Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 handsets available for pre-order in China

Three of Nokia's Windows Phone 8 Lumia handsets are now available for pre-order in China.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform continues to grow, as the company has started rolling out pre-orders for three of its new Nokia-branded Windows Phone 8 devices in China.

The Lumia 920, Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone 8 handset, and its sibling devices the 820 and the 620, will now be available for Microsoft fans in China. Pricing is as follows, according to Windows blog WMPowerUser: the Lumia 920 will cost RMB 4599 ($736), the 820 will be priced at RMB 3499 ($560) and the Lumia 620 will sell for RMB 1999 ($318). The handsets are expected to be sold through major retailers in the region.

This difference in pricing could give Nokia and Microsoft the chance to cater to various demographics throughout China. The news comes as no surprise, seeing as China Mobile confirmed that it would carry Nokia’s brand of Windows Phone smartphones back in October. Nokia also previously promised that the Lumia 920 would be available in China before the end of the year, and the company appears to have upheld its pledge.

These Windows Phone 8 handsets come days after Nokia announced the newest edition of its Lumia family set to launch exclusively in China: the Lumia 920T. Some sources are referring to the device that just launched in China simply as the Lumia 920, but WMPowerUser calls it the 920T.

The Lumia 920T is a TD-SCDMA version of Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone 8 device. This basically means that it supports both circuit-switched data and packet-switch data, allowing network operators to move from a second-generation wireless network (2G) to a third generation wireless network (3G). In short, the Lumia 920T will operate on China’s speediest network and is the first smartphone in the country to do so.

Otherwise, the device’s specs are entirely identical to the versions available in other countries. The Lumia 920T comes with the same 4.5-inch display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and other components found in other devices around the globe.

China Mobile currently boasts more than 75 million 3G customers, and if Nokia can manage to flourish in that market it will give the company a much-needed boost. Nokia lost $754 million last quarter, as The Next Web reports, and its partnership with China Mobile could be crucial. A successful Windows Phone 8 launch in China could also give Microsoft the aggressive entrance into 2013 that the company needs, especially after reporting lackluster sales of its Surface tablet.  

Check out the video below to get a glimpse of what Windows Phone 8 fans in China can expect.