Microsoft Lumia 640 5-Inch SIM-Free Smartphone - Orange

This phone is a steal at £100 or so, in my opinion. Before the phone decision of course comes the OS decision. Apple does a good job, no doubt about it, but at a price. Android on the other hand seems to me to be a mess. My wife would not use her HTC something or other because it was so slow as to be unusable, but in trying to sort it out I also found it to be the most unintuitive device I have ever used. The 640 is for her, a light user. I have had a Nokia 1020 for over a year (after an iPhone 4S) and was already sold on Windows. Apps (or lack of) are the only real issue, but not much of one for me. There is a decent maps app on the 640, usable offline, and a reasonable navigation one (as well as Waze being available). The 1020 was a £500 phone in its day, but the 640 cedes little to it that matters to people who want to make calls, surf the web, do email, and use social media. The camera is a decent enough 8MP one rather than outstanding like the 1020's 40MP; and there is only 8GB of memory vs. the 1020's 64GB. But the 1020's memory is fixed, and the 640's can be augmented by a micro SD card of up to 128GB (it will address more, when bigger cards are available). A 64GB card is on order. The screen is good, very good. Side by side the only deficit I can see to the 1020 is that the blacks are not just as dark, but until I put them side by side I saw no difference at all. It took me very little time to get everything set up. Gmail works fine with Outlook, and accounts can be combined in a linked inbox. Google calendar and its shared calendars are easy to set up and work well. Reviews that benchmark the IE browser (this phone is still on WP 8.1 although slated for Windows 10) say it is slow; all I know it, it works fine. WP is much easier to use than Android - as such I would unhesitatingly recommend it for less techie users unless availability of specific apps is a problem. It also looks quite classy, at least it does with the matt black back. I believe the coloured backs are glossy, and tend to scratch if not cased, so I'd stick with the black.

I bought this as a means to have a Windows 10 phone (my earlier model was only capable of upgrading to W8). I have to say aside from the need for W10 I would recommend staying with W8; I have found the W8 predictive text, which seemed to learn your likely dialogue, has been replaced with a much clumsier version that learns nothing and often suggests some bizarre word options. Whatsapp also behaves in a much slower and unreliable way so I would mark W10 down against W8 (unless Microsoft affect some radical improvements). Operating System issues aside how about the phone itself? Camera - I have found the camera capable of delivering very acceptable results with a decent amount of manual over-rides. Apparently the camera can be hacked to save in both jpeg and raw formats and if I get confident enough I'll try this. The camera arrives in a 16:9 default arrangement but I have changed this to 4:3 as I think the sensor is a native 4:3 and the 16:9 pictures are created by cropping, so the the 4:3 yields a larger file with a wider view (which you then chose to crop to 16:9). Battery - the battery is at least as good in terms of duration between charges as my previous phone; lasting about 3 days on a full charge. I have found the battery conservation software helps with eeking out the battery very successfully. The battery takes a little bit longer than my old phone to charge up. In use - I have found the phone works well and the speaker and mic are both very clear Value for money - I have to say for the performance and functionality this phone represents superb value for money. I have friends with either Android and Apple phones often costing 6x the cost of this phone and I'm scratching my head to justify the difference; especially given poor storage will undo any advantage in things such as camera lens (my phone always goes in the same trouser pocket and I never put money, keys or anything other than paper in this pocket). Apps - if apps are your thing then look elsewhere as the both Apple and Android are far better served, I only use apps sparingly and Windows phones have a decent amount of apps, just not on the scale of the two As. Summary - I would give the phone 8 out of 10 as a W10 phone. Had I kept it as a W8 phone it would have been a 9

