Microsoft has launched the Lumia 930, Lumia 830 and Lumia 730 Dual SIM in India, priced at Rs. 38,649, Rs. 28,799, and Rs. 15,299, respectively. The Lumia 930 will be available from October 15, while the other two will be available from October 8.

The Lumia 930 (seen below), Lumia 830 (seen above) and Lumia 730 Dual SIM (seen far below) run Windows Phone 8.1, and while the former has the new Lumia Denim update out-of-the-box, the latter will get it sometime in Q4 2014. All three handsets get 1TB of free cloud storage via OneDrive for 6 months, as well as for the Lumia 1520. After 6 months, users will have to pay Rs. 100 per month.

The Lumia 930, unveiled back in April alongside the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635, features a 5-inch (1080x1920 pixel) display with a pixel density of 441ppi. The display boasts of a Gorilla Glass 3 screen, the 'Super Sensitive Touch' feature, and 'a near 180-degree viewing angle'. The Lumia 930 is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of built-in storage (7GB free OneDrive cloud storage).

The Lumia 930 also sports a 20-megapixel PureView camera, which has optical image stabilization (OIS) and Carl Zeiss optics. A front-facing 1.2-megapixel wide-angle camera is onboard as well, apart from four directional microphones and integrated Dolby Surround Sound. A LTE quad-band chip and Bluetooth 4.0 LE support is featured.

Featuring an aluminium frame with metallic accents, and a curved polycarbonate back with Bright Orange, Bright Green, Black and White colours, the Lumia 930 runs on a 2420mAh battery, and boasts of built-in wireless charging.

Microsoft is billing the Lumia 830, which was launched at IFA 2014, is the company's "thinnest and lightest Lumia to date." It will be available in Green, Grey, Orange, and White colours. It sports a 10-megapixel PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics, LED flash, and also comes with what the company touts is the "thinnest" Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) set-up seen on a Lumia smartphone. It also packs a 1-megapixel front-facing camera.

Other enhancements added to the camera on the Lumia 830 include Nokia Rich Recording - with three mics offering true 5.1 surround sound, and Nokia Camera is claimed to offer distortion-free and full bandwidth stereo recording. The company confirmed that an over-the-air (OTA) update of Lumia Camera on the Lumia 830 will bring even quicker camera start-up and shooting speeds, and will also add new features such as Rich Capture and Moment Capture.

Microsoft notes the Lumia 830 also includes the low-power motion-sensing technology, dubbed SensorCore, for fitness fanatics. 

The Lumia 830 features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) ClearBlack IPS LCD display offering a pixel density of 296ppi. It is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz alongside 1GB of RAM. There is 16GB of inbuilt storage which is further expandable up to 128GB (via microSD card). It is backed by a 2200mAh battery that offers a standby time of up to 22 days, and talk time of up to 14.8 hours on 3G. It supports wireless charging.

The Lumia 730 Dual SIM, which was launched alongside the 4G-capable single-SIM Lumia 735 at IFA 2014, on the other hand will come in Bright Green, Bright Orange, Dark Grey and White colours. It features a 6.7-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a secondary 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a 24mm wide angle lens. The Lumia 730 Dual SIM, like its name is a dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) smartphone, and features 3G connectivity. 

The Lumia 730 Dual SIM features a 4.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 316ppi and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.

It features 8GB of built-in storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 128GB). Microsoft is also offering 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for Lumia 730 Dual SIM users. The Lumia 730 Dual SIM features a 2220mAh battery rated to deliver up to for 22 hours of 2G talk time and 17 hours of 3G talk time. 

Nokia Lumia 930

• KEY SPECS

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

2.2GHz

Front Camera

 1.2-megapixel

Resolution

 1080x1920 pixels

RAM

 2GB

OS

 Windows Phone 8.1

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

20-megapixel

Battery capacity

2420mAh

See full Nokia Lumia 930 specifications

Nokia Lumia 830

• KEY SPECS

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

 0.9-megapixel

Resolution

 720x1280 pixels

RAM

 1GB

OS

 Windows Phone 8.1

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

10-megapixel

Battery capacity

2200mAh

See full Nokia Lumia 830 specifications

Nokia Lumia 735

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.70-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 720x1280 pixels

RAM

 1GB

OS

 Windows Phone 8.1

Storage

8GB

Rear Camera

6.7-megapixel

Battery capacity

2220mAh

See full Nokia Lumia 735 specifications

Microsoft might release the developer preview of the next iteration of its mobile operating system, rumoured to be called Windows Phone 9, by January 2015, hints a report citing sources.

