REVIEW: Microsoft's First Official Lumia 535

Microsoft is finally putting its own brand on the phones it makes and sells itself. The Windows giant's latest Lumia 535 drops the Nokia branding completely – as expected – and will instead sport a proud "Microsoft" front and rear.

Microsoft’s Lumia 535 isn’t all that different from the Nokia devices that have come before it, but it’s the first to drop the Nokia branding in favor of Microsoft text at the rear and front, and a company logo on the colorful removable shell. All future Lumia devices will launch with Microsoft branding, and existing Lumias with the Nokia moniker will continue to be known as Nokia handsets.

The Lumia 535 fixes many of the Lumia 530's ills. It is in many ways a welcome addition, mostly because it addresses many of the concern reviewers and consumers have had with the 5xx line of Lumias.

SPECIFICATIONS
Microsoft finally gave a great surprise by revealing this beautiful device. No one expected such great specs for a low end device especially for windows device from Microsoft.

Specifications might be low on the Lumia 535, but Microsoft has made some changes that don’t compromise the experience as much as some other budget Lumia devices.

Colour variates

The addition of 1GB of RAM here instead of the usual 512MB is an important move, especially as a lot of Windows Phone games require higher amounts of RAM. Microsoft has also included auto brightness, and a 5-megapixel forward-facing camera with a wide angle lens.

The Lumia 535 comes with a 5-inch qHD display (960 x 540), a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, and 1GB of RAM.

SCREEN, CAMERA & BATTERY
Microsoft is tempting potential Lumia 535 owners with what it calls a "5x5x5" proposition.

Features like front-facing camera is a giant 5MP - for those selfies or Skype calls,  along with larger displays is where the market is heading in late 2014.

Adding a flash for the rear camera along with a higher quality Gorilla Glass IPS display is also a perfect addition.

An extra 200 mAh battery could have done better but we can always expect a great battery performance from windows phone 8.1 OS.

What the Lumia 535 really signals is Microsoft’s clear plan for Windows Phone. The software giant has been signing partnerships with low-cost hardware makers, and Windows Phone could be seen as a flagship device to stage a competition with other Android device brand-owners this holiday season.

Back view

ANY FLIPSIDE?
For me, the only down part of this device is, it only supports 480P video capturing which is pretty disappointing.

PRICE
Making the handset available in single and dual-SIM variants for around 22,000 Naira ($130) is a good one.

BACKGROUND
Microsoft announced the acquisition of Nokia's mobile division in September 2013 but didn't wrap up the deal until April. Included in the $7.2bn deal were licenses to use the Nokia brand for a limited period. Nokia itself agreed not to make mobile devices until the end of next year.

From 2000 to 2009 Nokia was the world's fifth biggest brand on Interbrand's rankings - so the disappearance of Nokia from Lumia hardware may be considered to be quite damaging.

Having observed the device critically for some hours, I think the Lumia 535 is the type of entry-level Windows Phone users would like to see around the globe. It hits all of the sweet spots for modern hardware, while still coming in at an affordable price. In that sense, Microsoft obviously deserve kudos on this one.

You can also let us know what you think about this device when you buy yours - by sharing your comment with us.