04 March, 2012

TechPinas

TechPinas


Nokia Lumia 610 Philippines Price Guesstimate, Complete Specifications, Release Date

Posted: 04 Mar 2012 12:16 AM PST

On the Importance of the Entry-Level
by Mark of TP


One of the key strengths of Nokia as a handset company is that it has a phone for everybody. This means that Nokia has always had least one handset in every price category.

During the latter years of the Symbian Era, for example, the Finnish giant had Nokia N8 at the very top of its line-up. In the midrange, we had Nokia C6-01, X6 and Nokia E6, among others. And at the entry-level, the company offered S40 releases like the immensely popular Nokia C3. The combined success of top-selling Nokia phones in various price categories is what kept the company at the top spot even during what some deemed to be 'the most trying times' for the industry leader.

Considering that the strategy continues to work wonders for the brand, it's no surprise that the company had chosen to likewise employ it in its current Windows Phone Era. Looking at Nokia's 2012 WP smartphone line-up, Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 900 will obviously be the flagship or top-of-the-line releases followed by Nokia Lumia 710 in the midrange category and this one right here will be the most affordable of them all --

nokia lumia 610
Borderline entry-level Windows Phone, Nokia Lumia 610

Nokia Lumia 800, being the first Nokia smartphone to run Windows Phone operating system, is a crucial release as it shows everyone - including all critics - just how well the company can create a flagship phone with a new platform while keeping the features and elements Nokia's come to be known for. Likewise, the handset serves as the company's answer to questions by the tech community on how the company can differentiate itself from other WP handset manufacturers and how it can compete in a high-end smartphone environment dominated by iPhone and Android releases.

nokia lumia 610

But Nokia Lumia 610's role in the line-up is just as important. As the most affordable model in the roster, this handset is the one that will be most accessible to a greater majority of consumers including the young ones who can potentially become Nokia's target market for flagship releases in the future. As such, in creating the phone, Nokia had to make sure that Lumia 610, will be a strong release - one that will reinforce the brand's image as the phone maker to beat across all price points - despite lacking heavy-weight specifications and design elements to keep its price low.

nokia lumia 610

Looking at the phone - with its glass face and that metallic band lining its sides, plus the swappable back cover which comes in various colors - and checking the complete technical specifications (Yes! Autofocus camera in Nokia midrange, finally!), I think Nokia successfully achieved the goal. All things considered, I think Nokia Lumia 610 is a phone every Nokia fan will be proud to own.

Nokia Lumia 610 was officially unveiled by the Finnish company at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week. The official SRP in Europe and North America, they say, will be around $250. No word yet from Nokia Philippines on its official release date here but I'm inclined to believe it will land here by Q2 2012. The TP Guesstimate for its price tag in the Philippines is around Php 10,000 - 12,000.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Nokia Lumia 610
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category Lower Midrange (Borderline Entry-Level)
Dimensions119 x 62 x 12 mm, 77.6 cc
Weight 131.5 grams
Available Colors Black with metal lining and swappable Back Covers in Cyan, White, Black and Magenta
Operating System Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
Display 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density), 480 x 800 pixels, TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Processor 800 MHz Single Core
RAM/ROM 256MB RAM
Camera 5 MegaPixels, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Video Capture 720p 30 frames per second
Audio and Video Playback MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player/MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
Ports microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
Internal Storage 8 GB, non-expandable
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass
Battery Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BP-3L)
Uptime Stand-by of up to 580 hours on 2G and up to 530 hours on 3G, Talk time of up to 6 hours 30 minutes on 2G and up to 7 hours 30 minutes on 3G, Music playback of up to 35 hours
Value-Added Features XBox Live, Zune, Affordable WP Handset, Swappable Back Case
Announcement Globally: February 2012
Availability Q2 2012
Price TP Guesstimate: Php 10,000 - 12,000