Microsoft launches selfie-focused Lumia 540 smartphone

Aimed at consumers looking for their first handset, the company's latest affordable phone manages to cram in a number of useful features yet costs just $149.

Aimed at consumers looking for their first handset, the company's latest affordable phone manages to cram in a number of useful features yet costs just $149.

The colorful handset boasts a 5-inch full HD display plus a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with wide-angle lens for shooting both singular and group selfies, and, in a nod to emerging markets, it also comes with dual SIM card ports as standard.

Microsoft has also preinstalled Skype and Office on the device so that it is suitable for productivity as well as multimedia communication and consumption and is also bundling in 30GB of free cloud storage.

'With the Lumia 540 Dual SIM, we've made it possible to deliver a smartphone with strong design and technology credentials that is also fun to use, and incredible value for money,' said Jo Harlow, corporate vice president for Phones at Microsoft.

The device will initially land in India, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and Italy starting in May and will be available in cyan, orange, white or black.