Upgrade Recommendations

[Torcher Death]

After the announcement abandoning support for WP 8 phones & considering the fact that my L520 is nearing 3yrs of age, I suppose it is time to move on. So the options before me considering my meager student's budget of around ₹10,000 ($160) & requirements of atleast 13mp camera are - Moto G3, L640 xl (Used), Xiaomi mi 4i. So would like to hear the views from people here who have owned/used any of these phones.

PS - Have been on the L520 & am not the socialising kind, so apps are not really an issue & feel free to recommend any phones within the price range which, in your opinion, are better.

 

[frodrigues21]

It all depends if you want to remain in the Windows ecosystem... the L640 XL has a great display and camera, but if you like Android the Xiaomi mi 4i / Xiaomi Mi Note 3 are much more powerful then the L640 and receive constant MIUI updates, so it's all about your preferences.

If I were to choose, I would choose the L640 because Windows 10 Mobile is growing and it's probably the most consistent (still yet to be stable) mobile OS atm, and if you don't care about social apps, you should be fine...

 

[ven07]

To be quite honest, the only thing keeping me here is the fact that at some point the "communication" between my phone and pc will be awesome For now you only see it in small bits..

Moving on, I agree with frodri...21. Windows 10 is growing and Redstone could be pretty darn impressive. If you're looking for power and customisation, android is probably the way to go (g3 or mi4)

If you want to stick with the platform, while loving your slow phone camera the 640xl is the way to go

 

[RumoredNow]

..budget of around ₹10,000 ($160) & requirements of at least 13mp camera...

Bear with me a moment. Can you find a nice condition Lumia 830 in that price range?

I know it is not 13 MP and is only 10 MP, but 830 takes great pics. It is Pureview, Zeiss, OIS goodness.

IMHO, Lumia 830 camera runs with the big dogs and even steals a few biscuits from them.

Have a peek at some of the pics I did with one here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/de...mia-camera-shootout-928-vs-1520-vs-830-a.html

Or some of the outstanding breakdowns of camera capability that chancooluk does in these threads:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/de...582-lumia-650-vs-lumia-830-vs-moto-g-3rd.html
http://forums.windowscentral.com/de...d-range-lumia-shootout-535-640-735-830-a.html

Another great thread by chancooluk: http://forums.windowscentral.com/lu...-830-%96-battle-metal-framed-mid-rangers.html

 

[Torcher Death]

It all depends if you want to remain in the Windows ecosystem... the L640 XL has a great display and camera, but if you like Android the Xiaomi mi 4i / Xiaomi Mi Note 3 are much more powerful then the L640

Prefer live tiles to icons really... Hadn't considered the redmi note 3 earlier, but now its on my list. The windows ecosystem while sounds great, is still a work in progress with MS going back & forth a lot.

To be quite honest, the only thing keeping me here is the fact that at some point the "communication" between my phone and pc will be awesome For now you only see it in small bits..

But with their mobile first, cloud first strategy, the "communication" may very well be cross platform, rather than windows mobile exclusive as happened with Cortana.

Can you find a nice condition Lumia 830 in that price range?
I know it is not 13 MP and is only 10 MP, but 830 takes great pics. It is Pureview, Zeiss, OIS goodness.

Getting the affordable flagship would be nice, but unfortunately the only ones falling under my budget are damaged like cracked displays, broken lens, drowned sets, etc which would take a lot more to fix. So nope...