With several billion people still using feature phones or not even connected to a mobile network, it has become clear that the largest growth segment for smartphones over the coming years will be in the sub $100 category. The Lumia 435 represents Microsoft’s latest response to the filling this need. Announced on January 14th, 2015, the Lumia 435 improves on the specifications on the Lumia 530 (the previous low end king), while reducing the price.
NOTE: Microsoft also unveiled the Lumia 532 which has similar specs to the Lumia 435. However, this device will not be coming to Kenya any time soon. For more on the Lumia 532 specs, please read this article.
It is also important to note that the Lumia 435 is already available for purchase in 3 continents. This is evidence that Microsoft has improved its supply chain significantly. Previous models often took 3-6 months to complete the global roll-out.
How does the New Lumia 435 compare against the Lumia 530 and Lumia 630?
The affordable segment of Lumia family can be broken down into 2 segments:
- Large screen (above 4.5″) devices like the Lumia 535, Lumia 625
- Devices with screens smaller than 4.5″ like the Lumia 530, Lumia 630 and now the Lumia 435.
While the Lumia 530 offered the Windows Phone experience at new price levels, the lack luster screen proved to be a sticking point for many users. Microsoft reacted quickly to this disappointing feature and released the Lumia 435 approximately 6 months later (the usual Lumia device life cycle is one year).
The Lumia 435 comes with an improved LCD screen as well as hardware buttons (versus on screen menu buttons). Incredibly, Microsoft also doubled of RAM (from 512MB to 1GB) AND the internal storage (from 4GB to 8GB). Though the rear facing camera resolution dropped from a fixed focus 5MP module on the Lumia 530 to a 2MP fixed focus module on the Lumia 435, Microsoft compensated by adding a 0.3 MP front facing camera to the Lumia 435. Neither phones have a LED flash. The battery capacity of the Lumia 435 was also increased by 130mAh. Coupling this a dual core processor versus quad core on the Lumia 530, the Lumia 435 should show improved battery life over its predecessor. We will verify this in full review later this month.
The Lumia 435 comes with the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 update 1 (with Denim firmware). The upgrade of RAM and Storage ensures that the Lumia 435 will be upgrade to the next version of the Microsoft operating system, Windows 10.
Please refer to the spec table below to see how the Lumia 435 compares to the Lumia 530 and Lumia 630. Look for a full hands on review of the Lumia 435 in the coming weeks right here on Techweez.
NOTE: Though the Lumia 630 costs 1.5 times more than the Lumia 435, it was included to show how much value the Lumia 435 represents.
| DEVICE (Links to MidCom Store) | Microsoft Lumia 435 | Nokia Lumia 530 | Nokia Lumia 630 |
| Release Date | 14-Jan-15 | 23-Jul-14 | 2-Apr-14 |
| Price KES inclusive of VAT (As of Feb 15, 2015) | KES 10,199.00 | KES 10,799.00 | KES 15,699.00 |
| DESIGN | |||
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 | Windows Phone 8.1 | Windows Phone 8.1 |
| Multi-SIM | Dual SIM | Dual SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 118.1 x 64.7 x 11.7 mm | 119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7 mm | 129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2 mm |
| Weight | 134 g | 129 g | 134 g |
| Colors | Black, White, Green, Orange | Black, White, Green, Orange | Black, White, Green, Orange |
| DISPLAY | |||
| Physical size | 4.0 inches | 4.0 inches | 4.5 inches |
| Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels | 480 x 854 pixels | 480 x 854 pixels |
| Pixel density | 233 ppi | 245 ppi | 218 ppi |
| Technology | LCD | LCD | IPS LCD |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 59.53% | 59.22% | 64.48% |
| Colors | 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 |
| Touchscreen | Multi-touch | Multi-touch | Multi-touch |
| Features | Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer | Proximity sensor, Accelerometer | Proximity sensor, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Accelerometer, Sensor Core |
| CAMERA | |||
| Camera | 2 megapixels | 5 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Aperture size | F2.7 | F2.4 | F2.4 |
| Focal length (35mm equivalent) | 36 mm | 28 mm | 28 mm |
| Camera sensor size | 1/5″ | 1/4″ | 1/4″ |
| Flash | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Camcorder | 800×480 (WVGA) (30 fps) | Resolution, 864 x 480 pixels 30 fps | 1280×720 (720p HD) (30 fps) |
| Features | Video calling | Video sharing | Continuous autofocus, Video sharing |
| Front-facing camera | 0.3 megapixels VGA | n/a | n/a |
| HARDWARE | |||
| System chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 8210 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 |
| Processor | Dual core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7 | Quad core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7 | Quad core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7 |
| Graphics processor | Adreno 302 | Adreno 302 | Adreno 305 |
| System memory | 1024 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM |
| Built-in storage | 8 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage expansion | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB |
| BATTERY | |||
| Talk time (3G) | 11.70 hours | 10.00 hours | 13.10 hours |
| Capacity | 1560 mAh | 1430 mAh | 1830 mAh |
| MULTIMEDIA | |||
| Radio | FM, RDS | FM | FM |
| Speakers | Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker |
| INTERNET BROWSING | |||
| Browser | Internet Explorer 11 | Internet Explorer 11 | Internet Explorer 11 |
| TECHNOLOGY | |||
| GSM | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| UMTS | 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz | 900, 2100 MHz | 900, 2100 MHz |
| Data | HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS | HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS | HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS |
| Micro SIM | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Wi-Fi positioning | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning | A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning |
| CONNECTIVITY | |||
| Bluetooth | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b, g, n | 802.11 b, g, n | 802.11 b, g, n |
| Mobile hotspot | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Connector | microUSB | microUSB | microUSB |
| Features | Mass storage device, USB charging | Mass storage device, USB charging | Mass storage device, USB charging |
| Other | Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync |
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