Microsoft Devices has announced its latest mid-range handset, the Nokia Lumia 735, will be available in the UK from October 2nd.
It is the first Nokia Lumia handset to run on the Windows Phone 8.1 software, which runs a beta version of Cortana – its voice-controlled personal assistant. That feature was launched along with a higher-specced mid-range handset, the Lumia 830, at IFA 2014.
The 4.7 inch 4G handset features distinctly low to mid-range specs: a 1.2GHz processor, a 6.7MP rear camera, a wide lens 5MP front facing camera, 2,220mAh battery, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory.
It will be available in bright orange, bright green, dark grey and white and can be wirelessly charged.
It also comes with 30GB of free cloud storage through Micosoft OneDrive and integration with Skype and Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Devices says it will be available in the UK at contract pricing starting at £19.99. It had previously announced it would be available SIM-free for £175.
The firm is attempting to use its camera as a differentiator between it and the mid-range devices of its rivals. In a statement Microsoft Devices UK and Ireland vice president Conor Pierce picked out the front-facing camera as a highlight of the device.
“People are moving from using their front-facing camera to take a close up selfie or have a solo Skype call, to making it much more about where they are and what they are doing with their friends” he said.
“With the Lumia 735 we’re enabling people too simply and quickly capture and share more of what they want, it’s a great innovation and showcases the best of Microsoft experiences.”
In other words it should take a cracking selfie, if you’re in to that sort of thing. We’ve already seen the bar set pretty high in that department thanks to the Huawei Ascend P7 and it’s horribly-named but supremely functional ‘groufie’ cam. Nokia’s device is certainly a lot more affordable, though.
We also thought that we had perhaps seen the end of ‘Nokia’ and ‘Windows Phone’ branded devices with the recent news that Microsoft would be overhauling the brand to better unify it with Windows. However the Lumia 735 seems to stay true to its roots.