Special Update: Meet the Lumia 640 & 640 XL: Microsoft’s Ultimate Budget Smartphones
Microsoft’s new Lumia 640 , announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this morning, bring a much-needed refresh to the lower end of the mid-range phones and establish the 6xx line as a serious competitor against other mid-range smartphones.
The new phones just announced by Microsoft today are arguably the best low-end phones ever put out by the Lumia line.
As I’ve said before, I am a Lumia 520 owner. It doesn’t have the greatest camera, there is no flash, the screen could be better, and a faster processor would have been nice. But for how much it costs ($30 on the Microsoft Store), you couldn’t ask for much more. But it’s been almost two years since the 520 came out, and I personally think there hasn’t been a serious reason to upgrade from the 520 until now.
The Lumia 640 base version (3G single SIM) will start selling sometime in April for around $160, with the LTE version expected to be $20 more. It sports a Full HD 1280×720 5″ display, a welcome upgrade from the laughable 480×800 4.5″ display of the previous generation Lumia 630/635. The screen includes all the Lumia bells and whistles, including ClearBlack technology and glance screen. The on-screen softkeys also can be hidden while the phone is in use, a feature missing on the 635. This gives the screen even more real estate.
The phone features a Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, the same found in the likes of the Lumia 830, the last Nokia and Microsoft’s “affordable flagship.” If this processor functions like it does on the 830, you should see great improvements in speed over the 635.
The 640 has 1GB of RAM, which is a spec many a low-end Windows Phone users will appreciate. Nokia played around with putting 1GB into their low-ends with the Lumia 525/530, but more recently almost all of the lower-end phones were stuck with 512MB. The expanded RAM allows for more intensive apps such as Lumia Beamer, which gives you the ability to wirelessly display your screen on any device with a browser. The Lumia 640 also has 8GB, a standard in the low-end phone market, with expandable storage available up to 128GB.
The Lumia 640 features an 8MP rear camera with a flash, and a 1MP front-facing camera. This camera could be compared to the iPhone 4s-6 Plus camera, but until we have some hands-on time with the phone, it is unknown whether this camera is any good.At 8.8mm thick, the 640 isn’t the thinnest on the market, but at this price point, it’s a decent size, especially considering a removable 2500 mAh battery is included.
Now the Lumia 640 XL is supposed to launch at about $219, with an extra $20 tacked on for LTE. ATT has confirmed that they will sell the 640 XL, which probably means it will be available on contract and on AT&T Next when it releases. Other carriers such as T-Mobile are expected to carry both the 640 and the 640 XL, as well.
The 640 XL is a significant improvement over the 640. Firstly, the screen. The 5.7″ makes this an official phablet, and it also has the same resolution as the 640 at 1280×720. While this means less pixel density, the increased screen real estate is a super plus, as well as the cameras.
The XL sports a 13MP Zeiss Optics rear camera, a large improvement over the 640’s , and probably a better camera than the iPhone, as well as flagship Androids that use the oh-so-popular 13MP Sony sensor. The front-facing camera is bumped up, as well, measuring in at 5MP. 5MP was the standard resolution for the rear-facing cameras of previous-generation low-end Lumias.
The battery on this beast is also bigger than that of the 640’s coming in at 3000 mAh. Both of these phones have outstanding battery life; for a comparison, the iPhone 6 can last 10 days on standby, and the 6 Plus 16. Both the 640 and 640 XL can last over 35 days on standby.
That battery causes the phone to become quite thick, at 9mm. However, weight-wise the 640 XL fares pretty well. The iPhone 6 Plus comes in at 172 grams while the 640 XL weighs up at 171 grams. Quite impressive.
The internal specs, such as RAM and ROM are the same on the XL as they are on the 640. Both phones also come with a free year of Office 365, which gives you the desktop programs on 1 PC and 1 tablet, on top of your phone. It also gives you 1 TB of OneDrive storage and 60 Skype World Minutes. Microsoft has confirmed that these devices will be upgradeable to Windows 10 when it comes out later this year.
Overall, both of these phones offer outstanding alternatives to low-end Androids and even an aging iPhone. With outstanding battery life, a zippy processor, and decent cameras, these phones are arguably the best low-ends put out by Microsoft.
Personally, I will most likely upgrade to the 640 XL sometime in September, but for those who don’t want a monster 5.7″ screen, the Lumia 640 brings some great specs to the table. I look forward to these devices being released in April, and am anxious for what Microsoft will do with their flagships later this year.
Links to the official Microsoft pages:
Lumia 640 LTE
Lumia 640 XL LTE
Originally published at thewinthusiast.wordpress.com on March 2, 2015.
