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Nokia back in USA with $50 Lumia 710 smartphone

By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY
Updated

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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