Nokia makes the budget conscious Lumia 505 Windows Phone official

Today, Nokia took the wraps off of the Lumia 505, expected to be an exclusive low-end Windows Phone for Mexico’s Telcel network and sister device to the Lumia 510.

The Lumia 505 should be launching within the next few weeks and the phone, which comes in red, pink or black, admittedly looks strikingly bold. The full device specs have also now been revealed for the Windows Phone 7.8 device and while it skimps severely on storage (4GB, non-expandable) the rest of the features are solid.

The Lumia 505 will feature a 3.7” AMOLED screen, which should really pop as Nokia’s new display technology has been excellent lately (though it doesn’t look to be ClearBlack). Featuring an 8MP rear camera (non Carl Zeiss), the budget phone does not feature a front-facing camera for video calls. In addition, it has Bluetooth 2.1 and as mentioned earlier just 4GB of on-board storage, which may be a little tight for some. Rounding it out is a 1300 mAh batter and a weight of 131 grams.

The phone will be rocking Windows Phone 7.8 out the gate and is of course not upgradable to Windows Phone 8.0, due in part to the hardware limitations (including an expected single core CPU).

While this phone feature wise won’t be for the power users, we think as a simple phone for those who just want to make calls, check email and maybe play some Angry Birds, the Lumia 505 should do very well especially if the price is kept low. No pricing or release date has been announced for the Lumia 505 though it is expected to go on sale within weeks, exclusively on Telcel in Mexico.

Nokia has been busy lately either releasing or announcing many new devices including the Lumia 505, 510, 620, 810, 820, 822 and 920. Clearly the manufacturer is going full steam heading in to 2013.

Speaking of the Lumia 510, that too is coming to Mexico (opens in new tab) though it is unclear to which network.

Source: Nokia; Thanks, Alan and Andrey, for the tips!

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

84 Comments

Only 4gb non expandable. Does that only leave you with less than 1 gb
the small storage does suck... but it IS a budget phone.

i think that if they could make this device 9 mm thin and give it a 4" screen, it would be SOO sexy
it must be less thn 120 euros!
agreed
That's a phone made to sell. Very sexy.
Windows phones look great no matter what class they are...I can truthfully say that does not apply to 'others'
Budget BlackBerries look pretty awesome too... I walked past the store the other day and saw one of those new Curves and it made me miss my old one.
Fair enough. The old razr makes me nostalgic
I guess soon we will get a lumia 310 for boast mobile , that you can only install 30 apps on with no vibration WiFi or camera and the ability to turn the phone off . Oh and no power cord because it runs off the sun.
What a dumbáss comment
Why are all the comments you make rude and hurtful?
He's an angry, bitter, little man with nothing better to do than abuse people around him.
Ah.
He is the unofficial troll of WPCentral.
And the most famous one on WPCentral too!
I won't lie, I did laugh from OP comment
LOL
So has Microsoft ever made any official mention of the fact that their esteemed OEM partners continue to defraud the public by releasing "new" phones running obsolete, orphaned Windows Phone 7?
Gee, loaded question/baiting much? So here's a phone coming out with a brand new version of the OS, Windows Phone 7.8, with hints that there may be more OS updates coming (but not WP8) and you're saying it's obsolete? Please, define your terms. It still makes calls, plays videos, plays games, has internet, WiFi, email, calendar and loads apps and music. What am I missing? Apps and games are coming out that still support WP7 and will continue for some time. Nokia keeps releasing new apps for 7.x users too and will for the next 18 months. Do you really think someone who buys this phone needs "the latest and greatest" from the Store? This is for people who want "more than a flip phone but don't care that much" , not people who read tech sites.
I guarantee you that any average Joe who has seen the snazzy new Windows Phone ads is NOT going to realize that this phone is not the same thing. Microsoft cynically changed the homescreen to match WP8, but left the doomed, gimped internal architecture and APIs. Anyone who buys a new smartphone has a reasonable expectation that it will support at least the current version of the apps in the store, and this phone does no such thing. Critical apps like Microsoft's own Skype do not run properly (if at all) on WP7 and you know it.

