Along with the low end Nokia 301 and the even more low-end Nokia 105, Nokia had yesterday announced the launch of two more devices. These happen to be the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 720. As evident from their names, there are not successors to the flagship – Lumia 920 – but mid range, affordable handsets that will let Nokia broaden its base of Windows Phone based offerings. These handsets Nokia assumes will help them continue the slight momentum it has received owing to the positive reviews that have welcomed both its initial Windows Phone based devices – the Lumia 920, 820 and the 620.

Lets take a quick look at what these handsets have to offer you. A the norm is, we start with the higher spec’d Lumia 720

The 720 at times doesn’t make sense. Its specifications are virtually identical to that of the Lumia 820 – but there a few tradeoffs. Anyway, unless there is a big price difference between the two, I would suggest going for the 820. Anyway, here are the specs:

Networks: GSM/EDGE: 850 (5)/900 (8)/1800 (3)/1900 (2) MHz

WCDMA: 850 (5)/900 (8)/1900 (2)/2100 (1) MHz

HSPA+: 21 Mbps, (Cat 14)

OS:  Windows Phone 8, GDR1

CPU: MSM8227, 1.0 GHz

RAM: 512 MB

Storage: 8 GB + microSD Card Slot

Display: 4.3” ClearBlack WVGA LCD, 2.25 D Glass, Super Sensitive Touch

Camera:

Back: 6.7 MPIX, BSI, Auto-Focus, Carl Zeiss, LED flash, HD 720p @ at 30 fps

Front: Skype HD wide angle (1.3Mpix)

Connectivity: NFC, A-GPS+GLONASS, WLAN (2.4/5Ghz) a/b/g/n, µUSB, BT 3.0, 3D Accelerometer, Proximity, Magnetometer, Automatic Light Sensor. (No Gyroscope).

Battery: 2000 mAh battery + Wireless Charging Cover Accessory; standby 520hrs, talk time 13.5hrs

Audio: 2 HAAC (high-amplitude audio capture) mics, HD Voice (wideband audio, noise cancellation)

Size: 127.9 x 67.5 x 9mm

Weight: 128g

Next up, we have the Lumia 520. This one is Nokia’s cheapest and most affordable Windows Phone 8 based offering and offers a decent spec sheet at an entry level price. Let’s now see what this one’s got.

Operating System: Windows Phone 8

Networks: WCDMA 900/2100, 850/1900/2100, GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

Speed: 3G HSPA+ (21Mbps)

Memory: 512 MB RAM, 8 GB mass memory, support for microSD cards up to 64GB, 7GB free SkyDrive storage

Display: 4” IPS LCD WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) 16M colors, 2D hardened glass, super sensitive touch for fingernail and glove use

Processor: 1 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon™

Camera: 5Mpix autofocus, video recording HD 720p 30fps

Size: 119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm* (*volume thickness)

Weight: 124g

Connectivity: WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, Integrated A-GPS, 3.5 mm audio connector, Micro USB with charging, USB 2.0 High Speed

Battery: 1430mAh

Audio: single digital microphone, 3.5mm AV connector, MP3 player

Colours: Yellow, red, cyan, white and black

Talk time: up to 9.6 hours (on 3G)

Standby time: up to 360 hours

Nokia has said that both these devices would be made available starting March 2013. The Lumia 720 is expected to be priced at around the 250 Euro mark while the Lumia 720 would be a lot cheaper at 139 Euros. The Lumia 720 would also be going on sale in China in a TD-SCDMA avatar – the 3G standard used in that country.