NOKIA: Make a 420/320!

Kevin N Smith

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With android phones going into the sub 50$ price range (Crappy experience, obviously), WP could really attack here. We could push the specs down more, and still have a good experience. WP is a very optimized OS that can run smoothly on 256-Mb single core devices. So let's make one.

LUMIA 420
-512 MB RAM
-4GB HDD (Assuming it has GDR2, so other storage issue would be gone)
-WP8 GDR2
-Single Core 1GHZ Processor
-$79.99 or 69.99

LUMIA 320
-256 MB HDD
-4GB HDD
-Single core processor, if WP runs on less then a 1GHZ processor, let's do it.
-WP 7.8 or 8.0 GDR2, if 8.0 is stable on these specs, then use WP8.
-$49.99 (Or less/more until the OS is stable at the min specs)
 

mase123987

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Yea....no. WP8 is great on all hardware it has been put on so far. That said, even WP8 can't be ran on everything well. Plus, with the lowest line being under $100 in a lot of cases, I just don't see the need. At some point, there wouldn't be any real money to be made for Nokia either.
 

James8561

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first of all, cell phones never use HDD (hard disk drive) so it goes to show that you know nothing.
2nd, why would any large, respectable company put end-of-life softwares, such as wp7, on new hardware??
3rd, single-core is ridiculous. so is 256 MB of RAM. (does that even meet the min. req. of wp8???)

besides, you stated that android phones <$100 is crappy. below that point, any smartphone is crappy. i'd rather use a good feature phone rather than a crappy smartphone.
 

Huime

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And you do realize that each model in every series gets refreshed every 6 months, and the older one will drop at least 1/3 or the original price which pretty much out weight the new but lower series models?

Since you are look at the lower end, did you not see how 510 and 610 drop price when 520 and 620 comes into the market? Both are pretty much less than $50 for new. And how much are you asking for 3 and 4 series? $5 footlong?
 

rohitsingh

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With android phones going into the sub 50$ price range (Crappy experience, obviously), WP could really attack here. We could push the specs down more, and still have a good experience. WP is a very optimized OS that can run smoothly on 256-Mb single core devices. So let's make one.

LUMIA 420
-512 MB RAM
-4GB HDD (Assuming it has GDR2, so other storage issue would be gone)
-WP8 GDR2
-Single Core 1GHZ Processor
-$79.99 or 69.99

LUMIA 320
-256 MB HDD
-4GB HDD
-Single core processor, if WP runs on less then a 1GHZ processor, let's do it.
-WP 7.8 or 8.0 GDR2, if 8.0 is stable on these specs, then use WP8.
-$49.99 (Or less/more until the OS is stable at the min specs)

Simply reading about the criticism that HTC has received for its 8S variant will tell you that it would be a really bad idea taking memory anything below 8gb. And considering the amount of 'loading' time that the phone shows on my lumia 720 I can tell you that a 256 mb ram is a bad bad idea.

The point you are somehow missing, despite making it yourself it that the experience is really crappy on low end android devices. WP has avoided that till now by keeping a minimum spec requirement. If it goes any lower, it would start falling in the same category as those 'crappy' android devices and there would simply be no differentiation.

And finally, with more than 90% apps running on 512mb ram devices, people are complaining about app compatibility for the ones that need atleast 1gb, do you have any idea how many apps would be incompatible with 256 mb ram phones?

The problem here is people always want more, if nokia gave you a lumia 320, you would be the first one to want a 220 or a 120, and once you get those, you'll start complaining about how these new 'low end' devices are crappy and how android gives a better experience and blah blah blah.
 

Mellifluous

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first of all, cell phones never use HDD (hard disk drive) so it goes to show that you know nothing.
2nd, why would any large, respectable company put end-of-life softwares, such as wp7, on new hardware??
3rd, single-core is ridiculous. so is 256 MB of RAM. (does that even meet the min. req. of wp8???)

besides, you stated that android phones <$100 is crappy. below that point, any smartphone is crappy. i'd rather use a good feature phone rather than a crappy smartphone.

It would be a nice idea to make even cheaper Windows Phones, but 256MB doesn't meet minimum requirements - basically the 520 and 620 are around the lowest spec-wise Windows Phone 8 can go.

Minimum Windows Phone 8 requirements (Engadget & Wikipedia):
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor
  • Minimum 512MB RAM for WVGA phones; minimum 1GB RAM for 720p / WXGA
  • Minimum 4GB flash memory
  • GPS and A-GNSS; GLONASS is supported if OEMs decide to include it
  • Support for micro-USB 2.0
  • 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with three-button detection support
  • Rear-facing AF camera with LED or Xenon flash, optional front-facing camera (both need to be VGA or better) and dedicated camera button
  • Accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, as well as vibration motor (magnetometer and gyroscope are optional)
  • 802.11b/g and Bluetooth (802.11n is optional)
  • DirectX graphics hardware support with hardware acceleration for Direct3D using programmable GPU
  • Multi-touch capacitive touch screen with minimum of four simultaneous points
 

EasilyTheBest

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A Nokia Lumia 320 would be great. A low end processor with 512k. No camera and no Here Maps. And a low end screen.
I know a lot of non technical ppl who would buy one.
I know a 70 year old that has a 520 and he just has pictures of his contacts on his home screen on the largest tile size. He just scrolls down through the photos clicks on who he wants to ring. He has nothing else on screen.
I think there's a market there for someone.
 

Heron_Kusanagi

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I do expect Nokia to try and hit for the low end and get out a Lumia 320 (they don't do 4 series for some reason). It also depends on MS of course, but if they can source for cheaper dual core options and MS is willing to support it...

Let's face it, the real elephant in the room are the Chinese OEMs and chip makers like Mediatek and Rockchip who are dominating the budget market for Android. And some of their chipsets are surprisingly ok for normal usage. If Microsoft can work with them, Nokia can make cheaper WP phones.
 

Mellifluous

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I hope this is a "troll" thread.
Cause it's plain ridiculous...

I don't think it's a troll thread.

Android is the number one mobile OS and Samsung are the number one phone manufacturer in the world off the back of it, as a result of not only high end devices but also cheap, low end devices. If there were lesser specced, cheaper Windows Phone devices out there (e.g. a model without a camera), this would result in more sales, increased market share, and more people in the Windows Phone ecosystem - which could result in their buying more premium models down the line.

This is basically what Nokia are trying to do with the diversity in their handsets - notice the number of models they have brought out in comparison with Samsung and HTC. It's all about the above, as well as keeping Windows Phone constantly in media/public consciousness as constantly more models = more press, reviews, awareness.
 

Quhi

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Well I see only 420, and that would have 4gb of memory, 512 mb of ram, 0.8 GHz dual-core processor (maybe a bit lower), a 3 mpx camera, I'm sure that this device will be popular for those, who need a simple phone and have minimum budget. It still would have WP's speed in the most basic tasks. It would be the best smartphone in the lowest price segment. Also I'm against using cheap materials, they should still have Nokia's quality.
 

gsquared

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OP: If you were willing to put up the say $20-30 million it would cost to produce, market, and distribute such devices I'm sure Nokia would be willing to listen to ya.
 

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