FIRST LUMIA SMARTPHONES WITH WINDOWS PHONE 8.1 LAUNCHED ACROSS MIDDLE EAST, NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

KARACHI: Amazing value Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 make it easier to connect with uncompromised smartphone experience while the flagship Lumia 930 beautifully integrates the best of Microsoft and Lumia

Dubai – UAE - June 11, 2014: At a regional conference held in Dubai, Microsoft Devices announced that the first Lumia devices running Windows Phone 8.1 are now available across the Middle East, Near East and North Africa.

“Lumia smartphones are growing in popularity across the region,” said Arto Nummela, Senior Vice President Microsoft Devices, India, Middle East and Africa. “This new chapter in the Lumia story builds on the success of the Lumia 520 for affordable smartphones, and also brings new innovations at the high end. The combination of Lumia differentiators and Microsoft services provides a compelling proposition for both consumers and business users”.

With Windows Phone 8.1, people still get the Start screen they can make their own, Live Tiles that provide updates at a glance, Office Mobile, Outlook Mobile, Windows Phone Hubs, and the entertainment experience. In fact, they get everything they liked about Windows Phone 8 and more, including tons of new features, enhancements, and improvements. With Windows Phone 8.1, the story continues with a number of new features – like Action Center, Word Flow and Senses – that are more personal than those offered by any other platform.

The Nokia Lumia 630, available in both Dual SIM and Single SIM variants, and the Nokia Lumia 635 with 4G capability, are the first Lumia devices running Windows Phone 8.1 available in the region. They deliver an unrivalled affordable smartphone experience and add award winning design and experiences found on high end Lumia to the leading personalization brought by Windows Phone 8.1.

“Dual SIM is a key feature in many countries across Middle East Africa and we have seen great traction on our Dual SIM devices across the Asha and Nokia X range,” said Ifi Majid, Head of Global Sell-In and Customer Engagement, Product Marketing for Microsoft Smart Devices. “We are now thrilled to bring Dual SIM to our Windows Phone portfolio, with the Lumia 630. This smartphone is an all-round great value proposition with signature design, superior imaging capability, great sound for music and video. And for those who want a little extra performance, the Lumia 635 with 4G/LTE capability offers a great user experience”.

Nokia Lumia 630 has a Snapdragon quad core processor providing a faster social experience with Word Flow and social apps like WhatsApp and WeChat. A unique colorful design with changeable shells and 4.5” ClearBlack screen delivers a great entertainment experience with apps and games including Asphalt 8 and Vimeo. There are more choice with three variants, including the Lumia 630 in 3G single SIM and the first Lumia with 3G Dual SIM; plus the speedy Lumia 635 in 4G/LTE. The Lumia 630 Dual SIM provides a seamless switching between two SIM cards and helps people manage their social life, clearly separating calls and messages to make it cheaper and easier to connect on your own terms. Users can get the same experiences as high-end Lumia smartphones including SensorCore with Bing Health and Fitness, Microsoft Office, Nokia Camera, Nokia MixRadio streaming** and HERE Maps**.

The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 have started to roll out in the region and will be available in black, white, yellow, orange and green*.

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The Lumia 930 with Windows Phone 8.1 integrates the best of Microsoft and Lumia to deliver the ultimate video and imaging experience on a smartphone. The Lumia 930 packs a rich suite of applications and services into a beautifully crafted design with metallic details and vibrant new colours, while keeping content like photos, videos and documents in sync across Windows Phone, PC, tablet and Xbox devices.

“The Lumia 930 is our latest flagship device in the Lumia range,” said Ifi Majid. “It comes with beautifully crafted flagship design, flagship specs from processing power to screen quality to feature set and flagship imaging capability, synonymous with our high end Lumia smartphones”.

The crystal clear 5-inch Full HD OLED display lets you watch your favourite shows, movies or video clips in any condition, and thanks to a 2420 mAh battery and built-in wireless charging, there is no need to worry about running out of battery. An advanced 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization and high quality ZEISS optics makes capturing and reliving amazing images and videos fast and easy. With the enhanced Nokia Camera with Living Images, it’s easy to add movement and emotion to static pictures, while imaging apps such as Nokia Creative Studio and Nokia Refocus bring even more levels of creativity to any photo.

Lumia 930 is equipped with four high-performance microphones and Nokia Rich Recording, which capture HD videos like never before, with incredible directional audio and support for surround sound capture and playback.A 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor makes activities like Xbox gaming, image capturing and video processing even faster and richer. The new Sensor Core also brings low power motion sensing to help people track their activity all day without using up the large 2420 mAh battery – perfect for exercise and exploration using apps like Bing Health and Fitness.Integrated features including one swipe notifications from Action Centre, the new Microsoft Enterprise feature pack, Microsoft Office, OneDrive, Nokia Camera, HERE Maps** all of which work seamlessly to make the Nokia Lumia 930 a great tool for work and play.

The Lumia 930 is expected to be available during the third quarter of 2014. It will be available in a range of colors including black, white, green, yellow and orange*.

Along with a range of Lumia devices, accessories like a colourful Bluetooth Mini Speaker connects wirelessly using the new easy to use Device Hub app and plays for 15 hours transforming almost any surface into big-sounding bass. It’s the perfect accessory to help people get the most from MixRadio** streaming, videos and games, and also functions as a convenient speaker phone on the go.Nokia Treasure Tag ensures that you are never far from things that are important to you – be it the pictures and videos of your family on your Lumia 930 or your keys or handbag. It notifies your phone through a dedicated application when your belongings are left behind.

- Color ranging may vary by country

- App is available in certain markets only

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Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Microsoft Devices

The Microsoft Devices Group includes award-winning hardware used by over a billion people around the world, including Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Xbox hardware, Surface, Perceptive Pixel products, and accessories.