We’re at the Nokia Showcase event in Jozi tonight where we’re being treated to a demonstration of all of the latest bits from the Finnish smartphone manufacturer. The array of devices in the mix are straight from the Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi in October last year.

Obviously the 15 tonne polar bear in the room is Nokia’s the impending sale to Microsoft and we were told by Shaun Durandt, the recently appointed GM of Nokia South Africa, that they’re expecting the sale to be completed within the next two months.

First off were a couple of milestones for the Lumia family, with sales having doubled in the last 12 months. Durandt was quick to say that Nokia is happy having seen Windows Phone reach the third place in the global smartphone war but would of course be happier at no two or even number one. The Windows Phone app store has also grown to over 200 000 applications with over 10 million app downloads taking place every day.

On the low-cost Asha side of the portfolio, we were told that more than 2 million Asha devices have been sold in South Africa since the launch and reminded that Nokia is still the most prevalent brand in South Africa.

But we’re here for the devices and there’s Nokia’s first phablet and three entry level Asha phones to get through, so we’ll keep the intro short and get right into the toys.

Nokia Lumia 1520

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is a smartphone full of firsts for both Nokia and the Windows Phone operating system. The Lumia 1520’s 6-inch display makes it the first phablet that Nokia has ever released having previously topped out at a screen size of 4.5-inches in the Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020.

It’s also the first Windows Phone to have a full HD resolution which gives it six Windows Phone Live tiles across instead of the standard four.

The Lumia 1520 is also the first Windows Phone to use Qualcomm’s quad core Snapdragon 800 processor which was the processor of choice for last year’s top tier smartphones. The processor is supported by 2GB of RAM and powered by a mammoth 3400mAh battery.

Price: Nokia is saying that it’s R9 499  but Vodacom has it listed R9 899.

Local availability: Out now

• Vodacom already has the Lumia 1520 available on its website from R499 a month on the Smart S contract.
• MTN also has it available starting at R449 per month on the MTNChoice 100 contract, but the deals are in the weekly deals pamphlet and not online yet.
• Cell C has confirmed that the Lumia 1520 is already available in store at R429 pm x 24 on a Straight Up 100 package.

Nokia Asha 500

The Nokia Asha 500 is all about price and trying to hit the $100 (R1 000) mark. It comes equipped with a 2.8-inch display and a 2 megapixel camera but is limited to 2G network speeds. The design borrows heavily from the Lumia range of smartphones using bright coloured polycarbonate plastic but this time it’s encased in a clear plastic outer shell.

Nokia is pushing the imaging prowess of the Asha range with a quick launch ‘swipe’ from the lock screen straight to the phone’s camera. There’s also one-touch sharing to social media and the ‘Fastlane’ app which provides a unified social feed for the user.

Price: R999

Local availability:

• Leo McKay, ‎head of communications for Nokia South Africa says that they are expecting the Asha devices to be available from March.
• Vodacom has confirmed that it will most likely be selling the Asha 500 beginning sometime between April and June.

Nokia Asha 502

The Asha 502 looks almost identical to the Asha 500 with the same bright polycarbonate inside clear plastic wrapping design. Where it differs though is in the hardware stakes. The display is slightly larger at 3-inches as well as having a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and dual-sim functionality.

Price: The current list price is R1 299 but Nokia is hoping to bring that down to R1 199 by launch.

Local availability:

• Leo McKay, ‎head of communications for Nokia South Africa says that they are expecting the Asha devices to be available from March.
• Vodacom has confirmed that it won’t be ranging the Asha 502.

Nokia Asha 503

Once again the Asha 503 looks almost identical to the Asha 500 and 502 with the same bright polycarbonate inside clear plastic wrapping design. The hardware differences include a 3-inch display as well as having a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and 3G connectivity.

Price: The current list price is R1 499 but as with the 502, Nokia is hoping to bring that down to R1 199 by launch.

Local availability:

• Leo McKay, ‎head of communications for Nokia South Africa says that they are expecting the Asha devices to be available from March.
• Vodacom has confirmed that it will most likely be selling the Asha 500 beginning sometime between April and June.