Microsoft launches the Lumia 435, the 'most affordable yet'

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In an online soft launch today, Microsoft took the wraps off the Lumia 435, pitched as the 'most affordable Lumia smartphone yet', at only 69 Euros before taxes etc. Of note is that the internal storage and RAM are a cut above what you'd normally/previously expect at this price, plus you also get a front-facing camera (budget phone users still like to take selfies and make Skype calls? Who knew!)

From the launch post:

Today, Microsoft launches the Lumia 435 and Lumia 435 Dual SIM—smartphones that help more people stay connected and that offer the same top-notch Lumia Windows Phone experience at an affordable price.

With a price tag* of just 69 EUR before taxes and subsidies, the Lumia 435 is our most affordable Lumia smartphone yet. It’s a perfect choice for those who wish to upgrade to a smartphone or for anyone to have as a secondary phone.

...Continuing the Lumia design legacy, the Lumia 435 will be available in bright green, bright orange, white and black and will begin rolling out in select countries in Europe, APAC and IMEA in February.

Specifications include:

  • Windows 8.1/Denim out of the box
  • 4" LCD WVGA screen
  • 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 'dual core' processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB internal storage plus microSD
  • 2MP fixed focus camera/VGA front-facing camera
  • repleaceable 1560mAh battery

What's interesting about the 435 specs, other than the welcome inclusion of a front-facing camera, is that the 8GB flash/1GB RAM spec is higher than you'd expect for something at this price level. Previously, Microsoft had said that 'all' Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones would get Windows 10 when it arrives, but the arrival of this and the recent Lumia 535, both with 8GB/1GB combinations lead me to suspect that this might be the minimum needed for long term future compatibility. Certainly the likes of the Lumia 530 and perhaps even the 635 might be left out in the cold when the time comes.

In any case, it's great to see a genuinely budget, feature-phone-replacing Lumia with a little more chippery under the bonnet.

As usual, there's a promotional video, this time centred around a 'real life' use case:

Source / Credit: Conversations