Until now, Microsoft had many requirements for WP7 handsets and the manufacturers couldn’t develop their handsets without following a series of rules. Apparently, Microsoft has changed some of them…

We already knew that Microsoft was supposed to change some characteristics of the WP7 requirements in a few months, but apparently, the company has decided to solve the matter earlier by cancelling a few requirements. From now, HTC, Nokia, Samsung and all the other companies will be able to produce cheaper phones without cameras, gyro and compass. Logically, we should see more affordable WP7 handsets in stores next year.

Some features remain though common to all Windows Phone 7. The list of requirements is available below.

• A common set of hardware controls and buttons that include the Start, Search, and Back buttons.
• A large WVGA (800 x 480) format display capable of rendering most web content in full-page width and displaying movies in widescreen.
• Capacitive 4-point multi-touch screens for quick, simple control of the phone and its features.
• Support for data connectivity using cellular networks and Wi-Fi.
• 256 MB (or more) of RAM and 8 GB (or more) of flash storage.
• A-GPS
• Accelerometer