Microsoft unveils sub-€100 Lumia 530 Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone

Follows up 630 handset with even cheaper version

Microsoft has unveiled its most affordable Windows Phone 8.1 handset to date, the Lumia 530, claiming the device is the ideal choice for businesses on a budget.

Microsoft unveiled the Lumia 530 on Wednesday, highlighting the use of Windows Phone 8.1 as a key selling point for the handset. The firm claimed it will make the Lumia 530 one of the most enterprise-ready sub-€100 smartphones on the market when it is released.

Windows Phone 8.1 is listed by Microsoft as the first ever "enterprise-ready" version of Windows Phone. The OS was debuted on the Lumia 630 and comes with all the productivity services seen on previous Windows Phone versions, including Office 365, Outlook, Lync and OneDrive as well as several advanced security features.

Key security additions include mobile device-management (MDM), virtual private network (VPN) and Outlook S/MIME protection features.

The MDM feature lets IT managers control which applications can run, and remotely lock or wipe corporate handsets. The Outlook update lets users encrypt email messages coming in and out using the S/MIME protocol, while the VPN support can set the Lumia 630 to browse the web only through an encrypted tunnel between the device and the chosen VPN provider's servers.

Microsoft Devices Group corporate vice president Jo Harlow said the firm expects the Lumia 530's low cost and advanced corporate features to prove a hit in the UK market. "Lumia 530 underscores our commitment to making affordable smartphones for everyone, and introducing more people to the best of Microsoft," said Harlow.

The Lumia 530 features fairly basic hardware. The Windows Phone is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and features just 512MB of RAM. It also includes a bare-bones 5MP rear camera, 4in full wide video graphics array (FWVGA) 854x480, 246ppi display and a miniscule 4GB of internal storage that can fortunately be upgraded using the phone's micro SD card slot.

Microsoft is yet to reveal the Lumia 530's UK release date or price, but has confirmed it will begin rolling the handset out in August and cost less than €100.

The Lumia launch follows hot on the heels of a set of positive fourth quarter results from Microsoft, which saw the firm surpass analyst expectations, largely down to strong cloud growth.

However, Windows Phone performance was less positive. Microsoft reported Lumia sales of 5.8 million during the quarter, a 21 percent drop compared with Q4 2013. However, Microsoft noted that these figures accounted for only two of the three months during the quarter.

Financially, Nokia's device business contributed revenue of $1.99bn in the fourth quarter, but also an operating loss of $692m.

Check back with V3 later for a full review of the Microsoft Lumia 530.