You talk about "flip phones" as if this phone is just a glorified feature phone, which it is, but it certainly won't be SOLD as such to the unsuspecting consumer. I defy anyone to produce one piece of official marketing material for this device that decribes it as a feature phone.
It specifically says Windows Phone 7.8. Even the average Joe can read.
Dude you need to know that people don't need a very good smartphone to do simple stuff you know. And some.people who can't afford a wp8 device but wants to do basic stuff. Will want a wp7.8 phone its not like everybody has that much money to spend on a good smartphone to do basic stuff agreed with Absolutshame the phone will say it runs Wp7.8. people are not that dumb you know
I use Skype on my Lumia 900....were you talking about this specific device? I think there are phones still shipping with older versions of android, so I don't think it's the end of the world. If you think about it, if this IS a low end phone, they wouldn't use fancy new features of WP8 like multi core, hi res screen, etc. I think the apps would be the biggest thing since developers would have to possibly maintain different code bases, which really sucks...but I'm just speculating.
That old version Skype for WP7, including your Lumia 900, does not run in the background properly. You will not get reliable notifications of calls and instant messages if the screen is off.
This phone doesn't even have a front facing camera.. Why are you griping about Skype?..
Why does that matter? I use Skype for IM 99% of the time, not video calls
I guess is all right but we want the newest models right now and i can tell you for sure that here in Mexico are a lot of people are waiting the new Luminas Models 'cause here Nokia is huge and everyone love it that's why we would like that Nokia brings fast the new models especially the Nokia Lumia 920.
PD. About the Nokia 510 apparenty is only gonna be on Telcel for now they even have a promotion about the new model and the other carriers (Iusacell and Movistar) apparently don't have it.
I hope I'm not sounding like a troll but I have a HTC radar and I bet all those new Xbox games will only be for wp8 and that is the reason ms should stop selling cheap phones.
Its a budget phone that has same official Nokia apps as its WP8 counterparts. Again, this is a budget phone that will only drive WP sales up and finally allows WP to complete in low end segment. This is nothing bud good news. Not every person on this planet want or can afford a smartphone with limitless capabilities.
Did somebody day "bud"?
I will get a few and give it to famliy in india.. Well i cannot get a lot of windows 8 phones for the family. They dont use it for anything other than phone and camera and gPS. most pple dont play with apps.. I mean the old ones who work. as they work.. The young pple want games, apps etc... so they can enjoy a great phone.
i am planning to get 510.. may be 505 if compatable with india
This is like asking if Apple and Google mobile OS users feel lied to when they can't upgrade OS because they don't have a clue what "OS" even means much less how to upgrade. As long as Microsoft, hardware vendor and carrier don't exclude OS version they aren't being deceptive.
Even the sorriest little $99 last year's Huawei running Gingerbread that you found in a dusty blisterpack at Walmart will run the latest version of Skype. Apple's iPhones, for all their sins, also tend to enjoy extremely long periods of software compatibility even when the hardware has aged substantially. Windows Phone 7 owners, however, face a hard compatibility wall that hits them the moment they bring their new phone home. This is terrible user experience, and the word-of-mouth griping from disappointed customers WILL damage the Windows Phone brand.
It will not dude stop spreading FUD
and this is where your ignorance starts to show.
these types of phone aren't made to use skype. with your thick skull you will ask why. well that is because that the people who can barely afford these phones don't have the money to pay even medium price data plans, in fact most of them don't even have data plans and rely on pre-paid sims. they don't even have wi-fi in their homes. so no, they won't use skype, they won't buy apps and they sure as hell won't spend the entire day browsing the web. they just need the mimimum access to the web and web based communication.
the only problem with these phones is that they don't have sd sard support. even a 50 dollar unlocked budget feature phone has those and people use them to store even the shitty photos they take, or listen to music mostly.cause again, people wo buy these phones, don't care about cloud and streaming solutions. but they do need some maps(and that's why nokia is so big on offline maps that don't consume data),email some browsing and some chat apps
so you won't see this phone at your wallmart, even if you will see it, it will defintely be cheaper
then the sorriest little $99 last year's Huawei running Gingerbread that you found in a dusty blisterpack
but you can stay relaxed, this budget phone will never reach american or european shore so you are spared from ever seeing it in your glorious local wallmart. i swear, if it were for you guys, 3 quarters of the world would be left with no transportaion,electronics,food and bassically everything else, just because it isn't the latest and greatest and you don't frakkin like it
Those people still out in the market looking for iPhone 3G/3GS and really low end Huawei devices on Gingerbread are probably not your regular Skype users, much less those looking for it to run in the background.

The market devices such as the Lumia 505/510 are aiming at consist of people who have low-incomes, typically don't own computers and live in Latin America, the Arab Gulf, South Asia and parts of Africa. These people rarely have proper internet access, they still use post offices to transfer money to their loved ones... They're not people such as you or I who understand multi-tasking on phones, much less care. These people typically use their phones to call and maybe text, assuming they're literate.

