The Nokia Lumia 638 is the cheapest 4G-enabled Windows Phone 8.1 device and has now reached India, going up for pre-order via Amazon.

Microsoft and Nokia first released the Lumia 638 back in June of this year in China, but many interested customers were waiting for the device to see a wider release worldwide. The Nokia Lumia 638 has now officially made its way to India, selling for Rs. 8,299 through the recently-launched Microsoft Brand Store on Amazon India. The handset is up for pre-order for now, and is expected to become available in a couple of days.

As a reminder, the Nokia Lumia 638 is an entry-level device with modest specifications on board, as expected from a budget-friendly offering. The handset sports a 4.5-inch FWVGA IPS ClearBlack LCD display with a meager resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, topped with Gorilla Glass 3 protection for extra durability. Under the hood, the smartphone packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM. Other specs include 8GB of internal storage capacity, microSD card support for additional memory, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a 1,830 mAh battery to keep things up and running. On the software side, the smartphone runs Windows Phone 8.1 with the Lumia Denim update. It's worth pointing out, however, that the Lumia 638 doesn't have a front camera for self-shots or video calls.

As previously mentioned, the Nokia Lumia 638 is the cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 device with 4G support. In India, the handset will come with Airtel 4G, but there's a caveat: only postpaid customers in Bangalore can take advantage of this option, receiving up to 5GB of free 4G data for two months after activation. The Lumia 638 comes with Cat. 4 LTE support for bands 3, 7, 38, 39, 40, and 41.

The listing on Amazon further mentions that the Nokia Lumia 638's official release is set for Thursday, Dec. 18, but notes that release dates are subject to change. If everything goes according to plan, however, no delays should occur. The handset is available in black or white color options. For more information about the smartphone or to place a pre-order, head over to the product page on Amazon at this link.