As a student who is unable to stretch to the high price range of most mainstream smartphones, this phone is just a godsend for me. I can’t say I know everything about the technology behind this phone, but from a usuability point of view it is absolutely brilliant. Most of the functions on the phone are so intuitive that I was using it with ease within minutes of turning it on. Although I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this phone to anybody, it is perfect for people who also possess other appliances with a Windows operating system. One of the main benefits of this is OneDrive, which allows you to automatically upload your photos, videos and documents to the cloud, so you can instantly access them on any appliance. This can make life a lot simpler if you are working on a project! The Windows 8.1 system installed on the phone is also extremely well suited to the touchscreen and the live tiles on the Start screen make it easy to organise everything efficiently. The personal assistant, Cortana, is also extremely useful and can be quite entertaining too if you want to ask it random questions (not that I would ever admit to such a thing). As an added bonus, I have been told that there will be a free upgrade available to Windows 10 as soon as the smartphone download becomes available. The quality of the phone itself is great and it looks good, so I am not embarrassed to use it when I’m out and about. In the months since I started using it, it has proven itself to be pretty durable too, which is very important thing in day-to-day life. The resolution of the display is excellent, so I have no trouble viewing images, watching videos or playing games. The phone’s 8MP rear-facing camera (with flash) takes some fantastic quality images for a smartphone, with the 1MP front-facing camera taking far more basic, but still functional quality pictures (perfect for selfie addicts). One of the most important things to me when I was choosing a new phone was that I wanted to easily connect to the modern world: using social media, email, online shops and other apps on the go. This phone allows me to do pretty much everything I want to do at the touch of a button, with almost all of the app biggies available (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Skype etc). As this is still a very new range of phones, there are still one or two companies that haven’t released versions of their apps for it yet (the most notable being Snapchat), but it’s likely as the popularity of these phones continues to grow that these last few stragglers will be releasing versions very soon. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced smartphone which is nonetheless extremely fun to use and ticks all the boxes in today’s world, then this is definitely the one for you. Just a warning though, use with caution – it can be extremely addictive!! :D Weezy xx

I honestly can't be more extreme in my recommendation that people use a different smart phone in preference to a Windows one. I'm sure that the Lumia is a fantastic piece of hardware, that is until it's been married to Windows. MS's obsession with unifying your identity across all MS platforms that you possess is in theory a great idea and if they'd been Apple it would even work. However it doesn't, and worse than not working properly, it actually prevents you downloading any updates or apps until their "My Family" process completes. As it doesn't work, the process never completes. Additionally, and of no real interest to me, but of great interest/disappointment to the child I bought this phone for, SnapChat isn't available for Windows and, most likely, never will be (due to one of those girly tiffs that tech companies occasionally have with each other). Don't buy this, and, if you're interested in your personal data security, don't buy Android. Go for Apple even if you can only afford an older, second hand device. UPDATE (24 hours later): So, after a web chat with MS, who are only available 9-5, Mon-Fri (what is this? the 1980's?), it turns out that it takes 24 hours for the "My Family" setup to percolate through their system. Whilst that sort of overnight batch processing seems a bit old school to me, surely it wasn't beyond their ability to simply state that in words on the web pages and emails relating to the setup procedure. After all they do manage to include the 5000+ words of Ts & Cs that nobody reads. So the phone I now fully updated and functional and I probably ought to up the rating but I won't simply because of the level of frustration MS caused me and because others might read this review and learn from it. UPDATE (6 Months later): The curse of Microsoft continues. This months current craze is Pokemon Go. Guess which phone platform doesn't support it? Yes, got it in one - Microsoft. So one more reason why an apparently inexpensive, child suitable device just isn't.

This phone is excellent for its price range. I think this is one of the best phones I have ever owned, despite costing just over £100. To start with, you must understand that this phone uses the Windows/Microsoft app store. If you're in to the latest and greatest apps, forget it, because the store is incredibly limited. Even big companies like BBC and Amazon are withdrawing their apps from the platform. There are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps, but that's about it for social media. No chance of snapchat, or any knock off versions appearing any time soon. I believe where this phone lacks in apps, it makes up in speed and in it's surprisingly good camera and battery life. Despite only being advertised as a 8MP camera, the quality of pictures taken on the Lumia 640 is comparable to some high end phones, such as iPhones and Samsungs. The camera app also lets you adjust exposure, white balance, shutter speed and many more operations, as well as incorporating a manual focus (not just tapping on the screen, but sliding a slider) all before you take a picture. The flash on the camera is adequate and is of standard brightness when used as a torch (you will need to download an app for torch function). The phone also takes photos which move when you look at the gallery on the camera app, similar to the iPhone 6. Battery life is fantastic, with a single charge easily lasting a day of heavy usage, and 2-3 days of moderate usage, which can be extended further with the battery saver function. Personalisation is the main selling point with these Windows phones, with multiple colours to choose from for the phone, as well as a "Theme" colour for the UI itself. The home screen uses Windows Tiles, which can be moved around, changed in size and grouped together to suit each individual user. Pros: -Relatively cheap in price. -Sturdy device (has withstood a good few drops in the last 6 months)m -Amazing camera. -Bright display, which shows colours crisp and realistically. -High level of customisability and personalisation. -Fast boot up sequence and overall speed when changing apps etc. -Quick charge time and long battery life. -Integrates well with Windows laptops, sharing Cortana information, pictures and notes without needing to plug in the device. Cons: -Very limited app store. -Low storage, not 8GB as advertised as Windows 10 takes up A LOT of space (there is a slot for a micro SD card however). -Front facing camera is quite poor. -Speaker is on the back of the phone, and is very muted if the phone is face up on a table or the back is leaning on anything. Overall I think k the Microsoft Lumia 640 is a brilliant phone for its price range. It's no iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, but you really do get what you pay for! For the relatively low price tag, you get a very well built and well designed phone that greatly out performs is competitors in this price range.

