Microsoft officially unveiled their first smartphone on Tuesday - the Lumia 535 - just six months after the company bought Nokia's device unit.
While the Lumia 535 is incomparable to the top smartphones on the market today, Mikael Ricknas, a trusted technology analyst from PC World, said that Microsoft did a great job in creating their first smartphone, which edged Motorola's Moto E in several categories.
The Lumia 535 and Moto E is available on the market for $135 and $130, respectively, which means the price won't be a factor in choosing between the two devices. Both smartphones are powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor and have the same 960-by-540 screen resolution.
However, Microsoft scored a point in terms of screen size - the Lumia 535 features a 5-inch display, beating out Moto E's 4.3-inch screen.
Aside from the screen size, Lumia 535 is a more attractive device for people fund of taking pictures because of its 5-megapixel front camera, similar to what Microsoft used for their higher-end devices Lumia 730 and 735. On the other hand, the Moto E doesn't have a front-facing camera.
Lumia 535 packs 8GB of internal storage, while Moto E has 4GB of internal storage, which is quite low for a smartphone today. Motorola provides an option to expand using 32GB microSD card, but Lumia 535 owners are also allowed to add more storage space using a much bigger 128GB microSD card.
However, Ricknas pointed out that consumers might still consider getting Moto E because of the availability of applications. Lumia 535 runs Windows Phone 8.1, while Moto E is powered by Android KitKat 4.2.
"That Microsoft launches the Lumia 535 so soon after the arrival of the weak Lumia 530 shows the company is serious about making a go of Windows Phone in the low-end smartphone market," Ricknas wrote. "However, there is little doubt the company and Windows Phone will struggle to compete with Android. The availability of apps has improved, but is still an Achilles heel."
But for those who are still intrigued about the Microsoft's new smartphone, the company announced that Lumia 535 will be available in Russia, Ukraine, China, Indonesia and Philippines later this month, while consumers in Australia, Vietnam and Thailand will have to wait until December.
CNET also reported that Lumia 535 will be released in Latin American countries in January and in United Kingdom within the first quarter of 2015. The company did not specify whether or not the device will be released in the United States.
