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Lumia
February 6, 2015

Lumia 435 and Lumia 532: initial reactions



The Web has been awash with talk on the affordable and feature-packed Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 smartphones, which were announced last month. Here’s what the critics had to say initially.

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Over all, media were surprised about the affordability of these new phones given that they’re loaded with premium features such as the Microsoft Office suite, Window Phone 8.1 and Lumia Denim.

What also resonated with the critics was that the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 offer the latest Lumia Camera and feature powerful processing speed and capacious storage: 1GB of memory and the 8GB of on-board storage.

Here are some notable comments from the media:

“It’s a big achievement for Microsoft to get the price this low this quickly, but what exactly do you get for your dollars? … This being Windows Phone, Microsoft points out that your $80 also gets you its full Office suite,” said Engadget in its review.

Tech Radar agreed. “We don’t all necessarily want to blow hundreds of pounds on the latest and greatest smartphones, and if you’re shopping around for something a little more modest, you’ve got two new mobiles to pick from: the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532.”

TechCrunch remarked on the quad-core processor in the Lumia 532, adding that it “has the same display and form factor but its innards are beefed up to a quad-core 1.2 GHz chip. And its rear camera is 5MP. Microsoft touts built in Skype integration, noting its front-facing camera supports video calls.”

CNET reviewed the pricing and specs of the Lumia 532.

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“If models in the 1000 range are its most high-end, then you can guess where the 532’s specs fall.”

The tech site added, “There will be the latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system and the Cortana voice assistant in select markets, but hardware is lean enough to support an attractive budget price.”

ZDNet went under the hood of the Lumia 435.

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“The Lumia 435 is Microsoft’s best shot to date at taking on Google’s Android One program… The device will ship with Windows Phone 8.1 and the Lumia Denim firmware, meaning it will include Cortana in markets where it’s available, as well as Live Folders, Apps Corner and Microsoft’s notifications center, Action Center. It will also come with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Microsoft Outlook installed.”

While we’re waiting for the full hands-on reviews by the critics, which of these two Lumias would you consider buying next? Laying your hands on both is also an option!