Founded in 2009, BLU quickly expanded its portfolio into a large range of low-cost feature phones and Android handsets. Within less than five years, the company says it has sold over 25 million devices in over 40 markets, including the US and much of Latin America.
Last year, BLU launched its first Windows Phones, the Win HD and Win JR - both aimed at the affordable end of the smartphone market. Now, the company is bringing its second-generation Windows handsets to new parts of the world - and this time around, both devices include 4G LTE connectivity.
BLU has launched its latest Win HD LTE and Win JR LTE in India, where they"re exclusively available from major online retailer Snapdeal. The two handsets are priced aggressively, and both include dual-SIM support - an important feature in emerging markets such as India. The 5-inch Win HD LTE is available now for only Rs.7,999 INR, while the smaller and less well-equipped Win JR LTE costs just Rs.5,999.
To put this into context, Microsoft"s low-cost Lumia 640, which launched in India in April, is currently priced at Rs.8,999 on Flipkart, despite having near-identical specs to the Win HD LTE. And despite being up to Rs.3,000 cheaper than the 640, both BLU devices also feature Qualcomm"s latest 64-bit Snapdragon 410 processor, rather than the Lumia"s older-generation Snapdragon 400.
BLU"s launch in the massive Indian market is an important one, but the company is also bringing its devices to Europe - specifically, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Its two Windows Phones are on sale exclusively through Amazon, where the Win JR LTE is priced at £69 GBP in the UK, or €99 EUR; and the HD costs £99 / €129.
BLU also confirmed that Windows 10 Mobile will be coming to both handsets.
You can find out more about the two BLU Windows Phones below.
BLU Win JR LTE
- 4.5-inch IPS LCD with FWVGA (854x480px) resolution
- Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB onboard storage (plus microSD card support up to 32GB)
- 5MP rear camera with autofocus, LED flash and 720p video recording at 30fps
- VGA front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM support
- FM radio
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- 4G LTE connectivity
- 2000mAh battery (non-removable)
- 133 x 67.5 x 9.5mm; 138g
BLU Win HD LTE
- 5.0-inch IPS LCD with HD (1280x720px) resolution
- Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB onboard storage (plus microSD card support up to 32GB)
- 8MP rear camera with autofocus, LED flash and 1080p video recording at 30fps
- 2MP front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM support
- FM radio
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- 4G LTE connectivity
- 2500mAh battery (non-removable)
- 145 x 72 x 8.2mm; 146g