MUMBAI: After acquiring Nokia, Microsoft has lost no time in launching the Nokia Lumia 630 in India in the affordable segment. Single SIM and dual SIM variants of the smart phone are available for Rs 10,500 and Rs 11,500, respectively.

An Economic Times report earlier this month said that Microsoft was targeting the $50-billion affordable handset market globally, with special focus on emerging markets, including India, where 80 per cent of the market leans towards smart phones priced below Rs 10,000. With the launch of the Nokia Lumia 630, Microsoft is certainly prepping to give other handset makers a run for their money.

Nokia Lumia 630 is the first device in India with the latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS. This is significant as various media reports have said that Windows Phone is the fastest growing ecosystem in the smart phone market and research firm IDC has even said it was the third biggest OS in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Not surprisingly, expectations from the Nokia Lumia 630 are much higher as compared to the price at which it is positioned. To attract consumers, the brand has rolled out special offers which include 3G data for 2 months (1GB limit) from Vodafone, a 2 month subscription for Box TV and eBooks worth Rs 2,000 from Flipkart.

Nokia India Director-Sales Raghuvesh Sarup mentioned that the brand will soon roll out a television and print campaign to market this product. Apart from this, Sarup said that the brand is expected to push around 50 per cent of its communication via digital. Interestingly, the blogger community will be involved frequently in the coming days.