Nokia to launch cheaper model of Windows-based Lumia smartphone

Nokia is launching a cheaper model in its Lumia smartphone range, powered by Microsoft's Windows phone software, as it tries to regain dominance in emerging markets like China.

The Finnish cellphone maker, which until recently was the world's largest maker of phones, says the new Lumia 520 will start at €139, or about US$183, before phone-company subsidies. By contrast, Apple's two-year-old iPhone 4 costs $450 before subsidies.

Nokia says it will start selling the phone soon in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. It also says T-Mobile USA will sell it, but did not say when.

At an event in Barcelona on Monday, the Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop said the company believes the phone "delivers the best performance of any smartphone at this price point."

* AP