Dubai: Microsoft showcased its first Lumia device without the Nokia brand name — Lumia 535 — for less than Dh500 in Dubai on Wednesday.
Nokia has launched Lumia devices since 2011 after sealing a partnership with Microsoft on Windows operating system. Microsoft killed Nokia name after acquiring Nokia’s handset business for $7.2 billion in April.
“It is a budget smartphone targeted at late teens or expat community,” Jon French, vice-president for Microsoft Devices Middle East, told Gulf News after the launch event.
The phone with two variants — 3G single SIM and 3G dual SIM — will be available early December.
Nokia had lost a considerable market share to Samsung and Apple and it occupies a market share of 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of this year compared to 4.1 per cent globally during the same period last year.
Microsoft has sold 10.5 million devices in the third quarter of this year compared to 10.3 million last year.
“We have been through a transition period and we have been very open on our Lumia shipments. The transition from Nokia to Microsoft has taken some time and we are confident of the future as the transition is over,” French said.
“I am confident that we are on the right track and our market share will definitely increase from now on,” he said.
The five-inch qHD (960*540 resolution) device runs on 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage capacity. The storage capacity can be increased to 128GB via microSD card.
Microsoft offers 15GB of free OneDrive storage with Office apps and virtual assistant Cortona. It has 5MP front and rear cameras.
Despite the low cost, French said that 535 offers the same services offered in the high-end smartphones and the device comes loaded with Windows 8.1 and Lumia Denim update right out of the box.
The phones will be launched in the UAE first in bright green, bright orange, white, dark grey, cyan and black colours, and later in other markets.
According to the deal, Nokia can use the brand name only on basic phones for 10 years while Microsoft on the Lumia devices for a limited period.
“We see huge opportunity for B2B and corporate segments. We have a fantastic and existing partnership right now in the corporate world and we need to leverage that on to mobile more,” he said.
