Nokia’s Sea Ray prototype has been given its first real hands-on outside of controlled conditions. The Windows Phone 7 hardware is using what’s believed to be the gold master version of Mango, including a new “7” boot screen. Despite suspicions that it might go buttonless on the front like the N9, the three usual WP7 controls are on show in WPXAP’s factory demo.
The quick tour also shows that there’s no front camera on this design. Only a handful of Mango is visible other than the camera app, which like on most WP7 hardware starts up quickly. Many presume the Sea Ray will have the N9’s eight-megapixel camera and 3.9-inch AMOLED display; Mango dictates that it have a second-generation Snapdragon processor and at least 8GB of built-in space.
With final software, it’s possible Sea Ray is a finished design and that Nokia is just testing and coordinating the release. Nokia has been hopeful it would have its first WP7 phone available by the end of the year and could easily be on target if this close to production.
