Nokia unveiled the flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, Lumia 920, last week. It attracted lots of attention for its striking hardware and competitive internals. Here's why we are so excited about the smartphone.

Design

A common problem with smartphones is that the design is unsurprising. Lots of manufacturers build slab devices with rounded edges. Nokia refined its Lumia 900 and 810 design with the 920: it uses a rectangular design with sharp edges. Add to that the multiple colors, and the device looks unique.

Apple is arguably the only company aside from Nokia offering striking design. It introduced a refinement of the design introduced with the iPhone 4 with its iPhone 5, unveiled last week. It uses a two-tone aluminum, rather than glass, back.

Feature parity

Windows Phone 8 is an important release for Microsoft because it allows devices to reach feature parity with competitors. Multiple core processors and high definition screens are staples of modern devices. It means the solid design will be backed up with strong performance and should remain competitive over the following 12-18 months from release. Google is sure to released a new Nexus smartphone, and Apple will released an iPhone 5S or similar in 2013 probably.

Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8 looks basically the same as Windows Phone 7, save for the ability to change tile sizes to have more -- or less -- apps on the same screen. However, more exciting is the integration with Windows 8.

Microsoft needs developers to adopt the operating that is seeing over 100 apps submitted per day. Windows 8 uses the same Modern UI; therefore, developers can simultaneously build apps for the platforms. It is a move similar to universal apps on iOS that work across Apple's devices. If Windows 8 is popular than Windows Phone will benefit. That could be bad news for competitors.

That is really important. Linking mobile software to the world's most popular desktop operating system is a luxury competitors do not have. Microsoft could catapult itself into running for second place alongside Google if Windows 8's successful.