In an attempt to build back the sterling reputation, which was once enjoyed by Nokia corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is now looking to have a strong grip in the introductory range smartphone segment. By unveiling their latest smartphone Lumia 430, they’ve made their intentions quite clear to provide a stiff competition to the Android based budget smartphones. It is “the most affordable Lumia” Microsoft has ever produced, being priced at only $70.
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The billion dollar company, which seemed to lose its grip in the smartphone segment, was falling into risk of being overtaken by its rivals such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). However, this move made by Microsoft seems to be a part of its strategy to grasp the first-time buyers of smartphones. Also, emerging markets such as Middle Eastern regions, India, Africa are being targeted by Microsoft. The Lumia 430 will be available in April in the Asia-Pacific countries.
Since emerging markets are an area where Android yet has to capitalize, Microsoft will be desperately trying to dominate these markets. During an interview with Chris Weber, Microsoft’s Vice President at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress, earlier this month, pointed out matters such as security vulnerability issues, form factor and other such areas are where Microsoft can defeat its rivals. Also, the smartphone, which runs on Windows 8.1, is supposed to be proving the point that Microsoft doesn’t want to be recognized as the cheapest smartphone provider. Rather, it looks forward to be the company that provides the best at a particular price range.
To shed some light on the specifications of the smartphone, the device comes with Windows 8.1, which could be upgraded to Windows 10. It will possess dual SIM capabilities and would also come with Skype and 30GB of free OneDrive cloud storage. It would have a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which is clocked at 1.2 GHz with a 4 inch display and 1GB of RAM.
