Microsoft announces Australian launch for Lumia 630 on May 27

Microsoft has announced an Australian launch for its low-end Lumia 630 smartphone, with the device set to be available locally for $249 outright.

The smartphone was first announced at the company’s Build Conference early last month, alongside its new flagship Lumia 930 smartphone.

It will be the first device to ship with Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, with its release coming after the tech giant completed its takeover of Nokia’s mobile devices and services businesses.

Aside from being sold outright through Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith and Officeworks, it will also be released as a $179 prepaid on Vodafone.

The new smartphone is built around a 1.2GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and features a 4.5-inch ClearBlack LCD display.

The main camera is 5-megapixels, with the device also including a 1830 mAh battery, 512 megabytes of RAM, 128 gigabytes of micro SD card support, and includes 7 gigabytes of CloudDrive storage.

It features a matte black polycarbonate design, along with interchangeable matte and gloss covers in a range of five different colours.

In a statement, Microsoft Mobile Devices Australia and New Zealand managing director Steve Lewis says the device is designed to “give people the best of Lumia and Windows Phone with no compromise”.

“Whether you’re using a smartphone, tablet, Xbox, PC or laptop, the Windows 8.1 update now provides the same great experience, personalised for you. Given the key role the smartphone now plays in all of our everyday lives, the fact we are now bringing this into all our devices – from affordable to high-end – is great news for consumers,” Lewis says.