Microsoft’s high-end Lumia 5.2-inch and 5.7-inch phablet on the way

5 May 2015

Pictured: the Lumia 930, Microsoft's current flagship mobile device

Microsoft is working on two new premium smartphones: a 5.7-inch device called the Cityman and a 5.2-inch device called the Talkman

The move indicates a greater yearning at Microsoft to take on the bigger guns at Apple and Samsung whose respective iPhone 6 and S6 devices are currently dominating the so-called phablet market.

According to Unleash The Phones, Microsoft is preparing a premium device called Cityman that will boast a 5.7-inch QHD display, powered by a Qualcomm octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory with a microSD card slot, 20-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera and a 3300 mAh removable battery.

Microsoft is also working on the Lumia Talkman, which will have a 5.2-inch QHD screen, a six-core Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory, 20-mexapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera and a 3000 mAh removable battery.

The latter device will be slimmer than the Lumia 930 and both devices will come with 64-bit computing capability.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com