Microsoft lumia 640 LTE Review
Essentially, the XL offers a smooth experience when it comes to basic use and, while that processor isn't going to set any speed records, the only time it's noticeably slow is when the phone is a booting up. It takes around 25 seconds from pressing the power button to when you can start using your Lumia.
In keeping with the trend for bigger phones the Lumia 640 has a larger 5-inch screen, up from 4.5 inches. The additional screen size has made the 640 a little taller and wider, but it’s actually slimmer, at 8.8mm thick. On the whole this phone’s design stays in typical Lumia territory. The phone, covered in smooth plastic and Gorilla Glass 3 on its screen, feels good to hold and is comfortable enough to use one-handed.
Windows Phone 8.1 really does make no allowances for those with small hands and big screens. The mobile operating system looks terrific on the large screen, but Microsoft doesn’t do much to take advantage of the extra room. There’s no side-by-side multitasking, for example. The larger screen is terrific for taking notes with a multitouch-ready stylus in the built-in OneNote app.
It didn't score particularly highly in our BrowserMark test, scoring just 510, but in practice we had few complaints when browsing the web. We were able to scroll up and down pages virtually judder free and pinch-zooming worked much more effectively than the disastrous Lumia 535. It was still a little tricky to pan round the page, but the phone as a whole is much less frustrating to use.
You can buy the phone SIM-free directly from Microsoft in the UK for £120, or get it for free on a range of contracts starting at only £13.50 a month. The phone will be coming to the US, although it's currently listed as "coming soon" on Microsoft's site and prices aren't yet known. In Australia it's available outright and will cost you AU$299.
Those who purchase a Microsoft Lumia 640 will receive several sweeteners, such as 30GB of free OneDrive storage and a one-year subscription to Office 365. These in themselves are nice, especially for the price. However, when paired with a phone that rivals (and exceeds) the ever-popular Moto G in many areas, even in its newer incarnation, heads will start to turn.
With a 5-inch 720p screen, quad-core processor, strong battery life and excellent camera the Lumia 640 is Windows Phone's answer to the Moto G. For friends, family and everyone in general, you'd have real trouble doing better than this.
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Even better, the casing on the 640 XL is a matte finish, unlike the gloss on its smaller sibling. I've never been a fan of a piano-finish as they seem designed purely to collect fingerprints, so the XL gets extra points just for that.
After the Lumia 535, the first phone to bear Microsoft's name after it purchased Nokia, was such a disappointment, we were worried that we'd never see a decent Lumia Windows phone ever again. Fortunately, Microsoft has gotten its act together in the intervening months, as the colourful Lumia 640 is by far one of the best value Lumia phones we've seen in quite some time.
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In San Francisco on AT&T's network, download speeds typically ranged from 8Mbps down to 17Mbps down, but spiked at 33Mbps down, as tested on the Speedtest.net diagnostic app. Uplink speeds spanned 4.5 to 10.3 Mbps. These are respectable, but not quite as fast as we've seen on other high-end phones. That said, LTE speeds vary dramatically by time of day and exact location, so your speed situation could be very different depending on where you live.
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The Nokia name may have gone from the phone, but its design is still unmistakably a Lumia. It has the same one-piece back panel seen on almost all of the recent Lumia phones, which bends round to meet the screen at the front. It has more angular edges than the rounded Lumia 735, but it's no less comfortable to hold.
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Overall, this is a utilitarian but nice device for the price. Though Microsoft doesn't take any great gambits with the design, the phone is light, well balanced and pleasant to use both one- and two-handed.
The availability of particular products, services and features may vary by region. Please check with your local Microsoft dealer for further details. Microsoft account, Wi-Fi or data network connection and additional fees or subscriptions are required for some features. Apps are available from Windows Store. The specifications are subject to change without notice.
Russell hawker May 7, 2015, 9:32 am We've just bought this phone for my wife. I convinced her to come off a contract and buy the 640 outright. We sold her Galaxy S4 and this ended up a straight swap. She had been impressed with my 735 and asked to switch from Android to Windows Phone. So far she is loving the 640. I was hoping she would take my 735 as the 640 out specs it. But she didn't go for it. I guess the app store could be a problem for some but we have found all the apps we liked on Android are present on Windows. So no issue for us. Just our opinion but coming from iPhone 4s and Galaxy S4, we much prefer the Windows Phone OS. I know most people will bulk at that statement but there you go, just our opinion.Its a great phone, especially for only £119 (or £79 at CPW).
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