14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, Nokia unveiled the Lumia 630 and 635 duo at BUILD 2014 developers conference, both of which will be powered by Windows Phone 8.1 operating system.
These will be the first smartphones to ship with the new platform and according to Microsoft, they will go on sale sometime in May. Nokia has also confirmed that the single SIM Lumia 630 will be available in Asia, Russia, China, India and Europe for only $160 (€115), while the dual-SIM variant will sell for $170 (€130).
On the other hand, the more expensive Nokia Lumia 635 will be launched on the market in the region mentioned earlier, including in the US starting in July, for $190 (€150) outright.
Both smartphones will be available in three colors versions: bright orange, bright green and bright yellow. Additionally, the Finnish handset maker has announced that owners will be able to further customize both devices with the Nokia CC-3079 case that comes in the same colors mentioned earlier.
Although Lumia 630 and 635 have been priced aggressively, they offer more than decent features, so expect no compromises from Nokia.
While both Lumias have been equipped with 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processors, the Lumia 630 only offers HSDP+ (21MBps) connectivity, whereas the Lumia 635 supports LTE Cat.3 (100Mbps). This is the only difference between the two smartphones.
The 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display supports 854 x 480 pixels resolution and features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating for extra protection, along with ClearBlack technology.
Aside from that, Nokia has confirmed that its first Windows Phone smartphones will come with 8GB of storage inside, as well as well microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB). The phones will be powered by 1830 mAh batteries that have yet to be rated for standby and talk time.
There's no mention of secondary front-facing camera, but both Lumias feature 5-megapixel photo snappers on the back with autofocus and video recording. Keep in mind that the main camera lacks LED flash.
Software-wise, Nokia Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 introduce the innovative new “SensorCore,” which is said to provide low-power motion sensing with Bing Health and Fitness. According to Nokia, in order to improve this feature, a new SensorCore SDK is now being tested with select partners before being released to the public.
The whole Nokia suite of apps and services will be included in both Lumia 630 and 635, such as HERE Maps, Nokia Camera and MixRadio. Other social apps will be preloaded as well, including WhatsApp and WeChat.
