22 December,2014 07:23 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
Microsoft could have nailed it with Lumia 535, the first smartphone to carry the Microsoft Devices logo, but a messy touch and average looks, leaves you feeling shortchanged
Lumia 535
The Microsoft Lumia 535 is the first Lumia to officially bear the Microsoft logo after the software giant took over the Finnish smartphone company earlier this year. Priced just at '9,199 (though higher when compared to the previous Lumia 5xx smartphones), it's believed to be MS' attempt to bank on the popularity of budget smartphones like Motorola's Moto G.
What we liked
The dual-sim Lumia 535 gets a 5-inch screen, comes loaded with the latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS with Lumia Denim update, and offers a 5MP wide angle front camera, which is perfect for selfies. Even the 5MP rear camera does a decent job. In terms of connectivity, the Lumia 535 is on par with most devices in this range as it supports 2G and 3G, Bluetooth as well as WiFi. The Lumia 535 uses a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, and is available with an in-built storage of 8GB. The RAM is decent at 1GB, and offers external storage support up to 128GB. Its other features include lifetime license for Microsoft Office suite among several other apps.
To top it all, it gets a removable 1905mAh battery, which can run easily on a full day on single charge. Now, a removable battery automatically increases the life span of a device as one can just replace the battery when it dies off, which is not the case with phones like Moto G, which come with non-removable batteries. Looking at the goodies, this would sound like the ideal Christmas goodie bag, right? Well, almost!
What we didn't like
After seeing the popularity of the 830, we expected Microsoft to offer a similar finish in its upcoming devices, especially the 535, since it was first to bear the Microsoft logo. Unfortunately this isn't the case as the familiar bulky design of the old Lumia devices reappears in the 535.
The disappointment continues with its 5-inch screen, which gets a below average resolution of 960x540, which again, is tough to use in bright day light despite the fact that Microsoft claims otherwise. But all that could have still been forgiven had the 535 not had an issue with its touch response. The issue, as highlighted by several reviewers and bloggers online, and faced by this reviewer too, is a total killjoy, and makes us wonder if Microsoft would really be able to offer the same quality of Nokia phones.
But not all is bad. Microsoft offers to compensate all the things it couldn't do well with the Lumia 535 by offering freebies like discount up to Rs 6,000 on purchases made via the Jabong app on the phone, free mobile recharge up to Rs 600 and 500 MB data Internet pack per month, free of cost for two months. Had Microsoft focussed solely on product quality, and perhaps, slashed the cost a bit instead of offering only freebies, the Lumia 535 could have been a great start.
NOTE: If you are still keen on a Windows phone, you might want to look at the Nokia Lumia 638, which is priced at Rs 8,299 and is 4G enabled.
Log on to: Microsoft Brand Store on Amazon.in
Rating: 4/10
