Smartphones hit budget levels as Nokia goes under $40

We’re seeing quite a few budget phones lately, and Vodafone’s $99 4G Huawei certainly warrants a mention, but how about a sub-$40 phone? That’s possible now too, with a Nokia hitting supermarket shelves.

If you don’t mind the look and feel of Windows Phone, Nokia has sent word that Telstra and Woolies have teamed up for a true budget phone, breaking the $50 budget mark with a $39.50 tag for Nokia’s Lumia 530 this year, with a case included in the pack.

The phone isn’t a high-end model for Nokia or Microsoft Devices, with a low-end quad-core Snapdragon 200, 4GB internal memory, 3G connectivity only, Windows Phone 8, and a 4 inch touchscreen running the low resolution of 854×480.

That said, it does come with a 5 megapixel camera (no flash), support for Bluetooth support, and upgradeable storage thanks to a memory slot, potentially making it a very cheap media player with a phone inside.

You shouldn’t expect leading performance from this phone, though; it was designed to be a budget device, and until recently commanded a $149 price tag, so we’re a little surprised to see a price this low, though it will be locked to the Telstra network.

We don’t normally mentioned ads here, but a price like this is hard to ignore, and if you’re stuck for ideas and not sure what to buy a little person who’s been itching for a phone, a $39.50 Nokia smartphone could be something worth checking out, with the Lumia 530 handset hitting Woolworths shelves shortly.