Ever since Nokia announced its striking new Windows Phone 8 handsets - the flagship Lumia 920, and the Lumia 820 with its colourful, interchangeable shells - frustration has been growing over the infuriatingly glacial pace at which the company has been revealing details such as pricing and availability. Just last week, for example, it was confirmed that AT&T would exclusively offer the Lumia 920 in the US (and would also offer the 820 on a non-exclusive basis), yet potential buyers were again offered only half the story, as pricing information went unannounced.
On the other side of the Atlantic, a brick dropped out of the wall of silence this morning as Nokia France revealed official SIM-free, off-contract pricing for the two handsets there. As French Windows Phone site Professeur Thibault reported today, Nokia has confirmed that the Lumia 920 will be priced at €649 EUR ($840 USD / £525 GBP), while the Lumia 820 will be available for €499 EUR ($645 USD / £405 GBP).
Meanwhile, British retailer Clove this week revealed via its blog Nokia"s official UK pricing of various accessories for the two new handsets. While £19.99 ($32 / €25) sounds like a reasonable price for the wireless charging shell for the Lumia 820 (which doesn"t include integrated wireless charging as the Lumia 920 does), the cost of some of the other accessories might make your eyes water.
The basic wireless charging plate (below left) for both handsets will cost £54.99 ($88 / €68), while a wireless charging stand (below right) will make your wallet lighter to the tune of £69.99 ($112 / €87).
If you want one of the Fatboy wireless charging "pillows" (below left), you"ll need to hand over £79.99 ($128 / €99), while the JBL PlayUp portable wireless speaker (below right) will cost a pretty substantial £144.99 ($233 / €179).
Meanwhile, if you want to grab a larger, meatier JBL PowerUp wireless speaker (below; you might remember this from a demo that took a few attempts to work at Nokia"s Lumia WP8 launch event...), Nokia France has priced it at a startling €389 ($505 / £315), or almost 80% of the cost of a Lumia 820.
Better start saving now.
Note: We cannot emphasise enough that all of the prices quoted above are local, and the currency conversions provided will not necessarily reflect local pricing in your part of the world.
Sources: Professeur Thibault / Clove.co.uk | Images: Nokia