From DailyTech: As anticipated, the Lumia 630/635 were announced at Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) BUILD conference by Nokia Oyj.'s (HEX:NOK1V) Nokia Devices.
Nokia's strongest traction has been on the budget end. That success hasn't exactly been an accident. While lower-end hardware at lower cost is largely an inescapable reality on all smartphone platforms, Nokia has been offering Windows Phones for under $200 without subsidy (!) that feature premium designs.
The Windows Phone 8.1 equipped Lumia 630 and 635 continue this trend.
The Lumia 630 was developed under the name "Moneypenny". It is possible the Lumia 635 was the device codenamed "Phantom", or it may just be another variant of Moneypenny given its high level of similarity other than in cellular modem choice.
The Lumia 630's screen and camera (no flash?) leave plenty to be desired, but that's hardly a surprise. At the $160 price point, this is still a pretty impressive device. This is also the first time that a Nokia Lumia had dual-SIM capability, an increasingly vital feature for regions like Europe or South America, where traveling 20 miles from your home might take you into a different country served by different carriers.
The Lumia 635 is nearly identical to the Lumia 630, adds a shinier finish and has "a unique dual-layered, luminous tonal surround that glimmers and glows" (aka a speaker upgrade). It also adds on LTE support.
Both phones feature SensorCore, a firmware/hardware solution that offers the ability to wake the phone or receive input under certain conditions, while saving battery life.
The Lumia 635 will be the first of the Windows Phone 8.1 devices announced today to be available in the U.S. It will be "broadly available, including in the U.S. starting this summer". It will retail for $189 USD -- $20 USD more than the base Lumia 630, on account of the LTE and the more refined finish. AT&T, Inc. (T) and Deutsche Telekom AG's (ETR:DTE) unified MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA brands have all announced they will sell the Lumia 635 this summer.
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