Microsoft has introduced Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL set to be rolled out globally in April and March for around KES 14,000 for the 3G model and KES 16,000 for the LTE model, before taxes and subsidies and around KES 19,000 euros for 3G and KES 22,000 for LTE respectively.
Both Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL will be available in single-SIM and dual-SIM LTE and dual-SIM 3G variants. Lumia 640 XL will also be available as a single-SIM 3G variant.
The phones come with onboard 1 GB of memory and Qualcomm ® Snapdragon ™ processor featuring quad-core CPU running at 1.2GHz. The 640 has a 5 inchHD display while the 640 XL has a 5.7 inch display screen. The 640 promise 2500 mAh battery while the 640 XL a 3000 mAh one.
The 640 has an 8MP camera while the 640 XL has 13MP ZEISS optics and both have a LED flash, a front-facing camera for Skype video calling, and Lumia Camera software right out of the box. Running on Windows Phone 8.1 and the Lumia Denim update, users can upgrade the Lumia 640 and 640 XL to Windows 10 and enjoy universal apps such as Office, Mail and Calendar, and Photos among others. The phones also come with the new Project Spartan browser; and extended integration of the Cortana personal assistant.
Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL also come with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote) on the Lumia as well as on one PC or Mac and one tablet, plus 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 free minutes of Skype Unlimited Worldwide calling per month.
Microsoft recently launched two new Lumia smartphones, the Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 for Ksh. 10,200 and Ksh. 11,750 respectively which were touted as the most affordable Lumia yet. This launch aims to address the mid-range category of consumers who want better quality smartphones but stil affordable.