A Nokia executive from France has inadvertently let slip a few interesting details for 2012. The company will indeed broaden its portfolio of Windows Phone devices for the US market with a bigger, higher-end device than the Lumia 800. And it will be releasing a Windows 8 tablet ... in June 2012.
That's latter point is quite interesting, since that date is much earlier than many believe Windows 8 will be ready. Plus, the obvious bit about Nokia finally coming out and admitting they're making a Windows 8 tablet.
These details were revealed in a French newspaper, Les Echos, which interviewed Paul Amsellem, the new head of Nokia France. You can find it here. And this is what it says (cleaned up, language-wise only):
"Nokia hopes that will raise its market share to 22%. 'More than 60% of French people do not have smartphones and this is our target', he says. With a sleek design, the Lumia 800 is sold at Bouygues Telecom for 99 euros, compared to 129 euros for a Samsung Galaxy S2 and 199 euros for an iPhone 4S. The 800 Lumia, 'it's basically the equivalent of the BMW 5 Series. We will soon have a full range with a Series 7 and Series 3', Amsellem said. 'And in June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8.'"
That, folks, is blockbuster news. As is news that Microsoft expects its Windows Phone Marketplace to house over 250,000 mobile apps. It contains just 35,000 today.
Update: MyNokiaBlog is reporting that a Nokia promo video inexplicably shows off an unannounced, high-end Windows Phone model that is almost certainly the "7 series" model, or N900-type device, that Amsellem alludes to. I'm guessing this is one of the devices that Nokia will launch in US in January at CES. That video has been taken offline, but Slashgear grabbed some shots if you're curious.