Iron Chef of Music

The Nokia press event is moments away. The company got stuck with a relatively small room, Ballroom A in the Venetian here in Las Vegas, but the line snaked through the hallways and the room is packed.

Weve got some mellow Bjork playing to set the mood.

Earlier today, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop confirmed that ATT will be offering Nokia’s first 4G (LTE) Windows phone.

Well see what they have to add this afternoon. I spotted a Microsoft spokesman out front, so we might get some additional color on the strategic alliance.

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Elop takes the stage.

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The first part of our strategy was to grow efforts around the affordable mobile phone segment.

To support this, weve been increasing RD investments and now bringing new products and innovations to the market.

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Second pillar was focused on smart phones. Its now a battle of ecosystems.

We decided to adopt the Windows platform. In October, we introduced the first real Windows Phones: The Lumia 800 and 710.

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All the information youre interested in about the people you care about is brought right to the surface.

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This week, were very pleased to announce sales of the Lumia 710 here with T-Mobile.

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Lumia is aimed at the heart of our new strategy and need to engage in the war of ecosystems.

Were starting to establish a set of beachheads.

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Today, Im very pleased to announce the third device in the portfolio: Nokia Lumia 900.

Sexy video of the phone now on display.

It runs on ATTs LTE network. Primary camera includes Carl Zeiss optics. The device also includes an additional front facing camera with a wide angle lens.

Its the first real Windows phone designed and built for the North American market.

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Kevin Shields takes the stage.

Doing some extended self back-patting on the design and quality of the camera.

The front camera is a wonder, with a wide, F/2.4 aperture lens.

Highlighting Windows features:

1) People Hub integrates LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, groups, text and email.

2) Nokia Drive provides voice guided, turn-by-turn navigation with 3D maps view.

3) ESPN Sports Hub.

4) CNN app, a panoramic view of the news and information CNN brings to the world.

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Elop returns to stage.

Its also about inspiring a great ecosystem.

Working with Univision to provide an exclusive application for 18 months, unique and exclusive Spanish-language content.

Working with EA on exclusive games, plus Sesame Street, Michelin and others.

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Big Surprise: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer takes the stage.

Nokia got off to a fast start.

We didnt sign a contract to work together until less than a year ago, and to go from concept and discussion to a real engineering partnership, to delivery, to the first round of Lumia devices shipping in Europe, I think is fantastic.

Lumia 900 represents another milestone in this path.

4G LTE is absolutely critical for the North American market.

Its a very exciting launch. I congratulate Nokia and certainly look forward to really exciting a lot of customers with this new product.

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Surprise Two: ATT Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega takes the stage.

The combination of the hardware, software, apps and ATT network is an absolute knockout.

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Now into QA. Dont see an official press release on the Lumia 900 yet. Not announcing pricing or timing, other than in the months ahead.

That seems to be the news. Calling it quits to get in some charging before queuing up for the Ballmer keynote at 6:30.

Tags: Press