Lumia 640 discontinued - The King is Dead....

[libra89]

The problem is that a lot of people are turned away from the ecosystem. There reasoning... Lack of apps. Ironically, most of them can find the very apps they use in the store.

Yeah, but sadly a good amount of these apps are not even close to being equivalent. Of course this depends on the apps you use though.

 

[neodk]

At the end of the day, not all developers for Windows Phone can be Rudy Huyn. If Microsoft finds a way to lure developers to the universal platform and publish at the same time or before Apple and Google equivalents are released. Especially before.

 

[wgs84]

The Lumia 640 for $30 is one of the best values in wireless, if you don't allow the ecosystem of Windows on mobile to deter you that is. If you are looking for a phone that can make and receive calls, handle PIM functions well, and has great battery life the 640 is it.

Even at its original price of $69.99 it's an incredible deal, but $29 is an outright steal. I got both of my parents two very decent Windows Phones for the price of one atrociously bad low-end Android phone.

 

[aybarrap1]

Even at its original price of $69.99 it's an incredible deal, but $29 is an outright steal. I got both of my parents two very decent Windows Phones for the price of one atrociously bad low-end Android phone.

The sad part is that I have seen low end android phones with slightly better hardware (SD 410 vs SD 400 in the L640) perform much worse than this phone. I have to give MS credit on the area of keeping windows fully usable even on low end hardware.

 

[aybarrap1]

At the end of the day, not all developers for Windows Phone can be Rudy Huyn. If Microsoft finds a way to lure developers to the universal platform and publish at the same time or before Apple and Google equivalents are released. Especially before.

It figures. It is a sad day. Just got an email from Amazon starting they will discontinue support for their windows app in August. If Amazon is dropping off, it really doesn't look good.

 

[anon(9668900)]

India has had only 640XLs for the past few months. They released a 640 LTE I think but none of these are anywhere to be found. Stocks lasted barely a month after the prices were slashed to ₹8999 ($134) from ₹15999 ($240). The only 640 I've seen is a dummy at the Nokia (MSFT) service centre.

 

[anon(9668900)]

I have the spiritual processor of the 640, that is the 730 Dual SIM. Recently made a decision not to trade it in for a Moto X Play...

 

[neodk]

It figures. It is a sad day. Just got an email from Amazon starting they will discontinue support for their windows app in August. If Amazon is dropping off, it really doesn't look good.

On the one hand, it's sad to see another big name discontinue their application for Windows Phone. But, if the app hasn't been updated or clearly isn't as functional as it's iOS or Android counterpart(s) it doesn't have to be considered a real loss. Maybe there will be a universal application released. Maybe the mobile web will be the only choice. So long as Edge works on Amazon's site and it renders correctly we all will live.

 

[anon(9668900)]

I am of the thought that the anniversary update might bring in some new app developers to Windows. However, the quicker the release of the Surface Phone, the more likely the increase in number of apps. I like what apple did with Pay and Watch and iPhone: they contacted major developers before product launch and made sure they were there on the platform at release. Pretty sure MS will be doing something like that already.

 

[jdballard]

Maybe there will be a universal application released.

I wouldn't hold my breath on this, but it would be nice if they did.

Maybe the mobile web will be the only choice. So long as Edge works on Amazon's site and it renders correctly we all will live.

I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a shift to the mobile web for lots of apps. With all the things you can do in a browser these days, I would think it might be cheaper for some companies to have a mobile site. Simply let the user pin a shortcut on their home screen that launches their mobile site and be done with it.

 

[Scotty_doesknow]

Amazon customers should start emailing Amazon back

 

[aybarrap1]

On the one hand, it's sad to see another big name discontinue their application for Windows Phone. But, if the app hasn't been updated or clearly isn't as functional as it's iOS or Android counterpart(s) it doesn't have to be considered a real loss. Maybe there will be a universal application released. Maybe the mobile web will be the only choice. So long as Edge works on Amazon's site and it renders correctly we all will live.

The app is (for now anyway) functional... But I agree I like the Android version better. The same goes for several apps from the big names in the corporate world. But unlike you, I do see it as a big loss. If the big companies will not support windows apps, how can we expect smaller ones or independent developers to want to add well. A company such Amazon pulling out only on the one platform/ecosystem shows their lack of confidence in it being a worthwhile investment to develop for it and others may well see it that way as well. Our only hope is that Windows 10 as a whole week make them develop an app for the new system of universal apps.

 

[neodk]

Remember, Amazon came out with the Fire Phone. That knocks off their credibility immensely.

:grin:

 

[aybarrap1]

Remember, Amazon came out with the Fire Phone. That knocks off their credibility immensely.

:grin:

LOL... At least they knew to give it up. I will admit that their Kindle fires are not that bad though. But then again my use of tablets is almost strictly reading books and having movies on the go. For most other things, a cell phone does the trick for me.

 

[neodk]

My son has a Kindle Fire we got for his birthday last year. Wait, was it last year? I think it was, but that is besides the point. He takes great care of his personal electronics for being nine years old. However, all good things must come to an end and the Kindle Fire has certainly begun to run through its usefulness. My son currently uses my Chromebook, which is more than enough to handle what he throws at it, minus Minecraft. No, I don't want him booting into Linux for that although I've done it before. I'm getting too old for tinkering and have to rely on excellent out of the box experiences.

 

[anon(9668900)]

There's already Flipkart lite, but it works only with Google Chrome browser.

 

[neodk]

I bought a 640 thinking I was going to be in the Windows ecosystem for a while. I already have a 650 with Cricket and I appreciate what it is capable of. That being said, the wife just bought me an iPhone SE. I appreciate the small form factor. I've made the switch back to iOS and I ain't looking back. (I'll cry) I'll miss ya Windows Phone. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[aybarrap1]

Never could get into the apple ecosystem. Android has been fine by me, but my hopes are starting up that MS will turn around their smartphone line with improvements and obtaining more developer interest. I don't expect a huge mass of apps, but at least more of the major ones.

 

[hack14u]

Best Buy is showing a few left of the Cricket version for $29.99 today. Wish I could use it on ATT!

 

[rhapdog]

Best Buy is showing a few left of the Cricket version for $29.99 today. Wish I could use it on ATT!

You can also buy directly from Cricket for that price. Cricket just had a promotion end last week where you could get the 640 for $9.99 if you ported your number over from a competitor.

I was considering it, since I'm switching to Cricket tomorrow, but already have 2 640s in the family. If I keep getting another one as backup, how will I ever convince my wife to let me upgrade later? I figure in another year or 2 I can get a 950 real cheap without her fussing about it.