Nokia has added four new handsets to its Lumia range, seeking to reach more consumers at different price points.
Nokia currently has only 5% of the global smartphone market. While the company sold 4.4 million Lumia devices in the fourth quarter of 2012, analysts have said it needs to more than double those sales figures and offer more mid-range handsets to better compete with the proliferation of lower-cost Android devices.
The new devices include the mid-range Lumia 720 and Lumia 520, which are an extension of Nokia's existing Windows Phone 8 offerings. At the low-end, the Nokia 105 and Nokia 301 offer what Nokia calls an "aspirational Lumia experience".
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop says: "By offering better experiences at a more affordable price, we are reinventing the battle for affordable mobile devices, and Nokia has the building blocks to win."
The Lumia 720 has a 4.3-inch ClearBlack Gorilla Glass 2.0 display, polycarbonate unibody design, and weighs 128g. The handset's main camera has an f/1.9 aperture with Carl Zeiss optics, and features the Cineomograph and Smart Shoot apps. The 720 is also NFC-enabled.
The starting price for the Lumia 720 is EUR249 (about R2 880) and Nokia says rollout will begin in Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam in the first quarter of this year. In the second quarter, broader rollout to China, Europe, Asia, Africa and India is planned.
Nokia says the 520 is the "most affordable Windows 8 smartphone" and features a four-inch touch-screen. The handset has an estimated starting price of EUR139 (about R1 608) and it will follow the same rollout plan as the 720.
At the low end of the device spectrum, the Nokia 105 has been dubbed Nokia's cheapest phone to date. Nokia says: "The Nokia 105 is the ideal device for the first-time phone buyer, featuring a bright colour screen with clear menus and essentials like FM radio; multiple alarm clocks; speaking clock; a dust and splash-proof, pillowed keypad; and a flashlight. Its durability and up to 35-day battery life also make it ideal for people seeking a backup device."
The Nokia 105's starting price is EUR15 (about R174) and will begin rolling out in the first quarter, gradually expanding to China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam, and other markets in Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Finally, the Nokia 301 comes in at the EUR65 (about R752) price point, and is pre-loaded with the Nokia Xpress Browser for improved data efficiency. The handset is available in cyan, black, magenta, yellow and white. The 301 will be rolled out in the second quarter to over 120 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Middle East and Latin America.
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