With Microsoft’s Build 2014 just right around the corner, it looks like I have to squash some rumors floating around. The latest is “confirmation” of a Lumia 1820.
The first report of a Lumia 1820 came from a non-reputable Twitter source, who promised it would feature a hilariously spec’d “3GB RAM 5.2 inch QHD screen and Snapdragon 805” along with a Lytro camera. I said back before Mobile World Congress that it was nonsense, as many were “predicting” it would be announced at that Nokia event. It was not.
Now, the unicorn phone has returned.
The new “evidence” comes from Noreve, who is a high profile case maker for mobiles. Many less reputable sites have taken Noreve’s listing of a “Nokia Lumia 1820 leather case” as proof that this phone exists.
It does not.
I have checked our sources high and low, and no one has ever heard of this phone. That’s not to say Nokia may not someday make a “Lumia 1820” – whatever it may be – but there isn’t one about to be released anytime soon.
Let’s answer a few things though.
For one, I have heard there will be a dual lens phone from Nokia, but not until Q4-Q1 (2015). That’s quite a ways off. The same applies to ‘Goldfinger’, the super mysterious device with a 3D gesture system and no buttons. That phone is not expected until early 2015. I suppose it could come earlier, and in fact some people expected it to. But I’m guessing whatever powers that 3D gesture system is the key to its release, and that could take some time.
Like many reports about tech that is far off, treat it with a grain of salt. Development is dynamic.
I’ve also heard you should expect another flagship at Verizon, and replacements for the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 925 on AT&T. I have no timeframes for those releases or what those devices even are yet.
Finally, you may be asking: Why did Noreve even put that page up? It’s a good question, and I think I have the answer: SEO.
Noreve is a smart company. They know that to sell products you need to get your product pages into Google and Bing. That’s called search engine optimization (SEO). Generally speaking, the earlier you create a page, the more hits you garner and as a result, you get a higher page rank. Basically, if you want a “Lumia 1820 case”, Noreve wants their product page to be at the top when you do that search. This is no different from companies buying up domains for products that don’t exist – just in case, ya know?
To game the system, companies often pick up on what other tech sites are reporting. There have been many reports of a “Lumia 1820” (with no proof), so they probably assumed (like many of you) that it must be true. As a result, they created a place holder page for a non-existent product in the event that the phone is real.
But for now, at least I’m not buying into any of this Lumia 1820 talk, and I don’t think you should either. For next week at Build and Nokia’s event, I’m expecting Windows Phone 8.1, the Lumia 630 and the Lumia 930 with maybe some app announcements. No Nokia wearables, no ‘Goldfinger’ and no ‘Lumia 1820’.
