The subject of our review today will be the Lumiya 640 mobile phone, a review of which you can find at the end of this article. I remember, more recently, in the Microsoft arsenal there were no devices that were equipped with a screen that had a diagonal of 5 inches and that displayed an image in HD quality. Thus, we can say that the company refused to compete with other manufacturers that supplied their smartphones in the most popular segment of the market.
But let's not forget that before the device under the name “Lumiya 640”, a review of which can be left by any interested user, there was another model in the product line. This is a “Lumia 535”. She just had a five-inch display. However, the resolution was only 960 x 540 pixels. In addition, the model was characterized by aggressive positioning in terms of price. As a result of all this, the smartphone significantly stood out from the background of its closest competitors, almost instantly gaining enormous demand.
Introduction
The company's engineers decided to take this issue seriously. From their point of view, the advantage of the previous model had to be strengthened and used to its fullest. What employees of the company, in principle, did. It is interesting that the “Lumiya 640”, the review of which we will try to formulate based on the characteristics of the phone, was supposed to outstrip its competitors working on the Android operating system. Did she succeed? It is quite difficult to give a definite answer. However, one thing is visible to the naked eye: in its segment, the device clearly dominates, leaving almost no chance for similar models.
disadvantages
In general, the device is perceived by potential buyers positively. More than once the good hardware of the smartphone was noted. Nevertheless, how the device is implemented is a real nightmare. And such a quality of implementation almost completely crosses out all technical aspects. Despite the powerful stuffing, the smartphone, as shown by official sales data, remained unclaimed even among admirers of devices of the Finnish manufacturer. There are no global flaws. But all the big pictures are made up of little things, right? And there are a lot of such moments in the smartphone under the name “Lumiya 640”, a review of which almost every owner of the device under the rule of the Windows Phone operating system considers it a duty to leave.
For whom the device is suitable / not suitable
Smartphone “Lumiya 640” will not be accepted by those who want great opportunities in terms of watching movies, video clips and using games. Regarding the first two, we can say that the multimedia player in the model is simple to the maximum. Well, with games, everything is clear: the Windows Phone operating system is clearly not the platform from which a variety of entertainment should be expected. On this issue, it is best to turn to devices running the Android OS. That's where there really is where to turn around!
Nevertheless, if you are an ardent fan of Windows Phone, you want to always have a working device with good cameras (moreover, this is both the main and the front), then the Lumiya 640 smartphone is just made for you. In addition, we note that this is a good solution for people who do not want to overpay for a device running the Windows Phone operating system. In its price segment, the device demonstrates quite good characteristics, but its cost is not too high, unlike similar smartphones.
Two variations
“Lumiya 640”, the characteristics of which we will analyze later, is supplied to the market in several versions. Firstly, there is simply a 640 model, and there is also a 640 XL. What is the difference between an ordinary device and an apparatus called “Lumiya 640 XL”? First, with the naked eye, discrepancies in the diagonal of the screen are noticeable. “Lumiya 640 XL” in size will be larger due to this. Secondly, there is a difference in the cameras. The advanced model is equipped with a camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels. The usual 640th main camera is only 8 MP. The chipset is absolutely identical. The third difference lies in the battery. If the “Lumiya 640”, the characteristics of which will be listed in the article, is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 2500 mAh, then in XL - 500 more. However, even though the screen diagonal became 0.7 inches larger, the display resolution did not change at all. It's all the same HD quality - 1280 x 720 pixels.
Primary conclusion
The phone “Lumiya 640” was quickly ranked by experts as phablets. Frankly, some efforts by Microsoft engineers are still noticeable. Nevertheless, the device turned out to be very strange. There is clearly no need to talk about the successful sale of goods. At least right now. Nobody knows what momentum the business will take in the future, our task is to figure out what is happening at a given moment in time. But what was envisaged by the employees of the Finnish manufacturing company was that the Lumiya 640 telephone would be interesting to the corresponding audience even if grandiose sales were not launched and a new audience was not enticed to the company.
Brief Specifications
To begin with, we agree that we will analyze the very first model. That is, the one that was released without the support of work in the fourth generation cellular networks. “Lumiya 640”, the price of which is ten thousand rubles in such a variation, was improved by engineers later. An LTE module has been added to it. However, the cost increased to thirteen thousand rubles.
Communication
The device supports operation in the GSM bands, as well as UMTS. Internet access is possible. For this, standards such as 3G, GPRS, as well as EDGE are used. There is no WAP technology. But after all, it is already outdated, and why would we need it in this case? The owner of the phone, if it has a SIM card (or SIM card), can activate an Internet access point. This is done through the built-in modem. Thus, other subscribers can connect to the access point created by the owner of the phone, so that they themselves can choose to the open spaces of the international network. Smartphones with the presence of a Wi-Fi module, as well as tablet computers and laptops, can act as subscribers.
