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Nokia and Microsoft are both banking on the new Lumia 800 to spark a big comeback in the smartphone market, currently dominated by Android devices and Apple’s iPhone.

The fact that two global market leaders — Nokia has seen its market lead cut by Android and Apple, while Microsoft has failed to crack the smartphone market — have tied up so much hope in one device is reason enough to give it a close look.

Nokia announced in February that it was switching to Windows Phone as the operating system for its smartphones. The Lumia 800 is the first fruit of that partnership.

It is a purely Windows device. Controls and functions are identical to smartphones using the system, but the Lumia is supposed to get a boost from its design, its camera and Nokia’s navigation service.

The Lumia 800 has a seamless polycarbonate housing with rounded corners, meaning it sits better in the user’s hand. Connections for earphones and a mini-USB device are hidden under a plastic lid along the top side. Next to that is the dock for a micro SIM.

It comes in black, light blue and bright pink. The 9.4-centimeter screen is also slightly arched and merged into the housing, keeping with the overall feel of the device.

Its camera has a wide-angle lens and an eight-megapixel sensor. Nokia is especially proud of its integrated navigation service, which comes with a 3D view that lets users see a city plan from an aerial perspective.

When it comes to software, the Lumia 800 is firmly in Microsoft’s hands. The centerpiece of the operating system is the large tiles that have become the calling card of Windows Phone on other applications. Those provide an initial overview of e-mail and contacts as well as links to the app marketplace and the XBox Live gaming area.

Even if you want to download a free app like Twitter, you have to set up a Windows Live account with Microsoft.

If nothing else, Nokia has delivered a machine that’s up to running Microsoft’s demanding operating system. Whether you’re using e-mail, Facebook or an internet search engine, using the Lumia 800 is like paging through a magazine, with large text and colorful pictures.

And the processor, with a speed of 1.4 gigahertz, makes sure that the phone reacts with lightning speed to every touch of the finger.

The touchscreen navigation is expanded by three buttons on the screen’s edge. There is a back button, one that creates a direct link to Internet searches and a Windows button that returns to the initial screen.

Users will have to make do with the Lumia 800’s 16 gigabytes of storage. It does not have an SD card slot.

Nokia and Microsoft have not tired of telling everyone that this is just the first device of their partnership and that customers should be ready for more products in the future. 

DPA