Lumia 650 a tribute

[slooksterpsv]

I switched from Evil-Mobile to Cricket and received a shiny new Lumia 650 about 6 months ago. With Microsoft in the air regarding the mobile platform I changed to an iPhone SE.

The Lumia was great it was fast for a mid range device and kept me comfortable with standard apps like Netflix and Spotify. I used it for work related items and had tons of space for music and pictures. It slowly started to give way. It wasn't the availability of apps. I had what I wanted and needed. It ran strong worked great and provide many hours of enjoyment. The battery was alright and lasted for a day

What happened?

Nothing really. It's a great phone and will be. I will still use it for various purposes but the era of the windows phone has started to turn stale. With this being my 5th Windows phone and Androids really being nothing more than a waste of money for terrible specs it was time for a change.
To the Moro Q9h that introduced me to windows on a mobile device
To the Lumia 822 that I had for a week
To the Lumia 521 that kept me connected
To the Blu Win Hd that helped bump up my specs
To the Alcatel One Touch Fierce XL that brought the display size up
To the Lumia 650 for being the best Windows Phone I've had - I thank you

I will always remember the fun tiles, the great community, and fun insider builds.

Thank You Microsoft, Lumia team and the Windows Central forum. I have and will always and continue to maintain my hopes for Windows on a Phone. Let's hope Microsoft shows the world what a real PC on a phone is

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I'm sorry to see you go, but I can't say I blame you. I plan on picking up an Android device this Christmas (I'm conducting my research and creating lists). I'm not sure if it's going to be my daily driver or not, but I think it's time to start moving on. I'm going to miss Windows 10 Mobile dearly, and I really hope Microsoft finds its place in the mobile world.

 

[slooksterpsv]

I still have Windows Central and a good portion of Microsoft news sites filtering into my news apps. I think Android has some major fragmentation issues personally which is why I went to iPhone. Gotta say iPhone plus Microsoft apps is a big win

 

[darrell reimer]

I still have my 650 as a back up; great little device, especially the OLED screen!! I love the rich colours, even though it's only 720p. One of my all-time favorite screens! To bad they only gave it 1 G of RAM and a weak camera. It just can't keep up. I moved up to a 950 XL; very snappy and fantastic camera; also a great screen. But every time I boot up my 650 to keep it updated, I'm amazed at how great everything looks! My next phone will need to have an OLED screen....

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I still have my 650 as a back up; great little device, especially the OLED screen!! I love the rich colours, even though it's only 720p. One of my all-time favorite screens! To bad they only gave it 1 G of RAM and a weak camera. It just can't keep up. I moved up to a 950 XL; very snappy and fantastic camera; also a great screen. But every time I boot up my 650 to keep it updated, I'm amazed at how great everything looks! My next phone will need to have an OLED screen....

OLED is definitely the way to go. I wish the 950 XL had the 650's hardware though. The 650 does a removable back right. Like the 830 did. The way the 950 XL does it leads to creaking that I just never saw with my 830.

 

[libra89]

OLED is definitely the way to go. I wish the 950 XL had the 650's hardware though. The 650 does a removable back right. Like the 830 did. The way the 950 XL does it leads to creaking that I just never saw with my 830.

Yes it does. Come to think of it, I believe the back cover is similar to how it is with the 830.

 

[nick popplewell]

I still have my 650 as a back up; great little device, especially the OLED screen!! I love the rich colours, even though it's only 720p. One of my all-time favorite screens! To bad they only gave it 1 G of RAM and a weak camera. It just can't keep up. I moved up to a 950 XL; very snappy and fantastic camera; also a great screen. But every time I boot up my 650 to keep it updated, I'm amazed at how great everything looks! My next phone will need to have an OLED screen....

You know what Mr Reimer,i thought I was crazy because I always thought and said the 650 has one of the best displays on a mobile device,PERIOD in my estimation,and if you go pound for pound or whatever,you know for the price, it does have the best display,at least for the money,i thought I was the only one who thought that

 

[Guzzler3]

The only issue I ever had with my 650 was with Bluetooth. I don't know if it is the chipset they used or the drivers, but it was the only Windows phone that wouldn't work quite right with some of my Bluetooth devices.

I would go to the Microsoft store with one of my most troublesome device, and pair it up with every other model/brand that they had on the floor and it would work properly (I would wait for new models to come out, and make special trips to the MS store just to try them). Just not on the 650. Never did figure out why.

 

[Elky64]

You know what Mr Reimer,i thought I was crazy because I always thought and said the 650 has one of the best displays on a mobile device,PERIOD in my estimation,and if you go pound for pound or whatever,you know for the price, it does have the best display,at least for the money,i thought I was the only one who thought that

Totally agree, it does have a very NICE display for the price. Think overall, it would be a much better device if the OS was more in-tune, along with a few more apps.

