Microsoft Devices launch Lumia 530 dual SIM; the phone is available in stores in India at a best buy price of Rs.7,349.

Microsoft Devices is focusing on bringing high-end innovations to more accessible price points under the Lumia range.

Launching Lumia 530 dual SIM here on Monday, T. S. Sridhar, Director-South, Nokia India, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobiles Oy, told presspersons that the phone, which is a Windows Phone 8.1 device, was launched globally about three weeks ago.

According to a press release from the company, the phone is available in stores in India at a best buy price of Rs.7,349.

Lumia activations

Mr. Sridhar said India was among the top four Lumia markets. Lumia activations in the country between March last year and March 2014 was triple the number of cumulative Lumia activations till March 2013.

The total number of smartphone devices sold in India last year was 44 million and it is expected to be 81 million this year (2014). Tamil Nadu is one of the biggest markets for telecom in India. The maximum growth in the smartphone market is in the price range of Rs.4,000-12,000.

Smartphones priced between Rs.4,000 and Rs.14,000 are growing at four times the speed of the rest of the segment and innovation in this segment is also growing. The company has five Lumia phones in this price range.

The market for dual SIM is high and data usage has also increased. Young customers, those aged between 18 and 24, are the major buyers of smartphones.

According to Strategy Analytics, every third device sold in the country next year was expected to be a smartphone, he said.