Nokia to Finally Unveil First Windows Phone 7 Handsets Next Week

Nokia will be launching new devices running Windows Phone next week at Nokia World, confirms Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. 

On the second day of Web 2.0 Summit, Ballmer told attendees that the first Windows Phone 7 handsets produced by Nokia, under its partnership with Microsoft, will debut at that company's developer conference, which takes place Oct. 26 and 27th in London. Ballmer hopes Microsoft will gain traction after recently launching an update to Windows Phone 7, as hardware makers can now move into the second-generation of devices built for the software. 

What's Coming?
Perhaps we will finally see the Nokia 703 smartphone, which leaked back in September. The device is said to feature a 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800) LCD display and a 5MP camera. According to the leak, the Nokia 703 is supposed to hit shelves Nov. 27, so Nokia could very well debut this handset next week. 

As Nokia prepares to unveil its first Windows Phone 7.5-based handsets, the manufacturer may report a second consecutive quarterly loss tomorrow, as smartphone shipments fall to the lowest since 2009. Since deciding to oust its Symbian operating system in favor of Microsoft’s Windows platform, Nokia shipments have slumped 46% in the last eight months.