First impressions: With affordable Lumia 535 Microsoft takes on Android

From now onwards, the Lumia brand will not be associated with Nokia, but Microsoft. The first in the line of Microsoft-branded phones is the Lumia 535, which the company launched in Delhi for Rs.9,199. On paper it is a rather affable effort boasting decent specs and some Microsoft differentiators. We played with the phone at the launch event. Read on for our first impressions.

The Lumia 535 appears like an extension of the old Lumia 820, only it is lighter and has a bigger screen. It has a glossy polycarbonate finish, which looks a bit tacky and frail like some of the older Samsung phones. That said, the phone feels comfortable to hold in the hand. However single handed usage will be difficult.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad core processor with 1GB of RAM. In the short time we spent with the phone, performance was smooth just like it is on most Windows Phones. That said, 1GB RAM should help in better long term performance and apps that need a minimum of 1GB of RAM should work fine.

There's 8GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot supporting up to 128GB of storage. That said, we found there was less than 4GB of storage, which is not very optimum for users. This is due to a number of apps Microsoft has preloaded on the

There's a 5-megapixel camera on both the front and back. We did not test the cameras on the phone, but Microsoft demoed that the front camera could take wide-angle selfies. The rear camera supports autofocus, but the resolution of videos is limited to only 480P.

The 5-inch screen was a little washed out and was not particularly bright. Its qHD resolution was fine, but when we took the phone outside, its brightness was definitely lesser than what competition offers.

The phone along with the rest of the Lumia portfolio now offers discounted rates for OneDrive for business and Office 365, which Microsoft claimed was a result of full integration it brought to the table.

It also has a 1,905mAh battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-SIM capabilities, which gives the device a wealth of functionality. The phone runs Windows phone 8.1 with the Lumia Denim update, which also adds a number of custom Lumia specific apps.

Overall, we feel, still Microsoft could have been a little more aggressive with the pricing considering Android phones from Motorola and Xiaomi still offer much more in terms of hardware and have an inherent software superiority on the basis of what is offered on the Google Play store.

Still, for Rs.9,199 the Lumia 535 represents Microsoft's most aggressive push in the low end of the market. Now all that remains is a full review of the phone, which we will post soon.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/first-impressions-with-affordable-lumia-535-microsoft-takes-on-android/1/403860.html