Nokia has announced the Lumia 620, the third and most affordable in its range of Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Alongside the flagship Nokia Lumia 920 and mid-range Nokia Lumia 820, the Nokia Lumia 620 features a compact and "youthful" design as well as a 3.8-inch 480x800 display.

According to Nokia, the Lumia 620 uses a new dual-shot colour technique to deliver a variety of striking color and texture effects.

The phone features a new dual-shot style, allowing users to add a second layer of coloured, transparent or translucent polycarbonate on the base phone cover.

"We continue to execute on our strategy to reach new audiences and new markets," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president, Nokia Smart Devices.

"With its innovative design, the latest Windows Phone 8 software and signature experiences from Nokia, like Nokia Lenses, Nokia Maps and Nokia Music, the Nokia Lumia 620 is a highly competitive smartphone at this price point."

Among the features shared with the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 are camera lenses, such as the Cinemgraph animation tool and Smart Shoot for group photos.

The Lumia 620 is equipped with a five megapixel main camera and VGA front-facing camera.

With NFC support, the Nokia Lumia 620 can pair with NFC-enabled accessories like the JBL PlayUp Portable Speaker for Nokia. Open and secure NFC-connectivity makes it possible to share and receive content by tapping with compatible devices, or make secure payments using the Wallet application in Windows Phone 8.

The Lumia 620 is powered by Windows Phone 8, which features resizeable Live Tiles, deep social integration, Microsoft Office and Xbox Live.

Windows Phone 8 also includes 7GBs of online SkyDrive storage, with the Lumia 620 featuring 8GBs of internal storage to boot.

Much like the Lumia 820, the 620 features support for microSD cards, with up to 64GBs supported.

The Lumia 620 is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor and 512MBs of RAM.

The Nokia Lumia 620 will be available in a range of colours and has an estimated retail price of $249, excluding taxes and subsidies.

Nokia South Africa's Leo McKay confirmed that the device will be available locally, with timing, networks and pricing yet to be announced.