Nokia shows off Sea Ray Windows Phone

Nokia's first Windows Phone 7 device closely resembles N9 and runs Mango

Nokia has given the world a glimpse of its first Windows Phone 7 handset at an event in Singapore, promising that there are many more working devices already in the pipeline.

The device was shown by Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop, who referred to it by the codename Sea Ray when he showed it to the audience in what was possibly meant to be an impromptu unveiling, but which looks in the online video of the event to have been a carefully planned moment.

Nokia's handset itself appears to be very similar to the N9 smartphone that the company officially launched earlier this week, and which runs the Meego platform jointly developed by Nokia and Intel.

Like the N9, the Sea Ray has a Gorilla Glass screen and 8-megapixel camera, but the company disclosed few other details about the handset other than it will run the Windows Phone 7 'Mango' update when it ships.

Nokia's Jukka Kiiskinen ran through a demonstration of the features of Windows Phone 7, describing how well it works on Sea Ray and how the Office applications can handle anything apart from spreadsheets that are too large for a smartphone screen.

Kiiskinen also said that the Sea Ray will come with Nokia applications such as Nokia Maps when it ships, and that Nokia will provide buyers with a way to transfer contacts from their old handset to Windows Phone 7.

Elop said that Nokia is working to bring differentiation to the Windows Phone platform, which is one thing that Nokia desperately needs if its new handset strategy is to succeed.

On the basis of the demonstration, there appears to be little to separate the Sea Ray from many of the other Windows Phone 7 devices already on the market.

Rumours currently indicate that Nokia's launch of its first Windows Phone 7 devices will happen at an event in London in October.