“Lumiya 640”, the price of which is normally ten thousand rubles, is equipped with wireless data transmission modules. And we are talking not only about Wi-Fi operating in the b, g, and n bands, but also about the “Bluetooth” function version 4.0. For users who use e-mail for messaging, a built-in E-mail client is provided. There is the possibility of synchronizing the device with a personal computer, as well as a laptop using the MicroUSB connector.
Display
The “Lumia 640” screen has a diagonal of five inches. The screen resolution, as mentioned earlier, is 1280 x 720 pixels. That is, the picture on the display is displayed in HD quality. Color rendering is within reason. Yes, not the best option, but the picture is still colorful. There is a margin of brightness, so in natural light, fonts will be read from the screen without any effort. Broadcast up to 16 million colors. In general, according to this parameter, there should be no complaints to the phone. The display matrix is made using IPS technology. In fact, this is a good solution that will allow the phone owner to less tire their eyes. This will positively affect their health. The touch screen is a capacitive type, it supports the “Multi-touch” function, which allows you to simultaneously process multiple taps on the screen. As an additional protection we have the third generation Corning Gorilla Glass .
Cameras
The main camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels. The front is equipped with a worse module - only 2 MP. Nevertheless, she makes very good pictures. Next to the main camera is an LED flash. It enables the phone owner to take good photos even in low light conditions (as well as in the case of complete absence of light). Video clips to the main camera are recorded in a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Frame rate - 30 pieces per second. Note that in the XL model the cameras are an order of magnitude higher quality. The main resolution in it is 13 megapixels, the front - 5 MP. Case for “Lumiya 640” will not have any impact on the ease of shooting.
Hardware
As a chipset, we have a Qualcomm processor family. In our case, this is the Snapdragon 400 model. Four cores work at once in the chipset, the maximum clock frequency of which can reach 1.2 gigahertz.
Memory
The device has a built-in amount of "RAM", equal to 1024 megabytes. Not very much, but not a little. Such is the golden mean for a budget device. The operating system takes some for itself, but applications work stably even in multitasking mode. There are no lags and freezes, the OS works quickly and quickly, without giving the owner discomfort when using the phone.
To store personal data, the user is provided with a little more than eight thousand megabytes. It will not be enough to store movies and music. If we take into account also photographs, as well as applications ... Nevertheless, engineers provided for the possibility of installing a microSD memory card. The maximum supported volume in the case of the subject of our review today is 128 gigabytes. A lot, isn't it? To install an external drive, you will have to remove the cover for the “Lumiya 640”, unfasten the back cover. Only after that it will be possible to detect the nest.
Options “Lumiya 640”
The instruction is unlikely to tell the buyer anything interesting. In addition to it, the delivery set includes a battery for the device (with a capacity of 2500 mAh), a network charger. Quite modestly.
Multimedia features
Here the set of functions is standard. There is an audio player and video player. On a call it is possible to set ringtones and songs in MP3 format. There is an analogue radio. To use it, you will need to connect a wired stereo headset to the phone, which is not included in the package. However, like the MicroUSB standard cable. A 3.5 mm standard port is provided for connecting headphones.
Operating system and navigation
As the OS on board the subject of our today's review, Windows Phone 8.1 is installed. Navigation in space is carried out due to A-GPS technologies, as well as A-GLONASS. At the same time, work with the Chinese BeiDou system is supported. Thus, the phone is quite possible to use as a navigator for a car. Cards work stably, and most importantly - for sure.
Housing
This time, the role of the material of manufacture is glossy plastic. Cheap, cheerful, but quite comfortable. The phone does not try to slip out of your hands during operation. The form factor is still the same candy bar. The battery is removable. In the smartphone market, the device is available for purchase in several colors. This is a classic (black and white), as well as orange and blue. We can say that for the Lumiya line they (along with green) have become traditional. The rear panels are not particularly shock resistant, but in many cases they successfully protect the hardware of the smartphone.
Conclusion
Among the advantages of the phone was not weak hardware, good cameras and the corresponding cost. You can not ignore the material of manufacture with design.
The disadvantages of the smartphone are mainly claims to the platform. The camera works well only in the light, and in low light conditions the quality of images from the front device changes dramatically. Finally, we answer a question that interests some users, namely, how to configure the “Lumia 640”. This can be done using the settings by going to the appropriate menu.