14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Mobile, the entity created after Microsoft completed the purchase of Nokia’s Devices and Services division, is expected to launch at least two new smartphones before the end of this year, with one of them long rumored to arrive as a successor to the Lumia 820.
Supposedly called Lumia 830, the mobile phone was detailed for a bit several days ago, and some more info on it is now available, suggesting that it might enjoy expanded availability in the United States.
To be more precise, previous reports on the device mentioned only a Verizon model, but a new report claims that AT&T and T-Mobile will also add it to their offerings.
According to a recent post on TK Tech News, it appears that Microsoft is actually planning the release of three different models of the upcoming mobile phone, which would explain why reports on the phone’s screen size and resolution have been contradictory.
For those out of the loop, we should note that Nokia released the Lumia 820 in three different versions too, namely Lumia 820, Lumia 822, and Lumia 810, each destined for a different wireless carrier.
As it turns out, Microsoft might follow a similar pattern with the new handset as well, though we suspect that the phone variant featuring the name of Lumia 830 in the US will be available internationally as well.
Apparently, the AT&T and T-Mobile models will be very similar, though one of them is said to lack wireless charging capabilities.
According to the previous reports on this mobile phone, it will arrive on the market with a 20-megapixel PureView camera on the back, being the first mid-range handset in the Lumia series to include such capabilities.
A series of allegedly leaked images with the smartphone had already confirmed that it would feature a Lumia 1020-like camera bump on the back, but little was known on the actual camera capabilities until earlier this week.
Lumia 830 is also expected to arrive on shelves with a touchscreen display of around 4.5 inches and to include support for 4G LTE networks, though it won’t feature high-end hardware specs in the end, it seems.
However, the handset will run under the Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 operating system version right from the start, rumor has it.
No specific info on when this device might arrive on shelves has been provided as of now, but chances are that it will be officially announced on September 4, at the IFA 2014 show in Berlin. Microsoft has already sent invitations to the launch event, suggesting that a new PureView-enabled device will be announced.