Microsoft Lumia 650 UK Sim Free Smartphone, White - Black

It's a decent mobile phone for those basic features, such as: placing / receiving a call, getting voice mail, text messaging, address book, appointment calendar, emails on Outlook and the occasional web browsing. The phone’s screen is the right size (just about 5 inches) and light weight too. The GPS and maps application is also useful... when it works. The CPU in this phone isn't powerful enough for Windows 10 Phone, so it does lag and struggle to do things. The Edge browser struggles with many websites, and it crashes now and then with multiple tabs open. The camera is OK, although I miss the dedicated camera button on the side of the device like in my previous Lumia 835 mobile phone. I've had it for almost a year now with few problems. It does what it was intended to do... to be a no nonsense smart mobile phone. However, it's soon to be useless when it comes to useful applications... My bank's mobile application will no longer be supported on Windows 10 Phone after February 2018. Add to this bad news, there are less and less useful and decent applications anymore. It's a matter of time before my Uber, WhatsApp and Bus Due applications will no longer be supported on Windows 10 Phone. It's a shame... I stuck with Windows Phone because it was a great alternative to iOS and Android. Plus I thought the Microsoft acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business would develop a Surface Phone. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... Off to look at comparable Android mobile phones within the price range to meet my smart mobile phone needs in 2018... :-(

The Lumia 650 I purchased from Amazon is actually my second one of these - I bought one from Carphone Warehouse back in March with the intention of using it as my summer phone (I was/am using a Nokia Lumia 930, which is a bit weighty for ones summer shorts). I was immediately impressed by the feel and look of the phone. Previous Lumias I have owned include the 630, 925 and the aforementioned 930 and I have liked them all, especially the design of the 925, though that was a very 'slippery' device to hold if it had no aftermarket case on. I think the 650 is perhaps my favourite Lumia where looks and feel/handling are concerned. It feels lovely in the hand, is light (ideal for my summer shorts) and the screen is surprisingly sumptuous for such a (relatively) cheap smartphone. I do like Windows 10 Mobile very much. There is perhaps a bit of lag compared to my 930 running 8.1 OS but then again the 930 has double the RAM (2gb v 1gb in the 650) and from what I hear W10 Mobile isn't quite the finished article, but I am impressed with it nonetheless. The return of the Glance Screen is most welcome (Lumia 930 sadly was not given that - very foolish). Battery life is better than the 930 but I have to recharge it every 30 hours or so - using it for lots of web browsing, whatsapp'ing, texting, ebay. I dont play games on my phone - I have a games console for that so cant honestly say what its performance is like for that purpose. For everything else it does the job perfectly well, and looks really good doing it. Dare I say it, it is actually quicker at snapping photos than my 930. You may be wondering, why did I buy two white ones? I like to have a spare if I like something. If you are a fan of Windows phone and are not a power-user (if you are, then the 950 and 950xl may be better suited) and appreciate beautiful, clean design, then you will like the Lumia 650, especially considering the price, which was £149 when I bought it.

The phone in white gives it a premium look and feel. The windows 10 mobile operating system with all the latest updates makes the phone a delight to use. The new integrated maps is superb for public transport connections, which I use for my daily commute, with a much slicker interface than the old Here Transit app. And its the little details too numerous to mention that make the latest windows 10 mobile a real treat. The only downside is the rather bare app store. However, all the apps I use on a daily basis are available and for the price its a bargain. I have colleagues with similar priced Android phones and this phone looks and feels it costs twice as much as theirs. Before buying this or an Android phone I would strongly suggest you check out the app store first to see if all you need is available. If the apps are available I would strongly suggest you consider this phone. This is my third Windows phone have had windows 7.1, 8.1 and now this 10.x addition to an Android phone.

I have been using Windows Phone 7 (all versions), 8 (all versions) and now 10 mobile since the product was released to market. I have owned my fair share of Lumias (Nokia and Microsoft) and I really really like them. The Lumia 650 is a nice phone, my first one that comes with a native Widows 10 Mobile installation. Two point I need to criticize: Microsoft anf whoever owns the Here app nowadays were somehow unable to get their act together to make sure Here is still available in Windows 10 Mobile. This is a major drawback in my book, since Here is just a fantastic product. I have restored Windows Phone 8.1 on my older Lumia 640 in order to have Here available. Secondly the lifetime of the 650's battery is really disappointing. The 640 would take you through a day without problems, the 650 always gives you the impression it would drain the better part of its battery life in about one hour of "spirited" use. And the fact that the four coure processor is posiibly responsible for the reduced battry life does not pay back in terms of added smoothness or speed in day to day operations.

Four stars as it lost one for two reasons, one for performance as in sometimes the devices is really unresponsive with inputs (it rarely happens but it is enough to aggravate as requires a reboot to get back to normal functionality - The latest update from Windows seems to have helped a lot though only had one instance in the last month where it required a reboot) the second reason being that Microsoft really need to provide incentives for developers to bring their apps to their phone, I know of many people who would switch from iOS or Android in a heartbeat if they provided x,y or z app on the Windows store (Sure you can sideload etc but native support is always preferred). My main reasons for buying this; 1. Didn't want to spend a great deal of money on a phone, as I am not a massive user. 2. I like the Win 10 theme and overall design and feel of it, also have a Windows 10 tablet and PC so linking them was nice and handy. 3. I don't like iOS and after using Android for the last 6-7 years fancied a change.