Nokia reveals Lumia 510, a basic smartphone

The latest entry in Nokia’s brand-redifining Lumia brand has been introduced.

The Lumia 510 packs in a Snapdragon S1 processor, a meager 256 MB of RAM, and 4 GB of memory. It does not have microSD card access but it does offer 7 GB of free cloud storage with SkyDrive.

The 4-inch display has an 800×480 resolution, and there is a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. The highlight is all of the proprietary Lumia apps like Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, and Nokia Transport. It also has Microsoft Office integration and Internet Explorer 9.

“People who use Windows Phone quickly realize how much more intuitive it is than other smartphone platforms. With the Nokia Lumia 510 we’re looking forward to welcoming more people into the Windows Phone experience,” Nokia said in a statement.

Nokia has become almost synonymous with Microsoft’s mobile platform these days, and it of course is the first to show off a Windows Phone 8 device.

Of course, being the top Windows Phone manufacturer is kind of like being the best player in Little League – you’ll still have a tough time competing in the MLB. In other words, Android and iOS are still dominating the market, and Nokia has a long way to go if it wants to legitimately compete in that field.

So far, Nokia has made quite an impression, and there is the possibility that it could almost single-handedly help bring Windows Phone within striking distance of the two larger smartphone OS players. It will need to continue innovating if it wants that to happen.

Curiously, the Lumia 510 phone is slated to be priced at $199, the same as many high-end Android smartphones as well as the iPhone. Its launching pad will be in Asia, however, so perhaps the price will change when it makes its way to the US.