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venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
Im getting a Microsoft Lumia 640 soon. A nice upgrade from my deteriorating 4S i'd like to think. I'm not an app heavy user, mainly Facebook and Messenger, and email, so the limited app store isnt much an issue to me. My brother had a Lumia 635 and i really liked it. What are your guys' take on Windows phones? Any long term issues i should look out for?
 

venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
I dunno. Perhaps the uncertain future would give me issues if considering windows phone.

I did try windows phone. First with a cheap one then a 1020. I gave up due to lack of apps and support. However my wife is happy with the 930.

Check the news on Windows phone.

https://news.microsoft.com/2016/05/...d-global-oy/#sm.000rg9nmb18kpexm10w5a1r5l5rh8

The specs on the 640 are more than good enough for me to get by for a while. Plus the 5 inch screen is (hopefully) plenty big enough for me
 
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AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
The specs on the 640 are more than good enough for me to get by for a while. Plus the 5 inch screen is (hopefully) plenty big enough for me

With all the "My stuff" you listed, you aren't at least partly married to the Apple App Store?? Do you listen to music and what is your resource for that?
 

venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
With all the "My stuff" you listed, you aren't at least partly married to the Apple App Store?? Do you listen to music and what is your resource for that?

I have a total of 8 apps I use

Messenger
Snapchat
4 Sonic The Hedgehog games
Pandora (rarely though)
And Youtube

I use Safari for email actual Facebook access. I also have 7 iPods so im set on my music.

While i do have Snapchat, it doesnt get used to the extent where not having it on Windows Phone matters all that much to me
 

Fancuku

macrumors 65816
Oct 8, 2015
1,023
2,659
PA, USA
The Lumina 640 sounds perfect for your use. No need to drop $700 on an iphone if you aren't tied to the Apple ecosystem and you only use a few apps.
 
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venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
The Lumina 640 sounds perfect for your use. No need to drop $700 on an iphone if you aren't tied to the Apple ecosystem and you only use a few apps.


I plan on using the 640 till i get a job and then im going to save up for an iPhone SE (or any future 4 inch phone if Apple makes more)
 

Frisco

macrumors 68020
Sep 24, 2002
2,475
69
Utopia
It's a nice phone especially for $30 bucks, but stick with Windows Mobile 8.1 for now. Windows 10 is not good on it as of now. Cortana doesn't work, extremely sluggish. etc.
 

venomgt95

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
It's a nice phone especially for $30 bucks, but stick with Windows Mobile 8.1 for now. Windows 10 is not good on it as of now. Cortana doesn't work, extremely sluggish. etc.

Thanks for the heads up. If it doesnt have 10 already preinstalled, ill stick with 8 for now
 

WrenFGun

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2013
51
4
It's a nice phone especially for $30 bucks, but stick with Windows Mobile 8.1 for now. Windows 10 is not good on it as of now. Cortana doesn't work, extremely sluggish. etc.

If you go on the production ring on the 640, you'll be fine. There are some useful UWP apps like Todoist and Baconit that are tough to miss out on with 8.1, though aesthetically its a bit of a letdown.

The 640 is an excellent second phone. I keep it for a backup when I sell my primary to switch to something else. I currently use 950 on .318 almost entirely for the camera and shutter button. Blows the xperia out of the water.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
You can do the much more with an Android phone which gives you way more flexibility and customization regardless that you don't need a big App Store. And you do not need to spend alot either.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
I have a windows phone, at this point its just your paperweight. Save your, the platform is deader then BB10.
 

kilcher

macrumors 65816
Jul 3, 2011
1,269
326
If that's all you're going to use it for I'd say it's perfect. Can't go wrong for $25. I bought one for my mom and for a few seconds it had me questioning why I spent $1,000 on my 6 Plus, then I came to my senses. :p
 
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Frisco

macrumors 68020
Sep 24, 2002
2,475
69
Utopia
It's a nice phone especially for $30 bucks, but stick with Windows Mobile 8.1 for now. Windows 10 is not good on it as of now. Cortana doesn't work, extremely sluggish. etc.

