News: Nokia reveals four new phones at MWC 2013

Nokia has announced four new mobile phones at the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) currently underway in Barcelona, Spain. The first two devices are new smartphone additions to the Windows Phone-powered Lumia range, namely the Lumia 720 and 520, whilst the last two are feature phones, namely the Nokia 301 and Nokia 105.

Nokia Lumia 720

Espoo’s Lumia 720 (127.9 x 67.5 x 9 mm; 128g) runs on Windows Phone 8 and is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8227 CPU. The smartphone features a 4.3" ClearBlack (800 x 480; 217 ppi) Super Sensitive LCD screen, Skype HD wide angle 1.3 MP front-facing camera and 6.7 megapixel BSI (back-side illuminated) rear-facing autofocus snapper that features Carl Zeiss optics as well as an LED flash and can record HD-Ready (720p) videos at a smooth 30 fps.

Also onboard is HSPA+ connectivity offering download speeds up to 21 Mbps, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB memory, along with a microSD card slot, NFC (near field communication), Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, and a sizable 2000 mAh battery that offers 520 hours of standby time and more than 13 hours of talk time according to Nokia.

As with the Nokia Lumia 820 (review), the Lumia 720 can be charged wirelessly using any of the Lumia 920’s (review) wireless charging accessories, if users opts to purchase a wireless charging cover for the device.

Nokia stated that the Lumia 720 will be rolled out during March 2013 and will be available in red, white, cyan, black and yellow. No local release or pricing info is available yet.

Nokia Lumia 520

The Lumia 520 (119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm; 124 g) is billed as Nokia’s most affordable Windows Phone 8 operating smartphone and is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8227 processor.

This smartphone features 3G HSPA+ connectivity offering download speeds up to 21 Mbps, and features 512 MB RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11 n, Bluetooth 3.0, a 5 MP autofocus camera that can record 720p videos at 30 fps, and a 4" WVGA (800 x 480 pixels; 235 ppi) IPS LCD. Like the Lumia 820 (review), the 520 offers 8 GB worth of internal storage that is expandable via microSD card slot which supports cards up to 64 GB in size.

Nokia plans to starts shipping the Lumia 520 in March, with the smartphone destined for Hong Kong and Vietnam first before making its way to additional markets within Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. No local pricing or release info is available yet for either of these new Lumia handsets.

A new pair of feature phones

For those users seeking more simplistic mobile phones with superior battery life and a more affordable price tag compared to a smartphone, Nokia has its new 301 and 105 feature phones.

The Nokia 105 (107 x 44.8 x 14.3 mm; 70 g) boasts a one-piece keymat that is dust-proof and splash-proof, along with a non-touch 1.45" (128 x 128; 169 ppi) 65k colour TFT Display. Stereo FM radio, a flashlight and a claimed standby time of up to 35 days and talktime of up to 12.5 hours is also offered by the handset.

Nokia’s 301 (114 x 50 x 12.5 mm; 102g) sports an alphanumeric keypad that is coupled with a non-touch-enabled 2.4" QVGA (240 x 320; 167 ppi) TFT colour display. This feature phone boasts a 3.2 MP camera, Bluetooth 3.0, 256 MB of internal storage space that is expandable to up to 32 GB via microSD memory card slot.

The snapper also introduces some innovative smartphone features to the Finnish company’s feature phone line-up. Chief amongst these is the handy self-portrait functionality, which uses voice prompts to tell a user how to position the phone so that their face is properly in the frame.

Additional Lumia-inspired camera functionality includes the ability to capture panoramic photographs which Nokia claims is a first for any feature phone, and a sequential shot feature allowing users to snap 3-5 shots in quick succession and then choose the best shot from amongst these.

Nokia aims to roll the Nokia 301 out next quarter in single- and dual-SIM variants, with the Nokia 105 also becoming available in selected countries during Q2 2013. No local release info for either handset is available yet.

In related news, Nokia also recently announced that its Nokia 206 feature phone is available for purchase in South Africa, with this affordable (R760) mobile sports a classic alphanumeric keypad, coupled with a 2.4" (320 x 240; 167 ppi pixel density) non-touch-enabled LCD screen.

Nokia reveals four new phones at MWC 2013

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