Microsoft has been filling the market lately with low-cost Lumia Windows Phone devices, including the Lumia 430, 435, 532, 535, and 640. Now we’ve got another number to add to that list.
The Microsoft Lumia 540 Dual SIM is now official, running Windows Phone 8.1 on a 5-inch display for $149 without a contract. As its name implies, the Lumia 540 Dual SIM accepts two SIM cards simultaneously, allowing the user to have two phone numbers that can accept calls and messages on just one phone.
The Lumia 540 Dual SIM’s spec list starts with a 5-inch 1280x720 display and 5-megapixel wide-angle camera on its face, and it also includes an 8-megapixel auto focus camera with flash on its rear. Packed inside of the 9.35mm polycarbonate body is a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a microSD card slot, 3.5G connectivity, and a removable 2200mAh battery. Microsoft notes that the Lumia 540 Dual SIM will be upgradeable to Windows 10 as well.
Microsoft says that the Lumia 540 Dual SIM will launch in early May in India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. Pricing will be set at $149, and you’ll be able to get the device in glossy layered cyan, orange, white, and matte black color options.
In its announcement of the Lumia 540 Dual SIM, Microsoft says that it knows its customers “have different needs and budgets, so we always want to provide choice.” It’s certainly doing that by offering a bevy of Windows Phone devices that hit several marks in the “affordable” price range. And while it may be frustrating to some Windows Phone users that it’s been quite a long time since we’ve seen a new flagship Lumia, Microsoft has said that it plans to show such a device in the second half of 2015, so at least we know that Microsoft hasn’t abandoned the high-end Windows Phone market completely.