Will you be Tango'd in 2012?

New screenshots showing a future version of the Windows Phone operating system have been leaked and been posted on a Russian website.

Windows Phone 7.x Tango is rumoured to be the next version of the operating system and is to be rolled out for low cost devices. The trend this year seems to be for manufacturers to release a wide range of devices for every price point. For budget devices and those at the entry level, they don't have the same kind of powerful processor that flagship devices have, so they might struggle running all the same features of the operating system. Microsoft's strategy with Tango is to run on devices with slower hardware. It is said to be a stripped back version of WP 7.5 Mango.

The forum the screenshots have appeared on show there will be revised hardware standards. It shows the OS is designed for handsets with 256 MB of RAM which is half the minimum for Mango. Tango will support 120 languages, suggesting the update is designed to grow the WP market across the world. It is likely that Tango will not have the same features of Mango, or example the Live Tiles will not work on Tango devices. However it looks as though Tango will have features that Mango does not have. There is a shot of a roaming option for domestic and international.

The new version of WP will be ideal or Nokia, in particular, who are said to be announcing a budget-friendly handset at Barcelona's World Mobile Congress later this month. Leaked reports suggest Nokia will be releasing a Lumia 610. This would be an entry level device for the Lumia range which also includes the 710, 800 and the newly announced 900. Nokia announced a partnership with Microsoft last year and the Lumia range are the first Nokia smartphones to run that operating system, sitting alongside Nokia's own OS powered Symbian devices.

The 900, which was originally a US exclusive but is now expected to have a global roll-out later this year, is the top-end flagship device. The Lumia range then works down to the 610, which it is expected will be the cheapest and least powerful of the range, but will be more affordable to those who want smartphones without a hefty price-tag.

The partnership between Nokia and Microsoft is important for both brands. Both want to make more of a dent in the smartphone market. Nokia brings iconic and solid design while WP has been praised as a solid operating system. Sales may have dipped for Nokia at the end of 2011 but since the Lumia 800 was launched in the final quarter, a rash of new handsets, it is hoped will boost its profile and availability.

Having an operating system that works especially for those entry-level devices will only make them more attractive to consumers. Better that than having an OS that doesn't work properly or is too slow. Just because a device is not a top-end flagship smartphone there is no reason that it should not operate smoothly and effectively.

No news on when Tango will be rolled out but if Nokia does announce the Lumia 610 at Mobile World Congress it is likely that launch dates for both will coincide.