Last night, in a burst of sound, fireworks and spectacular lasers, Nokia launched their Lumia range of smartphones to the South African market. The Nokia Lumia 800 phone featuring Windows Mobile has taken the world by storm with excellent reviews across the world.

The launch focused around the Lumia campaign messaging “The Amazing Everyday” focusing on ways to make the most of everyday and expect the unexpected. Nokia announced that the Lumia 800 will be on sale from Vodacom from 7th of February and the more affordable Lumia 710 to roll out in a few months time. However if you are in Johannesburg you can get the Lumia 800 from today at Vodaworld. In addition to that the first 200 customers will get a free Xbox 360.

Vodacom are offering the Lumia 800 on a Business Call package at just R279pm including 100mb data. The phone has a retail price of around R6,999.

There is no doubt that this was an impressive launch for a very impressive phone, the question is; how will it perform in the SA smartphone market? I think that the Nokia Windows phones bring a fresh and new take on smartphones, beautiful design and an intuitive, easy to use operating system. While it may not be enough to convert the iPhone fanboys it is definitely a solid option for Blackberry users looking for a sexier and more feature rich phone.

5 reasons you should consider upgrading to a Nokia Lumia smartphone:

• Awesome camera – Nokia are known for awesome camera’s and this is no different, 8MP wide aperture, Carl Zeiss lens and lightning quick response times.
• Micosoft Office – Windows mobile and office applications like Outlook, Powerpoint and Excel are a breeze to setup and work perfectly, no hassles.
• Gorgeous curved class screen and AMOLED display – Crystal clear images and sexy design makes this phone awesome to look at and show off.
• Nokia Mix Radio – Not only does it have access to the Nokia Music Store, but they now offer a new streaming service with local and international playlists with the ability to download and listen later.
• Social Integration – Unlike any other OS, Windows phone integrates Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds directly into your People hub, so you have one specific place to get all your latest social news.

You can also check out this video below: