Lumia 535 Smartphone Review: Microsoft's Brilliant Budget Bullet

Microsoft’s release of the Lumia 535 Windows Phone is a critical moment in Redmond’s mobile mission. Not that every handset release shouldn’t be regarded as critical (it’s never too early to start #failing), but the Lumia 535 comes at an important transitional time for the company as it is aimed at a vital market for the continued adoption of Windows Phone.

The Windows Phone project, for all the talk of high-end handset, impressive camera specifications, tight integration with enterprise and cloud services, has found much of its success at the low-end of the portfolio. Primarily through Nokia’s expertise in shifting high volumes of low-cost handsets, the Lumia 520 was seen not just as a success for Nokia, but a success for all of Windows Phone. Its low price and powerful facilities (due in part to the lesser specifications required from the hardware because of the design of Windows Phone) meant that dollar-for-dollar it was easy to call the Lumia 520 a success.

Now the 520′s successor in the form of the Lumia 535 is here. It has to content with the championship status of its predecessor, it has to deliver Microsoft’s marketing message for mobile to the low-end, primarily to the BRIC countries, and it has to do all of this without the power of ‘brand Nokia’ to back it.

All of these areas focus more on strategy rather than hardware, because that’s the nature of today’s mobile market – interdependence and connectedness of online services and personal networks, over and above the hardware. Microsoft has delivered a handset that, in my opinion, comfortably provides for the former  to be achieved. The first critical goal – solid and dependable hardware – has been reached and SIM free price of 110 Euros before tax ($135) is incredibly competitive.

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