14 DAY TRIAL // There was a time when Microsoft was super-committed to the mobile phone industry, and in addition to launching smartphones like the Lumia lineup, the tech giant also considered a series of feature phones.
The one you see here is believed to be Microsoft’s first dumb phone ever planned under its very own brand, as all the other similar devices that the company was selling were using the Nokia logo.
However, as you can see in the photos published by WindowsCentral, despite being a feature phone, Microsoft wanted this model to look familiar to company fans, so it used a Windows Phone-like interface with live tiles.
But given it wasn’t supposed to be a smartphone per se, these live tiles only changed to display notifications, like missed calls, but other than that, they weren’t too dynamic.
Microsoft, however, wanted its dumb phone to be a bit smarter when needed, so it also installed a series of apps like Outlook Mail, Calendar, OneNote, and GroupMe. A web browser was also offered.
It never came to be
Needless to say, the technical specifications aren’t really impressive given it’s a feature phone we’re talking about here. The device was equipped with a 2.5-inch screen and was powered by a 1,200 mAh battery, enough to get you through the day given the aforementioned features. A 1.92-megapixel camera was also offered on the phone.
This Windows phone wannabe was more or less one of the most advanced dumb phones developed by Nokia and Microsoft, and it also came with games like Asphalt. Of course, the performance wasn’t by any means close to what you get on a smartphone, but Microsoft clearly wanted to offer a compelling package in a very convenient form factor with a reduced price.
Nevertheless, Microsoft’s dumb phone never came to be, as the company eventually decided to give up on mobile devices entirely. At this point, Microsoft has no plans to launch a mobile phone.
