Since entering the smartphone market, Microsoft has not missed the opportunity to cater to the budget-minded customer.
There have been affordable Windows Phone options available since the first but Microsoft is lowering the bar even more now.
The company is now introducing the Lumia 430 Dual Sim smartphone.
The device is unprecedented on several fronts. First of all, it retails for just $70. That makes it the most affordable Windows Phone available to date.
Secondly, this is the first Microsoft mobile device preloaded with Windows 8.1 that can be freely upgraded to Windows 10 when it’s released later this year, Mirosoft’s Lumia Conversations blog reports.
Small businesses that haven’t yet gone mobile or are looking for more affordable mobile options certainly may want to consider this entry-level Microsoft device.
But even with its entry-level price tag, the Lumia 430 is no slouch on features.
As a Microsoft device, the Lumia 430 is pre-loaded and connected with Skype. It also provides immediate access to Microsoft cloud service OneDrive.
The DualSIM option allows users to easily switch from work to personal use.
Of course, this is a $70 smartphone. And to get the price that low, Microsoft has included just the bare bones where other features are concerned.
Lumia 430 is stocked with 8GB of internal storage. Another microSD card can expand that capability to 128GB.
The cameras on the Lumia 430 aren’t much to highlight, either. The rear mount camera shoots at just 2MP and there’s a VGA 0.3MP front-facing camera, just enough to complete a video Skype call.
There’s no HD display on the Lumia 430, either. The 4-inch display has a resolution of 800x480px.
And one more drawback is its connectivity. Microsoft says that the Lumia 430 can only connect to 3.5G networks.
For small businesses that haven’t ventured into smartphones just yet, the low price tag on the Lumia 430 may be an inexpensive way to find if they’ll be effective in conducting your business. Another reason to consider this model is if your business runs primarily Microsoft office apps. The Lumia 430’s pre-loaded connection to One Drive will make it easier to access your business cloud while on the go.
Image: Microsoft
Aira Bongco
What I don’t like about Nokia is their customer service. I know that they have been bought by Microsoft now but I wonder if that will even change. We had a phone repaired under warranty and they took 4 months to fix it. And in the end, they don’t even want to release the phone to us. Sorry about this. It is just our bad experience.
Yogi Bear
This isn’t Nokia, it’s Microsoft. Nokia won’t be aloud to make any phones until 2017, I think.
Ambarish Kumar
Yes, but the thing is people have a higher purchasing power and they want an alternative for iPhone, those mid range samsung htc android phones which Microsoft is failing to acquire.
victor
One thing I like about the phone is that it is low budget and the 30gb one disk drive.
I would love to have it.
Sarang Shoro
I would love to have this stunning phone because I am extremely impressed with the 1024 mb ram of this phone which allows me to enjoy many HD games very smoothly, As it have not good camera and look but its performance is really best like we found on other expensive windows Laptops, PCs and phones.
sahir
Bought this phone and quite happy with its performance too. I am not too techy, while i use my phone for very few selected apps like fb, whatsapp, voip calling and emails. I know camera features are not great, but i don’t bother much about cameras really. I recommend this phone for people with decent phone usage