Nokia Lumia 800 revs up at Bridgestone

The rubber has hit the road on a smartphone refresh for Bridgestone Australia, with the company opting for a fleet of new Windows Phone 7-powered Nokia Lumia 800 devices.

The Lumia 800
(Credit: Nokia)

After successful trials, Bridgestone has now purchased 140 Lumia 800 smartphones for its staff. According to the company, Nokia pipped rivals, including RIM and Apple, for the contract. The phone reportedly has better integration with Bridgestone's existing suite of Microsoft products, like Office and Outlook, which sealed the deal for Nokia.

"There was a strong business case for the Nokia Lumia 800. It gives us the best of both worlds — seamless integration with familiar business tools, such as Outlook, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as exceptional design and build quality," group IT manager for Bridgestone Australia, Scott Baxter, said in a statement today.

Baxter added that tools like free turn-by-turn navigation will allow the company to ditch its existing fleet of GPS units.

The company is handling the security of the fleet with Microsoft's ActiveSync product. Baxter said that it can enact device-lockdown and remote-wipe protocols as required.

The Nokia Lumia 800 rolled out to Australian stores in March, and the company's flagship Windows Phone 7 device, the Lumia 900, will hit Australia in June.