Nokia unveils its first Windows phones

Nokia unveiled its long-awaited first Microsoft Windows phones, betting on the two sleek new models to get it back into the race with Apple and Google.

The top-end Lumia 800, featuring easy access to social networks like Facebook and high-definition video playback, will sell for about $584 excluding subsidies.

The Lumia 800, with vivid colours and a curved, black display, features Windows Phone's live icons on the home screen, which automatically update news, weather and Facebook feeds.

It also boasts free navigation and Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 browser, putting it in the same bracket as Apple's iPhone and Samsung's top Galaxy phones.

Chief Executive Stephen Elop presented the two new smartphones, the first fruits of his big bet on Microsoft software, to a 3,000-strong audience in London, saying they represented the beginning of a new era for the Finnish giant.

"It's a new dawn for Nokia," Elop said as he unveiled the high-end Lumia 800 and mid-range Lumia 710, which will go on sale in key European markets next month.

The Lumia 710 runs on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango and has three new apps - Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and the ESPN hub - which will be found exclusively on Nokia made Windows phones.

The Lumia 710 has a 3.7-inch screen with 800-by-480 resolution and is powered by a 1.4 GHz processor. The 710 has 5 megapixel camera with LED flash with a 8GB internal storage memory.

Analysts were positive about the new phones, though they said the first results of the Nokia-Microsoft pairing remained well short of an iPhone killer.

The phones will go on sale in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year.

Lumina will be available in various colors like white, red, yellow, blue and black.