The traps are open and Nokia's first attempt to woo the US market in years is underway, though it's the lower-end Lumia 710 rather than the recently unveiled Lumia 900 that's leading the charge.

Early reports suggest Nokia isn't holding back, either.

According to VentureBeat, the Lumia 710 is already being sold for free on contract in the country's biggest retailer, Walmart, in a bid to kick-start sales.

All eyes on Android

This is no desperate, unscheduled effort to garner interest, however. Rather, the move is being pitched as a sign of the lengths Nokia is prepared to go to in order to make an impact.

By nullifying all upfront costs for contract customers, the Lumia 710 is now in direct competition with budget Android handsets – a contest both Nokia and Microsoft will be confident it can win in the long term.

The handset's bigger brother – the Lumia 900 – is expected to be backed up b a $200 million strong marketing campaign when it launches in the coming months, courtesy of a combined push by Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T.

The Lumia 710 launched in the US on 11 January, with its UK debut due on 1 February.



[source: VentureBeat]