14 DAY TRIAL // The number of OEMs launching Windows Phone handsets continues to grow, but the number of available smartphones does not. Although many local handset manufacturers have announced they will launch at least one Windows Phone device this year, none has made it to the market yet.
The only new smartphones powered by Windows Phone 8.1 are made by Microsoft/Nokia, and the situation will only improve later this month, when at least a dozen cheap handsets are slated for release in various countries.
Micromax is expected to launch two Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones in India in August, while Allview has confirmed its WP 8.1 devices will go on sale sometime in late August / early September in Romania.
Prestigio has two Windows Phone 8.1 handsets in the pipe as well, which will be available in various European countries beginning this month.
Today, another OEM has announced it will launch its own Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone, namely Fly Mobiles. The Russian company has confirmed that its ERA handset will soon be launched on the market with an astounding price tag attached to it.
According to Hi-tech.mail.ru, Fly ERA will be available in Russia in August for only 3,990 rubles outright, which is about $112 or €84. This makes it one of the cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 handsets soon to be available in Russia.
Moving on to the specs sheet, we will find out whether or not the Fly ERA is really worth Windows Phone fans’ attention. Well, here is what you will get for such a low price tag.
First of all, Fly ERA will ship with the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system out of the box, though by the time it goes on sale, Microsoft may have already released GDR1, the first update for the said mobile platform.
On the inside, the smartphone is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM and only 4GB of storage. However, users will be able to further expand storage up to 32GB via a microSD memory card.
In addition, Fly ERA sports a 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution. It also comes with a 5-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features LED flash and video recording, as well as a secondary VGA camera on the front for video calls and selfies.
The smartphone features metal finish and measures 25.5 x 65 x 10.7 mm (1 x 2.5 x 0.42 inches). The Fly ERA is powered by a 1500 mAh battery and is expected to be released in the next few weeks in Russia.