Nokia Lumia Updates - New High End, New Markets
by Brett Howse on April 3, 2014 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Microsoft
- Nokia
- Mobile
- Lumia
- windows phone 8
During the day 1 keynote at the Microsoft BUILD developer’s conference, Stephen Elop took the stage to announce some new Nokia Lumia phones with Windows Phone 8.1.
First up was the new Lumia 930. The Lumia 930 is a 5” 1080p phone, with a 20 Megapixel PureView camera with OIS, Snapdragon 800 2.2 GHz SoC, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, and Qi wireless charging. This new phone is actually the recently released Lumia Icon rebranded, and pre-loaded with Windows Phone 8.1. Availability of the device is going to start with Europe in June, and move out from there. The announced price point is $599 USD off contract. This phone doesn’t look like it will be launched in the USA anytime soon, since Verizon has an exclusive arrangement with Nokia for the rebranded Icon.
| New Lumia Comparison | |||
| Nokia Lumia 930 | Nokia Lumia 630 | Nokia Lumia 635 | |
| SoC | 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 (Quad Core Krait) | 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 (Quad Core Cortex-A7) | 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 (Quad Core Cortex-A7) |
| RAM | 2GB | 512MB | 512MB |
| NAND | 32GB NAND | 8GB NAND with microSD slot | 8GB NAND with microSD slot |
| Screen | 5" 1920x1080 | 4.5" 854x480 | 4.5" 854x480 |
| Network | 2G/3G/4G LTE | 2G/3G (Dual-Sim Optional) | 2G/3G/4G LTE |
| Price | N/A in North America | $159/$169 | $189 |
Windows Phone has been much more successful with the lower end of the market, and to serve this market, Elop announced the Lumia 630, and 635.
Spec wise, the 630 is decidedly low end, 4.5” 854 x 480 smartphone. It comes with a Snapdragon 400 1.2 GHz quad core SoC, 512 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of onboard storage, and no LTE support. Even though the storage is low, it does support MicroSD cards, and Windows Phone 8.1 looks like it will have even better support for expandable storage than Windows Phone 8 did, so the small storage should not cause too many issues. The low 512 MB of RAM will restrict the apps that can run on the device, just as it does for current devices with the same memory.
A new feature to Windows Phone for the 630 is Dual SIM support. Although not used much in North America, it is popular in many countries and will open this low cost device up to those markets. Dual SIM looks fairly well done, with different color tiles for different SIMs if you want, or you can link the tiles for both SIMs together much like the linked inbox. Dialing can be set per contact as to which SIM you want to use as well.
The 635 is identical to the 630 in every way, other than LTE support (bands 3, 7, and 20).
Also discussed is a new “Sensor Core” which, like many phones being announced recently, is a way to track movement for health and fitness apps.
The 630 and 635 will be the first Windows Phone 8.1 devices sold, and will go on sale in May in Asia, moving across India and Europe with North American availability beginning in July.
Prices are starting at $159 for a single SIM 630, moving up a staggering $10 to $169 for the dual SIM version. The 635 with LTE has a MSRP of $189. Local subsidies may apply, so we’ll have to see how the actual street price lands.
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raghwendra123 - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
It will be interesting what other manufacturers produce now that licensing is free for devices under 9 inchesArbie - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
So, the new high end 930 has a 1080 screen for media and... no microSD. That means you get to transfer all your media via USB, and refresh it the same way, tying up the phone the whole time. Or resort to some chain of dongles, to go with the sleek case.If this phone had microSD - like it's cheaper siblings - you could simply swap sets of media in and out, almost instantly, and can carry any amount and selection with you.
Sorry, I still think design choices like this are idiotic, not to mention arrogant. I *know* how I want to use my smartphone. No microSD = no sale.
Lonyo - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Apart from Samsung and HTC with the new Max, no one really seems to offer MicroSD slots on their top end phones, keeping it mainly on their lower end phones. It is rather silly.Myrandex - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
The Lumia 1520 is a top end phone and it contains MicroSD. And HTC's new One (M8) has MicroSD as well and is not a Max.spamcops - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
you mean like Samsung S3, S4, NOTE II, NOTE III, HTC ONE M8, SONY Z1, Z2... Hm really no one offers sd cards :Dthemossie - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
Don't forget the pending LG G Pro 2, as top end as it gets plus MicroSD.I think every top-end Android phablet has MicroSD now? LG, Samsung, HTC... Missing any high-end phablets?
Myrandex - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
They have options with MicroSD. Pick up a Lumia 1520 and get your MicroSD fix. I have the 1520 and would trade it in for the 930 though. This is due to an issue with SD card encryption and my company's exchange policy...hangfirew8 - Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - link
Fabulous phone, just don't get it from AT&T unless you enjoy going without Data Sense.Thermalzeal - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
I've rarely transferred media via USB. with automatic upload to OneDrive and apps like Xbox Music that cloud sync intelligently I've traveled across the world and filled up my phone and only a few times used USB to get access to large videos I took. Once Microsoft slaps AT&T around and gets them to accept QI standard devices due to consumer demand, there will likely be a MicroSD capable version. The limited devices shown at Build showcase that Microsoft still has more devices in store, and likely will wait till after till the new iPhone is en route to position devices intelligently. I'm going to be waiting for the next Lumia 1030, as this device will be a US flagship product.barry spock - Sunday, April 6, 2014 - link
I'm a little tired of you dweebs complaining about "no SD". It immediately speaks to the fact that you're not happy with the samsung phones you're all so fanatical about. It also tells me you spend too much time staring into your little video screen. It also tells me that fundamentally you're stuck in a timewarp where 'normal' is (take out disk, put in disk). That's not how we do things in the future. The future is now.