New Windows-based smartphones in the mid- and lower-range price segments were launched by Finnish handset maker Nokia on Monday; with an evident attempt to give its sales a boost, even though most of its rivals are rolling out high-end devices.

In its announcement of the new handsets, Nokia said that it will make two new smartphones - the Lumia 720 and the Lumia 520; both running the most recent update of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS - available for sale this quarter.

According to the details shared by Nokia, the €249-priced new Lumia 720 will be a mid-range handset which will be notably sleeker than the currently-available Nokia Lumia handsets.  The phone will boast a 6.7-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens; and, as per Nokia, will chiefly target the young users.

The other new handset, the Lumia 520, will be the most affordable Windows smartphone thus far; with a retail price-tag of €139, excluding carrier subsidies and taxes.

Since neither the Lumia 720 nor the Lumia 520 will be an LTE capable handset, they will not function with the latest and speediest fourth-generation (4G) mobile data networks.

Both the new Nokia handsets will first hit the Asian markets - including Vietnam and Hong Kong - this quarter; with their availability to later be extended to other international markets in the second quarter.