The first Microsoft Lumia branded smartphone has been launched, and is called the Microsoft Lumia 535. Microsoft had been working towards pushing out a Lumia-only smartphone without the Nokia branding for quite a while, and we had been teased with quite a few reports on the arrival of this device earlier.
Microsoft will be unveiling the first Microsoft Lumia smartphone running Windows Phone on November 11, 2014. Nokia however made no real news of it, with just a line or two on announcing the arrival of 'a' device this November.
We now have official confirmation that Microsoft is dropping the Nokia Lumia, as well as Windows Phone brand in favor or Microsoft Lumia for all its smartphone devices. A Microsoft Lumia smartphone is also set to be revealed by the software giant in the coming days.
Microsoft is finally dropping the Nokia and Windows Phone branding for all its smartphones. And as we move forward, all Windows Phone devices from Nokia will now be carrying the Microsoft Lumia branding. Earlier, there were rumors that Microsoft, having acquired Nokia's phone division, was now looking to kill the Nokia and Windows Phone brand, but we weren't entirely sure what the replacement was.
Apple's announcement of the iPhone 6 Plus is not only significant in that it's a great deal larger than any smartphone the company has created before, but it also drafts the Cupertino company into the realm of the "phablet." A term derived from the combination of phone and tablet, these large handsets have taken the smartphone world by storm over the past few years, and while Samsung's Galaxy Note was the originator of this niche market, it now shares this space with several rivaling vendors. Below, you can take a look at how the iPhone 6 Plus stands up - in terms of size and specs, both - against the also-new Galaxy Note 4, Nokia's Lumia 1520 and LG's mammoth G3.
Remember when the good folks at Microsoft told us there'd be more to come from the Lumia family of devices? Well, true to its word, the company has just announced three new smartphones, the ultra-slim Lumia 830, as well as the dual-SIM capable Lumia 730 and 735 models. As Microsoft continues to restructure and realign Nokia in an attempt to find some relevance in the mobile space, it will be hoping that the flagship Lumia 830 will offer enough appeal to compete with the latest offerings from Samsung and Apple.
Just yesterday, Samsung took a clever jab at not just one of its competitors, but three of them at the same time, by unveiling a video on its YouTube channel showing the Korean flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S5, taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and nominating Apple iPhone 5s, the HTC One M8 and the Nokia Lumia 930 to do the same. It appears that two of the nominees - namely, HTC One M8 and Lumia 930 - have taken up the challenge and took a dip in ice cold water.
When Microsoft took the wraps off Windows Phone 8.1 just a couple of months ago, many users rejoiced at the broad range of features that had been introduced. Everything that we expected of the announcement turned out to be true, but even though we really ought to be focusing our attentions on core features like, for example, the new notifications infrastructure, the Cortana voice assistant has commanded a large portion of attention. Just like when Apple introduced Siri, we don't seem to be able to get enough of these personable, digital voice recognition features, and in a new ad to promote Windows Phone 8.1, the software giant has pitted the Lumia 635 and Cortana up against the iPhone 5s and Siri.
At this year's Mobile World Congress, we were on hand to witness the big announcement of the Nokia X range, a line of smartphones that would run on a forked version of Android made to appear, and function, like Windows Phone. But just five months after February's MWC, the now Microsoft-owned firm has decided to cease this particular endeavor, with Asha also being scrapped as a part of a shake-up that has seen the Redmond lay off almost 20,000 Nokia staff, and finally, it would seem, the company's sole focus is Windows Phone.
Having wrapped up the acquisition of Nokia earlier on in the year, Microsoft's BUILD developers conference was largely focused around the Windows Phone 8.1 update. Having been seen as a distant third place to iOS and Android thanks to its lack of key features, Windows Phone has struggled to make a dent in the market share of the Big Two, but with the newer software promising some great features including a voice assistant in Cortana, there's renewed optimism that the software giant may finally stake more than just a token claim to the smartphone industry. After the developer preview launch shortly after BUILD, Windows Phone 8.1 is this week rolling out to Lumia devices via the Cyan update, and as ever, we've got all of the major details right here.