Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus Reviews Roll In

 

Yes, both phones come standard with 1GB of RAM

If you guys think that the internet is drowning in iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus news, don’t worry; the end is in sight. While both new “large screen” smartphones will launch on Friday, reviews for both smartphones are starting to roll in from around the internet.


We’re not going to waste time regurgitating the specs of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — you can see our original story for that information. The only new bit of information that we’ll add here is that there is now confirmation that both smartphones do indeed come with “only” 1GB of RAM.
So far, here’s a list of reviews that have been posted tonight:

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Engadget (Both)
 The Verge (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus)
TechCrunch (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus) USA Today (Both)
Macworld (Both)
Re/code (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus)
The New York Times (Both)
BusinessWeek (Both)
Mashable (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus)

^{iPhone 6 Plus [Image Source: The Verge]}

On performance of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus; both of which are pretty evenly matched:
 

The long and short of it is that you shouldn't feel like switching from one flagship phone to another simply because it has more cores; Apple holds its own against the strongest competition, and it still has the advantage of having 64-bit support on both hardware and firmware for at least a short period of time. — Engadget

On the “usability factor” of the 5.5” iPhone 6 Plus:

 

It's harder (but not impossible) to use the iPhone 6 Plus one-handed, even with Apple adding a gesture called Reachability which makes the top portion of the display move down toward the bottom when you gently double-tap the home button.

It's also still a tad unnatural to hold a really large phone up to your ear during a call. In that sense the 6 felt more comfortable. — USA Today

For most tasks, I find the iPhone 6 Plus to be a two-handed device – but I also find that I’m absolutely fine with that. The 6 Plus is closer in usage style to an iPad mini, in my experience, albeit one that’s pocketable and capable of full cellular voice communications. Part of the reason that it works so well as a tablet-style gadget is that Apple has introduced special landscape support for both the homescreen and some its first-party apps, which really add to my ability to be productive using them. — TechCrunch

^{Both new iPhones feature a protruding camera lens [Image Source: TechCrunch]}

On the iPhone 6 Plus’ 8MP camera with optical image stabilization:
 

The iPhone 6 Plus camera is the best smartphone camera I’ve ever used. Apple’s holding firm at 8 megapixels while everyone else is racing to put ever-bigger numbers on spec sheets, and it feels like the right decision: the iPhone 6 Plus focuses faster, works better in low light, and generally produces the best photos I’ve ever seen from a phone.

The 6 Plus has the same basic shooter as the iPhone 6, but it adds optical image stabilization to the mix, which improves low-light performance even more. It’s not going to help you when you’re shooting anything that moves, like people, but for sunsets and skylines, it’s clutch. — The Verge

On the improved battery life with both new smartphones:
 

Battery life on phones depends heavily on how you use them. In my daily use, the iPhone 5s generally lasted from eight to 10 hours between charges. But during my week of testing, the iPhone 6 did better, going 14 or 15 hours. Most people will still have to charge it nightly, but won’t be hunting for plugs during the day. — Re/code

During one cycle, where I used my phone only a few times a day to check calls, weather and messages, I got over three days of standby time and nearly 11 hours of use. — TechCrunch

I found battery life on the smaller iPhone 6 to be impressive. I went almost two full days without a charge. Battery life on the iPhone 6 Plus is more like a day of constant use and not much more, but that’s not terrible on a phone that size. — The New York Times

The overall consensus is that that Apple has upped its game by upping the screen sizes of its smartphones (and actually giving customers a choice in the big-screen arena). Not surprisingly, some of the reviewers have resorted to calling the iPhone 6 Plus “The First Truly Well-Designed Big Smartphone,” while The Verge’s Nilay Patel came right out and stated:
 
I’m going to buy an iPhone 6 Plus. I’m taken with it; it feels like an entirely new kind of device for Apple, and it has such a killer camera I can’t say no. It’s every bit as good a phone as the iPhone 6…

I can’t see myself ever using my iPad mini again after having the 6 Plus, and it’s getting harder and harder to justify pulling out my iPad Air. With the right software changes, I could basically use an iPhone 6 Plus all day long, for everything from sending messages to editing documents to watching videos. A do-everything phone like the 6 Plus would eventually allow Apple to push the iPad even further towards becoming the true laptop replacement it was always meant to be.

