Microsoft Launches Lumia 435 Powered with Windows Phone 8.1 in India; Price, Specifications

Software company Microsoft has launched the cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 OS-powered handset Lumia 435 in India on 7 February.

The new Lumia 435 was unveiled globally in mid-January; it sports a 4.0-inch WVGA LCD display, 1.2GHz Snapdragon dual-core SoC (System on Chip), 1GB RAM, 8GB inbuilt memory and a 1560 mAh battery, which can the keep the phone running for close to 21 days in standby mode.

Lumia 435's USP is that it is powered by Microsoft's proprietary Windows 8.1 OS (with Lumia Denim update). The new OS boasts of 'Action Center', similar to the Notification center found in Android devices.

Other features include – Live Tiles – an animation-based feature of Windows Phone 8.1 that enables users to re-size application face on the home screen based on their priority. It also shows real-time updates, with a hover of the finger on the screen.

Microsoft's native app tiles are now transparent, enabling users to choose wallpaper as a background image. They can also change the accent colour and switch between dark and light backgrounds.

Lumia 435 also boasts of Microsoft's Cortana, an intuitive personal digital assistant similar to Siri (in Apple devices) and Google Now (in Android Devices), inspired by the popular artificial intelligence character (Master Chief's AI side-kick) seen in much-loved "Halo" video game series. It is powered by Microsoft's very own search engine Bing.

One of the key aspects of Cortana is that it will learn your search and phone operation patterns (with your permission) and over time, gets better with predicting your behaviour. It checks-in with you before assuming you're interested in something and gives suggestions/recommends options, such as the nearest restaurant and best food in the locality. And in the morning, it will dish out real-time traffic and weather reports to help you plan your travel. 

Other key privileges of owning a Microsoft device is that users will get free value-added Office apps, which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. These apps with the help of OneDrive cloud storage make project work documents available at any Windows operable devices, making it seamlessly accessible anywhere.

Microsoft Lumia 435 India price and availability:

As of now, Lumia 435 is listed only on the company's official e-store website for ₹5,999, making it the most affordable Windows Phone OS powered Lumia series handset in the market. More details on wider availability of the Microsoft smartphone in brick-and-mortar stores and other private e-commerce sites are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Competition:

With a sub-₹6,000 price tag, Lumia 435 is poised to give stiff challenge to the Google's flagship Android One series handsets Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V, Spice Dream Uno, Motorola Moto E, Asus Zenfone 4 (& 5) and others.

Key specifications for Microsoft Lumia 435: