Rumours of a new, low-end Nokia handset have emerged, suggesting that the Finnish manufacturer is lining-up a device which could be aimed at emerging markets.

Mobile site GSMArena published an image of what it claims is the Lumia 510, a handset that judging by the model number, will be positioned below the Lumia 610 in Nokia’s range of Windows Phone devices.

The handset’s specs are purported to include a 4-inch display, 4GB of internal storage and just 256MB of RAM. Many previous Windows Phone devices have featured 512MB of RAM, with only the Lumia 610 featuring 256MB.

Microsoft’s 7.5 Tango upgrade to its mobile platform was said to be aimed at configuring the software for low-end devices, reducing the amount of internal storage that is required to support the platform. Cheaper handsets could be very attractive to consumers in developing markets where high-end smartphones can be prohibitively expensive.

GSMArena suggests that the Lumia 510 could be aimed at the Chinese market, possibly seeing a release there in the lead up to Christmas before rolling-out across the world early next year.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is rumoured to be releasing the latest iteration of its mobile platform, Windows Phone 8, in early November, with both Nokia and HTC having already unveiled handsets that will run the new platform.