The Microsoft Lumia 550 SS LTE smartphone, reviews of which we will try to review today from different points of view, did not become something special. This is a standard solution from the company. Not so bad, but not the best. Of course, I would not want to compare the devices on Android with the newly made Lumiya running Windows 10 Mobile, but the latter clearly loses in terms of performance in its price segment. Let's first look at the parameters of the device.
Microsoft Lumia 550 LTE. User feedback on features
Initially, we list the parameters of the device. The overall dimensions are as follows. The device reaches 136.1 millimeters in height, 67.8 millimeters in width, and 9.9 mm in thickness. The mass of the device is 142 grams. In principle, according to the reviews of the owners, not so bad. Although the ultrathin smartphone 550th “Lumiya” is still far away. The user is greeted by the Windows 10 Mobile operating system in its undecided variation. Display love especially not at all. It shows good color rendering, but only within the segment. The diagonal is 4.7 inches.
As a hardware filling, a processor of the Kewalk Snapdragon 210 family is deployed. The Microsoft Lumia 550 smartphone, reviews of which can be found in this article, works on the basis of four cores. Otherwise, the hardware platform does not deserve special attention. A gigabyte of RAM, eight GB of internal long-term memory for user needs. This volume is enough for a while.
Nokia Lumia 550, reviews of which we give at the end of the review, is equipped with a lithium-ion battery. For calls, you should use a nano-formatted SIM card.
The Lumia 550, reviews of which spread quickly, has two cameras - the main and the front camera. The device supports fourth-generation cellular networks. The software has an integrated analog radio. To listen to it, you need to connect wired headphones, which will play the role of an antenna. Of the other wired and wireless interfaces, we can note the presence of a Wi-Fi module, “Bluetooth” version 4.1, MicroUSB.
Users on many resources rated this set of characteristics as not worth the money for which the company offers the device. Buyers complain about the low power of the filling, insufficient RAM and very mediocre cameras. Users note that the characteristics of the subject of our review today, that they say, to hell. Perhaps this explains the small demand for this product.
Device positioning
Nokia Lumia 550 has entered the line of devices that Microsoft has launched on the market under the operating system Windows 10 Mobile. This happened in 2015. In general, the development of the OS was in a hurry, so it is logical that the company was not able to bring it to its normal state. Moreover, very prominent persons of the company offered to abandon plans altogether, to transfer them to later. But all this meant incurring obvious considerable losses, since the components for future smartphones were already manufactured. As a result, the company’s specialists left two flagships from the entire series in order to somehow get revenue. But still, the full range of proposed devices was not put into production. Thus, on the eve of the release of the first devices of the company running the Windows 10 Mobile operating system, their list consisted exclusively of Lumiy 550, 950 and 950XL.
Sometimes there is no visible logic in the actions of Microsoft. This can be understood, for example, by looking at the “Lumia 540”. The devices under control of the Windows Foun operating system are sold not as fast as the company would like. Therefore, now on the market, Microsoft is faced with internal competition almost more often than with external. For example, many models (including the previously mentioned “Lumia 540”) bypasses the subject of our review today for a number of characteristics. Moreover, they have a lower price. Yes, they may not have an LTE module. But they have a larger screen diagonal, a significantly better camera and, most importantly, a stable version of the operating system.
Design
The position of Microsoft on this issue has remained unchanged. Designers thought: “Why reinvent the wheel in a new way, if before that there was one concept?”. We are all used to the fact that devices running the Windows Foun operating system look about the same. Nothing has changed in the case of Lumiya 550.
Microsoft Lumia 550 LTE, reviews of which the reader can find in today's review, still has the same plastic case, built on the so-called "shoe" principle. He, by the way, put on the base. If we talk about color combinations, then there is nothing to mention. There are only two of them in this case. These are classic colors: white and black. As we know, Microsoft has always tried to work to offer customers the largest number of colors for devices. However, now it was initially clear that the sales level of Lumiya 550 would be quite low. And if so, then why spend extra money and time?
The smartphone lies well in the hand, we can say that it is reliable. As for the quality of plastic, there is nothing to talk about. The quality is standard, at first it keeps well, but then scratches will definitely appear. The same drawback, by the way, also manifests itself in the screen, since the protective glass is not very high quality and expensive.
The top end of the device accommodates a 3.5 mm jack for wired headphones. Below you can find a socket for connecting a standard MicroUSB wire. On the right side is a double key that allows you to adjust the playback volume and change the sound mode. There is also a screen lock button. The sound speaker goes to the back cover. It is located near the camera and the LED flash section.
The device is easy to open. To do this, pull the housing towards you. It feels like we're dealing with a case. This type of design has been tested by Microsoft on a huge number of models. And, it should be noted, it is very, very reliable. Time-tested, so to speak. After “opening”, a lithium-ion type battery can be found inside. There is also a slot for installing a SIM card. There is a slot for integrating an external microSD memory card.
The engineers did not see the speaker behind the bars. Designers also did nothing to protect her from dusting. After a while, this element will look untidy, at least. However, no problems with voice transmission during multiple tests were noticed. Quality will not suffer either.
