Microsoft quietly testing new Lumia with 4.7" screen in India

Microsoft has decided to attack the entry-level smartphones category in India by introducing multiple models. While the high-end Lumia devices remain work-in-progress, yet another budget-level Windows Phone device is being tested in India.

As per Zauba's import data, Microsoft is testing a Lumia phone with RM-1127 product code. This phone has a 4.7" display and is a single-SIM device.

Bearing a declared value of INR4,578, the actual price of this phone might be significantly higher, as noted in the case of Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL recently. Since the Lumia RM-1127 is only being tested, it might take couple of months for it to release formally.

Microsoft Lumia 640 to be among first to get Windows 10 update

Microsoft has confirmed that the Lumia 640, which was announced at this year's MWC along with its larger brother - the Lumia 640 XL. will be one of the first devices to receive the Windows 10 for Phones update.

The confirmation (see video above) was made by Microsoft's Scandinavian General Manager Ossi Korpela, who also called the Lumia 640 as an affordable high-end device.

Both the Lumia 640 and 640 XL were unveiled in India last month, and are now available for purchase in the UK. The former also recently made a brief appearance on the US Microsoft Store website, giving us an idea about the carrier pricing for the device in the country.

Microsoft to launch two high-end Lumia phones later this year

Microsoft recently shared more details on the Windows 10 OS for desktops but didn't give us much on its phone platform. Later, the operating system group chief Joe Belfoire noted that the Windows 10 for phones will arrive later this year.

Now we learn Microsoft is also planning to introduce two high-end Lumia devices with its latest platform. These Lumia devices can be expected to run Windows 10 out of the box.

Out of the two, a premium model with codename Cityman will sport a 5.7-inch QHD display, an Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset with octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 3,300 mAh removable battery. The Cityman will feature a 20MP rear snapper which hopefully carries the PureView lineup a step further and a 5 MP front camera.

Meanwhile, Talkman will feature a 5.2-inch QHD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC with hexa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB built-in storage, and 3,000 mAh battery. This one will also have a 20MP rear snapper and 5MP front camera.

There's no way of verifying the validity of this report so take it with a healthy pinch of salt.

Microsoft Edge is the official name of the Project Spartan Web browser for Windows 10

Today during its Build conference, Microsoft has finally announced what it’s going to call its new Web browser for Windows 10. This has been known so far as Project Spartan, but its official name will be Microsoft Edge.

Edge will be the default browser in Windows 10, although a version of Internet Explorer will also be in there just for compatibility’s sake.

Microsoft Edge will work with Cortana in Windows 10, so for example you’ll be able to say stuff like “Hey Cortana, open zetahertz.blogspot.in ”, and that will happen for you in Edge. The New Tab page has been redesigned and it uses Cortana too, showing you favorites, a search bar, featured apps, news stories relevant to you, weather info, stocks, and sports.

Extensions built for Google Chrome will be able to work in Edge with very minor modifications, it turns out. The same should be true for Firefox extensions too.

And as previously unveiled, Edge will come with built-in note-taking and sharing features, which allow you to annotate any Web page and send the result to friends or coworkers. The browser will also sport a reading mode with a built-in reading list.

Microsoft BUILD Conference Keynote Live Blog

Microsoft's annual BUILD conference is just minutes away and we will be keeping a close eye on the announcements and especially the all-important keynote presentation. It is set to start at 3:30PM GMT and, naturally, Microsoft has promised a live stream, which we will provide as soon as possible, so you can tag along and listen in to the future on Windows.
Even though Microsoft's BUILD event are mostly geared towards software, we expect to hear quite a few things about hardware as well. Microsoft made it clear that new Lumia flagships will probably be held off until Windows 10 becomes official, but new details on future devices are not out of the question.

There are also other things to look forward to, like information on HoloLens, the Internet of things and many, many more, so be sure to tune in for the event.

                                 

Microsoft Lumia 840 expected in the coming months

Microsoft Lumia 830

The Lumia 840 is expected to come with Windows Phone 8.1 GDR2 pre-installed. That might seem a wee bit surprising in light of the reports that Windows 10 for Phones is expected to come out of the box on the Microsoft Lumia 940. The Lumia 830 didn't exactly set the wireless world on fire. The device features a 5-inch 720 x 1280 resolution (HD) screen. A quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU are both under the hood. 

One anonymous Microsoft employee was discussing a prototype for a mid-range device which he says will come with dual SIM capabilities, a 13-14MP rear PureView camera, 5MP front-facing snapper, a 5-inch screen and a design similar or "slightly modified" to the Lumia 830. According to this source, "While it is not sure what the name may be, we may call it Lumia 840 for our convenience."

We haven't a clue when the Microsoft Lumia 840 will be unveiled. What we can tell you is that there is speculation about another mid-range Lumia model that would feature a larger 5.5-inch to 5.7-inch screen and would sport a non PureView camera. This allegedly would be known as the Microsoft Lumia 740 XL.

Lumia 940 might come with 5.2-inch display, 25MP cam

Microsoft is expected to announce Lumia 940 later this year and it should be the next Lumia flagship replacing the dated Lumia 930 model. We are yet to learn Microsoft's announcement plans, but we can shed some light on the possible specs.

According to the latest report the Microsoft Lumia 940 may pack a 5.2" display, while its Lumia 940 XL sibling will bump the screen estate up to 5.7". The upcoming Windows 10 supports high-end processors, so Microsoft is expected to go after a flagship chipset with an octa-core CPU. Finally, the rear camera will get a new higher resolution 24 or 25 MP sensor, while the front one will be upgraded with a 5 or 8 MP one.

Lumia 940 may sport a 5.2 inch while Lumia 940 XL may have a 5.7 inch display. We hear that the rear camera sensor may swell to 24-25 MP from current 20 MP on Lumia 930. They will certainly feature a 5 MP or even higher MP FFC. We also hear some cool features like 3D-interaction, Iris scanner and native Pen support as part of the package. We know that Windows 10 for Phones will bring support for Hexa-core and Octa-core processors. We don’t have confirmed info about processor and display resolution as of now but Microsoft may go for bleeding-edge specs, we hear.

The next Microsoft Lumia flagship, most probably Lumia 940, should run natively on Windows 10 and could be announced as early as April 29 at the BUILD conference. Also expect, Microsoft to debut two new mid-range phone as rumored before and one of the could be a dual-SIM flavor of the Lumia 830 as the today's report suggests.