A trio of new Nokia Lumia models has just been announced by Microsoft, a day before IFA 2014 is scheduled to start. They are the long-rumored Nokia Lumia 830, Lumia 730, and Lumia 735.
Touted as high-end devices with midrange prices, the Nokia Lumia devices were presented before an audience at a special media event on Thursday, Sept. 4. All three phones run on Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system.
Naturally, these three devices will soon be making their way to all major U.S. carriers. The only question is where. For now, there is no official confirmation from Microsoft regarding the distribution schedule.
Even so, the rumor mill has remained particularly active with speculation. Here is a rundown of the top rumors that have been making the rounds.
Update: Nokia Lumia 830 AT&T Version Confirmed For the Holidays
Nokia Lumia 830
Back in mid-August, tech-blog TKTechNews reported that the Nokia Lumia 830 was coming to Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. They apparently obtained the information from a paid source close to the mobile device industry. TK Tech also admitted that they had no information regarding whether Sprint will carry the new phone.
Apart from this rumor, no new information has surfaced regarding the Lumia 830 release schedule. Of course, the situation may change in the coming weeks as updates start to become available through official channels.
Of the three latest Nokia Lumia devices, the Lumia 830 packs the heftier price tag. This comes as no surprise considering that the Lumia 830 has the larger screen and more bells-and-whistles. Still, the phone has been advertised as "the first affordable flagship" by Chris Weber, Microsoft corporate vice president of mobile device sales.
Under the hood, the phone comes with 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, which is also included in the Lumia 730 and Lumia 735 as well. However, the Lumia 830 has the larger 5-inch screen with 1280x720 pixel resolution. Regarding memory, the phone has 1 GB RAM. It can hold up to 16 GB of data, and has microSD support to increase the storage capacity. The Lumia 830 has a 10-megapixel camera with a high-quality Zeiss lens. For sharper images, the camera has optical image stabilization.
In terms of dimension, the mobile device measures at 139.4 x 70.7 x 8.5mm and weighs 150g. The phone also comes in orange, green, white and black. Starting price for the new device is €330, which is roughly $434 in U.S. dollars. Comparatively, the Samsung Galaxy S5 unlocked sells for almost $600, while the iPhone 5S has a retail value of at around $650.
Nokia Lumia 730 and Lumia 735
Regarding retail value, the Lumia 730 sells at €199, which is about $262 in U.S. currency. In contrast, the Lumia 735 sells for €219, or $288 USD.
For now, tech gossip circles have remained silent about the availability of Lumia 730 and Lumia 735. There is no official word from Microsoft regarding which carriers will have the mobile devices. Still, it is possible that the major wireless providers will eventually carry the two phones. Consumers will need to wait for more information from Microsoft, which should be making announcements in the days ahead.
Compared to their larger Lumia 830 cousin, the Lumia 730 and 735 are smaller with 4.7-inch screens. Nonetheless, all three devices share the same 1280x720 pixel resolution. Beneath the surface, the Lumia 730 and 735 has 1 GB RAM and 8GB or internal storage. Both handsets have a 6.7-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
The only major difference between the phones is that the Lumia 730 is dual-sim, while the Lumia 735 operates on the 4G network.
