Nokia Lumia 900, Symbian Carla and Donna updates glimpsed

Nokia has given us a first glimpse of its rumoured top-of-the-range Windows Phone. A new video reveals the Nokia Lumia 900, also known as the Nokia Ace, the big brother to the Nokia Lumia 800. Meanwhile outside the smart phone world, Carla and Donna will follow Belle as the next Symbian updates.

A Nokia boss hinted yesterday at a new top dog-and-bone in Nokia's Windows Phone line-up, to arrive next year. And today we got a look at the Lumia 900, if that indeed proves to be its name.

The phone appears in an advert encouraging app makers -- today's rock stars, doncherknow -- to develop apps for Windows Phone. A lack of quality apps compared to rival iPhone and Android operating systems has been Windows Phone's achilles heel so far, but now Nokia is in the game we expect Windows Phone to become a far more mainstream proposition.

There's a close relationship between the number of apps an OS offers and the number of users it has -- more users entice developers to make apps, more apps entice more users, and so on.

The ad invites app developers to "dive in" to Windows Phone, a "dynamic new platform" offering "local training and support" and "world-class dev tools" -- Microsoft Visual Phone Express and Nokia Developer -- "to make your apps stickier". The ad ends on the upbeat slogan, "Today the sun will rise and set -- everything else is up for grabs."

The Lumia 900 will sit above the Lumia 800, which hit shops this week. It's likely to pack a faster processor and more storage, and possibly a better screen. It sports curved corners, but judging by the tiles on the screen it'll be roughly the same size as the Lumia 800.

The Lumia range is rounded out by the Nokia Lumia 710, a more wallet-friendly Windows Phone that will go on sale next year.

In the more budget-friendly Symbian range, Nokia has revealed details of the next updates to the Symbian operating system. Carla will follow the current version, Belle, and will include Dolby sound, NFC, and an updated browser. Donna will then follow, supporting dual-core phones.