Microsoft's new phones are made for taking selfies

By Lisa Eadicicco

Microsoft's new pair of Lumia smartphones are all about taking photos with the front-facing camera. The newly unveiled Lumia 730 and Lumia 735 both come with a wide-angle front lens that can supposedly capture a much broader scope than traditional camera lenses.
Since Microsoft is touting the phone's front camera as its main feature, it'll come with a Lumia Selfie app just for taking photos of yourself and a free three-month subscription to Skype Unlimited World.

The Lumia 730 and 735 are exactly the same - the only difference is the 730 model can support two SIM cards. The phones will be launching this month, and the 4G LTE version is expected to cost around $285 (219) before taxes and subsidies. The 3G dual-SIM Lumia 730 will be slightly cheaper at about $258 (199).

The phones both come with 6.7-megapixel rear cameras, which don't quite compare with the 13-megapixel and 16-megapixel cameras on today's biggest smartphones. But, since these are designed for those with tight budgets, there obviously had to be some compromises made.

The new Lumias will also launch with Microsoft's latest software update known as Lumia Denim, which adds some Cortana improvements, a new guest mode-like feature called Apps Corner, and the ability to combine apps into folders among other additions. Both phones also come with a 4.7-inch 720p screen.

The Lumia 730 and 735 are among several new Lumia devices recently unveiled by Microsoft. For example, the company also unveiled the Lumia 830 as its "affordable flagship," which also focuses on photography. It comes with Nokia's PureView camera technology, which is usually only available on more expensive phones.