Nokia may have lost the mobile OS spotlight to Android and iOS, but it’s still confident in its designs. So it’s not surprising that the company chose in Paris’s LeWeb design conference to unveil its latest Windows Phone, the budget (US$249) Lumia 620. The phone isn’t a tech standout, but like its big-brothers (Lumias 820 and 920), the Lumia 620 can show off your style or mood with a choice of exchangeable, gloss or matte shells in seven colors.
Tech-wise, the Lumia 620 has enough to appeal to most budget smartphone shoppers: it has a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution WVGA screen with Nokia’s ClearBlack technology for viewing in bright sunlight. The phone runs Windows Phone 8 on a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and comes pre-loaded with Nokia’s own Windows Phone 8 apps including SmartShoot, Cinemagraph, City Lens, Lenses, Maps, Music, Drive and Transport.
Nokia describes the Lumia 620’s five-megapixel rear camera as “very fast,” the back speaker is “especially loud.” The front of the phone has a standard front facing VGA camera for video calls. The Lumia 620 also includes NFC for wirelessly connecting to accessories such as speakers, and though the phone only has 8GB of storage, you can add more via the microSD slot.
At $249, the Lumia 620 is Nokia’s cheapest Windows Phone 8 device, and will ship in January, first in Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets and followed by other markets including Europe and North America.
