Last week we saw a video on Nokia’s YouTube channel that showed off an as yet to be announced Windows Phone. Seeing as how we thought Nokia would unveil three Windows Phones at Nokia World, yet they only showed off the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800, we assumed that the device is said video was the elusive 4.3 inch Nokia Lumia 900, codename Ace. According to the folks at PocketNow and The Nokia Blog, that Lumia 900 is actually the Lumia 601. We could just accept this rumor as fact, but something just doesn’t feel right. The camera module on the 601 puts out 8 megapixel photos. That’s not exactly what we’d call low end. The Lumia 710 has a 5 megapixel sensor, so why would a device with a lower model number have a “better” camera? On the other hand the design closely resembles that of the Symbian Belle powered Nokia 700, which has a 3.2 inch screen, so could Nokia be targeting a smaller screen size for use in a future budget Windows Phone?
Thanks to Paul Amsellem, Head of Nokia France, we know that Nokia is on track to release both a higher end and a lower end Windows Phone. If Nokia really wants to break into the mainstream market with Windows Phone, they need to make something that they can sell for roughly 200 Euros unlocked, tax included. Time will take care of driving the price of components down, but Nokia doesn’t have that luxury. Rumor has it that Windows Phone Tango, the next version of Microsoft’s new OS, will add support for lower screen resolutions (320 x 480 pixels) and LTE. If that’s true, then it falls perfectly in line with what Amsellem said. The higher end Windows Phone will be an LTE equipped device, while the lower end Windows Phone will have somewhat fuzzier fonts.
We’ll know for sure either in January at CES or in February at Mobile World Congress, stay tuned for our live coverage from both of those events!