It looks like Microsoft is trying to fill the void on the budget segment of the Windows Phone market. The tech giant has just announced a new Lumia phone that’s intended for the budget-conscious consumers.

The Lumia 540 is a 5-inch smartphone that runs on Windows Phone 8.1. The handset is equipped with a Snapdragon 200 chip with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage that’s expandable with the use of a microSD card.

The screen will have HD resolution while the cameras at the back and front will have an 8MP and 5MP sensors respectively. Just with other Lumia handsets, the Lumia 530 will come with 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage with an additional 15GB if auto-upload is enabled. There’s no word on connectivity details yet but we do know that the phone has two slots for two SIM cards.

Microsoft has used a 2200mAh removable battery on the Lumia 540 and will certainly provide an update for Windows 10 once the OS becomes available. The phone will go on sale for around $150 and will be available in different colors including cyan, orange, white and black.

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The smartphone industry has definitely changed a lot in recent years, especially after the entry of low-cost phones that run on a smart operating system. The leader in this segment of the market is of course Google with its open-source Android OS. And now that Microsoft has finally made the Windows Phone OS free for manufacturers, we’re seeing an influx of affordable WP phones in the market.

The most recent addition to this group is Microsoft’s very own Lumia 430. And at $70, you may well consider it as the most affordable Windows Phone handset in the market.

The handset is built with a 4-inch display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels with a screen density of 235ppi. It also sports a Snapdragon 200 chip with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GGB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. On the camera-front, the Lumia 430 will come with a 2MP at the back and a VGA snapper on the front.

As for connectivity, the budget constraints made sure that the handset didn’t get LTE, but for its price we’re pretty surprised it gets 3.5G connectivity. And again, at $70, Lumia phones don’t get any cheaper than this. And if Microsoft keeps its promise of providing Windows 10 updates to the Lumia range, the 430 might actually a good investment.

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Microsoft has just announced this week the newest members of its Lumia family following the launch of entry-level offerings November of last year. The two new handsets are the Lumia 640 and 640XL, which promises a step-up in specs for those who demand more from their phones.

The Lumia 640 is built around a 5-inch IPS display with 720p resolution, a screen density of 294ppi and a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 400 SoC with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

It also has an 8MP camera at the back with an LED flash that is capable of capturing Full HD videos at 30 frames per second and a 1MP snapper on the front that churns out 720p clips. The handset will be offered in either a single or dual-SIM version and 3G or LTE variants.

Meanwhile, the Lumia 640XL will have a 5.7-inch IPS LCD panel with 720p resolution (resulting in a screen density of 259ppi), ClearBlack technology and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device is clearly the successor of the Lumia 1320 from 2013.

Under the hood, the 640XL is identical to the smaller 640, specifically its chip, processor and RAM and storage capacity. What’s better though is that this model gets a bump in the camera department by getting a 13MP sensor with a Zeiss f/2.0 lens at the back with LED flash and a 5MP sensor with wide-angle lens for selfies on the front.

The Microsoft Lumia 640 will also have a 2500mAh battery and will retail for approximately $156 for the 3G version ($180 for the LTE version), while the 640XL will get a 3000mAh battery and should retail for $212 for the 3G model and $246 for the 4G model.

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Microsoft has just announced two new budget Windows Phone handsets that cost less than $100.

For about $83, consumers can get the Lumia 435. It has a 4-inch LCD display with 800x480 pixel resolution. Under the hood, there’s a Snapdragon 200 chip with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

You’ll also be getting a 2MP camera at the back that is capable of capturing 480p videos at 30fps, a VGA front-facing camera, a 1560mAh battery, 3G connectivity, A-GPS with GLONASS and two SIM card slots.

Now for an additional $10, users can get a few upgrades with the Lumia 532. The device comes with a Snapdragon 200 chip with 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage (with a 30GB complimentary OneDrive cloud storage). The rear camera has also been upgraded from 2MP to 5MP.

The rest of the specs are identical to the Lumia 435 including the VGA front-facing camera, the 1560mAh battery and dual SIM support. Both phones will be available in February in select markets in Europe, India, the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

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Microsoft has recent confirmed that its budget Windows smartphone the Lumia 535 is experiencing some issues specifically with its touchscreen. According to a number of consumers who purchase the handset, the phone is having some problems registering touch input.

The device is apparently having difficulty detecting multi-touch input on its display as well as not being able to register a tap leading to incorrect selection on its UI or worse not being able to do anything on the device.

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and is apparently working on a solution to fix the problem as soon as possible. The fix will be rolled out as a small software updated over the air and should come in the coming days.

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Finally, Microsoft’s first Lumia without the Nokia branding has been introduced possibly marking the end of the Nokia brand of mobile phones, which once held the title of the top phone maker in the world.

In all fairness to Microsoft, it has made the new Lumia 535 as competitive as possible, with a 5-inch IPS display with qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels) covered by a Gorilla Glass 3 panel, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 SoC with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

Microsoft is also marketing the 535 as a 5x5x5 device thanks to its 5MP front and rear camera partnered with its 5-inch display. Power will be supplied by a 1905mAh battery while software will of course be handled by Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 will be offered starting this month either as a single-SIM or dual-SIM version for around $137 in a variety of colors including white, black, orange, green and cyan to name a few.

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Microsoft’s Lumia event is just a few hours away but the Chinese crowd is already feasting on some photos of an alleged Lumia 535 and then some. A new photo shows the reported Lumia 535 and another tablet presumably the successor of the Lumia 1320.

The Lumia 535 is expected to have a 5-inch qHD display (540 x 960 pixels), a Snapdragon 200 SoC with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, a 5MP rear camera and a VGA selfie camera. There will also be support for two SIM cards but connectivity is limited to 3G only.

However, there’s not a lot of information about the Lumia 1330, but with it appearing close to the 535 at this point in time, it wouldn’t be impossible for it to be announced tomorrow as well.

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