Phone Review: Microsoft Lumia 430 Dual SIM

Microsoft has introduced a new range of Lumia phones launched under the banner of a new consumer campaign dubbed #AchieveMore, which seeks to inspire users to increase their productivity by doing more with their Lumia phones, whether at work or at home. One of the phones launched is the Lumia 430 Dual SIM. I’ve had the opportunity to get a feel of the phone over two weeks and these are my thoughts on the device.

Price

The phone is retailing at a very affordable Ksh 8,500. The device has actually been dubbed ‘Microsoft’s most affordable Lumia to date’.

What’s in the box?

The box comes with the phone, battery and charger. Note that it doesn’t come with earphones.

Design and Display

The Lumia 430 is 4 inches, making it easy to snugly fit in the hand. It’s pretty light weighing 127.9g. The phone comes in orange and black and has a plastic back. The screen resolution is a decent 480 by 800 pixels and the screen is a VGA display offering a pixel density of 235ppi.

Sim Card     

As with most phones in this range, it’s a dual sim. It is worth noting that the sim is a micro sim.

Memory and OS

The Lumia 430 runs Windows 8.1. It’s powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and has 1GB of RAM with 8GB of built-in storage.  The memory is expandable via microSD to up to 128GB. This is more than enough storage space for the heavy phone users (read download experts). The phone comes preloaded with Microsoft Office, OneDrive and Skype.

Camera

The main camera is 2MP with the front being 0.3MP. This is okay for a few decent shots.

Connectivity

The phone is capable of accessing both 2G and 3G. It also has the option of WiFi. I haven’t experienced any issues as far as connectivity was concerned.

Battery

The battery is a 1500mAH replaceable Li-Ion battery that lasts a little over a day with average use.

Where is it available?

The Microsoft Lumia 430 Dual SIM is available in phone shops all over the country.

Verdict

For that price the phone is a great deal, especially for someone looking to own a device that looks good and has some of the main features of a Lumia without having to break the bank .

Promotion Alert

A national consumer campaign has been unveiled to reward customers who buy any Lumia phone (including the Lumia 430) with five Chevrolet Cruze cars and 40 Lumia 640 XL devices to be won over the promotion period. To participate in the consumer campaign, all you need to do is purchase any Lumia phone with a valid 12 months warranty in Kenya, activate it and send a text message containing the device’s IMEI number to 22860 during the program period. Winners will be contacted via +254 2301641 and announced on the Lumia East Africa Facebook and Twitter pages.