Should I buy a 650?

[Drael646464]

Looking to dip my toes into Windows 10 mobile soon.

Is the 650 a good cheaper windows mobile phone?

Are there any better alternative windows 10 mobile phones? (That are also cheap and have LTE - doesn't need to be supported in CU, I can insider that shizz, or even hack it)

Whats the speaker quality like specifically also btw (I'm partly interested to play with Cortana's new skills api abilities when those roll out)

Screen quality?

Battery life?

Photo's half way decent?

Any other general comments?

 

[kaktus1389]

From what I've heard from Lumia 650 users the AMOLED screen is quite nice, battery life shouldn't be too bad.

If you know what you're diving into on the software side I'd say you can go ahead, basically it's a 640 with AMOLED and more internal storage (though I still went with the 640 XL when I was deciding between 640, 640 XL and the 650 for the camera and size). 640/XL is still a nice phone though they run 8.1 better than they run 10.

 

[Drael646464]

From what I've heard from Lumia 650 users the AMOLED screen is quite nice, battery life shouldn't be too bad.

If you know what you're diving into on the software side I'd say you can go ahead, basically it's a 640 with AMOLED and more internal storage (though I still went with the 640 XL when I was deciding between 640, 640 XL and the 650 for the camera and size). 640/XL is still a nice phone though they run 8.1 better than they run 10.

I'm pretty happy with the app situation. It's growing in areas I care more about, all the stuff people do on tablets and PCs - all the fun stuff, bus stop games, music and art software, the browser etc. The social networks I use are all well covered. There's an app for my smartband.

It'll probably grow a little in the "phone app" direction too with windows on arm next year. Well maybe. At the least it won't hurt lol (given there will be tonnes of cheap windows tablets and hybrids with LTE, gps and calling).

And I'm keen to see how the Cortana skills api plays out on a phone with a Bluetooth earpiece (assuming mobile gets that, hence why I'm waiting till mid-may, and also why I asked about the speaker quality, should I decide to pretend my phone is a smarthome speaker)

That the screen is decent is a big tick for me. I'll be using my blackberry for business emails and poopy boring stuff, so part of the motive other than Cortana MS bots and alexa skills, and a general love of win 10 on other devices , is an actually useable screen for browsing on the go (when I don't have my tablet, hence why I don't need a big screen either, like a nice pocketable phone)

Basically this phone will be my driver. But I don't have a lot of technical demands from such a thing. Take okay pics, browse, open fb, play bus stop games, be a calculator, have a map.

BTW, can you currently use Cortana to make calls? (Seems this was introduced in CU on desktop, with no means to use it, but dunno if its on phone yet)

Sorry for all the questions, I'm kind of meticulous with purchasing research....,

 

[RumoredNow]

Looking to dip my toes into Windows 10 mobile soon.

Is the 650 a good cheaper windows mobile phone?

Are there any better alternative windows 10 mobile phones? (That are also cheap and have LTE - doesn't need to be supported in CU, I can insider that shizz, or even hack it)

Whats the speaker quality like specifically also btw (I'm partly interested to play with Cortana's new skills api abilities when those roll out)

Screen quality?

Battery life?

Photo's half way decent?

Any other general comments?

I ran a 650 daily for a few months...

If you can get it at a reasonable price, yep.

IMHO, made for W10M runs the OS better than upgrade to.

The speaker is great for speakerphone duty and listening to voicemails, etc. Not so much for media, but then you have a headphone jack to help with that.

For 720p the display is very nice. Punchy colors from the OLED (not AM) and ClearBlack allows for a good experience in full sunlight.

It's a one day battery for moderate users. Power users will find themselves reaching for the cord to top up sometime during the day. Especially if internet or social media use is high.

The 8MP shooter impressed me. It seems well tuned in the firmware and "shoots above" its spec level. There are registry hack tricks you can do to expand the capabilities.

All in, it's a great budget phone with nice styling and high pocketability.

 

[anon(50597)]

Go for it and let us know how it goes. From what I've read its a nice phone.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[Wbutchart1]

I have this phone, it's a great phone in so many ways. Great screen, glance, pretty snappy with apps too. Not really much to complain about tbh, if you are looking for a windows phone that's not flagship, this is a good choice.

 

[Timbre70]

Simply vfm phone.

 

[Drael646464]

So, general consensus is very much a yes.

