The first set of Lumia devices have just been launched in the region since Microsoft finally completed its acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone arm. The new Lumia lineup includes the flagship 930, the mid-range 630, and its dual-SIM counterpart, the 635.
The new devices all run Microsoft’s latest OS, Widnows Phone 8.1, which includes a slew of new features, including Action Center—Microsoft’s answer to iOS and Android’s notification centers—and word flow, which was certified by the Guinness World Records as the fastest smartphone keyboard in the world.
The new Lumia phones signal Microsoft’s return to Windows Phone after the launch of their affordable Nokia X line, which run on Android. Arto Nummela, senior vice president of Microsoft Devices for India, Middle East, and Africa, told Venture at the Lumia’s Dubai launch event that Nokia X owners are the highest users of Microsoft services in the region.
With Chinese devices spreading across the smartphone market, their affordable prices could certainly pose a threat to Microsoft’s foothold in the low and mid-range sector, but Nummela is confident their phones will stand out. “Microsoft announced that there will be nine other Windows Phone OEMs, mostly coming from China,” he said. “There is tremendous success ramping up new devices on the Windows platform, and we made it so easy because we [are] giving this software for free to [most] Windows Phone devices, and it made quite the difference.”
Nokia Lumia 930
Screen: The 930 sports a 5 inch, ever-so-slightly curved full HD OLED screen, with reportedly excellent viewing angles, and is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel.
Camera: The 20 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens with optical image stabilization and dual-LED flash is enhanced with the Nokia Camera app, which allows you to alter the image capture mode after taking the photo.
Processing Power: The Snapdragon 800 chipset, quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 and Adreno 330 GPU aren’t exactly up-to-date, but they do the job right with the Windows Phone 8.1 OS. 4G LTE support is available. The non-expandable 32 GB storage with 2GB RAM is a disappointment for storage lovers, however.
Battery: A 2,420 mAh battery comes nowhere near the large battery sizes of most high-end smartphones, but Microsoft promises that you’ll easily have a full day’s charge worth of energy.
Nokia Lumia 630/635
Screen: An easy to handle 4.5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Camera: Photography is taken with a quaint 5 megapixels with autofocus and 720p@30fps video recording capabilities.
Processing Power: The mid-range entry comes with a Snapdragon 400 chipset, Adreno 305 GPU and quad-core 1.2 GHz processor. Though the internal storage holds only 8GB, it can be expanded up to 128GB with an external microSD. The Lumia 930 is capable of 4G connectivity. While the 635 does not, it allows for a seamless dual-SIM experience.
Battery: The device comes with an acceptable 1830 mAh battery.
Cover: Both the Lumia 630 and 635 are encased in changeable shells with a variety of colors, including orange, green, yellow, white, and black.
