Microsoft MWC keynote, new low cost Lumias, Windows 10 demo and no new flagship phone until Windows 10 ships

Today at Microsoft’s Mobile World Congress press event Microsoft showed off two new Lumia phones, Windows 10 on phones and new Universal apps.

The Lumia 640 is another budget Windows Phone, it will be available in April and support comes in dual SIM version and 4G versions. It has a 5 inch display, 8MP rear camera as well as front camera starting with a starting price of 130 EUROs. The 640 XL version is the same phone but with a larger 5.7 inch screen, LED flash and 13MP camera starting at 189 EUROS. With the new Lumias you also get a full year of Office 365 subscription, the are not the most exciting new phones but are good value for money. Those wanting a new flagship phone from Microsoft will be disappointed, you are going to have to wait until Windows 10 is released later this year for a new premium Lumia phone.

The new Lumia phones will ship with Windows 8.1 and will be upgraded to Windows 10 when it is released. Microsoft said that all Lumia’s will get the Windows 10 upgrade (some may not get all the features).

During the keynote Windows 10 was demonstrated on a phones showing off some features yet seen. There was a new integrated messaging app was shown combining Skype messages and text messages. The new browser ‘Project Spartan’ was show off for the first time on a phone. The new UI look very clean but the address bar has been moved up to the top of the screen which personally I am not that keep on, I would rather see it at the bottom as in Windows Phone 8.1, it means less moving the hand around. The new universal maps app was demonstrated, with the Windows 10 app searches are synced between the desktop and phone versions as well Cortana syncing favourites and searches between the phone and desktop. Microsoft are highlighting how well Window on the phone and desktop work well together. The new Outlook app was shown along with a new universal Bluetooth keyboard which works on iOS and Android devices as well as Window. Window 10 for phones adds Bluetooth support so the keyboard would be a nice addition and would be very handy to have on your gadget bag. The new universal Excel and Word were shown off on a phone for the first time which look very well optimised for the small screen.

The new Surface Hub has shown and there was a brief mention of Hololens. It wasn’t the most exciting keynote but shows the solid progress Microsoft are making with Windows 10.

You can watch the keynote on the Microsoft New site.