Good

 

[RumoredNow]

If you want to have a laugh... Look at early threads from when this phone was announced/released. Everyone swore up a storm about what a poor phone it must be. Check that in the back of this forum. Then look at the front page of the forum and see how many love the 650.

Night and day.

:winktongue:

 

[anon(50597)]

If you want to have a laugh... Look at early threads from when this phone was announced/released. Everyone swore up a storm about what a poor phone it must be. Check that in the back of this forum. Then look at the front page of the forum and see how many love the 650.

Night and day.

:winktongue:

I remember those threads and you are right. Once it came out attitudes changed.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[aximtreo]

I have one that I've had since release. I love it. I use it as my backup phone to whatever the flavor of phone I'm using as my daily driver. I would say that for the money you will have invest; it's a best buy and will give you a good taste of what WM 10 can do.

 

[libra89]

I ditto @RumoredNow . I had a 650 before and sold it because of battery life at the time. Because I'm quirky, I got one again and whoa it feels great.

Skip the 550, just go for the 650. Great phone. And if you can get your hands on a Mozo back, it makes it even sweeter.

Sent from mTalk

 

[anon(50597)]

You all are making me want to got one and I don't even need a new phone!

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[prasanna moholkar]

Microsoft by time to time drop support for mobile update like creator update drop by many old lumia phones in next major update MS may drop all Lumia series and only provide update to surface phone,so according to ME its recommended that do not take WM10 and take Android(if u wish to take, NOKIA brand back again in within month) final its my thinking what u think its matter of your.

 

[anon(50597)]

Microsoft by time to time drop support for mobile update like creator update drop by many old lumia phones in next major update MS may drop all Lumia series and only provide update to surface phone,so according to ME its recommended that do not take WM10 and take Android(if u wish to take, NOKIA brand back again in within month) final its my thinking what u think its matter of your.

Trust me, he knows what he's doing, but thanks for the advice.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[slivy58]

Yup I'm late to the party as usual :winktongue:...


Just giving my 650 w/CU another go as my daily driver. Not totally sure why we are other than having the known "chronic switchers" disease LOL.

IMO it's got a great display, above average camera, ample storage that's expandable, removable battery. Functions relatively decent for what it is, I've had no real stability issues prior too or after CU.

Battery hasn't been a concern for me, yet could be for those taxing it more. Again, with a removable battery you have options, finding one, well, that may be another story.

Dimensionality and weight wise it's the perfect phone to-date for me, can't say I've come across one that feels as comfortable, and highly unlikely again. Its lack of heft may be a deterrent for some though.

Personally find the speaker to be a tad on the soft side (not enough volume), for the most part we've been able to live with it.

On occasion I do get this transitional flicker (flashes white at top of display) when minimizing some apps, present on all my WPs running 10 yet does seem somewhat reduced since CU, will need a few more days of usage to really know.

Yeah I think the 650 is a good choice as you're first WP if the price is right. Best of luck!

 

[Drael646464]

Microsoft by time to time drop support for mobile update like creator update drop by many old lumia phones in next major update MS may drop all Lumia series and only provide update to surface phone,so according to ME its recommended that do not take WM10 and take Android(if u wish to take, NOKIA brand back again in within month) final its my thinking what u think its matter of your.

Google treat their customers in a way that makes me want to avoid them like the plague these days.

That's pretty much speculation, and I don't care anyway - MS is very generous with updates in a way android manufacturers tend not to be. Plus I am a techy. If they block an update, I'm sure there would be away around it. ATM, ms is giving everyone access to creators update via the preview insiders ring. Seems like they'll just keep doing that.

In literally two weeks, we'll have the spring conference and the build conference. Bound to be some mention of mobile even slight, over that period.

Surface phone will not come soon. Windows on arm, windows cloud, scorpio, Cortana skills api are the priorities this year. Got to crush that LTE enabled notebook, tablet market, and that console market so that apps and mindshare can rise for the mobile end. Also, I imagine there will be some IoT/wearable moves over the next two years as well. Surface phone is more like a "maybe", if all else goes well IMO.

MS are very busy with cshell and the unification of the platform across hardware.

The first windows on arm devices will be LTE/calling enabled notebooks, tablets and convertibles not phones. You might get a windows on arm phablet device in 6-7 inch though, if that's what one is after, next year. If no one else makes one, the Chinese probably will.