Microsoft Lumia 650 available to pre-order before its official announcement

Expected to be officially announced in early February, the Microsoft Lumia 650 can already be pre-ordered via UK-based online retailer MobileFun. The retailer revealed a new render of the handset, as well as a list of specs, apparently confirming the fact that this is a rather modest device.

As previously reported, Microsoft is seemingly planning to sell the Lumia 650 as an affordable business phone. The handset will run Windows 10 out of the box, thus coming with software like Microsoft Office, OneDrive, Cortana, and Microsoft Edge (which replaces Internet Explorer).

The Lumia 650 will be powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor clocked at 1.1 GHz, helped by 1 GB of RAM. This means that the handset won't be great at running intensive tasks. The screen of the 650 should be a 5-inch one with 720 x 1280 pixels - far from being ultra sharp, but still OK for an inexpensive smartphone. Other features will include LTE connectivity, a 5 MP front-facing camera, 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, and a 2000 mAh battery.

According to the specs listed by MobileFun, the Lumia 650 only offers 8 GB of internal memory. However, German website WinFuture has it that the handset may come with 16 GB of storage space (plus microSD card support)

MobileFun asks €262.99 ($284) for the Lumia 650, but that's unlikely to be the phone's price at launch. Not long ago, we heard that the device would cost around $230 in Germany, and we're actually expecting it to be even cheaper when (and if) it's released in the US. Let us know if you think you'll want to buy this Windows 10 handset.


sources: MobileFun, WinFuture (translated)