The Nokia Lumia 800 has been officially unveiled by Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO, at this morning's Nokia World 2011 conference. What's more, he stated that "Lumia is the first REAL Windows Phone", as the design and build quality is the first hardware that matches the software. Read on to find out more about the Nokia Lumia 800.

Stephen Elop may have introduced the Nokia Lumia 800 but he handed over to Kevin Shields, senior vice president of Mobile Smart Devices, for a full run down of what the Lumia 800 has to offer. His opening gambit was loud, with Shields stating "With the Nokia Lumia 800 our intention is to surprise you at every turn. It just feels great in your hand" and "The Lumia 800...screams premium. It delivers outstanding antenna performance. It's a smartphone that defies convention."

But what you really need to know, is that "it's a beauty on the outside; it's a beast on the inside. It puts information that's important to the user centre stage."

The Nokia Lumia 800 provides a whole new way of working but the Windows Phone platform isn't like other platforms. "What you don't see are a lame array of icons doing nothing. You don't have to tap to see what's going on; you can see it right on your screen" said Shields.

Thanks to the curved ClearBlack display, the interface seems to lift to the surface of the screen. It really looks spectacular. "It's a Nokia, [so] it's going to have a great camera" said Shields. "You can ignore all the technical mumbo jumbo. What matters is that on the Lumia 800 it works great when used by ordinary people in everyday situations. Nokia has worked to define the flash so it can be used in low light condition better than any other smartphone out there."

31 retailers and operators have signed up to stock the Nokia Lumia 800 as a hero product worldwide and this shows the level of interest and excitement around the device. Stephen Elop summed up the new smartphone in this way: "Lumia is light, it's a new dawn for Nokia."

The Nokia Lumia 800 looks amazing and we can't wait until we get our own handsets. It will cost around 420 euros, before taxes. What's more, you can check out the Nokia.co.uk website now to pre-order.  

So when will the Nokia Lumia 800 be on sale? Well, Elop connected to the factory in Finland where they are packing and shipping the Lumia 800 right now, so we can expect to see it within the shops in the next couple of days or weeks in UK and mainland European countries in November.

So what do you think of the Nokia Lumia 800? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below.