopped the Windows Phone flying off the shelves in the UK. Providing this Nokia Windows Phone release is a success, it’s a safe bet future models will offer even higher specifications.

Windows Phone verdict

Both Nokia and Microsoft have previously struggled to keep up with the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC when it comes to smartphones. The Nokia Lumia 800 shouts fresh, intuitive and exciting from both sides of the relationship. This is how Apple used to appear when they were the underdogs. As the iPhone has become so mainstream, it’s hard to fully appreciate Apple’s unique factor, especially as other smartphones copycat their style. With minimalistic iOS updates and acute product redesigns, it feels as if the iPhone has become the steady, restrictive and predictive PC it once despised. If this is the case, there’s a new wild child in town and it runs on Windows Phone 7.5.

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