Microsoft has announced a new Windows 10 Mobile smartphone, the Lumia 650, and it’s gunning for the business crowd.
There were rumours of a new Windows 10 Mobile handset from Microsoft in mid-January, and those rumours have now been confirmed. The Lumia 650 is here to sit in the middle of a range that includes the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, and Lumia 550.
Despite its mid-range branding, Microsoft is targeting a particularly demanding portion of the market with the Lumia 650. In the video that accompanies the phone’s launch, Microsoft calls it “The smart choice for your business.”
If anything, the Lumia 650 has a more attractive and even high-end design than the Lumia 950.
The phone’s flat-sided aluminium rim has more in common with the Lumia 930 than Microsoft’s underwhelming current flagship phone – but this time its polycarbonate back comes in muted black or white. It’s also thin (6.9mm) and light (122g).
In terms of specs, it’s a mixture of low and mid-range components. You get a 5-inch 720p OLED display, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It’s all powered by a Snapdragon 212 CPU, and there’s 16GB of on-board storage capacity.
You also get the business-friendly benefits of a removable battery and expandable storage.
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Microsoft is clearly appealing to IT managers when it boasts that Windows 10 Mobile has been “Designed to protect against modern security threats.” It also claims that “the Lumia 650 keeps both personal and company data secure with features including device encryption and device wipe.”
The Lumia 650 will hit European shops from February 18, with a particularly wallet-friendly price of between £150 and £160.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.