While Samsung has dominated the headlines with the launch of its Galaxy S3 device this week, V3 also managed to get its hands on the eagerly awaited Lumia 900 from Nokia set to be released in the UK later this month.

The firm will be hoping that the device can help turn its fortunes around, as it faces a tough financial future and sales of its first high-end device, the Lumia 800, have proved lacklustre, particularly in the UK.

One of the V3 team is an active user of the Lumia 800, though, and so with the 900 arriving in the office, it was the perfect opportunity to compare the two devices and give the 900 a once over.

The first thing you notice about the Lumia 900 is its size, both compared with the 800 and on the market as whole, with its 4.3in screen in the same category as the HTC One, the recently launched Galaxy S3 and dwarfing the 3.7in screen of the Lumina 800 (as shown below).

This helps make text input for emails, texts and web browsing easier than the Lumia 800, although as users of the world's millions upon millions of iPhone users know, smaller screens don't make it that much harder to input text either.

While it certainly feels sizeable in the hand, it weighs just 160g, only 18g more than the 800 despite the huge difference in size.

Anyone upgrading from the Lumia 800 or a similar sized device, such as the iPhone, will take some time to get used to the larger size, but in time is likely to enjoy the increased display area for web browsing, gaming and photos.

Another notable difference to the 800 is the inclusion of a front-facing camera with a 1.3-megapixel lens - a feature not available on the 800 - allowing full use of the recently launched Skype app to make video calls with contacts on other devices.

For taking pictures, the phone has the same 8-megapixel camera as the Lumia 800, which is more than adequate for taking high-quality images under various conditions.

The 900 also comes pre-loaded with the Tango version of the Windows Phone operating system, which offers a number of tweaks designed to improve the speed performance of the system, although the Lumia 800 is hardly slow either.

Beyond this, though, there is little notably different about the device, boasting exactly the same design of button placement and volume controls as the 800, just expanded over the larger size unit.

This isn't a bad thing, though, as the Lumia design is nice to look at, sits comfortably in the hand, and is certainly no worse than any Android device, which are all fairly identikit in their design, and offers a nice alternative to the iPhone's style.

The issue for Nokia is not the hardware, really, it never has been, it's convincing the average member of the public to put aside their lust for iPhones or Android devices, and getting them to realise the Windows Phone software is worth the plunge.

To do this, it's going to take some serious marketing spend, combined with word of mouth from the small pool of Lumia users convincing their friends of the benefits of the system's live tile functionality, to show there is another way from the iOS and Android two-horse race disappearing into the distance.

Check back next week for a full review of the Lumia 900 on V3.

Nokia launched two high-end devices at its annual Nokia World event in London on Wednesday and we got a chance to spend some hands with the Lumia 800 Windows Phone handset.

The flagship Lumia 800 is set to take the challenge to the Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II and it bears a striking resemblance to the Nokia N9, which was released in selected European countries and uses the MeeGo platform.

The Lumia 800 exudes high quality craftsmanship, with a one-piece injection moulded body that Nokia touted as scratch proof. The device is also comfortable to hold, but isn't the lightest on the market as it weighs 142g.

Nokia has integrated an 3.7in Amoled screen with a resolution of 480x800 and colours are crisp with blacks particularly deep when compared to other devices. Brightness also seemed very good as we were using the device in a low light environment.

The 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512MB of RAM are not the highest specifications around, but the device has been optimised to get the full benefit from the software, much like Apple has with the iOS. This makes the Lumia 800 extremely responsive, and there is no noticeable lag.

The Windows platform will also help the firm attract business users to the device, as it comes with Exchange support and Mobile Microsoft Office suite.

Some key features that set the Nokia apart from competing Windows Phone devices is the eight megapixel camera with an optimised flash for low-light conditions. The Nokia N8 had an excellent camera and the firm has clearly carried this through to the Lumia 800.

With Microsoft having already laid down specifications for the Windows Phone Mango platform before Nokia signed its deal with Microsoft, the Finnish firm has been unable to make its hardware substantially difference to other devices from HTC and Samsung.

However, Nokia has managed to sneak in a few of its own apps, the highlight of which is Nokia Drive, a free voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation system, a first for Windows Phone devices.

With a price of €420, the Lumia 800 isn't cheap, but with the services on offer and good performance it could be winner. Nokia is still behind when it comes to core specifications but as Apple has proved, raw processing power isn't everything.

Nokia is set to embark on its biggest marketing campaign with the Lumia series, so expect to see adverts for the device plastered everywhere in the next few weeks ahead of its November launch.

V3 will have a full review of the device in due course and we also have a video demo of the phone in action:

Nokia is due to launch another update for its ailing Symbian platform just days after releasing the Anna update for its high-end smartphones, including the N8.

The company has made a countdown clock available on its Facebook page, along with the cryptic message: "It's time to try something new."

Nokia is set to make the announcement in just over 45 hours, and the firm's Facebook followers appear to be convinced that the firm will launch Symbian Belle as it has been leaked onto YouTube.

The interface appears to have passing similarities with Nokia's forthcoming MeeGo operating system. It sports a drop down notifications bar as well as revamped keyboard and widgets.

Users can also expect enhanced customisation options, and there are suggestions that Nokia is gearing up to launch a new app store.

However, it would seem odd for Nokia to release two high-profile updates within a week, leading to speculation that a new handset could be unleashed.

"How can people say its Belle when Anna hasn't even been deployed fully around the world yet? I am guessing it might be a 3D Symbian phone announcement maybe," said Nokia customer Ben Liu on the Facebook page.

It remains to be seen whether this annoucement will help Symbian gain some momentum in the smartphone market. However, at least Nokia appears to be following through on its promise to support the platform until 2016, unlike HP which unceremoniously dumped its webOS platform after lacklustre smartphone and tablet sales.

Screenshots showcasing a forthcoming MeeGo interface have been released, offering a taste of what to expect when the Nokia N9 goes on sale later this year.

The MeeGo interface appears to be a mix of the Android and Windows Phone platform, judging by the images posted on the Nokia Conversations Blog.

The screenshots show what core applications including Contacts, Calendars, Maps, Messaging and Facebook will look like on the high-end device.  

Nokia Maps will allows users to get directions and will also highlight places of interest and public transport links nearby. Prominent buildings appear to be shown in 3D, following in the footsteps of Google Maps 5. There will also be a dedicated in-car navigation app called Drive.

The Calendar app looks straightforward and will allow business users to keep track of meetings and tasks. Reminders can be added to any day by pressing the '+' key. The app also integrates with Nokia Maps, making it easy to find meeting places. It's a very useful feature.

Interestingly, messaging input looks very similar to the stock Android Honeycomb keyboard, but this isn't a bad thing. The N9 is set to come with a large 3.9in screen, so typing on the device should be reasonably comfortable.

The Notifications application also looks to be an interesting feature, displaying the profile picture of contacts to give the interface a more personal feel, like the Windows Phone operating system.The Nokia N9 is set to launch later this year, and V3.co.uk will post a video demonstration and full review when a handset is available.