Are these latest and greatest smartphones truly the equal of their Android competitors? Only time will tell, but we’re sure that the Apple faithful will be eager to let their story be heard once they get their hands on the devices this Friday.

Website troubles didn't stop Apple from selling a record number of iPhones

We received a preview of what to expect regarding pre-order sales performance for the new iPhone family late last week. After opening up pre-order sales at 12:01 AM PST on Friday morning, the Apple Store website buckled under pressure for nearly two and a half hours.

An Apple representative made no mention of the website problems, but stated, “Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with a record number of preorders overnight.”

Today, Apple is officially confirming that “record” performance by announcing that it tallied over four million pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus during the first 24 hours of availability.

Although Apple didn’t give out pre-order sales numbers for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C last year, the company recorded pre-order sales of 2 million for the iPhone 5 in its first 24 hours of availability back in 2012.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus officially go on sale on September 19. Customers that were able to pre-order their smartphones this past Friday can expect to receive them on their doorstep Friday morning or pickup them up from their local Apple Store if the in-store pickup option was selected.

For those that haven’t already pre-ordered the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, the shipping time for the former now stands at 7 to 10 days, while the shipping time for the latter is currently 3 to 4 weeks.

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature 4.7” (1334x750) and 5.5” (1920x1080) displays respectively, Apple A8 processor, revamped 8MP camera (including optical image stabilization on the larger iPhone 6 Plus), and support for Apple Pay.

Source: Apple

Android aims to offer mid-range hardware at budget prices

After teasing about "Android One" at its annual developers event Google I/O, Google Inc. (GOOG) has finally announced launch plans for the program.  The upcoming collaboration with domestic OEMs and

top telecoms in India and other developing regions aims to put smartphones in the hands of currently u

nconnected

users, a goal many in the industry are pursuing.
 

I. Android One Program Officially Launches, Shipping Soon to India

The program can also be viewed as a potshot squarely at Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows Phone.  While Microsoft has stuttered in challenging Google's Android alliance and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) on the high end, on the budget range it's seeing its strongest success.

_{Micromax's India-aimed Android One handset [Image Source: Google]}

In some -- regions such as India -- it's a serious contender and is seeing increasing interest from OEMs.  Both Android and Windows Phone are available to OEMs for free (monetized by Microsoft and Google taking a cut of mobile advertising revenue).  But Android OEMs typically have to pay patent licensing fees to Microsoft, which are typically around $5-10 USD per device.


Google says it’s vital to increase smartphone adoption in developing regions.  The internet services and mobility giant points out that while 1.75 billion people worldwide now own and used a smartphone, 5 billion people don't have access to a smartphone device.  Now it thinks it has a way to connect those users.

Note that at launch the program's devices appear to be around $105 USD.  This is slightly higher than the sub-$100 USD price target Google initially set back in June.  Expect device prices to slowly creep down under $100 USD, though, as the effort progresses.


Here's the key details of the program:

• Availability
  • First partner devices on sale this month or next month in India
  • Available in Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) by the end of 2014
  • More regions in 2015
• Price
  • Handsets for initial India rollout will cost Rs 6,399 (~$105 USD)
• Hardware partners
  • Devices will come from a variety of partners, who agree to direct Android updates from Google and adherence to a quality budget spec
  • Initial partners for India are:
    • Karbonn Mobiles
    • Micromax Mobile
    • Spice Mobility Ltd. (BOM:517214)
  • Pending parteners include:
    • OEM
      • Acer Inc. (TPE:2353)
      • ASUSTek Computer Inc. (TPE:2357)
      • HTC Corp. (TPE:2498)
      • Intex Technologies Ltd. (private, India)
      • The Lenovo Group, Ltd.'s (HKG: 0992)
      • Lava International Ltd. (private, India)
      • Panasonic Corp. (TYO:6752)
      • TCL Mobile Ltd.'s (HKG:2618) Alcatel OneTouch brand (a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU))
      • Xolo (private, India)
    • Hardware
      • Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
• Hardware Spec:
  • ARM SoC (currently provided by MediaTek Inc. (TPE:2454))
  • 4.5-inch screen
  • dual-SIM cards
  • an FM radio
  • replaceable batteries
  • 3G or 4G cellular
• Android-One exclusive perks
  • Google will provide part of the data free of charge to users
  • Requires SIM card from top Indian telecom company Bharti Airtel Ltd. (BOM:532454)
  • User will received Android updates directly from Google
  • Updates will be free regardless of size, for the first 6 months.
  • After that the updates will still be available from Google, but user will pay data costs.
  • Android One devices will be among the first to get Android L update later this year
  • Users will have 200 MB worth of free Google Play app downloads (~50 apps)