Screen
Well, what about this element? Everything is fairly standard for a budget device. The display has a diagonal of 4.7 inches, with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels. This means that the picture is displayed in HD quality. Matrix type IPS.
In fact, for a budget smartphone, such characteristics are quite typical, and usually they are not surprised by this, but in the Lumia 550 such a screen simply took root, became something inalienable and significant. It will not impress the user’s imagination, but even with fairly demanding tasks it handles truly excellently. The whole set of necessary parameters is present. There are even more than we are used to demanding from budget devices. The only negative quality of the display is its work in sunlight. He begins to somehow change the contrast unpredictably, and if the picture is more or less good, then the text becomes difficult to read. In general, for its segment and such a price, the Lumiya 550 has a very high-quality screen.
Battery
A lithium-ion type battery is installed in the device as a source of battery life. It is rated at 2,100 milliamps per hour. In standby mode, the smartphone can work about one month. Rather, 28 days. The third generation network provides work for 16 hours. You can play music up to 60 hours. But when connected to a Wi-Fi access point, the device will live no more than a full working day. That is 8 hours and no more. When watching a video - even less.
With standard use of the "Lumiya 550" it will be possible to squeeze out a day or two of work without additional charge. But the interesting thing is that there is still no definite answer to how much the device is really capable of working. The problem here is that the operating system is not finalized. That is why different users call different numbers. By the way, you can charge the device in two hours from 0 to 100 percent.
Communication opportunities
The user is unlikely to be pleased with him, since a completely standard set of protocols and capabilities is available for "consumption". This, for example, Wi-Fi, operating in the bands b, g and n. There are "Bluetooth" version 4.1 and MicroUSB. Rejoice, perhaps, it is possible for the LTE module. But not more. In general, in terms of its communication capabilities, a smartphone does not bypass such a large number of competitors in the same price category.
Hardware platform
Inside you can find a no less standard solution provided by Microsoft. We are talking about the processor "Kewalk Snapdragon 210". It works on the basis of four cores. The maximum clock frequency is 1.1 gigahertz. Thanks to the chipset, the system interface works quite quickly. Although this is also characteristic of the "template" solutions of the company. At the same time, freezes may form in third-party applications, and a lack of power will also appear in medium games. As we can see, the data is not particularly impressive.
Photo and video
The "front" of the device has a quality of 2 megapixels. There is nothing to pay special attention to. There is no quality, no additional advanced settings. The main module has a resolution of five megapixels. The camera is standard with auto focus on the subject. It shoots well in sunlight. However, interference becomes noticeable in the room. Nevertheless, according to this parameter, the Lumia 550 is able to “tear” many devices running the Android OS that have camera modules with a resolution of eight megapixels.
We won’t find anything special in the settings. Changing white balance, exposure, other parameters - all this is there. But there is nothing special inherent in photographic devices. For comparison, you can take the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. This is not a good example, since the device runs on the Android OS. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese company invested not just money in this phone, but its soul, and it perfectly demonstrates what settings should be in a phone equipped with cameras.
Software
So it's time to talk about the main problem that the Microsoft Lumia 550 (Black) smartphone has, the reviews about whose performance clearly do not agitate us to buy this device. Although the developers themselves tried to present it as the main feature, thanks to which the company counted on major sales. We will not go into features of the Windows 10 Mobile OS. This topic deserves detailed consideration in a separate context. All that users should know about the operating system is that it is raw and extremely underdeveloped. At one time, this phase has passed and the Windows Foun OS. And if things are still bad with her, then the novelty is still worse. In this light, not one of them looks like a worthy alternative for Android. Although the developers themselves are trying to convince us otherwise. About claims to the "Windows 10 Mobile" can talk for a long time. But is it worth it now? Better continue our review.
Conclusion and general impressions
If we talk about sound quality, then everything is in order. Standard for the vast majority of Microsoft devices. There is only one microphone. The vibrating alert is pretty quiet. But in most situations, an incoming call is still felt.
At the beginning of sales of Microsoft Lumia 550 White, reviews of which you can find below, cost 10 thousand rubles. Almost immediately, the price fell by a thousand, since there was no tangible demand. It is possible that soon the price will fall even more. The model has a large number of internal competitors. However, the most successful of these is the Lumia 540.
Microsoft Lumia 550 Smartphone. Device Reviews
Many users who bought the device, described it as "little suitable for anything." It’s impossible to use for entertainment: it does not have the necessary performance. But also as a workhorse for calls and gatherings on the international network, it will not work out particularly: the dampness of the operating system affects the fast discharge of the battery. Who can purchase this device? Probably only the most furious fans of the Windows operating system. In any other case, it is simply impossible to explain such eagerness to use the device, which, in fact, is an absolutely useless investment. There are a huge number of both external and internal competitors for the model, which for a more modest amount offer a wider range of capabilities, both operational and hardware in nature.
We are talking about the speed of the OS, software in general, the results that both cameras of the smartphone demonstrate and so on. To cling to the screen and argue your choice with its characteristics will also fail. It turns out that there is nothing special about the subject of our review today. And indeed it is. The smartphone, which was the topic of our discussion, is well suited for gatherings on social networks, reading books and articles on the Internet, but nothing more.