Nokia to unveil cheaper Windows smartphone

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 27 February.  Nokia last year dumped its own smartphone software platforms in favour 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 per cent last quarter, compared with 3 per cent a year ago and 13 per cent four years earlier, according to Strategy Analytics.