Microsoft’s dual SIM card smartphone, the Lumia 730 is expected to be available in South Africa next week, the software giant announced on Thursday.

A statement from Microsoft says the device would be exclusively available at Cell C stores countrywide for a cash retail price of R4499.

Meanwhile, customers can also get the device for R229 per month on a SmartChat 1GB contract.

Microsoft’s Lumia 730, which supports dual SIM functionality, also boasts features such as front facing camera with 5 megapixels, 8GB on board storage and 15GB of OneDrive cloud storage.

The phone also runs on latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 as well as Microsoft services such as Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint.

"We have a strong heritage of great imaging devices, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with a phone camera," said Patrick Henchie, head of product for sub-Saharan Africa at Microsoft Mobile Devices.

"With the Lumia 730, we have our first wide angle, 5MP front facing camera, enabling people to easily capture and share more of what they want,” he added.

In addition, consumers will be able to access apps through the Windows Store, with favourites like Instagram, Adidas miCoach, Vimeo, Uber and Flipboard.
 
Ernst Fonternel, Cell C chief commercial officer concluded, “The Lumia 730 will certainly add to the great momentum we are seeing with Windows devices on our network, with the Lumia 530 Dual SIM and Lumia 1320 really performing well."