Microsoft Lumia 735 Windows Phone arrives in UK on 2 October

First handset to come pre-loaded with Cortana, contract pricing starts at £20

The Microsoft Lumia 735 mid-range Windows Phone will launch in the UK on 2 October, with pricing starting at a modest £20 on contracts.

The Lumia 735 is the first handset in the UK to come pre-loaded with the beta version of Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana. Cortana is Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri digital assistant, and is designed to let users interact with Windows Phone 8.1 using a set of voice commands.

Microsoft claims Cortana is significantly more advanced than competing digital assistants, such as Siri, as it references data stored on the user's Microsoft Account and search history to more accurately answer questions and push relevant content.

Outside of this the Lumia 735 also has some interesting hardware. The handset comes loaded with a SensorCore low-power motion sensing technology that tracks its user's movements and locations to improve the performance of the "next generation of fitness apps".

Vice president of Microsoft Devices for the UK and Ireland Conor Pierce listed the Lumia 735's 6.7MP rear-facing "Improved Nokia Camera," and 5MP wide-angle front-facing cameras as other key selling points for the handset.

"People are moving from using their front-facing camera to take a close-up selfie or have a solo Skype call, to making it much more about where they are and what they are doing with their friends" he said.

"With the Lumia 735 we're enabling people to simply and quickly capture and share more of what they want, it's a great innovation and showcases the best of Microsoft experiences."

The Lumia 735 will also feature a 4.7in HD OLED 720x1280, 2.25D curved glass screen, 2,220mAh battery, 4G connectivity and will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor.

Check back with V3 later for a full review of the Lumia 735. In the meantime take a look at V3's Windows Phone 8.1 review to learn more about Microsoft's latest mobile operating system.