During Microsoft's event last night, the company's focus was on its flagship Windows 10 Mobile-powered devices as well as Windows 10-powered Surface devices. So, it was only natural that the company didn't spend much time in announcing a new affordable smartphone, the Microsoft Lumia 550. Even if you did watch the live stream of the event, there's a fair amount of chance that you might have missed some of the details regarding the Lumia 550. So, here's everything that you want to know about the Microsoft Lumia 550 smartphone.
Microsoft Lumia 550 Specifications
- 4.7-inch IPS LCD display, 720 x 1,280 pixels (~315 ppi), capacitive multitouch screen
- Windows 10 Mobile operating system, Cortana, Microsoft Office, Skype, OneDrive, and OneNote
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 (MSM8909), 1.1GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, Adreno 304 GPU
- 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, and microSD card slot (upto 200GB)
- 5MP primary camera (1/4-inch sensor), autofocus lens, F2.4 aperture, single-LED flash, and 720p HD video recording
- 2MP secondary camera, fixed-focus lens, F2.8 aperture, and VGA video recording
- Single-SIM (nano-SIM card slot), 4G LTE, HSPA+, Wi-Fi b.g.n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, and GPS (with A-GPS, GLONASS, and A-BeiDou)
- Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, and Proximity sensor
- 2,100 mAh battery; 136.1 x 67.8 x 9.9 mm; 141.9 g
The Microsoft Lumia 550 is an affordable smartphone from the company, and one of the first Windows 10 Mobile-based devices. However, unlike the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL, this smartphone isn't as well-equipped as its competitors. Priced at around $139 (~ Rs. 9,077), the device features a 4.7-inch HD IPS LCD display, a quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage space, and a microSD card slot. In terms of imaging, the device has been equipped with a 5-megapixel primary camera with autofocus, LED flash, and 720p HD video recording. There's a 2-megapixel secondary camera as well for video calling and clicking self-portraits.
In terms of connectivity, the Lumia 550 is a single-SIM smartphone with 4G LTE connectivity, and it is also equipped with regular features like Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, and GPS. There are three basic sensors – an accelerometer, an ambient-light sensor, and a proximity sensor – and it packs in a 2,100 mAh battery. If you can notice, Microsoft has definitely missed out on equipping this device with a dual-SIM card slot, and the device doesn't support 4G LTE on TDD-LTE 2300 MHz channel, which is used in India.
Microsoft hasn't announced the specific date as to when the Lumia 550 will be available in India, and the company's India-centric website hasn't listed the device yet. However, we expect the device to be available in India sometime in December 2015 priced under the Rs. 10,000 mark. It will compete with much better equipped Android smartphones such as the YU Yureka Plus, the Lenovo K3 Note, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, and the Samsung Galaxy J5. All these devices have better specifications than the Lumia 550, and that will definitely be a problem for Microsoft.
