Microsoft launched what could be its best budget smartphone till date, in terms of specifications, in India today. The company though seems to have got the pricing for the device wrong. At Rs. 9,199, the Lumia 535 may be considered to be overpriced. The company has a lot riding on this device though, since it is the first Microsoft branded Lumia phone. We spent some time with the Microsoft Lumia 535 at the launch event, here's what we think about the device.
Display
The Lumia 535 has a 5 inch IPS display with 540x960 pixels resolution. The screen is very bright, as has often been the case with the Lumia series. The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection is much appreciated.
Back
Being the first Lumia to be launched under the Microsoft banner, the Nokia branding is gone, replaced by a Microsoft logo on the back. The back is quite glossy though, which we didn't like.
Build
The overall build quality, though not bad, is too big for a 5 inch device. The device has big bezels on the sides, top and bottom and could have been much more compact.
Buttons and Ports
In the previous picture, you saw the volume rocker and power on/off buttons on the right side of the device, the micro-USB port is at the bottom and the 3.5-mm headphone jack on the top.
Front Camera
The 5 MP wide angle camera, which made the Lumia 730, the 'selfie' phone, is back on this one as well.
Rear Camera
Microsoft created #PowerofFive for this phone, touting the three 5s in this phone. The 5 inch display and 5 MP front camera are accompanied by another 5 MP camera at the back.
Storage, Memory and Processor
The device has 8 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128 GB. This is accompanied by 1 GB of RAM and the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core SoC. The device did feel a little sluggish on first impressions and the fluidity of the Windows Phone OS seemed lacking.
Removable Back
Many users buy a phone only if it has a removable back and Microsoft obliged with this one. You can take off the rear shell to reveal the SIM slots and battery.
Battery
The device has a 1905 mAh battery, which should be more than enough for a phone like this. We'll let you know how it performs after a full review.