Microsoft lower the Windows Phone hardware requirements

The good news is that less hardware means cheaper devices and with Nokia aiming at entry level and mid-range devices for Mango this will make for cheaper handsets. Microsoft no longer requires the device to have a camera, compass, gyro, or front facing camera. That lack of a gyro might make gamers unhappy since it could affect motion sensing accuracy.

Standard hardware includes hardware controls for start, search, and back. The display needs to be a WVGA 800 x 480 unit and the screen must be a capacitive 4-point multi-touch. Mango devices must also support data via WiFi and cellular networks. Minimum RAM needs to be 256MB and storage has to be at least 8GB or more of flash. The smartphones must also have an accelerometer and A-GPS.