Nokia has announced that Foxtons, a London and South East England estate agent, has chosen the Lumia 820 as the company business smartphone. The Windows Phone has so far been deployed to 900 employees across 35 offices throughout London and two in Surrey. Estate agents depend on receiving, updating and sharing information quickly in the competitive property market.

It was an easy decision for Foxtons to switch to Windows Phone as the company already has an established Microsoft infrastructure. For example, employees use Outlook to ensure that they remain up-to-date with calendar appointments, which are synchronised to agents' Lumia smartphones for mobile viewing management.

What's more is the in-house development team at Foxtons is already familiar with app development on Windows Phone and has now begun creating unique apps for the Lumia 820. Dan Rafferty, IT Director of Foxtons, explains:

"In a fast moving business with many staff movements across departments and locations, keeping an accurate, up-to-date contact list is a challenge for us. We've developed an app integrating our personnel system with our active directory and phone system so all the information is accurate and can be accessed directly from our agents' Nokia Lumia 820s. It's a great timesaver and asset for the team. The Nokia Lumia 820 aligns with our entire device strategy and allows us to fully integrate our current Microsoft systems throughout the company."

The Nokia Windows Phone was swayed by the suite of exclusive apps that are available from Nokia. The Lumia 820 sports turn-by-turn navigation for reaching destinations, as well as Nokia City Lens to show live detailed information on the local area to customers, revealing POI (Points of Interest) and more. It's an ingenious use of the mobile operating system.

Adrian Williams, director of Business Sales UK at Nokia, had the following to comment on the Foxtons news:

"Foxtons is a great example of how a company can empower its workforce to work effectively on the move, with their smartphones integrated with its existing Microsoft infrastructure. We are delighted that Nokia applications such as Nokia Drive and Nokia City Lens are making a real difference for Foxtons employees in the competitive real estate market."

The Lumia 820 is a great mid-range Windows Phone that packs a punch and offers customisation option with wireless charging and NFC shells, available in a variety of colours.

Thanks, Harry, for the tip!