Google's new Android chief, Sundar Pichai, writes in the launch blog, "Access for access’s sake is not enough. With Android One, we not only want to help people get online, we want to make sure that when they get there, they can tap into the wealth of information and knowledge the web holds for everyone."

II. Microsoft Counters With Sub-$20 USD Feature Phone

Not to be outdone, Microsoft countered Google's announcement with a fresh release of its own on the budget end, the Nokia 130.  The Nokia 130 is the most affordable model in Microsoft's line of Symbian S30+ feature phones that carry smartphone-like capabilities.  It is also the first phone in the line to be priced at under $20 USD at launch.  The device will be rolling out to China, Pakistan, Nigeria (Africa's most populous country), and India "in coming weeks".

Microsoft is countering with a two-pronged approach.  On the high end it will be pushing Windows Lumia smartphones, priced at around $40-100 USD.  On the low end it will push feature phones with smartphone-like capabilities.  For that effort it will be using Nokia Devices' Symbian S30+ platform.  Its featurephones will be rebranded as "First" phones, replacing the aging "Asha" brand.

It's unclear if the Nokia 130 is going to immediately receive the "First" rebranding or is a precursor to it.  But we do know it will be joining the already announced Nokia 220 and all-touch Nokia 230 (Feb. 2014), plus the Nokia 225 (April 2014).

Here's how the new device stacks up against Microsoft's last release, the Nokia 225:

Nokia 130

• Price: Rs 1,498 / €19 EUR / $25 USD
• Varieties: dual-SIM, single SIM
• Size: 106x45.5x13.9 mm
• Weight: 68.6/67.9 g for dual- and single-SIM versions
• Display: 1.8-inch QQVGA (128x168 pixels) / 16 bit color LCD / 114 bit ppi
• Storage: microSD (up to 32 GB) 
• Connectivity: BlueTooth 3.0 / 2G cellular / microUSB (wired)
• Battery: 1020 mAh 26/36 hours of standby for dual- and single-SIM versions, respectively
• Other:  (no camera) / LED flashlight / MP3 compatible / FM radio

Nokia 225

• Price: Rs 3,199 (discounted) / €40 EUR / $55 USD (to be cut below Rs 2,400 / $40 USD)
• Varieties: dual-SIM, single SIM
• Size: 124x55.5x10.4 mm
• Weight: 100.6 g
• Display: 2.8-inch QVGA (240x320 pixel) / transmissive LCD / 142 bit ppi
• Storage: microSD (up to 32 GB) 
• Connectivity: BlueTooth 3.0 / GPRS 3G cellular / microUSB (wired)
• Battery: 1020 mAh 26/36 hours of standby for dual- and single-SIM versions, respectively
• Other:  2 megapixel camera / LED flashlight / MP3 compatible / FM radio

Microsoft recently scrapped its Nokia X and Asha brands as part of its branding makeover.  In the long run, Microsoft's goal is to ditch Symbian altogether, deploying new Windows Phone devices for under $50 USD.  Chris Weber, Microsoft's vice president of mobile device sales, told The Economic Times of India in a recent interview:

We're just beginning a refresh of the entire portfolio.  We aim to push the price point of Windows phones significantly lower - we certainly see that happening on the Android ecosystem - without impacting quality and experience. 

Microsoft vice president of phones, Jo Harwell, added:

On the 'First' side, we will continue to introduce new devices - First Bing, First Internet devices, First mobile phone devices.

