Nokia today announced the next stage in its plans to introduce unique Lumia experiences to more people around the world, with the new Nokia Lumia 610, Nokia's fourth and cheaper Lumia smartphone.

With a distinctive profile and beveled metallic edges, the Nokia Lumia 610 comes in white, cyan, magenta and black, is priced at EUR 189 and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 610 was made possible thanks to a new software release from Microsoft delivering enhanced capabilities to the Windows Phone 7.5 platform. The software release, available from April, optimizes Windows Phone to support lower memory and processor requirements, while still delivering the same experience for more affordable products.

In addition, Windows Phone will now include the network and language requirements for China. As a result, Nokia announced plans to make a range of Lumia smartphones available in China, covering both CDMA and WCDMA technologies, in the coming months.

In addition to this announcement, the company is also expanding the availability of its Nokia Lumia 900 handset. The company is making the Nokia Lumia 900 available around the world in a DC-HSPA variant, for high speed data connection (42Mbits download) in countries where LTE is not available. The Nokia Lumia 900 features a 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display for a superior touch and viewing experience. It also features Nokia's highest capacity battery making it the perfect Lumia phone for enjoying media and entertainment on the move.

The primary camera on the Nokia Lumia 900 has exclusive Carl Zeiss optics, a large aperture for improved performance in low light conditions and wide angle focal length for capturing full 16:9 images. It is also the first Lumia phone to feature a front-facing camera, with large aperture and wide-angle lens for sharp, bright images and video calling out of the box.

The Nokia Lumia 900 will be available in white, cyan and black, is priced at EUR 480 and also expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.