Additionally, Nokia Power User reports that all the existing Windows Phone 8 devices (also the Windows Phone 8.1), including the first generation Nokia Lumia 520, will be receiving the update. However, the report suggests that the old generation Windows Phone devices might not receive all the new features.

One of the biggest purported Windows Phone 9 features being highlighted by thereport is the split-screen multitasking; though, it does not specify any minimum screen size requirement for the feature. It speculates that the minimum size might be 4.9-inch or higher.

It's worth noting that Microsoft introduced the split-screen feature in its Windows 8.1 update, where users were able to snap apps in variable sizes. The feature allows users to run three apps simultaneously on one screen and run different apps on different displays if connected, while keeping the Start screen on one display. The split-screen feature has already been introduced by Android handset OEMs like Samsung (Multi Window feature).

Reports have been tipping that Microsoft has plans to remove the Nokia brandingfrom its upcoming devices this holiday season, alongside plans to drop the 'Phone' from the Windows Phone name and logo as part of the transition to the unifying 'Threshold' Windows 9 update.

Microsoft on Monday started sending invitations that read "Join us to hear what's next for Windows and the enterprise," to a September 30 event where the company is expected to reveal the next version of its Windows operating system.

The next iteration of Windows, likely to be called Windows 9, is internally codenamed as the 'Threshold' update - one that is said to unify operating systems across different device form factors.

Multiple reports, apart from a more touch-friendly interface for smartphones and tablets, have been tipping that Windows 9 will bring an optimised interface for keyboard and mouse users on desktops, laptops, and hybrid tablets.

Long before the widely praised Moto E, the fairly competent Asus Zenfone 4 or the new crowd favourite Xiaomi Redmi 1S took the budget smartphone market in India by storm, there was one phone that stood out - the Nokia Lumia 520. This phone was a surprise hit for both Microsoft and Nokia, and it introduced first-time users to a polished smartphone experience without having to dig deep into their pockets.

The Nokia Lumia 520 and its successor, the Nokia Lumia 525, have both received the Windows Phone 8.1 update via the Lumia Cyan update, but Microsoft has also announced the Nokia Lumia 530 Dual SIM, which comes with the update preloaded. However, taking a look at the specifications of the Lumia 530 Dual SIM on paper, it doesn't actually look like an upgrade to the Lumia 520. The asking price is much lower this time around, which puts it in a lower market segment.

It is no secret that the battle for the title of best low-cost smartphone is very hot at the moment and the Nokia Lumia 530 Dual SIM has a tough fight on its hands to emerge victorious.

Look and feel

One thing that Nokia always seemed to get right with almost every single new launch was design. Despite being chunky at 11.7mm, the subtly curved edges of the Lumia 530 Dual SIM make it feel ergonomic. The phone is of course made completely using plastic but it doesn't feel cheap. The matte white variant that we received was extremely slippery and difficult to hold, but it's small enough that using it with one hand is not going to be a problem at all.

The 4-inch screen is surrounded by medium-sized borders. Nokia/Microsoft decided to go with on-screen buttons instead of capacitive buttons below the screen. Unfortunately, that takes up precious real estate, which is already lacking. Above the screen is an earpiece. The right edge has a power button and a volume rocker. A Micro-USB port lies on the bottom while a 3.5mm audio jack sits on top. The rear has the primary camera and a circular speaker grill. It is easy to pry the rear cover off by pulling on a corner. Once opened, you'll see that the fairly stocky battery covers the two SIM card slots and the memory card slot.

Specifications and software

Under the hood of the Nokia Lumia 530 Dual SIM is the same processor that is inside the Motorola Moto E - a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200. This dual-core processor is clocked at 1.2GHz and has an integrated Adreno 302 GPU. Disappointingly, there is only 512MB of RAM. We will see if this affects the performance later in the review. The phone has 4GB of storage space, of which only around a gigabyte is available for users. It is a relief then that the phone also accepts microSD cards of up to 64GB.

There is a 5-megapixel fixed-focus rear camera but no flash. The two SIM cards can connect to 3G networks. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 are the other connectivity standards. A 1430mAh battery provides the juice for the phone to work.

