From the WMPU post:
We are all pretty used to paying rather too much for last year’s specs with Nokia. A new bevy of Windows Phone OEMs are about to turn the tables however and deliver well specced handsets at ridiculously low prices.
Prestigio Multiphone 8500 DUO Dual-SIM WP8.1 smartphone is now available and offers a 5 inch 720P IPS screen with Gorilla Glass, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal storage, 2 megapixel front and 8 megapixel rear camera (no LTE) in an 8.5 mm body for only 154 Euro ($200, £120).
Except for the Snapdragon 200 processor, the device has the slightly more expensive Nokia Lumia 630 beat on all fronts, and I think marks the day we see a clear separation between Nokia and Windows Phone.
The handset is now available to order from Prestigio’s (Poland) website here. Do our readers think there is still any point in paying a premium for Nokia’s much more poorly specified devices? Let us know below.
The point is well made about there now being a new area of the Windows Phone platform opening up, mirroring the waves of cheap devices in the Android market. In this case quite separate and, ostensibly, offering better value than first party (i.e. Microsoft) devices. Prestigio is in fact headquartered in Cyprus, adding a European twist to the device and sales operation.
There's an official (English) product page for the 8500 now here, with Prestigio retailers and distributors throughout Europe, listed here, though of course not all of these will carry every device/phone.
