Lumia 435 And 532 Are Microsoft’s ‘Most Affordable’ Smartphones Yet

Microsoft has doubled down on its low-cost Lumia smartphone range with the launch of two low-cost handsets.

Targeting developing markets, the company says that the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 are perfect for people looking to upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone for the first time, offering a balance of features and power.

The two devices be available in both single and dual SIM modes, and will bring Windows Phone 8.1 features such as preinstalled Microsoft Office apps, 30 GB of free OneDrive cloud storage, Lumia Camera including the Lumia Selfie app and Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant.

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The Lumia 435 (see left) is the less powerful of the pair, packing a 1.2Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapadragon 200 processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The device, which weighs just over 134g, comes with a four inch 800x480p screen, two megapixel rear camera and a 1560mAh battery which Microsoft says can provide up to 21 days of juice in standby mode.

In contrast, the beefier Lumia 532 (see lead image) comes with fairly similar hardware and battery, with the exception of a slightly more powerful quad-core Snapdragon 200 1.2Ghz processor and a five megapixel rear camera.

“When we launched the first Lumia devices over three years ago, we said we were committed to bringing devices to as many people and price points as possible,” said Jo Harlow, corporate vice president for Phones at Microsoft.

“With the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532, we’ve realised our goal of creating the most affordable Lumia devices to date, opening up the opportunity to reach those people who are buying a smartphone for the very first time.  Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 deliver competitive hardware alongside innovative software that will continue to receive the very latest updates and enhancements, keeping users up-to-date with the best new features.”

Both the Lumia 435 and 532 will launch across selected markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East and India from next month, with European pricing set to start at €69 (£53) and €79 (£61) respectively.

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