After several months of waiting the world was greeted by the first collaboration between Microsoft and Nokia at the end of 2011. The Lumia 800 exceeded most peoples’ expectations. It is a stylish phone that shows off the best that Windows Phone and Nokia have to offer to the current phone market. While utilizing the finest features of Windows Phone Nokia also threw in some of their own features like Nokia Drive and Nokia Mix Radio.
Nokia had promised many more Windows Phones in 2012, and just a few days into the year it appears that they are sticking to their word. Although news about the Lumia 710 has been around for as long as the Lumia 800, the phone is due to become available shortly. Nokia is probably not going to spend as much money marketing this phone as it falls into a more affordable price bracket (Nokia spend more money marketing the Lumia 800 than it has done for any other phone in its existence).
The Lumia 710 looks more like a traditional Nokia phone than the Lumia 800 did. It has a vague resemblance to the N97, and many diehard Nokia fans may find this appearance to be comforting. On the whole, the Lumia 710 offers the same excellent software features that the 800 did – including Windows Phone Mango and all its social networking prowess, along with Nokia features like Drive and Mix Radio.
What is different is the hardware in use. Although it has the same 1.4GHz processor and GPU, the 710 comes with less internal storage (and once again no memory expansion) at just 8GB and a less impressive 5mp camera. Still, this camera is good enough for everyday use. It is tied in with all of the software features such as Twitter and Facebook, and also comes with 720p video recording. Like the 800, the Lumia 710 does not have a front camera.
The screen is the same size as the Lumia 800′s, with the same WVGA resolution, ClearBlack display and Gorilla Glass. It is just a standard TFT screen though, rather than AMOLED like the 800, so it is a little bit less vibrant but probably better suited for outdoor use.
With much of the hardware, aside from the camera, being fairly similar to the Lumia 800 this phone could be a good bargain. It will be on offer through more affordable cheap mobile phone contracts and the only major difference is the physical appearance and build quality. The phone is due to be released in the coming weeks.
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