It is no surprise that Apple will launch iPhone 5 soon. The debut is widely expected on September 12, 2012.
The surprise is that Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT) are planning to beat the iPhone to the punch. Microsoft and Nokia have sent out a notice of a press event in New York on September 5, 2012. As of this writing, no details are available but it appears that Nokia and Microsoft will announce Windows 8 phones at the event beating Apple iPhone 5 to the punch by seven days.
The official launch date of Windows 8 is October 26, 2012. Initially it was expected that Nokia will launch Windows 8 phones around the same date.
Nokia Lumia 900 received rave reviews. I was impressed enough to buy one for my daughter sidestepping iPhone and Google (GOOG) Android phones. Lumia 900 runs on Microsoft Windows 7.5.
Recently Microsoft cut off the legs of Lumia by announcing that it will not be upgradable to Windows 8. Microsoft’s announcement made Lumia 900 a dead-end phone. Who wants to buy a phone with a two year-contract that will not be able to run several new attractive features of Windows 8?
From all accounts, sales of Lumia 900 have fallen precipitously since the announcement, even though AT&T (T) sales people continue to recommend it.
Declining Nokia sales fanned the speculation that Nokia and Microsoft were accelerating the launch of Windows 8 phones.
Nokia World takes place in Helsinki on September 5th and 6th. Traditionally Nokia World has been the venue of major Nokia announcements. It has been reasonable speculation that Nokia will launch its new phones at Nokia World in Helsinki….Read more at Forbes
