Nokia has a history of developing exclusive Windows Phone apps for its Lumia phones, including the recent Storage Check app. Today the company has released a public beta version of a new chat client for Windows Phone 8 that can only be used, at least for now, by Lumia owners.
The Nokia Beta Labs website has the first details on Nokia Chat for Windows Phone, along with a download link. Nokia has released older versions of a chat client for its Asha, S40, and Symbian phones and this new Windows Phone version can chat with the people who have those apps, along with the millions of Yahoo Instant Messenger users.
The new Nokia Chat supports the Live Tile feature for Windows Phone, allowing notifications and previews of messages to show up on the Windows Phone start screen. The app also allows users to show where they happen to be when they chat with someone, or share a location with their friends.
People who have a Windows Phone 8-based Lumia smartphone like the Lumia 920 have some extra features when using Nokia Chat, including Lock Screen message notifications and voice recognition to speak messages and commands.
Source: Nokia Beta Labs | Image via Nokia