While the world waits for the big Windows Phone 8 launch later today, Nokia's taken the time to crash Microsoft's party a bit early with the unveiling of the Lumia 822, a Verizon exclusive variant of the Lumia 820 handset.
The Nokia press release isn't exactly a treasure trove of information, but digging around the width and breadth of the manufacturer's website provides a more complete picture. The only major differences between the Lumia 820 and new 822 is the latter's ability to function on Verizon's 4G network, along with its more limited (and muted) shell color selection of black, white and gray. AT&T's Lumia 820 is available in a range of colorful shells, including red, blue and yellow, while T-Mobile's Lumia 810 variant is limited to cyan and black.
Under the hood, the basic specs provided by Nokia largely mirror the Lumia 820. The Lumia 822 sports a 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and an 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera paired with a more modest 1.2MP front shooter. On the software side, you'll find the free Nokia Music streaming music service, the Nokia Maps-powered Nokia Drive+ turn-by-turn navigation software, and the Nokia City Lens augmented reality app.
Verizon customers will be able to snag the Lumia 822 for $99 with a two year contract, but when they'll be able to do so is up in the air: Nokia didn't release any availability details.
