Microsoft SA has announced the availability of its latest smartphone software, Windows Phone 8.1, in the country, along with two new devices - the Nokia Lumia 630 and Nokia Lumia 930.
The software giant held its first major launch since acquiring Nokia about two months ago, in Johannesburg on Thursday night, announcing the arrival of two new smartphones that will be powered by Windows 8.1.
According to Patrick Henchie, head of product for Microsoft South and East Africa, the Lumia 630 (successor to the low-end Lumia 625) is set to be available in SA from July at a recommended retail price of R1 999, while the high-end 930 (the flagship Lumia 920's successor) is expected to be available around September. The company did not provide pricing on the flagship phone, but it is available via Orange's online store for R7 989.
The latest software, says Microsoft, includes new features and upgrades that cater to markets across the board.
For emerging markets in particular, Luca Decour, Microsoft operator channels business development manager, says the fact that users can "for the first time store applications on SD cards" will be appealing. "This is important for emerging market users who rely on SD cards because they have phones with limited [on-phone] storage."
Other new features trumpeted by Microsoft include "enhanced personalisation" (such as a third vertical row of tiles on the start screen), a battery saver mode, syncing of apps across devices and an increase in cloud storage (OneDrive) for consumers from 7GB to 15GB. Enterprise customers, says Decour, have a 1TB storage capacity on OneDrive with Windows Phone 8.1.
Action Centre - another new feature introduced with Windows Phone 8.1 - enables users to view "all their notifications at a glance".
Phone specs
Microsoft says the first Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone to hit the local market - the Lumia 630 - takes aim at the low-end market, but includes high-end features.
"The device combines Windows Phone 8.1 with quad core processing and uncompromised cloud-connected experiences from Microsoft," says Henchie.
The 4.5-inch display phone will be launched with multi-coloured, changeable covers and features a quad-core Snapdragon processor, providing "a faster social experience on apps like WhatsApp and WeChat".
At the high-end, the five-inch display Lumia 930 has a 2.2GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The phone also features a 20MP PureView camera, Zeiss optics and optical image stabilisation.
"All new Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones come with a suite of integrated Microsoft services, [including] full mobile version of Office," says Microsoft.
The company says Windows Phone 8.1 will also be available to download to all existing Windows Phone 8 customers "in the coming months".
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