Microsoft’s Windows 10 phones get a lower priced model

We’re not exactly sure if Microsoft’s Windows 10 phones are drawing huge numbers yet, but the company has just announced a mid-range model in the hopes to bring people over.

Does the idea of a Windows Phone make you feel good inside, but the lure isn’t quite so strong for spending a good grand or so?

No worries, because the big M wants to know it’s thinking of you, and is taking the time to announce something ahead of Mobile World Congress next week, with news of a new Lumia that won’t come with such a high price tag.

That’s the idea, anyway, with Microsoft’s Lumia 650 set to be a mid-range machine priced at what Microsoft says is “sophisticated design at an affordable price”.

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Inside the handset, you’ll find Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 212, a quad-core processor that we’ve not yet seen, though it does appear to be in one of the lowest class of Snapdragon chips, suggesting the Lumia 650 might even be an entry level device.

This will be paired with 16GB storage and a 5 inch HD screen, with the cameras sitting at 8 megapixel on the back and 5 at the front.

There’s no word as to what “affordable” technically translates to locally, but overseas and in America, $200 is the rough guide, so given the specs and overseas price, we suspect this will be closer to the $300 or $400 mark locally.

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On the looks side of things, Microsoft appears to be keeping it close to what we saw in the 950, with a simple front and back, with only on-screen soft buttons, though in a nice change, the frame won’t be made of plastic like it wad on the Lumia 950, as Microsoft opts more for an aluminium frame.

One change appears to be in the port at the bottom, though, because as forward thinking as the USB Type C port was in the Lumia 950, that will be replaced with a standard microUSB port in the Lumia 650.

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Locally, Microsoft isn’t saying much about the release date either, but as soon as we have word on both pricing and the expected time it will land, you know we’ll let you know.

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