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Nokia Lumia 610 with NFC hands-on (video)
You never know what's going to be hiding in the deep dark corners of an event, and in our searches during the Windows Phone Developer Summit we came across the Nokia Lumia 610. But this isn't just the standard fare; no, this particular version offers NFC and should soon be making its way to Orange. Yes, by offering Near-Field Communication, the handset will be compatible with Nokia's NFC-enabled accessories like the Essence and Play360. While this elusive device is no stranger to us -- we've seen it shown on video, it's been certified for MasterCard's PayPass service and it's even been blessed by the FCC -- this was the first time we held it in our hands. So what can we expect from this particular flavor of the Tango-running Lumia 610? Frankly, our impressions matched that of its non-NFC predecessor: build and overall feel remain unchanged from the original version. Naturally Nokia needed to find some space to stick the contacts and antenna, and those are inconspicuously found on the back of the device and on the battery cover, respectively. We still haven't seen any pricing surface, but it's been expected to arrive on Orange at the beginning of next quarter -- which frankly means we could well see it available within the next couple weeks, though we couldn't get an official date. Head below to get a good look at the NFC-enabled glory as well as a brief video showing the phone interacting with the Essence. %Gallery-158773%
The Engadget Interview: Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design (video)
Peter Skillman knows a thing or two about making beautiful devices. He's Palm's former VP of design, and he's the man behind Nokia's glorious N9 -- its look, feel and user experience. We bumped into him at Nokia World here today and asked him what went into the N9's -- and by association the Lumia 800's -- design. He shared quite a few interesting details with us, including tidbits about the "curvature continuous form" of MeeGo's icons, Nokia's Pure font and the nuances of the N9's sinuous taper. We even discussed the Play 360 Bluetooth / NFC speaker, which follows the same aesthetic principles. Take a look at our exclusive video interview after the break.
