Microsoft Shows Off Lumia 640 Phones and Universal Apps at MWC

by Pedro Hernandez

Echoing themes from last year’s Build conference, Kevin Gallo, director of Microsoft’s developer ecosystem at MWC, clued Windows app developers into what Universal Apps means for them. The term refers to “apps that feel consistent and familiar to the customer on all devices, while also [being] contextually appropriate to each device’s input model and screen size,” he wrote in a related blog post.

Julia White, general manager of product marketing for Office, gave an in-depth demo of Universal Apps, related to Office in this case, showing how they can deliver a device-appropriate experience without skimping on functionality.

While its candy-colored aesthetics may be wearing a little thin, the 5-inch Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone features a 1.2GHz, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, competitive specs and a year’s subscription to Office 365 for just north of $150.

Taking a page from Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus playbook, Microsoft’s Lumia 640 XL is a phablet-sized Lumia 640 device with at 5.7-inch screen, a 13-megapixel rear shooter and a larger battery for a little over $200.

Since it supports Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, it may not help Microsoft steal users away from those devices, but the slick, compact peripheral shows that it’s serious about mobile productivity. It will cost a somewhat steep $99 when it arrives in July.

AT&T’s cloud-based Mobile Office Suite integrates Microsoft’s VOIP-based Lync communications services for one-click calling and bundles Office Online (Exchange, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneDrive), complete with technical support and deployment services.

Microsoft has signed on with Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile’s parent company) as a strategic partner. Microsoft hope that move will heighten the profiles of Lumia smartphones, Office 365 and the company’s cloud services slate, including OneDrive, in 12 countries. Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica is adding Cortana support to its Windows Phone 8.1 Movistar TV Go app.

XOLO, Cherry Mobile and K-Touch may not mean much to American consumers, but Microsoft is banking on them to popularize Windows Phone in India, the Philippines and China, respectively. Acer, meanwhile, is readying the release of the Liquid M220, its first Windows 8.1 Phone, in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

It’s hardly new, but Microsoft’s laptop-replacing Surface Pro 3 tablet walked away with a major Global Mobile Award from the GSMA at MWC for Best Mobile Tablet.