Arriving in style at Nokia World 2011, the Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone quickly won the praise of critics and consumers alike. With its stunning style, great usability, feature-packed specification and competitive price, Nokia’s first Windows Phone is also arguably the world’s best Windows Phone, so we’ve taken a look at all that has happened in the months since it was announced.

It was back in February that Nokia first announced its high-profile partnership with Microsoft, just a few months after Nokia made ex-Microsoft man Stephen Elop its new company CEO. And it took just eight months for the collaboration to bear fruit, with the release of the stunning Nokia Lumia range.

Unveiled at Nokia World 2011, the Nokia Lumia 800 marked the first Nokia Windows Phone and was eagerly awaited by fans and critics alike. With its gorgeous design, great Windows Phone OS and fantastic Nokia apps, including Nokia Drive and Nokia Mix Radio it was an instant hit.

At Nokia World 2011, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop spoke about the stylish designs of the Nokia Lumia handsets and how famed Finnish architect Alvar Aalto had a great part to play in inspiring the Nokia design team. And then, later in the year, we heard from the Lumia team themselves, as they went even further in-depth about their design process and collaboration with Microsoft.

The Nokia Lumia 800 was announced as being the first of two Windows Phone handsets - the other being the Nokia Lumia 710 - to go on sale and an official release date of the 16th November was soon revealed. Within a few days, review samples were then sent out to the world press and acclaim for the stunning Lumia 800 exploded even further.

With the national newspapers and online technology press united in their praise, it quickly became clear that the Lumia 800 wasn’t just Nokia’s first Windows Phone. It was also the world’s best Windows Phone, delivering the most unified marriage of hardware and software yet seen on a Windows Phone-based handset and packing a stunning range of great features.

As anticipation for the Lumia 800’s release date grew by the day, Nokia began taking orders via its pre-order site. With Orange, Vodafone, Three, Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4 U all offering the Lumia on monthly contract deals, it wasn’t long before O2 and T-Mobile joined the list of providers and Lumia 800 pre-orders began flooding in.

With a range of great deals and prices on offer, the Lumia 800 quickly showed that not only was it the world’s best Windows Phone, but it was also one of the most accessible, beating similar deals for rivals such as the Apple iPhone 4S, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and even last year’s Apple iPhone 4, by as much as £400 in some cases

As well as some great monthly contract deals, which included a deal from Orange that bagged you a free Xbox 360 with your Lumia 800, Nokia then began to reveal prices for SIM-free Lumia 800 handsets. With prices as low as £399, the new Nokia Windows Phone yet again trounced the competition and made this great smartphone available to all.

In the weeks leading up to the release of the Lumia 800, Nokia met up with the contestants of ITV’s X Factor and gave them all their own Nokia Windows Phones to play with. Again the response was resoundingly positive and served to get anticipation even higher for the forthcoming November on sale date.

Then, on the 16th November the Nokia Lumia 800 went on sale. Within hours it had won the praise of the national and global press, with critics and reviewers around the world hailing the gorgeous handset as one of the best smartphones you can buy and by far the first ‘real’ Windows Phone.

With skilled sales staff on hand across the country to help customers get their hands on the Nokia Lumia 800, as well as dedicated Nokia booths set up in shopping centre’s nationwide, including Westfield Stratford, the public were just as quick to get stuck in and try out the new Nokia Windows Phone, providing a great reception and ensuring handsets flew off shelves.

Then, on the 28 November, Nokia celebrated the successful launch with one of the biggest spectacles ever seen in London, when it brought Deadmau5 to the banks of the River Thames for Nokia Lumia Live. With a night of live music and a stunning 4D display projected onto the 800 windows of the 120-metre Millbank Tower, Nokia gave us a night to remember.

Since then we’ve seen the Nokia Lumia 800 comprehensively beat its rivals in speed tests, show its mettle as a stunning social networking device and leave us in awe with its amazing photographic and video recording prowess - and all at better price than nearly all of its overpriced rivals.

With such a stunning launch and so much still to come, 2011 has been a great year for Nokia and its first Windows Phone – and this is only the beginning! With much more on the way in 2012, Nokia is back with a vengeance and we can’t wait to bring you up to the minute news on all the exciting products that are on the way.

Essential apps for your Nokia Lumia 800

Spotify
Enjoy millions of songs for free on your new Nokia Windows Phone with this unbeatable, market-leading music app for the Nokia Lumia 800.

Thumba Photo Editor
Tweak, edit, filter and personalise your photos with this powerful and easy to use photography app for the Nokia Windows Phone

Network Dashboard
Enjoy easier access to your wireless connections and control your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth from the Windows Phone Start screen with this handy network app.

So, are you the proud owner of a new Nokia Lumia 800 or will you be buying one soon? Why not let us know your thoughts on this great Nokia Windows Phone and tell us what you’ve thought of its amazing launch this year in the Comments below?