As that comment alludes to, Microsoft will look to join Google in offering access to its premium internet services in the developing world.  In Microsoft's case this means free access to services such as Bing Search and OneDrive.

_{Microsoft's Lumia 530 Windows Phone debuted priced at around $115 USD for a single-SIM version.}

Each platform has its unique sales advantage.  Google has the market share, momentum, and perk of free data (a big deal given how much data costs in the developing world).  Microsoft has lower device costs (given the lack of OEM licensing fees) and the veteran legacy of Nokia -- long the top device seller to the developing world.  One thing is for sure -- the battle for the developing world and its potential user base is heating up.
Sources: Google Blog, Microsoft's Nokia [Conversations blog], Economic Times of Inida

"Honestly, we could have done a larger iPhone years ago." -- Apple CEO Tim Cook

The marketing folks at Samsung are probably just leaning back in their chairs saying, “I told you so” following the events of the past week. Samsung practically invented the “phablet” category back in October 2011 with the original Galaxy Note. That device featured a 5.3” 1280x800 display and a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor. At the time, Apple’s flagship iPhone 4S featured a 3.5” 960x480 display and an 800MHz dual-core A5 processor.

Last Tuesday, Apple launched its next generation iPhone family including the 4.7” iPhone 6 and the 5.5” iPhone 6 Plus — both of which feature a hefty increase in screen real estate in comparison to the 4” iPhone 5S that both smartphones effectively replace. The iPhone 6 Plus in particular finally puts Apple in the same ballpark as other flagship phablets that have screens measuring larger than 5”.  We say “ballpark” because while the 5.5” screen size is definitely comparable to the 5.7” Galaxy Note 4, its 1080p screen resolution still comes up short (the Galaxy Note features a QHD, 2560x1440 display).

Steve Jobs famously said back in 2010 (when asked about the rise of phablet devices), “No one is going to buy them.”

Samsung seized on that comment four years later with a quick Twitter post following the announcement of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus:

But that’s not all; Samsung came out, guns blazing with a one-minute ad that details all the flak that it received from the tech press after launching the original Galaxy Note:

The ad goes on to detail how some in the press have are now pointing their pitchforks at Apple for showing up late to the phablet game with a “me too” device (a charge that is often labeled against Samsung’s own products by Apple fans).

Interestingly enough, Apple has known for quite some time that it missed the boat when it comes to smartphones with screens larger than 4”. As a result of its longwinded court battle with Samsung, internal slides leaked which showed that the Apple knew it wasn’t giving its customers what they truly wanted:
 

In an interview with Charlie Rose last week, Apple CEO said that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus aren’t a response to the Samsung’s family of large-screen smartphones. "Honestly, we could have done a larger iPhone years ago," said Cook. "It's never just about making a larger phone. It's about making a better phone in every single way."

^{Samsung Galaxy Note 4}

Cook then touted Apple’s “solution” for big-screen smartphones is the best because it provides the best combination of display quality, battery life, operating system, and software ecosystem. Cook also touted the one-handed mode that drops the top portion of the UI down with the double tap of the home button to make one-handed operations easier.

We’re sure that Android OEM’s would counter that they figured out the “secret sauce” to making phablets years ago.

Sources: Samsung via Twitter, Samsung via YouTube, Hulu

HTC's recovery should get a boost from prestigious contract; NVIDIA scores a much-needed win over Qualcomm

HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) released its first -- and only second so far -- branded tablet in May 2011, the 7-inch HTC Flyer.  At the time it was soon to become America's top smartphone seller.   The tablet packed decent hardware, but the weak state of Google Inc.'s  (GOOG) Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" and Android 3.2 "Honeycomb", when it came to tablet form factors, lessened the device's appeal

I. At Long Last HTC is Poised for Tablet Success

HTC tried to fire things up in Sept. 2011 with the 10-inch HTC Jetstream, the first LTE-enabled tablet on AT&T, Inc.'s (T) network in the U.S.  In Oct. 2012, the pint-sized Flyer joined its unreleased brethren in the nether lands, when HTC bailed on it amid plunging financials.  No longer the darling of the American market, HTC's slide would be long and painful.

