Microsoft launches 'most affordable' Lumia 530 in India

Microsoft on Wednesday launched the Lumia 530 Dual SIM smartphone, the 'most affordable' Lumia to date, in India. The phone is priced Rs 7,349 and will be available in stores from August 14, 2014.

Lumia 530 comes with the latest version of Windows 8.1, with updates such as the one swipe notification from the Action Center and the World Flow keyboard. It comes with changeable cover shells in bright orange, bright green, dark grey and white. 

The phone has a 4-inch display with a screen resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. It has a 1.2Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. 

With a RAM of 512 MB, Lumia 430 has an on-board memory of 4 GB and expandable memory of up to 128 GB. Microsoft also offers an additional 15 GB of free cloud storage on its OneDrive, allowing users to sync, store, access and share files between Lumia 530 and computers, laptops and tablets.

The phone has 5 MP rear camera, but no front-facing camera or flash.

The Lumia 530's dimensions are 119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7mm, and it weighs 128 grams. It has connectivity options of GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth (4.0), GPS and Micro-USB. 

Microsoft is looking to target the youth with the Lumia 530 in the affordable smartphone segment.

“We, at Microsoft Devices, are committed towards helping people experience the uncompromised technologies and services that we offer on our Lumia devices. Lumia 530 builds on the legacy and success of Lumia 520 and will help us consolidate our position in this segment further,” said Viral Oza, Director-Marketing, Nokia India, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobiles Oy.
 
“With its innovative design, the latest Windows Phone 8.1 and signature Lumia experiences, the Lumia 530 3G Dual SIM is the perfect device for those who are looking for a distinctive smartphone,” he added.

In India, the phone comes with special offers. Phones bought through the Windows Phone Snapdeal app will get Rs 3,000 off. Buyers can also win six free movie tickets from BookMyShow when they book seats to any show through the app.

New Apple iPad production kicks off, with rumoured daylight-friendly screen

With iOS 8 unveiled, an iPhone 6 launch date set, and an iWatch waiting in the wings, Apple is now thought to have started up production on two new iPad models, both set to arrive before Christmas.

According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple has already started manufacturing the forthcoming 9.7-inch iPad, presumably the next generation of the iPad Air. The device should be unveiled by the end of this quarter or during the early part of the following one, Bloomberg reports. It adds that numbers of the larger model may be capped by "manufacturing complications related to the use of a new anti-reflection coating", intended to help readability in daylight.

Also on its way is a new 7.9-inch iPad mini, likely to be available by the end of the year.

Read this

Hands on with Apple's iOS 8 (pictures)

• Read more

The timing, if correct, shouldn't be a surprise, since it falls in line with the November timeframe for iPad releases that Apple moved to with the 2012 launch of the fourth-generation iPad and the first iPad Mini. 

The next generation of iPads will however launch to a markedly different environment to previous years', following consecutive quarters of significant year-on-year declines. This year's third quarter iPad sales of 13.3 million were down nine percent from 14.6 million a year earlier, while the second quarter sales for 2014 fell 16 percent year to 16.35 million.

Tech analysts believe Android phablets are eating into tablet sales across the board; however, the decline in iPad sales has been bigger than many Wall Street analysts expected for Apple's second biggest product category behind the iPhone.

Apple chief exec Tim Cook has said he's not worried about soft iPad sales and has repeatedly pointed to the company's greater focus on the enterprise, where tablet penetration remains relatively low, and on China.

Declining tablet sales may also partly explain its recent tie-up with IBM aimed at bring more iPhone and iPad devices to the enterprise.

And if phablets are eating up tablet sales, Apple's 5.5-inch display iPhone 6 may help it take a slice of that market. Apple has reportedly set the product launch for 9 September.

Besides hardware though, iOS 8 is expected to be one of the biggest updates to its OS in recent years, addressing several gaps that have emerged between it and Android, including allowing third-party keyboards, widgets, and data-sharing between apps, which overall spell a less locked-down approach to iOS.