The 4-inch LCD panel on the phone is a step down from the IPS LCD panel on the Nokia Lumia 520. It has a resolution of 480x854, and this is probably the lowest quality display we've ever seen on a Nokia smartphone. The viewing angles are awful, with the screen washing out with even the slightest of hand movements. Sunlight legibility is really bad even at the highest brightness setting. There is very evident screen tearing when scrolling through the apps pane. We are supremely disappointed that Microsoft had to cut corners like this.

Windows Phone 8.1 has a lot of new useful updates and it is catching up to a feature-rich platform like Android. However, in our review of the Lumia 630 we noted that Windows Phone 8.1 still has a lot of catching up to do. Our opinion hasn't changed since. One still has to arrange the Live Tiles carefully for the transparent background option to look good; on-screen buttons are visible when playing videos just like we mentioned earlier; the implementation of the Back button as a multitasking shortcut is still confusing; and the Marketplace is missing many useful apps and fun games.

We loved the additional apps such as Battery Saver, Data Sense, Wi-Fi Sense and Storage Sense as they do exactly what their names suggest. While Nokia's signature apps MixRadio and Nokia Camera are present, Here Maps and Here Drive+ are missing. Bookmyshow and Snapdeal are the two third-party apps that are preinstalled on the device.

Camera

It's been a long time since we last saw Nokia opting for a fixed-focus camera on any smartphone. The 5-megapixel rear camera captures good details and colours in daylight provided it can manage to lock focus on the subject. On the other hand, you'll have to forget about capturing subjects that are very close to you.

Images captured in low light conditions are serviceable. The camera on the Lumia 530 Dual SIM can capture only 480p videos, which is a significant step down from the 720p and 1080p options available on other phones. The quality of captured video is not too great. The camera app has a good number of manual options available for users who wish to tweak settings, but we don't know why anyone would bother doing so with a fixed-focus camera. To be fair to the Lumia 530 Dual SIM, even the Moto E has a fixed focus camera, and the former's is much better than the latter's.

Performance

In daily use, we noticed that the phone stuttered a bit while opening apps but it wasn't too apparent. This could be because of the relatively low 512MB of RAM. Otherwise, most of our experiences during daily usage were good.

AnTuTu returned a score of 11,485 and WPbench touched 241.09, which is okay. We played a few HD videos which worked fine, but FHD ones refused to play. The earphones bundled with the device are not of the in-ear kind, but they serve the purpose well. The loudspeaker gets really, really loud. True to Nokia's reputation,  call quality is exceptional. In our battery test the phone managed to last us 7 hours and 22 minutes before it died. This is not bad at all and we noticed that it lasted us a day and half in real-world conditions.

Verdict

At the moment the Lumia 530 Dual SIM is available for around Rs. 6,500 at many e-commerce outlets. The price is low for a phone that can provide a decent smartphone experience, but unfortunately the Moto E, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and the Asus Zenfone 4all provide better smartphone experiences at the same price. 

Buy this phone only if you want a really cheap device running Windows Phone 8.1. TheLumia 630 and the Lumia 520 have seen price drops and are also available for less than Rs. 10,000. Those two older devices are better options if you don't mind spending only a little bit more.

Nokia Lumia 530 Dual SIM

Rs. 6,761

• REVIEW
• 
  

• Design
• Display
• Software
• Performance
• Battery life
• Camera
• Value for money

• Good
• Good battery life
• Inexpensive

• Bad
• Bad camera
• Terrible display

Read detailed Nokia Lumia 530 Dual SIM review

Erstwhile market leader Nokia has indicated it may enter into a price war for 4G and 3G mobile phones as it struggles to regain the top position which it lost in 2012 to South Korea's Samsung, presently the largest selling brand in India.

"We want to continue to push price points lower and lower than anything we have today. That's the statement for both 3G and LTE (4G) because that is the thing which gives us scale of the ecosystem," Microsoft's Mobile Device Sales, Corporate Vice President Chris Weber told PTI in an interview.

US IT giant Microsoft now owns Nokia's mobile phone business. The company leadership position was adversely impacted mainly due to abundant flow of cheap Chinese phones.

Nokia's cheapest 4G phone Lumia 635 is priced around Rs. 11,300 before taxes but it is not available in India.

"We are also trying to push price point even lower on LTE devices like [Lumia] 635 to take advantage of that (Indian telecom operators plan to launch 4G services) opportunity. The goal is to make sure that we have a full portfolio that plays in to that opportunity," Weber said.