The short-lived 7-inch HTC Flyer

The Taiwanese device-maker has been working desparately to turn things around.  Occasionally it considered a return to tablet sales, but it remained hesitant lest another Flyer-like Flop hastened its descent.  The sad irony was that its tablets perhapps came too soon to the Android scene and fled too early.  While Gingerbread and Honeycomb struggled on tablets, Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" received rave reviews and started the sales surge that eventually led Android tablets to pass Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad in sales.

_{The LTE-enabled HTC Jetstream}

But fate finally appears to be growing more kind, as it appears HTC is at last turning the corner.  It has a line of appealing budget devices -- the Desire smartphone family.  And its flagship device, the HTC One M8 has been a modest sales success.

And if NVIDIA Corp.'s (NVDA) recent filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is accurate, then it could be preparing to take yet another step, forward, scoring a blockbuster tablet contract from Google Inc. (GOOG).

The filing reads:

The HTC Nexus 9, expected in the third quarter of 2014, is also expected to use the Tegra K1.

The filing -- first noted by The Bright Side of the News has been yanked by NVIDIA and deleted from Google's cache.  Fortunately, Droid Life screenshotted the PDF, proving you can't keep a good thing secret for long.

_{[Image Source: Droid Life]}

Suffice it to say, a launch later this month appears nigh.

II. Rocky Mountain High

With the new Nexus tablet that HTC is poised to become the third OEM to score a Nexus tablet contract, following ASUSTek Computer Inc. (TPE:2357) (who made the original 2012 Nexus 7 and 2013 Nexus 7 refresh) and Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) Nov. 2012 Nexus 10.

The tablet shouldn't be a strong money-maker for HTC; Nexus devices are often sold nearly at-cost to promote early adoption of new kinds of hardware and two promote new builds of Android.  But the upside is that Nexus tablets are typically hot sellers.  Selling a Nexus tablet for Google is a ticket to an OEM raising its prestige in the tablet market.

By the same token, the contract is a coup for NVIDIA, who has struggled in the mobile applications processor market, amid the dominance of Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM).  NVIDIA's Tegra 3 powered the first-generation Nexus 7 and saw modest adoption in various Android tablets/smartphones, but it always trailed Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 in market penetration.

But with the Snapdragon 200/400/600/800 family, released in Jan. 2013, things truly went south for NVIDIA.  Tegra 4 saw little adoption and fell glaringly behind 2013's Snapdragons in power performance. To add insult to injury, ASUSTek swapped the Tegra 3 for a Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) in its second-generation Nexus 7 design.  (The Nexus 10 had used a proprietary Exynos 5250 chip from Samsung.)

The Tegra K1 onboard the Nexus 9 is expected to a second more-advanced version of the chip which began sampling in January.  This newer model looks to replace the 2.2 GHz quartet of 32-bit Cortex-A15 cores from ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) with newer 64-bit "Denver" ARM CPU cores NVIDIA has been designing in house.  In an Apple-like turn, NVIDIA's new dual-core Denver-powered SoC @ 2.5 GHz is expected to best its previous quad-core model in performance.

_{[Image Source: AnandTech]}

The new Denver cores, which use the ARMv8A instruction set, took NVIDIA five years to develop, but they are rumored to be intimidating in performance.  They use an in-order architecture -- going against the flow at a time when most (including Apple are opting for out-of-order designs).  Like Apple, though, Denver has a wide pipeline to maximize instruction throughput and parallelism on a single core.

Apple's Cyclone core (which was inside the A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC)) was believed to be three wide.  By contrast, NVIDIA's Denver is seven-wide [source].  Denver also features a rumored 192 KB cache, versus 64 KB in the Cyclone core.  How Denver stacks up to Apple's new A8 SoC and its cores remains to be seen.

III. Android Goes 64-Bit

But with 192 Kepler GPU CUDA cores alongside the Denver duo, the new chip shouldn't disappoint in performance.  It is already in use inside Google's Project Tango augmented reality tablet.  Apparently Google was pleased enough to give the NVIDIA SoC the nod for its coveted next-gen tablet contract.

The new tablet is expected to perhaps be the launch device for Android 5.0 "L", the first Android operating system to support AARCH64.  Google is believed to have ported most of its processes to 64-bit, which should help speed up certain functions such as file compression/decompression, image processing, video decoding, and other applications.

