Budget Windows Phone Tango coming soon, real soon!

The Gadget Show  Monday 20 February 2012

Windows Phone Tango is the name of the next OS update and brings with it some moved needed love-in for feature freaks but also developers a budget-friendly version of Microsoft’s operating system tailored for soon-to-be-released cheaper Windows Phone handsets to go head-to-head against budget Android handsets. Read on to find out when

We’ve been waiting for a release date of Windows Phone Tango and we may now have one. If reports coming from China are to be believed, we may well see the first Windows Tango handsets in March.

Windows Phone 7 Tango isn’t quite the next generation of Windows Phone, we’ll need to wait for Apollo to land later this year, but rather an alternative version that we will soon see on more cost-friendly handsets – not the version we’ve seen on high-end phones such as the Nokia Lumia 800.

Nokia Lumia 610 budget Windows Phone set for MWC 2012

Windows Phone 7 Tango will launch on devices with lower specs. These devices have so far remained elusive, although there have been rumours that a Nokia Lumia 610 will be one of the first Windows 7 Tango phones to arrive. The Nokia Lumia 610, it is believed will be very similar in feel to the Nokia Lumia 800, with a few stripped down features, such as a lesser-specced camera.

The Chinese website WPDang believes that Microsoft China will launch Windows Phone 7 Tango sometime in March, following Mobile World Congress 2012, where will also see other Windows Phone devices from HTC and LG. We’re expecting the LG Miracle – one of LG’s latest Windows Phone devices to be one of those.

Despite being tipped for budget smartphones, Windows Tango will keep the modern looks and swipe navigation of the current Windows Phone interface, and even add new features such as the ability to add multiple attachments to MMS picture messages, including voice notes.

If reports are anything to go by, we should see the first wave of these devices by the end of the month, and hitting the stores not too long after March. Keep an eye out for more news when we hear it.

Budget Windows Phone platform Tango screenshots leaked