Lumia 640: Microsoft's budget warrior

The Microsoft Lumia 640 is a compact, feature-rich affordable 5-inch phone that showcases the best of Microsoft’s mobile apps and productivity tools.

With a new Android-based budget smartphone arriving in the market every third day, devices backed by the Windows platforms have not had an easy run recently. Microsoft has tried hard to strengthen its position in the segment, but not much has worked in its favour. However, the Lumia 640 might just be the game changer. From a distance, it's fairly attractive and if you take a closer look, the phone is bundled with many interesting features. Let's find out what all the gadget has to offer:

Design and display

The Lumia 640 comes with a 5-inch 720 x 1280-resolution (294ppi) IPS LCD screen. Bright colours, perfect viewing angles and crisp images — I can easily say this is one of the best displays you would see in a device at this price point.
The 5-inch device is appropriate for single-hand usage and fits well in your pocket. At 145g, it is on the lighter side.
The minimalistic design of the Lumia 640 is likely to impress you. The back cover is removable and so is the battery (something that you don't generally find in smartphones these days).

Performance

The Lumia 640 sports a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor. Aided by 1GB RAM, the device can run most of your apps without any hassle. However, if you plan to play high-end games on this, you might be slightly disappointed. With most brands offering 2GB RAM in this range, one wonders why Microsoft chose 1GB.

The device comes with internal storage of 8GB, which can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card.
The battery life of Lumia 640 impressed us. The 2,500mAH battery lasted about 11 hours with regular usage.


Camera

The eight-megapixel (MP) rear camera is capable of clicking crisp images. The images were low on noise and even the low-light performance was good. However, selfie-lovers might not like the 0.9MP front camera. It's just about okay for video-calling.

Verdict

At Rs 11,999, the Lumia 640 is not a bad buy for anyone who is not rigid about opting for Android smartphones. The impressive display, brilliant battery life and smooth processing make this dual-SIM device an option worth exploring in the budget segment.


Specifications

Price: Rs 11,999
Display: 5-inch 720 x 1280-resolution (294ppi)
OS: Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400
CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
Battery: 2,500mAH
Camera: 8MP (rear) 0.9MP (front)