"Nokia Lumia 610 Windows Phone to launch in June"

Nokia's Lumia 610 is likely to be available free on contracts of around £20 per month 

Nokia’s cheapest Windows Phone mobile, the Lumia 610, will launch in June, the company has announced.

The device will aim to compete with the most affordable Android handsets on the market, and heralds an expanded approach from troubled Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia.

The device does not feature the specifications to run Skype, the video calling and instant messaging solution that Microsoft spent billions of dollars acquiring last year. Skype requires 512mb of memor,y while the 610 offers just 256mb.

The 3.7” screen 610 will however run the much-praised Windows Phone 7.5 operating system, as well as offering Nokia’s own Drive, Maps and Music apps. These mean that the device can offer turn-by-turn navigation, pre-downloaded maps and a small selection of music.

Nokia’s Lumia range already includes the 610, the 710, the 800 and the 900. The 800 was the flagship Windows Phone device when Nokia announced that it would move from its original Symbian operating system to Windows Phone, and the larger 900 offers a bigger screen and faster speeds on American 4G networks. The new, lower-numbered devices suggest that Nokia sees its future operating in the mid-market, rather than competing with the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S3 top-of-the range devices.

Growth in emerging markets, such as China and India suggests that Nokia’s strategy will be to aim for longer term growth in areas still attractive to companies such as BlackBerry, although manufacturers of Android handsets are also hoping to do well in such new territories.