Microsoft Lumia 535 Release Date, Specs & Price: 5x5x5 Ends Nokia Era

Microsoft has just written the obituary for Nokia as a smartphone maker when the Windows giant unveiled on November 11 the Microsoft Lumia 535.

Known as the 5x5x5 for its 5-inch touch screen and 5-megapixel front and rear-facing cameras, the Lumia 535 ends Nokia's era in smartphones as Microsoft has finally decided to put its own brand on the phones it makes and sells, cites The Register.

Nokia was lording over the mobile phone market at the start of the new millennium. Its closest competitor then was Ericsson. But now, the Finnish phonemaker has literally gone to oblivion with the dominance of Apple and Samsung in the global smartphone market, details The Register in a May 17 article.

The Finnish company tried to keep its heads above water in the smartphone retail market in the past couple of years but even other major competitors such as HTC, LG, Sony, Motorola, among others have overtaken it completely.

That left Nokia with no choice but to sell its handset business in September last year to Microsoft for $7.2 billion, details PC.

Release Date, Specifications and Price

Microsoft has not yet disclosed any specific release date for Lumia 535 but sources in the Redmondian company estimate that the smartphone will have a price tag starting at $136, reports PC.

Lumia 535 will run on Windows Phone 8.1 and shall come either in 3G single SIM or 3G smart dual SIM. The device will have access to five of Microsoft's services including Skype, Office, OneDrive, Cortana, and OneNote, explains The Guardian.

PC also details that the Lumia 535 shall have the Lumia Denim update feature, which includes one swipe notifications through the Action Center and the Swype-like super-fast Word Flow and Live Folders.

To ensure that the handset remains slim, which is a fad among smartphones these days, Microsoft is using a 1905 mAH battery pack for Lumia 535, notes the The Register.

Microsoft Lumia 535 will be powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and shall have 1GB or RAM and 8GB of internal storage, but it will have a microSD card slot capable of supporting up to 128GB, cites PC.

While Microsoft has not specified an exact release date for its first smartphone without the Nokia brand on it, the PC report may have inadvertently gave a hint when it said: "The Lumia 535 will be available this month in green, blue, orange, white, dark grey, or black."

But until Microsoft gives the confirmation, this is merely speculation at this time.