Nokia Lumia 610? Windows Phone for Cheap?

If you thought the aggressive pricing of the Nokia Lumia 710 on T-Mobile was cheap, you are going to like this. Tech Radar is reporting that Nokia will announce an even cheaper Windows Phone at Mobile World Congress later this month, the Nokia Lumia 610. Tech Radar expects it to be a pay as you go plan phone.

With the Nokia Lumia 710 already only costing £199.99 on PAYG with O2, and further price drops anticipated in the near future, it’s not a great leap to think that the Lumia 610 will be cheaper still if we follow Nokia’s numbering strategy.

Is this a good thing? I am leaning no on that question. I think Microsoft needs to set a standard that prevents companies from manufacturing phones below a certain level. I don’t think Microsoft wants phones running their OS to be known as a glorified feature phone. The Nokia Lumia 710 is a quality phone, but compared to an HTC Titan II or Lumia 900, it’s fairly cheap. Coming out with an even cheaper model could be setting a precedence we don’t want to see.

This rumored new phone from Nokia is said to run Windows Phone Tango, the newest version of Windows Phone that is expected to be announced at MWC as well.