Microsoft, Nokia step up arsenal in smartphone wars

Microsoft and Nokia joined Wednesday to boost their arsenal in the smartphone wars with a powerful new Windows-powered device aimed at battling Apple's iPhone and rivals powered by Google's Android system. The new Nokia Lumia 920 is part of the Finnish-based company's strategy of offering "an alternative to the faceless black and grey monoblocs that you see out there," said Nokia president and chief executive Stephen Elop at a New York launch event. Offered in several bright colors, the device will run Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, the operating system aimed at challenging market leaders Apple and Google. Nokia smart devices team leader Jo Harlow said the Lumia 920 "is the most innovative smartphone in the world." She said the phone has the most advanced camera of any smartphone, extended battery life and a display with "better than HD resolution." "The clarity is so incredible that video just pops right out of the screen," she said. The device also includes Nokia's location platform, which allows users to point the phone at a location in a city and get information on local shops and restaurants. Harlow called this "the most intuitive way to explore the world around you." The new phone's battery, she said, would be 30 percent more efficient than its rivals and also incorporate wireless charging, with Nokia joining an effort to bring this technology to airports, coffee shops and other locations. Nokia, once the leader in mobile phones, has been losing market share as consumers move to smartphones powered by Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating system. The Finnish company's new strategy is phasing out its Symbian smartphones in favor of a partnership with Microsoft. That alliance has produced a first line of Lumia smartphones, which Nokia is counting on to help it survive in a rapidly changing landscape.