Microsoft Launches The Ultra Low Cost Lumia 430
by Brett Howse on March 19, 2015 11:10 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Microsoft
- Lumia
To say that the Lumia brand is diluted with low cost smartphones would be a bit of an understatement. However, Microsoft has found a way to lower the barrier to entry even further with the launch of the Dual-SIM Lumia 430 model today.
It is all fairly pedestrian in the specifications department, as we will see below, but the real story is just how inexpensive this device is. Pricing will vary by market, but Microsoft is estimating the Lumia 430 Dual-SIM smartphone to be priced around $70 USD before any subsidies are applied.
To hit these kinds of price points, some sacrifices have to be made of course, but all in all it is still a typical low end Lumia. Before Microsoft bought the Lumia line from Nokia, we had similar low end phones launched that would be missing key features. The Lumia 635 is a great example of this. Although it was a decent device, the lack of a proximity sensor and ambient light sensor made it difficult to use in real life, and the limited 512 MB of RAM meant it could not access the entire Windows Phone catalog of apps.
Microsoft has taken a different approach, and all of the low end devices that they have launched with the Microsoft logo have included the standard features needed to enjoy a smartphone experience, and the $70 Lumia 430 is no exception. It comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 SoC, with dual 1.2 GHz Cortex A7 cores, so it will not be the speediest device ever launched, but Windows Phone has always been good on low end devices and avoids the stutter and chop which has plagued Android. RAM is a healthy 1 GB, which means that the Lumia 430 does have access to the entire Windows Phone store. Other key features such as the ambient light and proximity sensor are included, even for this budget price, so obvious features such as automatic brightness will work.
Speaking of brightness, the LCD will also likely be a very low end model, but it is a 4” 800x480 LCD, although it is not listed whether this is an IPS display (hopefully it is) but the display enhancement technologies such as ClearBlack are not available. I have also found with the low end Lumia phones that the display coating is also either very thin or not available, and this could continue that trend due to the price.
Storage is also something that Microsoft has bumped up, with Nokia opting for 4 GB on the very low end models, but Microsoft has equipped even this low end device with 8 GB of internal NAND. MicroSD support will give an additional 128 GB more space, and Windows Phone supports MicroSD very well so this will not be an issue.
The battery is just a 1500 mAh, with the older 3.7 V chemistry, which works out to just 5.55 Wh of capacity.
Nokia Lumia 430 | |
SoC | MSM8212 dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 |
RAM/NAND | 1 GB RAM, 8 GB NAND + microSD |
Display | 4.0” 800x480 LCD |
Network | GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+ up to 42.2 Mbps |
Dimensions | 120.5 x 63.2 x 10.6 (mm) |
Weight | 127.9 grams |
Camera | 2MP rear camera Fixed Focus 1/5" Sensor No Flash, VGA FFC |
Battery | 1500 mAh (5.55 Whr) |
OS | Windows Phone 8.1 with Denim Firmware |
Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, MPT, DLNA, FM Radio |
Location Technologies | Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning, A-GPS, A-GLONASS |
SIM Size | Smart Dual MicroSIM |
The camera is the main area where costs were saved. The Lumia 430 comes with just a 2 MP fixed focus camera on the rear, however the front camera is the same resolution as the $1299 Apple MacBook, with a 0.3 MP VGA sensor which is clearly for cost savings, and will not be very good for anything other than the occasional video chat.
Microsoft’s strategy seems to be to release a new low end smartphone every couple of weeks, and even as someone who follows the space it is getting awfully confusing. However most of these are aimed at specific markets, and the Lumia 430 is no exception. The Lumia 430 will be available in April in the Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus.
Source: Lumia Conversations
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nikon133 - Monday, March 23, 2015 - link
But less buttons! ;)StormyParis - Thursday, March 19, 2015 - link
It *was* a bit deserved though :-pBrett Howse - Thursday, March 19, 2015 - link
It wasn't a jab as much as a joke :) I'm sure the MacBook will have a much better camera despite them having the same resolution.MadMan007 - Friday, March 20, 2015 - link
But will the camera be $1229 better?!?!GC2:CS - Friday, March 20, 2015 - link
What about the other parts ? It's foolish to say that a Mac pro for example should have a "3000$ better" (whatever that means ?) camera, just because it costs more...Flunk - Friday, March 20, 2015 - link
Why? If the computer is $3000 more, everything should be better. That's a huge price delta, you can buy cheap laptops for $200, on that costs 15x as much should be much better in every way.Refuge - Saturday, March 21, 2015 - link
What he meant was, that you shouldn't expect all extra $2,930 to go into the front facing camera...Alexvrb - Sunday, March 22, 2015 - link
The sword cuts both ways. This $70 Lumia? Do you think the camera cost $70? Of course not. The budget for the camera on the Mac should have been substantially larger. Why is it acceptable for an expensive Mac to have such a lousy camera? Even a typical $600-range Ultrabook can be had with a decent full HD 1080p unit. SD -> HD -> Full HD.Dorek - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - link
I highly doubt it. There's only so much you can do with a 640x480 camera.close - Friday, March 20, 2015 - link
Keep that in mind when you're enjoying jabs taken at Apple's competitors in various other articles. These go both ways and this one in particular isn't at all offensive, unlike most pro-Apple literature.