Nokia Lumia 610 To Debut At Mobile World Congress, Sources Say

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia will next week unveil a new, cheaper smartphone using Microsoft's Windows Phone software, targeting a wider market for its new range of smartphones, two sources close to the company said.

Cheaper phones are the key for Nokia and Microsoft in their battle to win a larger share of the market, analysts say.

In addition to the new Lumia 610 Nokia will also unveil at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona a global version of its high-end Lumia 900 phone, which AT&T is scheduled to roll out in the United States, the sources said.

Nokia is set to unveil the phones at a news conference next Monday, on February 27.

Nokia last year dumped its own smartphone software platforms in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone, which has so far had a limited impact due to the high prices of phones using it.

Microsoft's share of the smartphone market fell to a mere 2 percent last quarter, compared with 3 percent a year ago and 13 percent four years earlier, according to Strategy Analytics.

(Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Comments

[frantaylor]

05:35 PM on 02/22/2012

Microsoft should have just called it Zune II

"Cheaper phones are the key for Nokia and Microsoft "

Translation: "can't compete against Apple or Android, so let's take on the Trac phones"

[six seven]

06:09 PM on 02/22/2012

Define compete.

Sales? Let's talk at the end of 2012.

Performance? WP7 outperforms both the iphone and android in real-world tasks.

Also, these cheaper phones will go to emerging markets, like India. You do realize there are markets outside of the US, right?

[six seven]

06:23 PM on 02/22/2012

Or is it owner satisfaction?

[NerdyStudent]

04:45 PM on 02/22/2012

Who cares about the 610 and Tango?!

I want the N900! And Apollo!

[NormdePlume]

04:19 PM on 02/22/2012

I'm very happy with my HTC WP. The functionality is great and I've had zero issues with it.

[NerdyStudent]

04:46 PM on 02/22/2012

The existing WP phones all essentially offer the same experience--(great, in my opinion)--but I'd have to vouch for my Samsung Focus.

[annenic]

03:33 PM on 02/22/2012

HTC all the way.

[jasonxxmiller]

02:17 PM on 02/22/2012

I made the switch to the HTC Windows 7 Phone after one too many problems with my iPhone 4S. I could not be happier with the performance, the music player and mostly the office apps. Flawless!

[Pectin]

02:50 PM on 02/22/2012

What problems did you experience with your 4S?

[ZeroCoke]

03:12 PM on 02/22/2012

i'm going to guess: making phone calls.

[jasonxxmiller]

08:30 PM on 03/20/2012

the minor but frustrating problems were the battery life and the camera causing the phone to freeze on a regular basis. The major problem was the simple task of opening pdf files. My job sends me work orders using PDF format files. Too often the 4S couldn't handle the small file.

[six seven]

03:15 PM on 02/22/2012

Good choice. WP7 outperforms iphone and android phones when it comes to real-world usage...

[frantaylor]

05:31 PM on 02/22/2012

Can you explain how the same phone hardware magically gets better performance when you load a different operating system onto it?

[cornerofthemoon]

02:09 PM on 02/22/2012

I'm a recent WP7 convert. I was skeptical but very surprised of how much I like it. Too bad it's the Rodney Dangerfield of the mobile world.

[theveggiedude]

03:54 PM on 02/22/2012

As long as you are happy with it, that's all that matters.