Revealed this morning on Microsoft’s Lumia Conversations blog, the 540’s size belies its cost. It has a 5-inch screen with a 720p resolution, giving it a respectable pixel density of 294ppi.
The dual SIM-card slots will add to the 540’s appeal in eastern markets where this functionality is more popular. The phone can intelligently switch between SIM cards when needed.
The camera is a noticeable improvement over that of the 540’s immediate predecessor, the 530. This time around you get an 8MP main camera with an LED flash and a 5MP unit in the front for shooting high-quality selfies with.
It is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor running at 1.2GHz. Paired with 1GB of RAM, this will be perfectly adequate for keeping the low-intensity Windows Phone operating system ticking along smoothly.
Iain Pottie, Microsoft senior design manager, told Lumia Conversations:
“The Lumia team is passionate about product-making, creating every smartphone with a distinct design personality within a coherent design approach. Our customers are the source of so much inspiration, but we know they have different needs and budgets, so we always want to provide choice. That’s why today we’re introducing the new Lumia 540 Dual SIM.”
Out of the box the 540 has Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim. Like all Lumias, it will be able to get an upgrade to Windows 10 in the summer.
There is 8 GB of storage included but this can be expanded up to 128 GB. At just 9.35mm, the 540 is surprisingly thin for a budget device and should be easy to hold in the hand. It weighs 152g.
The battery is a removable 2,200mAh unit. It should be enough to last the 540 through a day’s usage but the large display could prove to be a battery drainer. The low-power processor should help though.
The 540 is a surprisingly capable budget device. Thin, light and with a large screen and decent camera hardware, the 540 is likely to become a popular Windows Phone device. It currently has an RRP of $149 and will go on sale from May.