_{Android L will bring AARCH64 -- native support for 64-bit arm cores.}

The new tablet is expected to highlight the prowess of 64-bit ARM by packing 4 GB or more LPDDR3 memory (the Denver-based K1 supports up to 8 GB of LPDDR3).

NVIDIA is expected to release an upgraded version of Tegra K1 early next year with its new Maxwell cores onboard.  That chip is also expected to be built on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp., Ltd.'s (TPE:2330) (TSMC) new 20-nanometer process.
Sources: NVIDIA, via Bright Side of the News, via DroidLife, via PocketNow

Third party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous

 With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have Third party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone BThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies? That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether. I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up In March 2014, HuaThird party support is pouring in for Windows Phone, as Android OEMs get curioous

With a partner like China's Huawei Technology Comp., Ltd. (SHE:002502), who needs enemies?  That's surely how executives at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) felt after being abused in the press for months by Huawei before the wayward "ally" finally chose to drop Windows Phone altogether.

I. Winning Back Third Party Support -- Microsoft's Smartphone Bid Heats Up

In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority".  Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones.  In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal:
 

We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice.

(To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.)

Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees.  In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR).

_{The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone}  

While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others.

Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930.

_{Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured).}

But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements.  After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising.  These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices.  Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy.

While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update.

Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are:

• Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD)
• Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD)
• Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD)
• Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD)
• Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD)
• Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD)
• NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD)

Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other.  That's not mere coincidence.  It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7.

This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time.

_{In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft]}

ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out.

One differentiator is in the body design.  While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking.  Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other.

Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec.  In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs.  In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.).  Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point.

II. A Plethora of Product

Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA.

Who?

Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers.  Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation.  It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China.  It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand.

What?

Alpha Style

_{[Image Source: WPCentral]}

• Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract)
• Availability: On sale next month
• Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 512 MB DRAM
• Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
• Battery: 1500mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Alpha Luxe

• Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract)
• Availability: On sale next month
• Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick
• Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
• Battery: 2400mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Who?

London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes.

What?

Kazam Thunder 340W

• Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract)
• Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 512 MB DRAM
• Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
• Battery: 1500mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Who?

Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker.  Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008.  It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass.  The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup.

What?

Polaroid WinPro 5

_{[Image Source: WinTouch.de]}

• Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract)
• Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick
• Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p)
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
• Battery: 2400mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Who?

Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets.  Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor.

What?

Win JR

• Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract)
• Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm
• Weight: 122g
• Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 512 MB DRAM
• Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Win HD

• Price: $179 USD (off contract)
• Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm
• Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
• Battery: 22000mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity

Who?

Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU)

What?

Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone

• Twin of Android Pop2
• Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract)
• Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm
• Weight: 147g
• Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple)
• Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit)
  • CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 306
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
• Battery: ?2000mAh
• Cellular: 4G LTE

Who?

Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup.  Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic.  Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East

What?

_{The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central]}

Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO

• Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract)
• Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick
• Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 512 MB DRAM
• Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing)
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO

• Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract)
• Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick
• Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

Who?

Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago.  It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East.  It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market.

What?

Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone

_{[Image Source:MobileOS.it]}

• Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract)
• Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick
• Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD
• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200)
  • CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores
  • GPU: Adreno 302 
• Memory: 1 GB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD)
• Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing)
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support

III. Conclusions

It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two.  Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform.

But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility.  After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown.

Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains.  Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple.  Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.wei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.id Heats Up In March 2014, Huawei had dismissed Windows Phone as a "low priority". Later that month it hinted it had dropped development of its latest Windows Phones. In August Huawei confirmed it was abandoning Windows Phone, with its consumer business group head, Richard Yu commenting to The Wall Street Journal: We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. (To be fair, Mr. Yu also had plenty of not-so-nice things to say about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) "Tizen" operating system.) Fortunately for Microsoft, other OEMs are thinking a bit differently, particularly after it made Windows Phone broadly available to OEMs worldwide free of licensing fees. In recent months it's attracted the likes of HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) (which launched a Windows Phone high-end HTC One M8 variant); India's fifth largest phonemaker, Karbonn Mobiles; and veteran French personal media player (PMP) pioneer, Archos (EPA:JXR). The HTC One M8 for Windows Phone While Windows Phone stumbled into Aug. accounting for only an estimated 2.5 percent of global smartphone sales, according to the Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), in September Windows Phone has seemingly reestablished itself as the clear third place challenger, ahead of Tizen and others. Microsoft's first-party lineup is nearly complete with the budget Lumia 530 and Lumia 630/635; the mid-range Lumia 730/735 "Selfie Phone" and Lumia 830; and the premium Lumia 930. Lumia 635 Someone to lean on: Microsoft finally is no longer going it alone with WinPhone (Lumia 630/635 pictured). But what's been particularly impressive at the IFA 2014 (Sept. 5-10th) mobile electronics trade show in Berlin, Germany is the arrival of the reinforcements. After far too many months of going it alone, many manufacturers finally unveiled the Windows Phones they had been promising. These manufacturers are a diverse group, representing at least eight companies (including the previously covered Archos line) with dozens of devices. Mostly comprised of smaller startups, these entrants hail from many different countries ranging from Florida to London to the Philippines to Italy. While competition in the budget market is fierce with OEMs using Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android, these startups are eager to differentiate themselves and cut cost by experimenting with new models running the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently preparing to receive its first major update. Among the devices from these newcomers -- or in some cases recommitments -- are: Cherry Mobile -- Alpha Style ($69 USD), Alpha Luxe ($114 USD) Kazam -- Thunder 340W ($325 USD) Polaroid -- WinPro 5 ($260 USD) Blu Products -- Win JR ($89-99 USD), Win HD ($179 USD) Alcatel OneTouch -- Pop2 ($153 USD) Prestigio -- MultiPhone 8400 DUO ($110 USD), MultiPhone 8500 DUO ($210 USD) NGM -- Harley Davidson ($350 USD) Looking at these new Windows Phones, a clear pattern emerges -- many of them look suspiciously similar to each other. That's not mere coincidence. It appears many of the newly announced handsets are ODM designs, based on the Chinese "original design manufacturer" (ODM) JSR Technology's products, including the i3 (a 4-inch QVG device) or its latest 5-inch i7b spec, which was already used in the XOLO Win Q900 and Yezz Billy 4.7. This may sound an alarming trend at first, but consider that Microsoft Windows on the desktop front rose up in the 1980s and 1990s driven heavily by sales of ODM-designed PCs, which were also International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) "compatibles", aka clones/derivatives of more expensive designs from IBM at the time. Windows Phone Store In August, the Windows Phone Store passed 300k apps. [Image Source: Microsoft] ODMs are the perfect way for more phone brands to test the Windows Phone waters, and as you'll see there's plenty of ways the devicemakers are making their product stand out. One differentiator is in the body design. While the ODM controls the hardware, the seller typically tweaks the body shell to its liking. Thus two devices from the same ODM can end up looking radically different from each other. Second, there's often the option to tweak certain parts of the spec. In some cases brands opted to drop a feature (e.g. microSD) or reduced it (e.g. cut the battery size) to cut costs. In other cases they chose to bump certain features or add improvements (e.g. LED flash, autofocus, hardened glass, a bigger battery, etc.). Again, these allow brands to find unique niches, even if their devices all begin at a common starting point. II. A Plethora of Product Let's take a look at the new crop of budget Windows Phones (most of them, anyhow) unveiled by third parties at IFA. Who? Based in Manila, Philippines, Cherry Mobile is a rising start in the world of startup budget smartphone makers. Founded in 2008 by Maynard Ngu, the phonemaker is the first smartphone maker to pop up in the island nation. It is operated as a subsidiary of Cosmic Technologies Inc., which started as a phone distributor in the Philippines. It purchases ODM designs from China. It takes these designs and tweaks and brands them for sale under its "Cherry Mobile" brand. What? Alpha StyleAlpha Style [Image Source: WPCentral] Price: 2,999 PHP (~$69 USD) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Alpha