All Things D writer Walt Mossberg is a journalist that has earned his tag of "influencer", and he's posted his review of the Lumia 710. While acknowledging there are some corners cut to bring the price of the Nokia handset down to reach the $50 on T-Mobile USA, he likes the package and "it’s a decent phone that gets the most common smartphone tasks done."

I was able to use all the main features of Mango, which distinguishes itself from its competitors with a user interface made up of bright tiles that can show live data, like the weather or favorite photos, even before you tap them to open apps. Mango’s “hubs”—features that aggregate information such as your friends’ contact info and social-networking status—also worked fine.

I was able to sync the phone with both a Windows PC and a Mac, using Microsoft software, to add music, photos and videos.

And he draws attention to a rare selling point of the 710, its removable battery!

The Lumia 710 is going to have to carry the Windows Phone flag for Nokia for a month or two until it gets some support from the Lumia 900, but it's already drawing critical acclaim (ie The Boston Globe's "[the 710 is an] entry level smartphonne, with sleek looks and snappy performance"), both from Mossberg in this review and around the US media. As Nokia returns to the market, and Microsoft move down the price points into the budget priced handsets, the emphasis on the power Windows Phone delivers, even without the bleeding edge technology from devices like the HTC Titan II, is going to be a key selling point to the consumer.