It's a good phone, but I just can't get over two things. 1. The store is lacking in so many apps I use (e.g. Strava) - there are unofficial copy apps, but they are rubbish. 2. It's just too big. I have normal sized hands and need both hands to operate it. When trying to use it single handed, it is a bit prone to slipping out of your grip - even with a silicone case. The operating system is ok (same as my PC, so I did want to get everything 'synced', but I have gone back to iPhone for another 24mths & sold this phone on after less than a month of light use as a second phone. Maybe they'll get it right next time - I hope so as I was a Nokia customer for a decade or more. They just need to pack all of the top features into a smaller shell - the iPhone 5s is unrivalled in this respect.

I've resisted buying a smart phone for years but eventually succumbed a week or so ago replacing my "it-sends-and-receives-phone-calls" for this beauty. I'm delighted - it looks good and performs very well. It was a doddle to set up and I'm still finding new things to try having sent my first text a day or so ago. It found my email and other accounts without trouble and adding contacts is so easy. So far I've not found anything that I wanted, or have heard about, that is not built in. I'm still exploring it's capabilities having downloaded the (130 page) Manual from Microsoft and am going through this semi-methodically (a little sad but remember this is all new to me) At this price the phone is a tremendous bargain and seems to do everything the expensive shiny fashionable phones can do at least according to my daughter (Samsung) and her partner (iPhone). Pro Big clear screen Easy to use Excellent operating system Clear reception of calls Microsoft seem to have included everything and also have a comprehensive selection of apps, some already on the phone and some available via the app store The phone switches automatically to Wi-Fi when in range so this saves the data allowance on my contract Inexpensive ,Inexpensive, Inexpensive It syncs with my PC via my Ms Account Takes a memory card. The phone can then be set to download to this card rather than to the built in memory which is quite small The phone is "unlocked" so will take any micro sim card Con Getting the back off, there is obviously a "knack" to this and I've yet to discover it. Perhaps I should grow long finger nails as my wife seems to be able to do it with ease! For very little money I have a smart phone that is, at least, the equal to much more expensive ones. My wife who has a Samsung Y mini that she finds very anti intuitive to use is going to get one too. Don't hesitate buy one.

Very good phone. Replaces my 620. Quality phone now from Microsoft. Their best to date. Update. I have been very patient with this phone but it is getting on my nerves. I just cannot get my own music on this phone and get it to play. It is driving me mad as I have tried everything to get music that I own to play. To add injury to my frustration the dreaded XBOX wants me to buy the music I already own. It also wants me to upload the music somewhere so I can sync to it. Why? It just says corrupt or unknown format even though they are standard MP3 files that can play anywhere else. Some do play but most do not and I cannot for the life of me see the difference between them. Added to this the camera clicks but the pictures or videos are not saved. As a phone it is great. As any kind of media player it's rubbish. Dropping from my original 5 stars to just 2.

Médiocre très bas de gamme

Trotz mehrstündigem Versuch keine Registration (checking proto registration) möglich. Sim Karte Österreich noch im Handy (habe sie natürlich entfernt). In diesem Zustand für mich nicht akzeptabel. Da ich weitere Microsoft Handys im Gebrauch habe, schließe ich eine Fehlbedienung aus. Sorry, aber es ist halt so.

El movil llegó en buenas condiciones y en el tiempo indicado.

Purtroppo la politica di Microsoft ha escluso lo sviluppo degli smatphone con sistema Windows. Il mio è stato un acquisto suggerito dal gradimento di tale SO. Ma ormai i giochi sono fatti: questi apparecchi non hanno più assistenza e il modello con Windows 8. neppure può avvalersi di OneDrive e, tanto meno, di aggiornamenti.