The company has plans to launch its latest 4G-enabled phone Lumia 830 priced at around Rs. 26,000 before taxes by October, as per sources.

Microsoft Devices also unveiled another 4G-enabled handset Lumia 735 priced at around Rs. 17,500 but sources were not sure about thr company's plan to launch this model in India.

Shortage of affordable devices to access 4G services has been identified as one of the main reason for many telecom operators not rolling out 4G network in the country.

Consumers may get about 10-12 times more Internet speed on mobile phones in 4G compared to average speed they get using 3G services.

Reliance Jio Infocomm holds pan India broadband wireless spectrum, which can be used for 4G services, since mid 2010.

The company has announced its plan to launch the latest telecom service in 2015. As per rules, 2015 is the last year for all companies who won BWA spectrum to roll out services in at least 90 percent of the service areas, failing which the Department of Telecom will have the right to withdraw the radio waves.

Other holders of this spectrum include Tikona Digital and Augere, who are yet to start their services. Aircel has announced launch of its 4G service in 6 service areas against eight circles where it holds BWA spectrum.

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio, Aircel, Reliance Communications and Telewings (Uninor) in February won spectrum in 1800MHz band cumulatively for Rs. 37,572.60 crore.

Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea have plans to provide 4G services in the 1800MHz band, which has been used so far for providing 2G services.

Weber said that Microsoft Devices has been discussing with Indian telecom operators for partnerships.

"We have lot of conversations going on with operators but specifically we are very bullish on LTE opportunity in India. Our conversation had been quite productive," Weber said.

As per market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Nokia was the third largest player in the second quarter of 2014 in the Indian mobile phone market with a 10 percent market share. Samsung topped the chart with 17 percent, closely followed by Indian brand Micromax with 14 percent share.

While the Lumia 1020 is still arguably one of the better quality cameras you can get, never mind camera on a smartphone. The device is over a year old now, and it is getting long in the tooth by smartphone age standards.  The 41-megapixel sensor saw its debut in the Nokia 808 PureView in 2012, and it evolved into its second generation with the Lumia 1020 one year later.

With Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia Devices, and subsequent announcements of low and middle-range devices, you would not be alone in speculating what Microsoft Mobile’s plans were for the class leading ultra-high resolution camera technology on a smartphone. The good news is that it looks like Microsoft is continuing the carry the banner.

Jo Harlow, VP at Microsoft, confirmed that the company is continuing to invest in the technology, “Absolutely, we’re not end of the mission in camera technology, or in computational photography. We continue to invest in that area to bring the next greatest thing in high-end imaging.”

No details of any kind were forthcoming, and that leads to more conjecture about Microsoft’s plans.  It is conceivable that those statements do not mean a true "successor" at all.  However, a Lumia 1020 sequel would be a handy thing to have in the line-up by the holiday shopping season. Hype around such a niche device is only going to generate limited momentum, so it is difficult to envision a better time frame to launch a product. However, because it is a niche device, it could be argued that seasonal market trends are not the only consideration.

Given all that, the rumor mill has been quite void of any news about anything high-end on the Windows Phone front except for the rumored, and now apparently canceled, “McLaren” device. What would you like to see in a successor to the Lumia 1020? We would like to see an across the board bump in hardware to make the camera action faster, much faster. As much as we love how the camera on the 1020 can do, there are plenty of other flagships that are proving that megapixels are not everything. 

Microsoft has launched the Nokia X2 Dual SIM in India, priced at Rs. 8,699. The smartphone was first unveiled globally in June, with immediate availability for 'select' countries - which were never announced.

(Also see: Nokia X Dual SIM vs. Nokia X2 Dual SIM)

The new Nokia X2 is a dual-SIM smartphone and does not has a single SIM variant. The new Nokia X series phone will be available in Glossy Black, Green, Orange, Dark Grey, White and Yellow. The Nokia X2 now sports a translucent outer layer, reminiscent to the ones seen on Nokia's Asha range of handsets.

Microsoft Mobile reiterates that the all new Nokia X2 can run Android apps and comes preloaded with the latest version of Nokia Store that now incorporates third-party app stores.

