Nokia is banking on an inexpensive Windows smartphone to become relevant again in the U.S.
The Finnish phonemaker is teaming with T-Mobile USA and Microsoft on the Nokia Lumia 710, the company's first Windows Phone for the U.S. market. It goes on sale Jan. 11, for just $50 after a rebate and with a two-year contract.
Nokia is targeting the phone at the 150 million Americans who have yet to purchase a smartphone. "We think it's the right play," Nokia President Chris Weber says.
The 4.4-ounce phone runs Windows Phone 7.5, known as Mango. The phone (black or white versions) has a 3.7-inch screen, 5-megapixel camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and such preloaded apps as mobile versions of Microsoft Office, The Weather Channel, ESPN, Netflix and Slacker Radio. Bing Search is also a big part of the Windows Phone experience and so is voice search. Inside is 8 GB of usable memory, but you also get access to cloud storage for documents and pictures via Microsoft's SkyDrive.
Does Nokia have a fighting chance to penetrate a market dominated by the iOS and Android mobile platforms? I haven't tested the Lumia 710, but I like the Mango experience and think Nokia is smart by bringing out a device at such an attractive price and doing so in a more quiet period after the holidays.
Of course, Nokia's Weber says this is just the start. Though he didn't say anything specific to me about the higher-end Lumia 800 or any other handsets in the pipeline, Nokia promises a broad portfolio of devices in 2012 across multiple price points and operators.
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