The user you're describing will - for the most part - be offered devices such as the HTC 8S and Lumia 620. In other words modern entry-level devices that are afordable ($250 to $300) and offer the core Windows Phone 8 experiences, albeit without the premium trim. These are the phones we're poised to see join budget-conscious carriers in North America and Europe, e.g. HTC 8S on Bell Virgin Mobile in Canada.
Ya, 1+ years ago, I had the little huawei with gingerbread you mentioned. After I run a few apps as a normal day goes, I have to reboot the phone by the evening, else the call screen will take 15 seconds to load. I have to uninstall all the app and use it as a feature phone to make it useful. I switched to Mozart. Now I am typing on my Mozart and run for weeks without restarting. Yup, I don't get many features in WP8 but I paid less than RM800 (~$250) off contract in 2011, and no complain. And now saving money for a 920.
nokia always made phones that range from the low-end to the high end. no matter what os they are using they still need to reach the low-end low price devices. now how do you expect them to do that with wp8 who needs a mimimum of snapdragon s4 dual core? do you thjik a phone with those specs can reach a 200 dollar price point unlocked? if nokia wouldn't have had the right to use wp on all ranges then they wouldn't have went with wp, not in a million years.

i would have understood your problem if nokia would have only used wp7 to power their devices. but they are not, they have now the most complete wp8 lineup, and they will make it even bigger in 2013. but they still need something for the low-end and thats where wp7 comes in. and honestly that is a good thing cause it ensures that developers still pay interest to the platform and this could only benefit the users of first and second generation devices who are now left with upgrades to wp8

some people just like to moan, just for the sake of it. in your place i would have been mad at the other oems for not using the same strategy, cause if wp is to succeed, the low end is a big part of that success. even if the people in the western world will flock for the high end and mid-range devices that come with the newest features and specs, the rest and vast majoority of the world can only afford or want these cheap devices to provide the very basic of the smartphone experience and nothing else. so a sea of these wp 7.8 devices from samsung, alcatel,huawei,zte will do wonders for the wp ecosystem and marketshare
Daydreamhero needs to lookup the definition of the word "defraud".
de·fraud /diˈfrôd/ Verb Illegally obtain money from (someone) by deception. Synonyms cheat - swindle - deceive - embezzle - defalcate If they take money from people who think they are getting a "new Windows Phone!" but they actually sell the old, busted Windows Phone in a shiny new chassis... that's a SWINDLE. This is no different than if a Honda dealership took a 2010 Civic, slapped a new coat of paint on it and shoved it out on the lot with all the real new cars.
Yeah, I think they should stamp it WP Lite or something on the back of the phone. The fact is you cannot easily tell the version of the OS unless you dig. You can't rely on the retailer to accurately tell customers also. Whatever. I'm not gonna worry about it.
Today's WP8 will be next year's WP Lite. I think 7.8 will do fine. IMHO. :)
Well there is a true car story just like that.
Here in Sweden Peugeot started selling the model 207 as a follow up to the very popular 206 model. Problem was that the 207 model was a little bigger and cost more.
The demand for the old model was so big that Peugeot was forced to bring the old model back, or they would lose market share. So they brought 206 back to the Swedish market, upgraded the exterior with some facelifting and called it 206plus. This model did sell alongside the newer 207 model for a couple of years. a lot of people who wanted a cheaper car bought the 206plus model
And nowhere in the press or news was there talk about fraud.
So I think you are not in the majority regarding your feelings about releasing an older model for a cheaper price.
Clearly you can look it up but comprehension is lacking.

It is not illegal unless they indicate that the phone features Windows Phone 8. As long as it is indicated that it is Windows Phone 7.8, there is no fraud occurring here.

And if Honda still sold that Civic as a 2010 model that would not be illegal either.

