Nokia Lumia 601 rumours and pictures squeak forth

The Lumia 800 is out, the Lumia 710 is coming early next year -- and the Lumia 601 could be Nokia's third Windows Phone handset, according to the online rumour mill.

Pocketnow has got its mitts on some pictures of a new Nokia Windows Phone (via what it describes as "a pretty reliable source"), supposedly called the Lumia 601. The phone appears to be the same as one glimpsed in a Nokia video for developers released last week, which lends it some credence. We tried to get a look at the video clip to compare, but it's since been made private.

Pocketnow notes that the image of the phone does seem a little 'off' -- a bit different from the usual product renders released by Nokia, and quite possibly an amateur Photoshop job -- but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a fugazi.

If it's the real deal then it would seem to be a lower spec smart phone than the Lumia 800 and 710 -- although the 8-megapixel camera depicted in the shot is theoretically 'better' than the 710's 5-megapixel snapper. The camera module here looks very similar to the full focus one on the Nokia C7, which could point to Nokia re-using parts from older Symbian-based phones. Or it could just mean that whichever Photoshop jockey knocked this up snipped and pasted the C7's camera module.

If the Lumia 601 is the real deal, we'll likely hear more about it at CES in January, when Nokia will announce its first batch US-bound Windows Phones. The Lumia 601, perhaps, may be among them.

Do you like the idea of a budget (or at least non-high end) Nokia Windows Phone? Is this just a lame Photoshop job by a basement-dwelling attention seeker? Articulate your thoughts in the comment box below.