Luxe Price: 4,999 PHP (~$114) (off contract) Availability: On sale next month Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) w/ Asahi Dragontrail Glass SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? London, UK based KAZAM, a brand founded by former HTC executives, including former HTC head of sales Michael Coombes. What? Kazam Thunder 340W Kazam 540w Price: £200 GBP ($325 USD) (off contract) Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 1500mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Polaroid Corp., a privately held veteran devicemaker. Known for its titular instant-developing film cameras, sales slowly declined in the digital era and the Minnetonka, Minn. based company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the ownership of Hilco Consumer Capital LP of Toronto, Ontario and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC of Boston, Mass. The slowly recovering company in 2012 launched an Android-powered smart camera, and in 2013 launched an Android tablet lineup. What? Polaroid WinPro 5 Windows Phone Polaroid [Image Source: WinTouch.de] Price: €200 EUR ($260 USD) (off contract) Size: 7.2mm (0.28 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2400mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Blu Products, a small privately held American budget phonemaker startup focused heavily on the Latin American markets. Blu Products is based in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Flor. What? Win JR Windows Phone JR Price: $89 USD (via Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)) or $99 USD (via Microsoft Store) (off contract) Size: 124.5 x 63.5 x 10.2mm Weight: 122g Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear w/ autofocus, LED flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Win HD Windows Phone Blue JR Price: $179 USD (off contract) Size: 144.8 x 69.9 x 7.75mm Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 22000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity Who? Alcatel Mobile Phones' OneTouch brand, a unit of TCL Mobile Ltd. (HKG:2618); TCL Mobile is a subunit of China's TCL Communication and France's Alcatel Lucent SA (EPA:ALU) What? Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 With Windows Phone Alcatel OneTouch Pop2 WIndows Phone Twin of Android Pop2 Price: €119 EUR ($153 USD) (off contract) Size: 132.5 x 65.4 x 9.9mm Weight: 147g Cases: Interchangeable covers (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA (854x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410, 64-bit) CPU: 4x 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores GPU: Adreno 306 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 5MP (rear, w/ autofocus, flash) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: ?2000mAh Cellular: 4G LTE Who? Limassol, Cyprus-based Prestigio Europe, spol. s.r.o is another small EU budget phonemaker startup. Much of its design is done in its offices in the Czech Republic. Prestigio focuses on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East What? Windows Phone Prestigio 84008500 DUO The Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO (left) and 8400 DUO (right) [Image Source: Windows Phone Central] Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO Price: €79 ($110 USD) (off contract) Size: 10.95mm (0.43 inches) thick Display: 4-inch WVGA (800x480px) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 512 MB DRAM Storage: 4 GB storage (NO (!) microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 0.3 MP (VGA, front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO Price: €149 ($210 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support Who? Milano, Italy based New Generation Mobile (NGM), a young startup, was founded several years ago. It initially focused solely on developing markets in Asia and the Middle East. It recently launched sales of budget devices in its home country, though, and is looking to expand across the European budget market. What? Harley Davidson-branded Windows Phone Windows Phone NGM [Image Source:MobileOS.it] Price: €249 EUR ($350 USD) (off contract) Size: 8.3mm (0.32 inches) thick Display: 5-inch HD (1,280x720px) (720p) IPS LCD SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8212 (Snapdragon 200) CPU: 4x 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores GPU: Adreno 302 Memory: 1 GB DRAM Storage: 8 GB storage (w/ microSD) Cameras: 8MP (rear) / 2MP (front-facing) Battery: 2000mAh Cellular: HSPA+ connectivity, dual-SIM support III. Conclusions It should be noted that the majority of the Windows Phone new recruits are merely embracing the fresh OS in a model or two. Most of their lineup remains Android -- the world's most used operating system globally, and the most widely used budget platform. But simply by making 5, 10, or 20 percent of their new devices Windows Phones, these OEMs are giving Microsoft a big boost, both in image and visibility. After a rocky mid-year, this could be just the lift Microsoft needed to convince the world that it's a compelling underdog to Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) for the mobile smartphone crown. Decades back Microsoft climbed to PC dominance with a similar strategy of courting startups, budget third party vendors, and staying patient amid its growing pains. Today it seems to be tapping into that same spirit in its fight against the establish market giants Google and Apple. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but one thing is safe to say -- it's far too early to count Microsoft out of the smartphone race.