Microsoft does an Android, releasing cheaper phonesThe new 4.7″ Windows 8.1 4G smartphone has excellent specs for under $400 outright, and also available on $30 Vodafone plan.
Its has a 5MP front facing camera, and the 4.7-inch HD OLED screen has a viewing angle of almost 180 degrees which is readable in sunlight, powered by a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor CPU at 1.2GHz.
The wide angle front-facing camera is good for Skyping or selfies, with a focal length of 24mm. At the rear is a 6.7 MP AF Nokia Camera with LED flash, storage wise the Lumia 735’s got 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, 15GB of free cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive. It runs Windows 8.1 with customizable live tiles and live feeds.
Running on faster 4G network, Lumia 735 will be available in dark grey and comes with an extra interchangeable wireless charging cover, in bright green or bright orange, but you ll have to buy the charging pad separately.
Quirky extras on Microsoft Windows phones includes the ability to switch from voice to Skype video calls with a tap, personal assistant ‘Cortana’, and fast Word Flow keyboard. You can also integrate with existing Outlook accounts, Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint, so it can double as a work phone.
Steve Lewis, General Manager of Microsoft Mobile Devices in Australia and New Zealand said people want mobile devices that allow them to connect and create more.
“With the Lumia 735, we’re enabling people to more easily capture …the best Microsoft experiences and providing people with more choice at different price-points.”
However, one major flaw with Windows platform is the lack of apps compared to Android or iPhone, but ppears to be getting better.
Apps on this new Windows Phone include: Instagram, Vimeo, and Uber and Quickflix, and Microsoft HERE Maps, Drive+ and Transit, fitness apps Bing Health & Fitness, Fitbit and Adidas MiCoach. For fitness lovers there’s also SensorCore low-power motion sensing tracks motion and location.
The Lumia 735 will be available with Vodafone from 1 October on $30 plan and Harvey Norman, Dick Smith, and JB HiFi for $399, with an extra bright green wireless charging cover included in the box.
