Nokia Lumia 520 up for grabs online for Rs 10,499

The cheapest Windows Phone 8 handset, the Nokia Lumia 520 has gone on sale online for Rs 10,499. The device is all set to release early next week and most retailers are promising to start shipping within a couple of days of launch.

The Windows Phone 8 handset is up for grabs on most major online retail websites like Flipkart, Home Shop 18, Snapdeal and Infibeam for the same price. Most of these websites are also offering EMI options and freebies like memory cards along with thee device.

The Nokia Lumia 520 was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Aimed at the mid-rage price point market, the highly affordable Lumia handset was eventually announced in India only last month.

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Nokia claims that the Lumia 520 can deliver features such as the same digital camera lens found on the company’s flagship device, the Lumia 920, Nokia Music for free music out of the box and also on offline mode, and the HERE location suite. It sports a 4-inch touchscreen display.

Here are some of the highlighted features of the Lumia 520:

• 4-inch ClearBlack LCD display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels
• 3G, EDGE/GRPS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
• 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording
• 8GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB via microSD

The Lumia 520 is available for purchase in five colours and most websites are already stocking up on all of them. The handset priced around the Rs. 10,000 mark will definitely attract a lot of eyeballs as it brings a modern OS and decent processing power to the table along with the low cost. It has quite a lot going for it like the dual-core processor, a smooth Windows Phone 8 experience and a compact screen with a decent resolution.

Announced along with the Nokia Lumia 520 was the slightly higher priced Nokia Lumia 720. As far as the Lumia 720 goes, the Finnish giant will be targetting shutterbugs with the phone, which makes it look like it’ll have quite a good camera. The primary camera is 6.7 megapixel with an f/1.9 aperture and Carl Zeiss optics while the 1.3 megapixel snapper at the front is described as an HD-quality, wide-angle camera that makes taking pictures with friends and video calling easier. The smartphone comes with the latest Nokia Lumia services, including Nokia Music, the HERE location suite and an optional snap-on wireless charging cover.

Here are some of the highlighted features of the Lumia 720:

• 4.3-inch ClearBlack LCD display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with GLONASS
• NFC, Bluetooth 3.0
• 6.7 megapixel camera with BSI sensor and 720p video recording, 1.3 megapixel front-facing HD wide angle camera with Skype integration
• 8GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB via microSD

Nokia Lumia 520 is the cheapest Windows Phone 8 device so far

Announced during the MWC at a price of EUR 249 (Rs 17,420 approx.), the Lumia 720 too will come with an option of five different colours. It is the slimmest Lumia yet, borrowing design elements from the 920 and the 820. You will get changeable covers as well as the option for wireless charging, an IPS display, a speedy SoC and what appears to be a very good camera.

Unfortunately, besides the announcement, there has been no news of the Lumia 720’s arrival. Neither the pricing, nor the availability of the phone in the Indian market is known yet. Hopefully, the wait for the Lumia 720 will not be as stressful as the launch of Lumia 620.

The Lumia 620 was set to hit Indian shores by February but missed the deadline and arrived in online stores in early March. The phone is currently priced at around Rs 14,500.