Budget smartphones: Sony Xperia M4 Aqua, Microsoft Lumia 640, BlackBerry Leap launched at MWC 2015

This year's Mobile World Congress has witnessed the launch of several new mid-range smartphones. During the first days of the event, three tech giants have announced that they will be releasing new mid-level devices.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

One of them is Sony Mobile. Earlier, the Japanese mobile company was expected to unveil the next-generation of its flagship phone called the Sony Xperia Z4, but the supposed release of the high-end device did not push through. Instead, the mid-level Sony Xperia M4 Aqua took its place. 

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua [Photo credit: Sony Mobile]

The more affordable Sony device comes with a 5.0-inch display along with several other notable features like a 13-megapixel primary rear-end camera with a 5-megapixel secondary shooter, as well as an amazing 2400 mAh battery. The smartphone also possess a waterproof capability that can withstand the depths of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) for at least 30 minutes. 

Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL

Meanwhile, Microsoft also announced the release of two of its mid-range Lumia phones, namely the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL. 

Microsoft Lumia 640 Microsoft

Microsoft Devices Group Vice President Stephen Elop announced the release of the two Lumia phones, saying, "Today we announced two new, affordable Lumia phones: the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL , both of which give people the flexibility to do more anywhere, and at any time. These phones will be upgradable to Windows 10, when it becomes available later this year." 

Both devices come with the newest Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim update operating system, 1.2 GHZ Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB buit-in memory. The only difference between the two is their display size, wherein the Lumia 640 comes with a 5.0-inch LCD screen while the Lumia 640 XL comes with a bigger 5.7-inch HD IPS ClearBlack screen. 

BlackBerry Leap

Also, BlackBerry revealed its latest venture into the touchscreen market with the release of the mid-range smartphone called the BlackBerry Leap. 

BlackBerry Leap [Photo credit: Inside BlackBerry]

It comes with a 5-inch edge-to-edge HD display featuring a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution together with a 294 ppi pixel density. It is equipped with a Snapdragon S4 Plus chipset, as well as a 1.5 GHz dual-core Krait CPU. The device also comes with a 2 GB RAM. 

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