The Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710 are the two entry-level smart phones in the Windows Phone range and share a lot in common but there are quite restrained but fundamental differences.

Cost effective Windows phones

The Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710 are amongst the most cost-effective and appealing Windows Phone devices on the market.

Lumia vs lumia, Nokia Lumia 610 or Nokia Lumia 710

The entry-level market is one of the toughest to crack, as there are so many players but on sheer build quality and features, both these phones stand head and shoulders above the average budget smart phone.

Construction

On the surface of things, the Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710 have a similar look and feel. They both have back covers, so you can slip the micro SIM in; add the battery and you are away. However, the construction is quite different.

The Nokia Lumia 610 has a slip on shoe effect, with the plastic cover sitting over the front lid of the body. Meanwhile, the Nokia Lumia 710 has a far simpler back cover that sits on the sides, while the metal body of the bezel covers the top and bottom of the phone. However, the Lumia 710 shows the edge here by having a Gorilla Glass construction, making it tougher and more durable as well as a Nokia Clear Black coating so it is easier to read the screen in direct sunlight.

You might impressed with the look and feel of the Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710, as both are certainly a lot better looking and durable than rival budget phones out there.

Buttons layout

The Nokia Lumia 710 has physical function keys on the front of the device, great for those who like buttons, while the Nokia Lumia 610 has virtual touch screen keys. Button layout also differs, with the Lumia 610 having all hardware keys on the side of the phone, like the Nokia Lumia 800, while the Lumia 710 has the Screen lock button on the top of the phone.

The Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710 are budget smart phones so one area in which costs are kept down is by offering a standard capacitive touch screen. You will find that both panels are bright and highly tactile, so you won’t find any slowdown in performance. The Nokia Lumia 610 cannot live up to this but the 3.7-inch screen does have one thing in its favor, it delivers the same 800 x 480-pixel resolution as its slightly more expensive brother, so you’ll find web pages, games and even just reading emails and texts a pleasure.

Whether you choose the Nokia Lumia 610 or Nokia Lumia 710, you will find the latest version of Windows Phone running away under the hood. It is fast, nimble and incredibly easy to use. However, how your chosen smart phone accesses this OS depends on the processor and RAM on offer.

Bona fide difference

This is perhaps where the real difference between the Nokia Lumia 610 and Nokia Lumia 710 comes into play. You see, in order to hit that cheaper smart phone price point the Nokia Lumia 610 comes with a slower processor, 800MHz compared to the 1.4GHz CPU of the Nokia Lumia 710.

However, the big difference is in the amount of RAM that is on offer, as you will find half, just 256MB, on the Lumia 610, which means some apps and games would not currently run. We have been assured that developers are working on reducing the overheads on their apps so in the long term this would not be an issue but for now, those who need power apps may well find the Nokia Lumia 710 is the way to go.

Price

With prices on the Nokia Lumia 610 starting at just £10.50 a month, with the handset free, from the Car phone Warehouse you’ll find this a fantastic bargain smart phone.

The Nokia Lumia 710 has been on sale a little while longer so you will be able to find some amazing bargains on offer. For example, Orange is offering this handset for just £7 a month, with a one-off purchase of £100 for the handset itself. If you are looking for a free handset then you will need to pay £15.50 with a choice of Orange, T-Mobile and O2 all offering the phone at this price.