Windows 10 Mobile is finally officially available for this phone now. You have to install "Upgrade Adviser" from the Windows store. All the problems I had with Win 10 mobile are now fixed and make this phone even better.
 

Three141

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2016
391
333
London
Im getting a Microsoft Lumia 640 soon. A nice upgrade from my deteriorating 4S i'd like to think. I'm not an app heavy user, mainly Facebook and Messenger, and email, so the limited app store isnt much an issue to me. My brother had a Lumia 635 and i really liked it. What are your guys' take on Windows phones? Any long term issues i should look out for?

I believe I can chime in here; I have a Nokia Lumia 1520 which I've owned for a couple years (bought refurbished), I'm a windows fan and the only app I used that is non-windows is Twitter (which I've deleted as it kept crashing).

I have W10M update and to me it's not much different (I did not have many issues with the phone).

I would say if you're getting the phone for dirt cheap not sure US price but I'm expecting less than $100 USD and you are prepared to accept there will be next to no resale value; go for it! but if you use stuff like Emoji's and iMessenger you might be better off finding a good refurbed IPhone 5S, if you use twitter forget it; it's unusable both the terrible app and the web page.
 

Savor

Suspended
Jun 18, 2010
3,742
918
Microsoft Lumia 640 is a great phone. One of my favorites. Got one back in March 19 and then sold the other four. I made a tidy profit of 20K PHP after spending 6K for them. So I made close to $400 net profit from it since they cost about $180 EACH where I live. I love it because the camera, loud speaker, clear reception, long battery, and making money out of it is the icing on the cake.

Most of the positives come from the Nokian hardware. It surprisingly takes excellent photos although the flash isn't very strong. It records better videos than my other Androids that cost more. My female cousin who also had an iPhone 4s bought a Lumia 640 from me and said the cam is fantastic for the price. We compared it with her brother's iPhone 5 and the Lumia might be slightly better. In between iPhone 5 and 5s quality. Recording sound is also loud.

Drawbacks? Lack of apps and ones with lesser quality. Facebook Messenger has no video option as told by one of my friends I sold it to. Viber, MX Player, and Netflix are also much better on Android than on WP. Which is why I swapped micro-sd and put the 64gb onto the Moto E 4G. I like listening to the audio of movies or any video sometimes while the screen is off.

Again, if you aren't much an apps user, you will end up loving it. The only flaws come usually from the OS. Nokian hardware is fantastic on it. Everytime I speak on it, I feel like I am on a landline and where I live have dead spots. Hard to get the best signal here but the 640 always comes off louder and clearer than my other phones. This is why I hope Nokia builds an Android equivalent of the Lumia 640.

So for camera and phone, Lumia 640. For multimedia playback, I go to the Android. The Lumia 640 will be a nice edition to your collection and you don't have much to lose for only $29.99 if it turns out to be disappointing. With a Snapdragon 400 and 1GB RAM, it still feels smooth. And added longevity with removable battery and micro-sd slot. WP does eat up your sd card more than Android for some reason. I tried putting exactly the same files on my LG and Lumia, and the Lumia had 1.6GB less.

Just remember to go through your keyboard settings and turn off the gesture swiping . It might lag on you or you experience ghost inputs when nothing is typed for 30 seconds. Double tap to wake screen is there as well as double tap the navigation bar on the bottom to turn off. Browsing also isn't my favorite on WP. UC Browser is my favorite browser on it but I still prefer browsing on Android.

I give Lumia 640 9/10 for its Nokian hardware and 7.5/10 for its Microsoft software. I also had a 635 before which I enjoyed for its long battery life and this one is definitely better with its 1GB RAM, superior camera, and HD display. It is definitely an upgrade from iPhone 4s when it comes to hardware and don't let that $29.99 price fool you that it isn't. I tried many iPhones before and sold them. This 2015 WP budget $30 phone is on par with iPhone 5 and 5c and superior and inferior to them in a couple areas.
 
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