Microsoft today introduced Lumia 535 which makes it the first Microsoft branded smartphone. They dropped Nokia brand for Windows phone and future devices in the Windows Phone range will be branded Microsoft Lumia. The Nokia brand doesn’t go away yet as the entry level devices in the Series 30 dumb mobile phone category still maintain the Nokia brand.
Microsoft Lumia 535 does make a statement by it’s mere existence. That the experience keeps getting better for Lumia smartphones at the entry level. This does come in well in their strategy of mobile first cloud first by getting the pricing for smartphones down and being able to compete with rivals running Android. Lumia 535 comes second from the bottom to Lumia 530 which came to the market earlier. What this looks like is that Microsoft felt they didn’t try hard enough to get the entry level smartphone as attractive as they were able to and followed up Lumia 530 with a sequel.
First thing you notice is the upgrade in display which is now at 5 inch, the flash in the back, the 5 MP wide-angle front camera that is absent on the Lumia 530 and makes a good case for the Lumia 535 as a selfie budget camera and also important is the design upgrade. I mentioned earlier in my Lumia 530 review that the device had plain Jane looks, well this one does look much better.
You can also tell by the Bright green version and the Cyan version that Microsoft decided to make the former glossy and the latter matte. The other notable change here is the bold replacement of Nokia logo in the back and front with Microsoft and the rear adds the Windows logo. Looks like they also maintained the on-screen keys and just like in the Lumia 730, made them disappear and reappear based on screen being viewed, thus utilizing all the screen there is. The RAM was also upgraded to 1GB and Microsoft can boldly mention how games like Subway Surfers can be played fluidly on the device.
Lumia 530 is indeed a great device. See the specs sheet below.
- 5 inch IPS Display, (960 x 540) 220ppi with Gorilla Glass 3
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 MSM8212 clocked at 1.2 Ghz Quad core
- Windows 8.1 with Lumia Denim
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB Internal Storage plus microSD support of upto 128GB
- 5MP autofocus rear camera with LED flash, 5MP front wide-angle camera
- MicroUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE
- Assisted GPS, GPS, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor
- 3.5mm AV connector
- 1905mAh battery
- Colours: Bright Green, Bright Orange, White, Dark Grey, Black and Cyan
Some interesting twist here, the phone doesn’t sell with earphones as the sales package includes the phone, charger, battery and the user-guide. Guess they are making the case for user acquired good earphones as opposed to the boring ones that come with entry level smartphones.
Lumia 535 comes with a dual-SIM option and starts selling immediately this month in some markets at an estimated EUR 110 before subsidies and taxes.
