Microsoft Lumia 735 now available in Verizon stores in US for $29.99 on two-year contract, and in the Microsoft store for $199 with no contract
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft's mid-range push into the US is landing one handset at a time: the budget Lumia 640 line with bundled Office 365 arrived in March, and the cheapest-ever Lumia 430 followed later that month. The Lumia 735's arrival at Verizon extends that ladder up a rung.
The carrier matters as much as the phone: Verizon was already wired into Microsoft's mobile payments play via Windows Phone carrier billing expansion, and it had just taken delivery of an LG-made budget Windows handset — meaning Microsoft now has two vendors competing for the same shelf space.
First-order effects
- Verizon stores gain a sub-$30-on-contract Windows Phone option, giving Microsoft its first widely distributed mid-tier Lumia in the US alongside the $199 no-contract Microsoft Store price.
- LG's return to Windows Phone through its budget Verizon handset now faces direct competition on the very carrier that re-admitted it.
Second-order effects
- Carrier partners get leverage: with LG and Microsoft both supplying budget Windows handsets, Verizon can pit vendors against each other for subsidy dollars and shelf placement.
- The pricing split — subsidized at Verizon versus $199 outright at Microsoft — sets a template other US carriers can copy if they want low-commitment Windows Phone inventory.
Third-order effects
- If the budget-seeding pattern holds, it positions Microsoft's carrier relationships for the next hardware generation — consistent with AT&T later listing the flagship-class Lumia 950 — suggesting the strategy is about keeping Windows Phone stocked on US shelves rather than profiting on any single device.
The trend: Microsoft is sustaining Windows Phone's US distribution by flooding carriers with low-cost Lumias, using vendor competition and subsidy pricing to keep the platform visible between flagship launches.