Nokia earlier this week started rolling out the Nokia X Software Platform v2.1.0.11 for the X2 Dual SIM (RM-1013) smartphone users over-the-air. The smartphone was launched in June running the Nokia X Platform v2.0, based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

The highlight of the Nokia X Software Platform v2.1.0.11 is the support for Google-based services, namely Google Contacts sync and access to user's Gmail inbox. Notably, these features were missing from the previous Nokia X Software Platform v1.2 update for Nokia X, Nokia X+, and Nokia XL handsets. More details about the update can be found in our previous coverage.

Microsoft says, "The Nokia X2 is also equipped with another navigation option; the brand-new 'apps list', which keeps your home screen clear for your most used apps, bringing Nokia X2 in line with the existing Lumia experience."

One of the prominent additions in the design of the Nokia X2 is the new home button that takes you back to the start screen and is accompanied by the back button that allows flipping through most recent actions, and long pressing shows what apps are open. 

(Also see: Nokia X Dual SIM vs. Nokia X+ Dual SIM vs. Nokia XL Dual SIM vs. Nokia X2 Dual SIM)

The new Nokia X family member features a 4.3-inch ClearBlack LCD display with WVGA resolution (480x800 pixels) that offers a pixel density of 217ppi. It is powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor clocked at 1.2GHz clubbed with 1GB of RAM. Notably, last generation's Nokia X+ and Nokia XL had just 768MB of RAM, while the Nokia X had 512MB of RAM. All three last generation Nokia X phones ran on a dual-core Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon S4 chipset, and can therefore can be considered an upgrade.

The Nokia X2 sports a 5-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash, while there a front-facing camera (unspecified resolution) also onboard. The smartphone is backed by an 1800mAh battery that's rated to deliver up to 10 hours of 2G talk time and up to 86 hours of continuous music playback. The Nokia X2 features 4GB of built-in storage, which is expandable via microSD card (32GB).

The Nokia X2 also comes preloaded with a bevy of Microsoft apps such as Skype, Outlook.com, Bing Search app, WeChat, Path, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Yammer and Xbox games. The all new OneDrive is also preinstalled with 15GB cloud storage available right out-of-the-box. Games include SnapAttack, Wordament and Kinectimals. The note-taking app, OneNote, is also present. For the socialites, Line, WeChat, Path, Facebook and Facebook Messenger are also available.

Nokia X2 Dual SIM

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.30-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

 Yes

Resolution

 480x800 pixels

RAM

 1GB

OS

 Nokia X platform

Storage

4GB

Rear Camera

5-megapixel

Battery capacity

1800mAh

See full Nokia X2 Dual SIM specifications

Microsoft on Thursday has announced the Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 selfie-focused smartphones at its pre-IFA event in Berlin. The company hasn't detailed the exact pricing, but said the smartphones have suggested pricing of EUR 219 (approximately Rs. 17,200) and EUR 199 (approximately Rs. 15,800) respectively, excluding taxes and subsidies and will start shipping in September.

Both smartphones boasts of a primary 6.7-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a secondary 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a 24mm wide angle lens. The Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 run Windows Phone 8.1 out-of-the-box. Microsoftwill also provide the Lumia Denim update during Q4 2014, following partner testing and approvals. The Lumia 730 Dual SIM, like its name is a dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) smartphone, and features 3G connectivity. The Lumia 735 is a 4G LTE-enabled smartphone with only a single SIM card (Micro-SIM) slot.

(Also see: Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 in comparison)

The Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 both feature a 4.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 316ppi and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Both the devices are powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.

The newly-launched Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 have 8GB of built-in storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 128GB). Microsoft is also offering 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 users.

The battery capacity on Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 is 2220mAh, which is rated to deliver up to for 22 hours of 2G talk time and 17 hours of 3G talk time. The company is also offering a free three-month Skype Unlimited World subscription in select markets along with the new Lumia 30 Dual SIM and Lumia 735.

Both the Lumia devices will be available in four colour options - Bright Green, Bright Orange, Dark Grey and White.

Nokia Lumia 735

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.70-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 720x1280 pixels

RAM

 1GB

OS

 Windows Phone 8.1

Storage

8GB

Rear Camera

6.7-megapixel

Battery capacity

2220mAh

See full Nokia Lumia 735 specifications

Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

4.70-inch

Processor

1.2GHz

Front Camera

 5-megapixel

Resolution

 720x1280 pixels

RAM

 1GB

OS

 Windows Phone 8.1

Storage

8GB

Rear Camera

6.7-megapixel

Battery capacity

2220mAh

See full Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM specifications