Video leak? Introducing Sea Ray, Nokia’s first Windows Phone 7 device

Posted on June 24th, 2011. Written by Rico.

Here’s Nokia CEO Stephen Elop introducing a working Nokia Sea Ray, rumored to be his company’s first Windows Phone 7 gadget.

The 21-minute video starts off with Elop thanking “everyone working in and around the MeeGo effort.” He praised the “quality of their work”, despite them experiencing “a challenging time”.

Elop then talks about why Nokia released the N9 (the company’s first MeeGo phone), when the manufacturer was transitioning to Windows Phone 7 anyway: “There is a whole collection of innovation available in the N9 that is going to live on,” said the CEO. He highlighted the N9′s user-interface improvements, the benefits of the Qt software platform the phone runs on, and the gadget’s industrial design.

It was at this point when Elop asked the audience to turn off all recording devices. “This is super-confidential, and we do not want to see it out on the blogosphere… whatever it is. But we think it’s important how this innovation lives on, and how well we as a company are today executing.”

And the “confidential” video plays. The audience is shown a device that’s virtually identical to the N9 in terms of form factor. However, there is one extra button on the right side near the bottom. When Elop finally says that the gadget is codenamed “Sea Ray”, and is “Nokia’s first Windows Phone 7 device”, the audience erupts with applause.

So that’s how the video starts out. Check out the rest below. The phone itself is shown at around 3:00.

A few thoughts:

• Is this really a leak? Or was it intentionally shared by someone at Nokia to build hype for the phone? Was Elop’s mention of the blogosphere a subtle reference to what the company wanted to happen?
• Will Nokia make Windows Phone 7 more popular? Nokia may not be as dominant as it used to be, but its global reach could prove to be the tipping point for Microsoft’s mobile platform.
• Windows Phone 7 seems quite popular in Nokia. When the audience was asked how many used a phone running on the OS, many hands were raised.
• Sea Ray will run on Mango. It’s always good news when a new device runs on the latest version of a software platform. Mango is the codename for a planned “substantial software update” for Windows Phone 7, slated for a mid-October 2011 release. A demo of what it offers is here.
• How will Sea Ray differentiate itself from other Windows Phone 7 devices? Much of the “leaked” video was an exploration of what’s possible through Windows Phone 7—software-based features that are also available on other Windows Phone 7 gadgets. Will Nokia provide better hardware than competitors to make Sea Ray an enticing option?

“Sea Ray” according to Elop is a codename, so it probably won’t be the name of the gadget once it ships. What do you think Nokia should call this new phone, dear readers?