Here’s the problem – we have a company that was once at the pinnacle of the mobile industry now struggling to stay alive. This company, a renowned name I once held in high regard (and even had hope for), has thought it wise to launch a product into a thriving mobile phone market that was announced six (count ‘em) months ago. Amidst the regular internet chatter, intense speculation and heavy presumptions, Nokia mysteriously remained mum about what was coming. All we knew was that a special edition device with a Dark Knight Rises motif was going to be announced. 

A die hard fan of the comic book hero since I can remember learning to read, my curiosity was piqued. The Indian tech community, myself included, assumed the Finnish company would be launching new handsets. Suffice to say we were half right. What added more fuel to these embers of heated spculation was to see Nokia’s yet-to-be-launched-in-India Lumia 900 make the Bat-Man’s list, with teasers cropping up all over the web of this handset also taking on that “Special Edition" heading. Since we were amongst the first to have the PureView 808 grace us with its 41 megapixel presence, it was only natural that the possibility of the Lumia 900 coming was incepted into our minds. The Lumia 900 has been available in some markets globally, and foolishly, we thought Nokia would adorn the market that has been loyal to her for so long, and continues to do so, with the latest in the series. Some of the headlines online even went so far as to pre-announce the arrival of the Lumia 900 and 610 as if it were a certainty, only strengthening our belief of the arrival of two new handsets.

What followed ineveitably, was this - Nokia announced the competitively priced but doomed for redundancy Lumia 610, and yes, a Dark Knight Rises special edition Lumia handset. If you want to imagine the look on our faces when it was revealed to be the  Lumia 800 version of the limited edition handset, picture a confused Mr. Bean who's been punched in the gut, you'll get the idea. I'll bet whoever predicted the Lumia 900 and 610 launch must be feeling pretty silly wiping that egg off their faces now. As for us fans, loyalists, followers, hopeful watchers, whatever you’d like to deem us, we felt spurned, for lack of a better word.

The Dark Knight may rise, but Nokia might not

Sure, hardcore Batman fans or fans of just the Christopher Nolan movie franchise might think it an absolute gift from the gods, but I happen to be one and I’m pi***d! Here are some facts just to make it clear – 

Fact – Windows Phone 7 will soon become passé as WP 8 hits the market.

Fact – Any and all smartphones, Lumia or otherwise, running the current WP OS will also be somewhat outdated when WP 8 hits the market, as in current owners will not get the whole WP* deal, just an “experience”.

Fact – Nokia and Microsoft have already clarified that the current Lumia range, including the upcoming 900, will get Windows 7.8, but not WP8.

Fact – A mobile company struggling to stay in the game has launched a soon-to-be outdated model in a country that has an immense number of loyal fans by simply coupling it with a highly-anticipated Hollywood movie.

With all of that taken into account, to coin a phrase – ipso facto, Nokia has most certainly lost quite large chunk of their loyal Indian following. This will cost them dearly. This has been reaffirmed by Microsoft who admited that the OS was dead on arrival.

The alter ego to the Dark Knight edition, A.K.A the Average Joe Lumia 800, is in no way just a decent handset. It easily surpasses that rating, but with the OS not having anywhere to go, in less than six month’s time, it’ll seem… redundant. The Dark Knight Rises edition brings nothing new to the table except for some customised movie content. If it actually came with the full movie, it may have done better. As it is though, it’s merely a new box for an old phone.

Sorry, Nokia, but you’re going to have to bring your A+ game come WP 8’s arrival. And incidentally, having been told that the Lumia 900 is possibly due in Q3 so close to WP 8’s launch only angers me further. Unless, of course, they re-launch it with Windows Phone 8. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

Maybe we’ll see a Superman Lumia handset as well. But don’t hold you’re breadth; it might just be an older handset with a “super-hero” costume.