While Microsoft has just started shipping its first Lumia smartphones with Windows 10 Mobile out of the box, Japan's Freetel looks like it will be the first third-party phone maker to release its own device with the new OS. The company has revealed that the previously announced Katana 01 smartphone will officially launch in Japan on Monday, November 30.
Freetel first revealed its plans to launch a Windows Phone-based smartphone way back in February, and the Katana 01 was announced in June. When the phone does go on sale next week, it will be the first major launch of any smartphone using Microsoft's mobile OS since 2012.
The Freetel Katana 01 is a budget phone, with a 4.5-inch display, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage, with a microSD card slot for adding up to 32GB of extra storage. It also has a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. It is a dual SIM phone with a 1750mAh replaceable battery. The Katana 01 will have a price of JPY 12,800, or about $104.
In addition to the Katana 01, Freetel also plans to launch the mid-range Katana 02 with Windows 10 Mobile but there's no word on a release date.
