Just a few weeks after Microsoft completed its acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone division, the software maker is set on introducing its first dual-SIM phone into the Indian market.
Reports from the Indian press say they have received an invitation from Microsoft for a press event in New Delhi on May 12. The invite describes one of its devices as "Fast. Precise. Powerful. The Power of Two!" and is taken by many India-based journalists to be a press conference for the launch of the Nokia Lumia 630, which comes in single-SIM and dual-SIM variants.
The Nokia Lumia 630 was introduced at the Microsoft Build conference held in San Francisco in April. Stephen Elop, former Nokia chief executive now executive vice president for devices at Microsoft said that the dual-SIM capability is "critically important" in emerging markets, including India, China and Brazil.
"Analysts suggest that in the year 2016, people will buy more than 100 million dual-SIM smartphones. The Lumia 630 dual-SIM capability opens up that market to all of us, so I'm really, really excited about that," he said in his opening remarks during the Build conference.
Last month, Nokia said in a statement that it will roll out the Lumia 630 in May, starting with the Asian and Middle Eastern markets before making its way over to South America and Europe. Nokia said that the single-SIM variant will retail for $159 or Rs 9,500 before taxes and subsidies while the dual-SIM Lumia 630 will cost $169 or Rs 10,100. Experts believe the final price will be a couple thousand Indian rupees more.
The Lumia 630 is the first dual-SIM handset that runs on Windows 8.1. It has a 4.5-inch ClearBlack 854 x 480 pixel display, 5-megapixel auto-focus camera and 8 GB of internal memory expandable via a microSD slot. The smartphone runs on 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, which is the same processor that powers one of its competitors, the Moto G. The Lumia 630 has 512 MB RAM, which may very well be its Achilles' heel, and all the core features of a Windows 8.1 smartphone.
The handset has received better than average reviews from smartphone enthusiasts.
"This is Nokia's next attempt at a low-cost device designed for the masses, and it will likely help with its strategy of pushing handset volumes and overall growth of Windows Phone," writes Tom Warren of The Verge.
The Lumia 630 also comes with a 4G variant, the Lumia 635, which has all the features of the 630 plus its 4G LTE capabilities. The Lumia 635 will be available in India for $189 or Rs 11,300 before taxes and subsidies.
