Nokia has just unveiled two very attractive budget offerings, the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635, both of which rock the latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS.
Taking the stage at Microsoft's BUILD 2014 conference, Nokia came with several good news, including its latest Windows Phone mid-range offerings targeted at budget-conscious smartphone shoppers.
The new Nokia Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 handsets are nearly identical. Both sport 4.5-inch displays with 854 x 840 resolutions and both pack quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processors clocked at 1.2GHz. The only real difference between the two models, in fact, lies in data capabilities. The Nokia Lumia 630 supports 3G and comes in both single- and dual-SIM options, which makes it the first dual-SIM Windows Phone device, while the Lumia 635 model is 4G LTE-enabled.
In terms of design, the new mid-rangers continue Nokia's colorful trend. The handsets come in five bright colors with changeable shells - green, yellow, orange, white, and black, and sport a plastic chassis, as expected with a budget offering. The Lumia 630 ships with a matte back, while the Lumia 635 has a glossy finish.
The main attraction with these smartphones, however, is the very latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, which brings several neat treats. The new OS version finally brings a notifications center, as well as the much-touted Cortana digital assistant, Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri and Android's Google Now.
Nokia is targeting the masses with its new Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 smartphones, offering both devices at very affordable price points.
"The Nokia Lumia 635 and Nokia Lumia 630 offer an uncompromised Windows Phone 8.1 experience and bring Microsoft and Lumia innovations to more affordable prices," touts the Finnish company.
The Lumia 630 will cost just $159 for the single-SIM version and $169 for the dual-SIM model. The 4G LTE-enabled Lumia 635, meanwhile, will be available for $179.
Despite the low price tags, the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 don't look cheap, but they do have their drawbacks, as expected. For instance, the phones don't have a physical camera button, nor a rear flash or a front-facing camera. They do come with a 5-megapixel rear camera, but even the camera app is quite hard to access unless you pin it to your start screen.
On the other hand, low price points always require some sacrifices, and getting the latest Windows Phone OS and some neat features and functionality for a dirt cheap price tag doesn't sound so bad at all.
The Nokia Lumia 630 will become available in Asia, India/Middle East, South America and Europe in May. The Nokia Lumia 635 will be more broadly available, including in the U.S. starting this summer.
For more details about the new Nokia Lumia 630 and Lumia 635, check out the hands-on video below:
