Nokia has poured most of its energy into the flagship Lumia 920 Windows Phone, but the company hasn't completely ignored the entry level market. It has just unveiled the low-cost Lumia 620, a Windows Phone 8 device that will retail for just sub £250 when it is launched early in 2013. See also: Group test: what's the best smartphone?
Described by Nokia as having a "youthful appeal", the Lumia 620 makes use of what is described as a "dual-shot colour technique". The process involves a second layer of coloured, transparent or translucent polycarbonate, which is applied over the base layer. This effect creates secondary colours like lime green, which combines yellow and cyan. Further, the Lumia 620 will come with seven optional, interchangeable covers to create a distinctive look. See Windows 8 review.
The Lumia 620 is described as "compact" so users wanting a smaller smartphone may be interested. It weighs a fairly light 127g and measures 11mm thick. It's not as thin or light as flagship devices like Apple's iPhone 5, but it's far lighter and smaller than the top of the range Lumia 920. See also: Lumia 820 review.
The Nokia Lumia 620 has reasonable specifications for a smartphone in this low price bracket. It comes with a 3.8in, TFT touchscreen with a respectable resolution of 800x480. That resolution provides a pixel density of 246ppi, which is more than most budget smartphones. This means the Lumia 620 should do a reasonable job of displaying crisp and clear text. See also: Group test: what's the best Windows phone?
The Lumia 620 is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, has 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory. It has a microSD card slot to add to that memory, a feature the flagship Lumia 920 doesn't have. There's also a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, a front-facing VGA camera and built-in NFC connectivity. Unlike the Lumia 820, the Lumia 620 isn't 4G capable. Take alook at the Nokia Lumia 920 review too.
Despite being a low cost, budget smartphone, the Lumia 620 comes with the same range of Nokia-exclusive apps. It features Cinemagraph and Smart Shoot camera lenses, and comes preloaded with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens and Nokia Music apps.
Nokia hasn't announced if or when the Lumia 620 will be launched in Australia, but expect it to arrive as a prepaid handset if it does make its way Down Under. The Lumia 620 will cost around US $249 and will be available "from Q1 2013."
A promotional video of the Lumia 620 can be viewed below.
