The first Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 635, is officially set to land on T-Mobile and MetroPCS later this month.
Moreover, the carrier also has great news for owners of the Lumia 521 and Lumia 925, as both smartphones will get the latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system later this year.
The Nokia Lumia 635 debuted alongside the Lumia 630 back at Microsoft's BUILD 2014 conference, arriving as the first devices to rock the new Windows Phone 8.1 OS. Both handsets are virtually identical, but the Lumia 635 also comes with 4G LTE.
In terms of specifications, the mid-range Nokia Lumia 635 sports a 4.5-inch FWVGA display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage capacity, a microSD card slot for additional memory of up to 128GB, and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, and HSPA+. A 1,830 mAh battery keeps things up and running, while Windows Phone 8.1 brings the latest goodies from Microsoft, including the company's new digital assistant called Cortana.
The Nokia Lumia 635 also comes pre-loaded with popular Microsoft and Nokia apps such as Office, OneDrive, Skype, Camera, MixRadio, and Storyteller.
"The Lumia 635 represents the next stage in the evolution of both the Windows Phone OS and the best-selling Lumia 521," Jason young, Senior VP of Marketing at T-Mobile, touts in the press release. "The Lumia 635's advanced features, functionality and design - combined with its amazing price point - make this an absolutely screaming deal. And, once again, the Un-carrier is first out of the gate, offering up the Lumia 635 weeks before the other guys through both T-Mobile and MetroPCS."
"We are thrilled to partner with T-Mobile to bring the Lumia 635 to the U.S. market and to T-Mobile customers for the first time," adds Matt Rothschild, Head of North America Sales, Microsoft Mobile Devices. "With high-end features, hundreds of thousands of apps available through the Windows Store plus the latest Windows Phone 8.1 experience and Cortana, the Lumia 635 is undoubtedly one of the best affordable smartphone available today."
The Nokia Lumia 635 will become available to T-Mobile Simple Choice pre-paid customers starting on July 5 through the Home Shopping Network (HSN). Post-paid subscribers, meanwhile, will be able to make their purchase on July 9, the day the smartphone will go on sale online through T-Mobile's website. The handset will be available for $0 down, followed by 24 equal monthly payments of $7. On MetroPCS, the Lumia 635 will launch both online and in-stores on July 16, sporting a promotional price of $99 without a contract.
