Last week, the Lumia 635 appeared on the Microsoft Store site - but just as suddenly as it appeared, it then vanished. Microsoft explained to Neowin that the page was removed as it contained "inaccurate information", and that its carrier partners would announce their US launch plans for the device in due course.
Today, T-Mobile became the first to officially launch the device in the United States. It will initially be available exclusively via the Home Shopping Network for prepaid customers from July 5; on July 9, the carrier will make it available via its own website, before launching it in "participating T-Mobile stores" on July 16. The handset will be available for $0 on a $7/month postpaid "Simple Choice" plan.
From July 18th, the Lumia 635 will also be available via MetroPCS, both in stores and online, "for a promotional price of $99". The company has not yet revealed how much the handset will cost once this promotional pricing ends. However, Microsoft announced recommended pricing of $189 for the device earlier this month.
Apart from adding 4G LTE support, the Lumia 635 is otherwise identical to the 3G-only Lumia 630. It features a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a 5MP rear camera. However, the camera lacks a flash, and there is no front-facing "selfie cam" either.
T-Mobile describes the Lumia 635 as "the proud successor to the Lumia 521", the carrier"s exclusive variant of the ultra-low-cost Lumia 520. Some have argued that the 630 succeeds the Lumia 625, but this is evidently not the case.
Source: T-Mobile