Windows phone – Tech Raman

First Impression: Microsoft Lumia 532 Hands-On Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 06:19:15 +0000

Microsoft announced its new low-cost Lumia, the Lumia 532. Priced at Rs 6,499 the Lumia 532 is a compact Smartphone for those wanting a budget Windows phone and joins the entry-level portfolio of the Redmond giant. The company has positioned the phones in a price band where they compete with low-cost Android phones and faces tough competition. In terms of design, the Lumia 532 reminded us of the Nokia X2, Nokia’s experimental phone with Android. Like rest of the low-cost Lumia, the 532 has changeable coloured back cover that wraps around the phone. It also has a translucent plastic coating around the edges of the back cover that Microsoft likes to call semi-transparent layered design. The Lumia 532 features a 4-inch WVGA LCD screen and an 800×480-pixel resolution, which feels just right for the small screen size. Compared to the big phones these days, the Lumia 520 is quiet small but then there are many who are comfortable with this size. The right edge of the phone features the power and volume rocker keys, in the same colour as that of the shell and offer good tactile feedback. The top edge sports the 3.5mm headset jack while the bottom features the micro-USB port. The build quality looks good and should be durable. It should handle the occasional falls and bumbs casually. [gallery columns="5" link="file" ids="8618,8619,8620,8621,8622"] Talking about the internal specs, Lumia 532 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor that should be just about enough to handle the load. There is an 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage and there is an option for microSD card slot. Lumia 532 runs Lumia Denim which is essentially Windows Phone 8.1 with Update 1 with some Nokia-exclusive features. You need to struggle to remove the back panel, a small wedge on the sides would have made things easier. Once in side you find a removable 1,560mAh battery.The Lumia 532 has a rated talk time of up to 12 hours over 3G and a rated standby time of 22 days. You have a dual-SIM slots as well as the microSD slot that can support up to 128GB in external storage. You can also avail the 30GB cloud storage from OneDrive. For the camera, you are looking at a 5-megapixel fixed cocus rear lens with no flash. There’s a VGA front camera just for the sake of it. Clearly, the photos will not be the 532’s strong points. P.S The following sample images where shot indoors at poor lighting conditions. [gallery link="file" columns="4" ids="8624,8625,8626,8627"] Typical of Lumia color outfits, the 532 will also be available in bright orange, white and black along with this green version I have here. Also See: Our Lumia 532 First Impression Video http://youtu.be/G1O1-deIR5E The Lumia Five series has been the most popular series in the Lumia lineup and addition of the 532 would keep the momentum going for the Lumia. Facing the legions of Android budget smartphones might be a difficult battle for Windows Phone but good to see Microsoft putting all their efforts into the Lumia bucket to keep it afloat. If you are looking for a budget Windows Phone, there are many Lumia devices now to choose from including Lumia 532, we will reserve our final words till we use the phone extensively. To start with, for WP lovers wanting a compact phone on a tight budget, Lumia 532 looks an attractive proposition.]]>

Microsoft Lumia 435, the most affordable Windows Phone launched in India

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 18:11:44 +0000

Love Windows Phone but don’t on a tight budget? No worries. Microsoft has made its entry-level range a lot affordable with the launch of Microsoft Lumia 435 at Rs 5,999. The dual-SIM phone runs on the latest Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim firmware update. The Lumia 435 comes with a decent specs and features a 4-inch LCD display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor with Adreno 302 GPU mated with 1GB of RAM and houses a 8GB of internal storage. The storage can be expanded via microSD card. It also comes with a modest dual camera set up with a 2-megapixel at the rear and a VGA front shooter. While a 1,560mAh battery takes care of the power needs and the company claims a 11.7 hours talktime on a single charge , the connectivity options include 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0. Typical of Lumia devices, the 435 also will come in bright green, bright orange, white and black colour options. Microsoft seems to have got the pricing right and will the Lumia 435 be able to recreate the magic of Lumia 520, the most popular Windows Phone till date, we will wait and watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5hA3TvTf7w]]>

Micromax launches Windows Phone 8.1 Smartphones in India; price starts at Rs 6,500

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 09:20:37 +0000

Micromax today made a major announcement marking its entrance into Windows Phone segment. At BUILD 2014 conference in San Francisco, Microsoft had announced Micromax as its new OEM partner and today the Indian home-grown company who has quiet successfully build its market share in India with its affordable Android devices ventured into the Windows territory with two devices. The two new devices are Microsoft Canvas Win W092 and Canvas Win W121 and priced at Rs 6,500 and Rs. 9,500 respectively. Pricing both the devices at sub-10K segment, Micromax would be hoping to replicate the success it had with its Android canvas series. Now let’s look at the specs. The Canvas Win W092 priced at Rs 6,500 is the most pocket-friendly of the two new device. It features a 4-inch display with 800×480 pixels display, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and packs a 1,500mAh battery. There is also a 5-megapixel front camera and a VGA front camera. The Canvas Win W121 is the bigger of both the devices and comes with a 5-inch display, a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage with an expandable memory slot to cater up to 32GB, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera. Both the devices have dual-SIM support and will be available from July 1. It would be interesting to see if Micromax will be successful with its Windows Phone devices as much as it did with the Android. If it does, it would indeed be a good boost for Windows Phone segment. ]]>

Nokia Lumia 1320 phablet launched in India for Rs 23,999

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 18:29:23 +0000