What comes to mind when you talk of Windows Phone?
While you’re free to answer that, it is not lost on anyone that Nokia’s Microsoft Devices’ Lumia brand of smartphones is more synonymous with Windows Phone than any other brand. Just like Samsung’s Galaxy brand of smartphones is more synonymous with Android devices to the average consumer than any other devices. Is there room for other brands to dominate Windows Phone? Definitely. The likes of Huawei, HTC and Samsung, who currently are the only other consistent major players with Windows Phone devices in the market haven’t been as active as they are on other platforms hence the availability of a slot for anyone else to come and challenge the Lumia brand. And even if they were that active, the devices they have aren’t that affordable and still don’t beat the sub-Rs 10,000 device category that is so popular in India. That’s where Micromax comes in.
Micromax has just announced its budget Windows Phone devices: Canvas Win W121 (pictured above) and Canvas Win W092. Available from next month at Rs 9,500 and Rs 6,500 respectively, the two devices have the following specs:
|
Canvas Win W121 |
Canvas Win W092 |
|
| Display | 5″ HD (720p) IPS | 4″ WVGA IPS |
| Processor | Snapdragon 200 (1.2 GHz) | Snapdragon 200 (1.2 GHz) |
| Memory | 8 GB internal (expandable upto 32 GB) / 1 GB RAM | 8 GB internal (expandable upto 32 GB) / 1 GB RAM |
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 | Windows Phone 8.1 |
| Camera | 8 MP/ 2 MP | 5 MP/ 0.3 MP |
| Battery | N/A | 1500 mAh |
| Others | Dual-SIM, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0 | Dual-SIM, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0 |
At just Rs 6,500, the Canvas W092 is easily the cheapest Windows Phone-running smartphone out there.
The Indian company has been able amass a huge following in the Indian market. Recent stats from the IDC show that it comes only second to Samsung in terms of smartphone marketshare in India and way ahead of the likes of Nokia. The same is the case with other Indian companies like Karbonn, Spice, Zen, Olive (see more) and Lava (the company behind the Xolo brand) who follow closely in Micromax’s footsteps. Infact, Lava is said to be finalizing on their Windows Phone device lineup which will mainly feature low cost devices. The popularity of low cost devices in the India market from the likes of Micromax has seen established players like Nokia and Motorola chip in with cheaper devices. Nokia’s Lumia 520 and the recently launched Nokia X have been doing well. Motorola’s Moto G and the recently launched Moto E have equally been well received.
Other than India’s Lava, other low cost (and not-s0-famous) brands expected to have Windows Phone device lineups soon are InFocus, Blu, Prestigio and Yezz.
Source: Times of India
