Nokia Lumia 710 for T-Mobile hands-on photos and impressions

T-Mobile couldn’t keep the Nokia Lumia 710 under wraps, but it doesn’t have to any longer: today, the carrier announces that Nokia’s first Windows Phone for the United States will arrive on January 11th for $49.99 on contract and after a mail-in rebate. It’s no Lumia 800, but does seem like a fair price for what you’re getting: a 3.7-inch display, a speedy 1.4GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage in a comfortable-to-hold frame with grippy matte surfaces. As leaked earlier today, the phone will come in both black and white (both have black rear covers) with Netflix, T-Mobile TV, Slacker Radio, ESPN and TeleNav GPS pre-installed, and like its European counterparts, you’re also getting Nokia Drive’s maps and turn-by-turn directions and Nokia’s Concierge helpdesk free of charge. Where’s Nokia Music? The company says the service isn’t activated in the US yet, but is hoping to have it ready for launch. What you won’t get with the 710, unfortunately, is any kind of 4G. T-Mobile briefly called it “Nokia’s first 4G phone” in our interview, but clarified that the radio only technically supports 14.4Mbps HSDPA download speeds.

Honestly, we’re slightly disappointed the Lumia 800 doesn’t seem to be showing up on T-Mobile, but the carrier insists that it’s “positioning Windows Phone against first-time smartphone buyers,” and if that describes you, the Lumia 710 might make sense. It really does feel pretty good in the hand. Like most all Windows Phones, it’s speedy to navigate the UI, and the screen looks great. We’re still not fans of the mushy, difficult to press buttons, but it’s a pretty solid package, and not bad looking either. Take a peek at our hands-on pictures below to see how it looks close up.