Not finding it to be that far off pace compared to my 950 for most general tasks, yes camera falls way short and it is missing some other feature seen on higher-end Windows Phones but then again, price.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Yes it does. Come to think of it, I believe the back cover is similar to how it is with the 830.

People always say that the compromise with having a removable back/battery is reduced build quality and a less premium feel but I never had that thought with my Lumia 830. That is still a gorgeous phone to this day.

 

[Timbre70]

Polycarbonate removable shell like those used on 535, 640... has the best feel and grip.

 

[camaroz1985]

People always say that the compromise with having a removable back/battery is reduced build quality and a less premium feel but I never had that thought with my Lumia 830. That is still a gorgeous phone to this day.

Agreed. Love both the 650 and 830.

Polycarbonate removable shell like those used on 535, 640... has the best feel and grip.

Disagree. While it is all one piece, it feels cheap. If that's all the phone is, like the two you mentioned that is fine, but on something like 950/XL which are supposed to be flagship devices, it is unacceptable.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Agreed. Love both the 650 and 830.



Disagree. While it is all one piece, it feels cheap. If that's all the phone is, like the two you mentioned that is fine, but on something like 950/XL which are supposed to be flagship devices, it is unacceptable.

I have to agree. The 950/950 XL would've been received soooo much better if they had aluminum frames and removable polycarbonate backs. Throwing in a front facing speaker or two like the 650 would've been a big bonus.

 

[Kunal Dudwadkar]

Well, I too had to make the switch. It was getting to hard to use an ecosystem without some very important apps for my work. Plus every now and then Instagram, Facebook and the Camera app started quitting. Gave up and got a Moto G5S Plus. Must say it is a fantastic device. Certainly there were issues in making the switch, WhatsApp backup didn't work from Windows to Android, Contacts couldn't be synced from OneDrive :\, Facebook picture sync is missing and many more. I really miss the OLED screen and Live Tiles and the smooth transitions of Windows. I still have the 650 as a backup and I boot it from time to time to keep it updated.

 

[Swiss7599]

Still using mine as my main driver. Might keep it until it eventually gives in or becomes complete obsolete.

 

[fschmeck]

I just today backed up and retired my Lumia 650. Sad... I absolutely love that device, and the platform itself. The live tiles alone, Outlook, Office... even the camera was great for the price.

Unfortunately Evernote was the final nail in the coffin...and moving to One note was not an option, at least any time soon.

I still use my BB10 Q5 device as my backup. thanks to the keyboard, great battery and Evernote on it. Android is my new daily driver.

...and every day I find a new reason to question how Android, with all its flakiness and inconsistencies, managed to triumph when WP and BB10 could not.

oh well...

 

[finbaar]

Well I would argue about Android's "flakiness and inconsistencies" but ... that's your opinion. Android won because what else was there in 2008 for manufacturers to use to compete with Apple. Win Mo was powerful but not suited to the new form factors, Symbian similar. Android was being developed and pushed by Google and it was free. By the time WP7 came in at the end of 2010 Android was well established with the Galaxy S2 just round the corner and the first Note already in development.

BB10 was just so late it was irrelevant.

Had WP8 come out at the beginning of 2010 and been free then we could be looking at a different landscape.

The 650 is a sweet little device. I enjoy using mine and I can get most things done. W10M isn't dead but it makes me sad that I can see that it will be soon.

 

[finbaar]

Well I would argue about Android's "flakiness and inconsistencies" but ... that's your opinion. Android won because what else was there in 2008 for manufacturers to use to compete with Apple. Win Mo was powerful but not suited to the new form factors, Symbian similar. Android was being developed and pushed by Google and it was free. By the time WP7 came in at the end of 2010 Android was well established with the Galaxy S2 just round the corner and the first Note already in development.

BB10 was just so late it was irrelevant.

Had WP8 come out at the beginning of 2010 and been free then we could be looking at a different landscape.

The 650 is a sweet little device. I enjoy using mine and I can get most things done. W10M isn't dead but it makes me sad that I can see that it will be soon.

 

[fschmeck]

By inconsistency I'm referring primarily to the poor of the box experience and redundancy of core apps like email and a photo gallery (I think I have 3 installed by default). Granted, some of this is carrier bloat and brand bloat (lg).

WP and BB10 both "just worked" for me and it is a shame to see otherwise good alternatives like that fail, but such is life. At least I can set up the Microsoft launcher and get closer to the slickness of WP.