News
Nokia Updates Lumia Line with Three Windows Phone 8.1 Devices
- By Gladys Rama
- April 03, 2014
Nokia on Wednesday unveiled three new Lumia devices that will run the latest version of Microsoft's smartphone platform.
Stephen Elop, former Nokia CEO and incoming Microsoft executive vice president, announced the new devices during the opening keynote of the Microsoft Build developer conference, taking place this week in San Francisco. The three new devices -- the flagship Lumia 930 and the entry-level Lumia 635 and Lumia 630 -- will run Windows Phone 8.1, the forthcoming update to Windows Phone 8. However, Elop confirmed that the update will be available for all existing Windows Phone 8 devices in the Lumia line.
"We will bring Windows Phone 8.1 to all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices offered in an over-the-air update coming this summer," Elop said.
That over-the-air update will be called "Lumia Cyan," according to Nokia's press release. Besides delivering features included in the Windows Phone 8.1 update, such as Microsoft's "Cortana" digital personal assistant, Lumia Cyan will bring improvements to Lumia's camera roll function and Storyteller app.
New Devices
Nokia is positioning the Lumia 930 as its new flagship Windows Phone device. At $599 without taxes and subsidies, it's the most expensive of the three phones unveiled on Wednesday. The Lumia 930 will hit retail shelves in June, starting with Europe, followed by Asia, India and the Middle East. It will not be sold in the United States, though the very-similar Lumia Icon is already available to U.S. buyers from Verizon.
The Lumia 930 has a 5-inch, 1920x1080 HD display with a 20-megapixel camera, and runs on a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. It comes with built-in wireless charging, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and 7GB of free OneDrive storage.
Lumia 930
The entry-level Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 will both retail under $200. They are designed to deliver an "uncompromised Microsoft experience and an uncompromised Lumia experience to more people at much lower price points," Elop said.
The two devices come in five colors options and feature changeable shells. They have a 4.5-inch, 854x480 display and a 5-megapixel camera. They both run on a 1.2Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor. The also come with Nokia's new "SensorCore" technology, which senses and tracks a user's movements and location; Elop demonstrated the technology's usefulness for fitness-tracking apps.
The 3G Lumia 630 comes in a single-SIM model that will retail for $159, and a dual-SIM model for $169. Availability is expected in May for Asia, Russia, India and Europe.
The Lumia 635 will be available with 4G/LTE capability and will retail for $189, with broad availability -- including in the United States -- expected this summer.
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