The world welcomed three new Lumia handsets during the IFA 2014 event earlier this week. Microsoft finally took the wraps off the “selfie phone” now known as the Lumia 730/735, along with the first “affordable” flagship Windows Phone device called the Lumia 830. Let’s quickly recap the three new Lumia handsets, in case you missed the event.
At the IFA tradeshow, Microsoft took the wraps off the Lumia 730 smartphone, the successor to last year affordable Lumia 720. The Lumia 730 comes with 5MP front facing camera, and is being touted as the “Selfie Phone.” The phone sports a 4.7-inch display with 720P screen resolution. It is powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, coupled with 1GB of RAM, and 8GB internal storage. As mentioned above, it comes with a 5MP selfie camera, with a 6.5MP rear shooter.
The Lumia 730 also has a 4G/LTE variant, known as the Lumia 735. It comes with its own Selfie camera app, which Microsoft is making available on all the Lumia smartphones including the ones that don’t possess a front-facing camera. This app will allow users to add several effects and enhance the overall quality of the image.
The Lumia 730 has been priced at 199 Euros, while the Lumia 735 costs 219 Euros. The phone will start selling later this month.
Microsoft also unveiled the Lumia 830. This device is the first “mid-range” smartphone from the company with Windows Phone 8.1 on-board, and has been touted by Microsoft as the first “affordable” flagship.
The Lumia 830 features a 10 MP PureView rear camera, a 5-inch HD720 (1280 x 720) display, a 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 2200 mAh battery, and a HD 0.9 MP wide angle front camera. This device is very thin and also includes built-in wireless charging, along with the ability to change the back cover.
The device is priced at around 330 Euros and will start shipping globally later this month.
The Lumia 730 is a 3G dual-SIM device, while the Lumia 735 offers 4G LTE connectivity. The Lumia 830 features LTE by default. All three devices are expected to ship later this month and will feature the Lumia Denim update.
During the event, Microsoft unveiled the next update to arrive after Lumia Cyan, called Lumia Denim. This update combines new enhancements from the latest Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 along with exclusive experiences for Lumia devices.
Microsoft also unveiled the HD-10, a Miracast accessory for Lumia devices with NFC support. The accessory gives Lumia owners the ability to view high quality content on a bigger display from their phone. And, it’s easy to set up as well.
“Microsoft Screen Sharing For Lumia Phones HD-10” as its called, is connected to the larger screen with the help of an HDMI cable, and powered by a micro USB cable. Once connected, all you have to do is tap your NFC-enabled device on the plate and it will instantly get connected. The NFC disc is removable so you can pass it around to share content on a bigger display.
The accessory is compatible with all Lumia devices with screen projection capabilities and other Miracast products. Microsoft HD-10 will be available in black and white color options later this month with a $79 USD and 79 Euro price tag.
Which of these three new Lumia smartphones are you interested in? Sound off in the comments below!
