Nokia launches Windows 8 phone at Rs 10,500 only

NEW DELHI: Nokia on Wednesday launched two Lumia smartphones for the Indian market: Lumia 520, priced approximately at Rs10,500, and Lumia 720, priced at Rs20,000. The Lumia 520 is the cheapest Windows 8 device in the market.

“The response to Lumia 920 gave us the confidence to better the impact with the Lumia 520 and 720. In the last 15 months alone, we have launched 10 devices,” said Vipul Mehrotra, Nokia’s director for smart devices, IMEA. Both the phones were unveiled at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Asked about the popularity of the sub-Rs10k Android smartphones in India, Mehrotra said, “Android phones are available across all price points. We are conscious of this fact, but bringing experiences at different price points is what gets us going. We've been building the Asha and Lumia range for a year now. Asha is on the low-end and Lumia is a high-end device.” The Lumia 520 has a 4-inch touchscreen, 1Ghz dual core processor, 8GB storage memory, 5MP camera and a removable battery. The Lumia 720 offers a slightly larger screen (4.3-inch) and a more premium set of features (Carl Zeiss lens 6.7MP camera, unibody design).

More than the hardware, the bundled services on offer enhance the value proposition for the consumer. For instance, both come with free, worldwide maps and navigation (Nokia HERE suite of applications) and free, unlimited music streaming from Nokia Music (which now has a library of over 8 million songs).

Other innovative features include super-sensitive touchscreens, which can be operated even while wearing gloves.