The competition for affordable but high-tech smartphones has gone a little bit much steeper as Microsoft enters the market. The primarily software company has recently unveiled the Lumia 550. This handset runs on Windows 10 and features a 4.7-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. It has a Qualcomm's Snapdragon 210 processor.

Microsoft has previously taken a share of the smartphone market when it launched the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. However, these handsets are high-end mobile devices. The Lumia 550 is intended for the budget-conscious consumers. It can be bought for $140 but features 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and a SD slot for additional 200GB of memory.

Just like the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, the Lumia 550 is available in matte black and glossy white. It has a 2,100Ah battery that can easily be replaced. Although it is not the cheapest Microsoft Lumia smartphone in the market, it is the most affordable smartphone that runs on Windows 10 operating system.

Microsoft Lumia 550 is capable of running many of the popular and very useful Windows apps. These include the Microsoft Office suite with the standard Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It is also capable of running Skype, Outlook Calendar and OneDrive.                                                              

However, there are some key features that are absent in the affordable Lumia but present in the other more high-end models. These include the Windows 10 Continuum. This means that the handset will not have PC-like functionality when connected to an external monitor. The phone officially hit the stores last December 7.