You can certainly be upset or judge it improper that MS is still selling WP7.x. That is OPINION. But you need to be careful throwing around legal terms that you have very little understanding of. It is not factual to say that they are defrauding customers.
I live in Mexico, and it is very dissapointing that neither Nokia or Microsoft refuse to acknowledge officially the existence of Windows Phone 8. When asked on their social network channels for a timeframe they will only respond "soon", or "first quarter 2013" at best, but even the network carriers refuse to give any info on Windows Phone 8. While they continue to aggresively push the old phones like the Lumia 610, Lumia 900, and these "new" phones that are just coming out.
Also, I'm willing to bet these "budget" phones will receive a price tag of around $3,500 pesos. (aprox. $260 USD). You tell me if that's not deceptive.
That would be true if they were promoting this phone as their new "flagship" or second in line but it is hardly true when they are trying to keep the price low and sell it to a consumer who really doesn't need all the features provided by WP8. This is still a great phone and a closer look at the competition (small screen ugly Androids running 2.3) will tell you so. This is really meant to be a step up from a feature phone, not a flagship and they've made this phone quite appealing from that point of view (except the 4GB storage, which is abysmal).
Is that curved glass I see?
Badass lookin phone
For being a budget phone or any kind of phone for that matter I really like the looks!
I was thinking the same thing.. This phone looks really nice. Would sell pretty well for a budget buyer
Looks better than all other Lumia's other than the 800, 900 and 920.
+1
Nokia needs to release a higher end version of this. the 800 was a good size.
Nokia knows how to make attractive budget devices! Wow! Its similar to the Lumia 800. Also I am loving these device variants of WP. If all the device variants look better then the actual one then I wonder how a Lumia 910 would look? (If there will be one)
Nokia one company alone put out all this phone with so many varieties which put the same amount of Android phone. Nokia is out there to make a killing against Android in numbers alone.
The 8mp camera seems out of place on this device. 5mp seems more appropriate
Oh no! The windows phones with EDOF cameras are here!!!
It does feature a ClearBlack display, according to Nokia's specifications page:
http://www.nokia.com/mx-es/productos/celulares/lumia505/caracteristicas/
this is why iOS is doomed. Android and WP will grab emerging markets with low budget phones and as those customers mature, they'll stick with them. Hopefully Google keeps making Android power & CPU hungry so budget models can't be made....
This is design Samsung. Yes, even for low budget phones. Hats off to Nokia.
Damnnmn
8mp camera seems out f proportion for the inbuilt 4GB ..2.8GB wil b the avlbl free memory in this.even the avg. user uses more than 3GB for storing musics and pictures in a touch screen phn.Most f the avg. cares only abt the superficial things like the mp f camera,storage etc ....in W7 there is no way to add a sd card ..considering all these things for a budget phn ..it should have been a 3mp or 5mp camera with 8GB storage[so that the usable memory wil b more than 5GB] default for all w7.8 phns
cool design ,....nokia wy u didnt made this design for Lumia620 :(
love the design of Lumia800
Why do Nokia insist on putting touch-sensitive buttons right beneath the touch-sensitive screens?? Awful design, beautiful phone by all accounts, but fundamentally flawwed by the fact every other time you touch the bottom of the screen you will end up pressing the back, home or bing buttons...
i had no problem with my lumia 800.and the design is really nice with more bezell at the bottom
My only thought is why do they need so many low end options? All of this variety isn't helping their bottom line.
That is one sexy phone.
So, five songs and five apps should fill up the memory?lol
Hey look, it's got Whatsapp installed (hint, hint)
Has anybody looked at the old out of date wins phone sprint is selling it not even wp7 it more like 6.5 and they want $549. Fot that phone.
I'm not trying to insult anyone but when you comment make sure you take 2 or 3 minutes to think it through because you just come here and show how ignorant you are. Some of these things are common sense.
1. Bringing as many phones as they can to every segments of the market has always been Nokia's strategy. Check their history and you'll see. It's more than obvious.
2. This phone is great for the low end of the market. I live in Africa and here there are a lot of people who cannot afford the 920 or even the 800. This will be great for them.
3. They know Nokia. They know that Nokia offers reliable phones. They don't care about the OS. In fact some don't even know that phones have OSs. When they buy the phone they ask if the phone does this and that. If it meets their requirements, they buy. They work very hard to get the little bit of money they have. So they make sure that every single penny is well spent.
4. The specs are more than enough... Trust me, I know a lot of people with phones that do not even have ram... Bottom line? Everyone does not have the same needs/wants as you. It's as simple as that. Don't be selfish and complain all the time. I know most of you live in countries where this phone would be close to useless but I also know that you are smart enough to know that the world is much more than the US, UK, GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN and AUSTRALIA... Well at least Nokia is...
➕1
Great comment, I am new to Nokia but it looks they are covering all the markets, budget to power user, similar to Android, and I agree not everyone has the same needs, so more variety is better, plus unlike budget Android phones the phone looks good
Best comment here
That looks soooo good
It could use Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft will most likely slowly start abandoning WP9 OS anyway... =)
Ya know, I wish my 920 had a screen that looked that tight to the polycarbonate body.:-( Hey I love my phone but what's with the gaps?
My only problem with this phone is that I fear that too many models could reduce each run to where it is not economical. For the rest I find this phone to be a nice budget phone!
Let me re-phrase this. Under my watch, a lot of Nokia Lumia models would not exist because I want volume. But that is just me... I think that any new budget Lumia from Nokia must have interchangeable cases, producing cases in different clors is not expensive.
I understand that it is a budget phone, but what the heck do they expect you to do with only 1-2gb of actual space to use?. I guess all the music on the phone would have be through Xbox music subscription service.
Isn't SkyDrive available or box, or are those wp8 only?
Guys wp7.8 update is now available in india http://wp.me/p2qtUO-1Q
Great looking device. It's easy to forget that others use these devices very differently from the way we do. This phone would make MOST people very happy at a great price.
BUT HOW DO I MAKE PHONE CALLS?!?!

Show more comments

Windows Central Newsletter