A new entry level smartphone from Microsoft has been revealed on the Nokia Conversations blog. The Lumia 530 began leaking yesterday, although much of it was speculation about what kind of hardware would be included in the device. While the local pricing is still unknown, the Conversations post indicates that it will retail for EUR85 in Europe with the rollout in selected markets beginning in August 2014.
Available in both a single SIM and dual SIM configuration, the Lumia 530 will feature a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with 512MB of RAM. It isn’t much, but is the expected baseline specifications for an entry level smartphone. There also the fact that Windows Phone devices have been known to favour lower specifications.
The 530 also follows the current trend of increasing display size on entry level smartphones with a 4-inch FWVGA screen. The 854 x 480 resolution will not be winning any awards, but should service the WP8.1 interface adequately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T663YbyHzDY
One concern about the Lumia 530 is the 4GB of internal storage; which will force most users to turn to SD card expansion in order to store everything. Thankfully Windows Phone 8.1 supports cards up to 128GB, which gives the 530 the potential for storing quite a bit of data. Just in case, Microsoft is also throwing in an additional 15GB of cloud storage on the OneDrive for users of the Lumia 530.
The standard issue camera is 5-megapixel rear shooter is nothing new either. Although Microsoft has added the GlamMe app that apparently will allow for a voice activated shutter; which is supposedly best used for selfies. Some convincing may be needed for the average user. Although for those who are wondering, Cortana is included where the AI assistant is available.
There is no word on when, or if, the Lumia 530 is coming to Malaysia.
[Source: Conversations]
