Nokia launches Windows Phone 8-based Lumia 820

Company unveils lower spec sibling to Lumia 920

Nokia has unveiled its second Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Lumia 820, offering users interchangeable covers to customise the device's appearance.

The Lumia 820 boasts slightly less impressive technology than the Lumia 920, also unveiled on Wednesday at a joint Nokia and Microsoft event in New York. The 820 features a smaller 4.3in WVGA 800x480 screen that uses Nokia's older ClearBlack technology, not the new PureMotion HD+ technology seen on the Lumia 920.

The Lumia 820 will also feature a smaller battery than 920, packing a 1650mAh not 2000mAh component.

Nokia has confirmed the Lumia 820 will not include Pureview camera technology, instead featuring an 8MP rear-facing camera with auto focus, Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. The camera will be backed up by a VGA front-facing camera for video calling.

The Lumia 820 will also feature less storage than the 920, coming preloaded with 8GB not 32GB of internal storage, which can be upgraded using its microSD card slot.

Despite its differences, the 820 will be powered by the same 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor as the 920.

Nokia also confirmed that the Lumia 820 will feature Nokia's new wave of custom Windows Phone 8 apps, including its new City Lens augmented reality service. The feature offers users an augmented reality display that gives dynamic information about users' surroundings.

The Lumia 920's Fatboy wireless charging capability has also been confirmed for the 820.

There's currently no exact word on the Lumia 820's price or release date, though Nokia has confirmed it and the 920 will be out before the end of the year.

Check back with V3 soon for our hands-on opening impressions of the Lumia 920 and 820.