Proving rumours that Micromax is building a smartphone with Windows Phone, the company is now gearing up for a launch on June 16, according to people familiar with the matter.
Micromax has reportedly sent invites to the media for a launch event of Canvas smartphones. It seems that the company has two Canvas devices up its sleeve, one of them sporting a 5-inch full HD display.
The device is also said to pack a Snapdragon 800 processor and a 2GB RAM. Other rumoured specs include a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera with 16GB onboard storage and a microSD slot to extend the memory.
Another report suggests that the entry level phone would cost about INR 6,000 while the other model will be priced between INR 10,000 and 11,000. The phones are said run Windows Phone 8.1.
IDC reports claim that the Windows platform is gaining prominence in the Indian market and has about 4 percent market share while also pointing to the fact that there is a rising demand in the country for Windows devices.
When seen from the aspect of brands, Samsung leads with a market share of 35 percent while Micromax holds 15 percent. Analysts say that the company is trying to capture more market share with these new devices.
Back in April 2014, Microsoft announced that its Windows Phone will be available for free for phones and tablets with small screen sizes (within 9 inches) in an effort to make Windows Phone OS based devices more affordable.
Microsoft announced that Micromax is among its new Indian hardware partners at BUILD 2014 earlier this year. Microsoft’s other hardware partners in India include Karbonn and Lava, who are also rumoured to be prepping affordable Windows based smartphones.
