Video of entry-level Nokia Lumia 510 emerges

Over the past couple of days images and specs of an entry level handset from Nokia have been doing the rounds on the Internet. What makes this handset interesting is it is tipped to be the cheapest Windows Phone handset to enter the market. After being captured while taking a stroll outdoors, the handset has now been given the hands-on video treatment and and as a result we get to see a little more of what the handset looks like.

According to a report by GSMArena, the author Vince states, “The Nokia Lumia 510 has obviously overcome its camera shyness, and after posing for a live photo earlier today, is now featuring in a hands-on video. Unfortunately, the author obviously didn’t have the best camera at hand, so the video doesn’t reveal too much, but is at least yet another proof that the Lumia 510 is on the way. Plus we got some comments from the guy who got to handle the Lumia 510 and he says that the smartphone looks just like the Lumia 610, albeit lighter and slightly bigger.”

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Captured once more

The information has been consistent thus far and this handset is expected to come equipped with 256MB RAM, 4GB of onboard storage and will feature a 4-inch display. As for pricing, the handset is expected to retail at approximately $150, thereby making it the cheapest Windows Phone handset to grace the market once it launches. This handset being slotted in the entry level segment, will sit below the Nokia Lumia 610 from the brand’s Windows Phone range of devices.

The handset is believed to run on either Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 7.8, which is an updated OS designed for Windows Phone handsets currently circulating in the market. When Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8, the brand also announced Windows Phone 7.8, which is a sort of ‘value pack’, for existing Windows Phone devices and not Windows Phone 8. All handsets running WP 7.5 or Mango will be upgradeable to WP 7.8, and one of the new features that the update brings with it is the new customisable home screen from WP 8.

In an interview with The Verge, Greg Sullivan explains this decision, “The nature of the investment [in Windows Phone 8] is primarily in areas that are not exploitable by existing hardware. To do the work to bring all of those elements to a platform that can’t exploit them wasn’t necessarily the most efficient use of resource.”

While we understand that WP 8 is a completely different beast altogether, it’s surprising that Microsoft couldn’t optimise it for single-core handsets. Perhaps it was the amount of RAM, and not an issue with the CPU; someone could even manage to strip it down and port it over to older handsets. Not everyone cares about dual-core on their phones, NFC and all that jazz, so for them, the WP 7.8 update is more than welcome. “When you pull that Lumia out of your pocket after you’ve received that 7.8 update, it will look and feel the same as a Windows Phone 8 device,” said Sullivan. This should keep many WP 7 users happy for the time being, until they decide whether or not they need to take the WP 8 plunge.