How the Lumia 710 Will Save Nokia... (NOK)

Okay, maybe not save save, but at least start the process of saving.

Starting January 11th, T-Mobile will begin carrying Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) newest offering, the Lumia 710 handset.

CNET did a review of the device, which runs Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows Mango 7.5 operating system and has a 1.7-gighertz single-core processor. Before continuing, this is not an ad for Nokia, Microsoft or T-Mobile, and is not promoting any of their products.

Continuing...

Although the phone was reviewed before, there are a couple of key points from the CNET review:

• It runs smoothly. Testers agreed most animations were smooth, and the layout was user friendly. No one tried running more strenuous tasks like mail or streaming audio, though it should be able to handle most of that. Whether it can multitask is still up for grabs.
  
  
• It runs on T-Mobile's 4G network, something Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone has yet to do (notably, AT&T advertises the iPhone 4S as 4G, but that's neither here nor there). Though, if the iPhone was choppy at streaming, then it probably wouldn't sell as many units as it does.
  
  
• Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) is pre-loaded on the device.
  
  
• It does 720p HD video, and has a 5-megapixel camera.

But the best part is all this comes to customers at $49.99 w/ a 2-year contract. The most similar competitor in the field is Samsung's Focus which runs Windows Phone as well. Other carriers also offer 4G phones at $49.99, but none with Windows, and certainly not one from Nokia.

Nokia said it's aiming at the some 150 million Americans who don't currently utilize a smartphone, either for cost or practicality.

Heavy subsidies on many devices coming out of Taiwan and South Korea (HTC, Samsung) as well as for Apple's iPhone clip into margins, and it's not clear how much T-Mobile is putting up for the Lumia 710. Quickly browsing through T-Mobile's monthly plans reveals pricing is right in-line with Sprint (NYSE: S), AT&T (NYSE: T), and Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ).

With an updated Lumia, the 800, expected sometime in 2012, Nokia is setting itself up for a one-two punch if all goes to plan. What's better, if T-Mobile gets acquired by AT&T, then Nokia's customer base automatically grows, and sales should follow.

For now, investors will have to wait until the second quarter of 2012 to find out the results.

Nokia shares are 1.3 percent better on the session.

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