Best Buy will offer the Windows Phone 8.1-equipped no-contract AT&T Microsoft Nokia Lumia 635 for $39.99 on Black Friday. The smartphone normally sells for $99.99.
Microsoft and its Windows desktop OS still reigns supreme and captures close to 90 percent market share. The same can't be said for the company's mobile ambitions with its Windows Phone smartphone OS.
The Windows Phone is at 2.5 percent behind Apple's iOS with 11.7 percent and Google's Android at 84.7 percent, according to IDC's Worldwide Smartphone OS Q2 2014 Market Share. To increase its smartphone market share, Microsoft acquired Nokia's devices and services business, which allowed the company to take a page out of Apple's playbook by not only creating the OS its smartphones and tablets run but also control the hardware and software.
While Microsoft still licenses Windows Phone to companies like Samsung, HTC, and Huawei, the bulk of its market share comes from its Lumia smartphones. Its latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS has put Microsoft on a more even playing field with Apple and Google in terms of features, most notably its Cortana digital assistant, enhanced notification support, and better multitasking.
Microsoft's entry-level Lumia smartphones have been its most successful and if you're looking to purchase an inexpensive but very capable no-contract AT&T 4G LTE Windows Phone 8.1, Best Buy has got you covered
As part of its Black Friday deals, that no-contract AT&T Microsoft Nokia Lumia 635 4G for $39.99 deal at Best Buy is available from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29.
The Nokia Lumia 635 features a ClearBlack 4.5-inch FWVGA 854 x 480 IPS LCD with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display and runs the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Cyan installed out of the box. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2-GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, Adreno 305 GPU (graphics processing unit), and 512 MB of RAM. It ships with 8 GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot that will support up to 128-GB microSD cards, and 18 GB of OneDrive cloud storage.
The Lumia 635 is packing a 5-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and the ability to capture 720p HD video at 30fps. In terms of wireless connectivity, the handset includes a 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot with up to 8 Wi-Fi-enabled devices, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, and GPS. Its 1,830 mAh replacable battery will provide up to 16 hours of talk time and 17 days of standby time.
The Microsoft Nokia Lumia 635 is a steal at this price. And, Microsoft recently announced that all Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia smartphones would receive a free upgrade to Windows 10, which is expected to be released in early 2015. As always, we'll be sure to keep you posted on all the best Black Friday deals for the most popular tech products.
