Achieve more with Microsoft and Lumia
It’s always a thrill to be at the Mobile World Congress, and this year, I am especially excited! – says Stephen Elop.
It’s always a thrill to be at the Mobile World Congress, and this year, I am especially excited!
As One Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. A deep understanding of how people live, work and play have influenced today’s announcements, which help build on the excitement for the Windows 10 launch later this year.
Today we announced two new, affordable Lumia phones: the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL , both of which give people the flexibility to do more anywhere, and at any time. These phones will be upgradable to Windows 10, when it becomes available later this year. We also introduced a super-lightweight universal keyboard that works with iPads, iPhones, Android devices, and Windows tablets. We also unveiled a new offering with AT&T in the US that will help small-to-medium size businesses succeed with tools to collaborate and share.
Say hello to Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL
The Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL build on our success in the affordable phone space, with a few exciting additions.
The Lumia 640 has a great 8-megapixel camera including a front-facing camera perfect for Skype, a long-lasting battery and fast LTE connectivity. We’ve also integrated Microsoft Office services with 30 GB of cloud storage on OneDrive. The Lumia 640 is priced at just 159 euros for LTE and just 139 euros for 3G/Dual SIM before taxes and subsidies.
And for those who want more, the Lumia 640 XL is our super-sized version. At 5.7 inches, it has a larger screen along with a bigger battery and features a 13-megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics. Still it’s a great price at 219 euros for LTE and 189 euros for 3G/Dual SIM before taxes and subsidies.
Both devices come with a one-year personal subscription to Office365, enabling the full Office experience on the Lumia as well as one tablet and one PC/Mac. The subscription also include 1 terabyte of storage on OneDrive, which is pretty amazing – that’s essentially unlimited storage for most people.
I’m very excited about the level of flagship experiences – imaging features, Cortana, Skype, Office, Outlook, OneDrive – that customers get for less than 200 EUROs.
Companies of all sizes can achieve more with Microsoft and partner-developed solutions
In partnership with AT&T, we announced the AT&T Mobile Office Suite: a cloud-based, mobile collaboration solution for small-to-medium sized business (SME) customers, exclusively from AT&T and Microsoft in the US. Fully integrated and affordable, with predictable monthly costs, the AT&T Mobile Office Suite offers customers fast, easy and highly-secure access to voice calls, email, calendars, instant messaging, HD video conferencing, desktop sharing, file sharing, and more. The solution will help SMEs succeed in the mobile-first world, by equipping them with hardware and services aimed at productivity and collaboration.
And finally, we congratulate Microsoft hardware partners announcing new Windows Phones and tablets. Today, we have an ever broadening portfolio of partner devices—more than 30 new Windows Phone models shipping worldwide from 25 partners in just the past year.
Mobility everywhere
Our news today reflects how far we have moved from a device-centric to a people-centric view of the world. People’s everyday lives are full of experiences – big and small, grounded and mobile. But as people go about their day, using tools like Office to be more productive and Skype to connect with others, we want to ensure that the Microsoft experience can extend beyond a single device – whether that device is on the iOS, Android or Windows platform.
We should not obsess on the mobility of any single device, but we should focus on the mobility of the experiences a person has across devices.
That is to say, creating experiences that flow naturally, from one device to the next, helping you never miss a beat.
Of course, this concept of the mobility of experiences begins with Windows.
Windows is our home
Windows is our home, and it is the place where you will experience the very best of Microsoft.
In the Windows environment, we are seamlessly harmonizing our experiences across all different types of devices. Skype, Cortana, OneDrive, Outlook, Xbox Live are all built-in as part of Windows to create the most delightful experiences for people. Developers can build universal apps once, and factor them easily across a variety of different types of Windows-based devices.
Because we absolutely believe that Windows will be the home for the very best of Microsoft experiences, our hope is that these cross-platform initiatives will not only deliver great Microsoft experiences on all platforms, but will also serve to bring people home to the more complete Microsoft experience on Windows.
We are pursuing this ambition with Windows 10 where, through deep engagement with customers, we are building a more personal computing experience in a world that is now more mobile, natural and grounded in trust.
We’ve always been committed to bringing the latest features to our Lumia phones, whether it’s the most advanced or the most affordable. With Windows 10, we will continue bringing the latest features to Lumia, but we also going to deliver a new family of devices, including devices at the flagship level, later this year.
From devices with the smallest screens to devices with the largest screens, to devices with no screens at all, we remain committed to creating new experiences that surprise, inspire and help people achieve more.
Stephen
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