In order to bring the smartphone on the market at such a low price, Nokia had to cut some of the phone’s specs. However, customers who purchased the Lumia 610 have been unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the smartphone cannot run all applications.
For example, Nokia Lumia 610 users have been reportedly unable to run Skype, Angry Birds, PES 2012, as well as Tango Video calling.
Lumia 610 users who tried to install one of these popular applications through Windows Marketplace have been met with an error message and a RAM warning.
The main reason why none of these apps can be installed on the smartphone is the fact that Lumia 610 comes with only 256MB of RAM.
Even Nokia and Microsoft needed to tweak Windows Phone platform in order to make it run smoothly on devices with 256MB of RAM.
However, the company did not think that some of the most popular applications would not work as they haven’t been optimized to run on smartphones with a low amount of RAM.
Luckily, at least one Windows Phone developer has been confirmed to work on an optimized version of its application, so Lumia 610 will be able to install it in the following weeks.
According to Nokia Conversations editor, Heidi Lemmetyinen, Rovio’s team is currently working to bring an optimized version of “Angry Birds” on Lumia 610.
Unfortunately, the Nokia could not offer an availability timeframe for the game, but promised it would get back with new details as soon as possible.
Although there are no mentions of the rest of the applications that cannot be installed on the Lumia 610 for the moment, there’s a chance that some of these will be optimized in the future. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.
Nokia Lumia 610 can't install Angry Birds, Skype and more - Crave
Nokia and Microsoft have run into problems with the new Nokia Lumia 610. While trying to avoid the fragmentation issues faced by Android, Windows Phone has properly shot itself in the foot -- with a catapult and an Angry Bird.
The budget Lumia 610 is the first phone powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone software to arrive with just 256MB of RAM -- and it turns out many Windows Phone apps just won't work on the phone. That includes Angry Birds, the smash-hit game from Nokia's fellow Finns Rovio, and, even worse, Skype -- which is owned by Microsoft. As snafus go, this one is pretty delicious.
Other games that won't install on the Lumia 610 include PES 2012, Plants vs Zombies and Assassin's Creed, offering an error message when you try to download them.
So how did this happen? Originally, Microsoft set exacting standards for the hardware of any phone that wanted to run Windows Phone software, to ensure a high-quality experience. That avoided the fragmentation issues faced by Android -- because Google's software is entirely open, Android phones come in all shapes and sizes, and so apps have to be tested across a bewildering range of screen sizes, processor speeds and even different versions of Android itself.
But as Windows Phone makes up just a fraction of smart phone sales, Microsoft lowered the minimum standards for phones powered by Windows Phone, to allow for cheaper mobiles to entice new customers. Sadly, it appears that in the process Microsoft has walked right into the exact same problem as Android -- and with only a handful of devices on the market rather than thousands.
Still, it's likely to be a temporary problem. Fans of flinging fowl will be glad to hear a version of Angry Birds is on its way for the 610 and other Windows Phones with low memory. Apps continue to work fine on the higher-end likes of the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 900.
Are you tempted by Windows Phone at a lower price? How much of a cock-up is this for Windows Phone? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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