Microsoft launches Lumia 430 for $70 -- the cheapest Windows smartphone yet

It’s been a while since Microsoft launched a flagship smartphone. The company is seemingly more focused towards making cheap smartphones and pushing these low-end devices to emerging markets. In the latest attempt, the company today launches the Lumia 430. Priced at $70 USD before taxes, the Lumia 430 is the "most affordable" Windows Phone smartphone to-date.

But surprisingly, the hardware offered by this dirt cheap smartphone isn’t as bad as one would expect. The Lumia 430 sports a 4-inch display with WVGA screen resolution. Inside the smartphone there's a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB internal storage which could be expanded up to 128 gigs using a microSD card. The device is powered by a 1,500mAh battery, which is rather small, but the company promises up to 8.4 hours of talk time on a single charge or up to 19 days of life in standby mode.

Other features of the Lumia 430 includes a 2-megapixel camera at the rear, and a 0.3-megapixel snapper upfront. Sure it won’t let you take great pictures, but at the $70 price tag, you can’t ask for more. The dual-SIM capable Lumia 430, supports WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, and USB 2.0 connectivity options. To sweeten the deal even further, Microsoft is giving away 15 gigs of additional storage on OneDrive when you sign up for the cloud storage service. You can then snag an additional 200GB using these workarounds.

But should you purchase it? Maybe. However, if you can shell out a few more bucks you are better off with the Lumia 532. It is also a dual-SIM phone and comes with a slightly faster processor, and better camera sensors while maintaining a sub-$100 price tag before taxes. Additionally, you should also check out the new LTE-capable Moto E which packs in a better processor, more connectivity options and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.

As for the availability of the Lumia 430, Microsoft says that it’s planning to launch the smartphone in April in Asia-Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus regions.