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Nokia adopts Microsoft's 'Smoked by Windows' stunt

Overseas, Nokia is holding a similar "Lumia Challenge" in the U.K. as it works to drum up more attention for its new smartphones.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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Roger Cheng
Nokia is banking its Lumia 800 is faster than your phone in tasks like checking emails, weather, or taking photos. CNET

Nokia likes Microsoft's "Smoked by Windows" contest so much that it decided to run its own version in London.

Renamed the "Lumia Challenge," it similarly involves Nokia sales representatives racing consumers on various common smartphone tasks such as checking e-mail or taking and posting a photo, The Verge reported today. The point: proving that Windows Phones are inherently more efficient to use than rival smartphones such as the iPhone.

The promotion is part of a broader effort by Nokia and Microsoft to generate attention for the new line of Windows Phone-powered smartphones. Despite a big push by Nokia, adoption has been slow, although the company said it is seeing steady momentum. In the U.S., the Lumia 900 will launch on April 8, and AT&T is promising a massive launch.

Of course, the Microsoft's challenge ran into a bit of a hiccup earlier this week after one man claimed he beat a Windows Phone at checking weather, but was still overruled by a Microsoft representative, causing a major PR mess for the company. Another individual, an Atlanta graduate student, said he was similarly overruled and hired a lawyer.

Unlike Microsoft, which was promising a valuable laptop, Nokia offered 10 euros (about $13) to anyone who beats its Lumia phones. Participants also got a coupon for 50 euros toward the purchase of a Lumia device, the Verge reported.