A few questions about the 640

[captaincalamity]

I am about to buy a Lumia 640 new or a second hand 930, I have a few questions first about the 640:

1) Concerned that it only has 8GB of memory, being used to Android and only owned a WP that has had built in 32GB memory (ie my last phone was a L930) with Android yes you can load your sd up with photos, files and music, but moving apps to the SD is problematic and doesn't actually move the whole app across, is this the same with WP? because 8GB is just not enough for me, I do have a High quality Micro SD class 10 32GB, if I put this in the 640, will it basically make the device memory for everything including apps 40GB (ie 8GB + 32GB) ? or can you only put files, music and photos on the SD...

2) Having owned the L930 before, I did like the speed and fluidity of the device, will I notice a drop in performance with my typical usage, People hub, Facebook, Twitter loaded, emails, Viber, Mixradio, music player, photos, news and occasional gaming.

3) One of my favourite games I sometimes dip into is Asphalt 8, it ran like a dream on the L930, will it run OK on the L640?

4) I'm hoping and one of the reasons I like the look of the L640 is the battery life seems better than the L930, is this true?

5) Outside visibility, have read some reviews online that state the outside in direct sunlight on the L640 screen is almost unusable, this concerns me as the L930 had this amazing adaptive screen that altered when outside and it was highly viewable. how do you find the screen on your L640 outside?

 

[Marko Marjanovic]

I do not own 640 but i do know something.
First, you can move photos, downloads, music and apps to sd card. But beware, 98% can be moved, some need to stay in phone memory to work proprely.
I own 1520 and 830 and i do notice ,,slighty" drop in performance.
Asphalt will work..decent okay, not perfect okay..and yea, you should concider XL version, people seem to judge alot 640.
Have fun!

 

[poddie]

I don't have one, so I can't answer most of your questions, but I'll take a shot at these:

(1) Windows Phone SD support is excellent at this point. Most apps can be installed fully on to SD. There are a few that require being installed to main memory, but they are not large games. Should work great for you.

(2) I have had several other Lumias with the same CPU and memory configuration. They are pretty fast and fluid, but there is a speed difference. Whether it will be acceptable or not to you is hard to answer... but I have had no problems using them from time to time (I usually use a 1520 which is similar in speed to the 930). They can certainly run Asphalt well, but the frame rate will not be quite as good.

Best bet is to try one for a while. I think for the price they're a hell of a deal and would satisfy most people just fine... but if your heart is set in a flagship, it's not.

 

[agaskew]

I have a 640 (and a 925)

1. SD Card support is pretty good, and you can install apps and data on it. Personally I put apps on the phone, data on the SD.
2. I think you'll find the 640 performance is great.
3. Never played it, sorry
4. Battery life is great, much better than my 925.
5. "Almost unusable"sounds like an exaggeration. I dont have any issues but in the UK, we may have a watered down flavour of "direct sunlight" most of the time

They're both great devices - nice to have the choice! The 640XL is also an impressive beast.

 

[captaincalamity]

Thanks for your replies, I would say the 640XL is just a little too big for me. 5" is perfect size in my mind.

Again the SD app install, do you have to go into settings and individually move apps to SD card, which is painfully slow with android, or can you download and install directly onto the SD card?

I owned a 925 and a 920 a while ago, and loved them.

To be honest, something that is putting me off, is the price, its just so low, makes you think it is a low quality phone, even though people seem to say its very good

 

[pureview_lvr]

I haven't used Lumia 640, I saw its many reviews. I currently use Lumia 1320 and 625

You can store your all photos,videos,music,downloads,
to sd card. Almost all apps you can install on sd card. But some apps needs to install on phone memory due to performance issue.
While moving apps to sd card or to phone phone memory is not problematic in case of wp...as its move all app and data....i didn't found any issue regarding moving apps till yet.
But I found that apps that installed on SD card lags sometime and not fluid and smooth in comparison if they installed on phone memory.
Its obvious that storage speed matters.

Lumia 930 has monster hardware,
Obviously Its fluidity and performance is best.if you compare to 640
If you use basic apps You will not actually find any issues.
But when you do gaming , browsing, heavy tasks then you will find drop in performance.
But app opening, resume, loading also matters.

Asphalt 8 runs "OK" on Lumia 640 but not perfect. Since its entry level and you cant expect more.

Can't tell about battery life bcz I haven't used Lumia 640 but the reviews says its a good battery life device.

Since Lumia 640 also have clearblack ips lcd display....their never be a problem of that...since my 1320 haven't any problem regarding sunlight readiability but my 625 sucks in that matter.
I would say L640 a great value for money device.

 

[agaskew]

You can set the installation destination for all new apps to be the SD card, so you dont have to install them on the phone first, then move them. I think that's what you mean?

 

[pureview_lvr]

Nope. I also know that you can set apps to be install on SD card.
I just want to point out that you can "move" app and its all data from phone to SD card or sd card to phone.....without any issues like app data remains in particular storage.

 

[pureview_lvr]

I have a 640 (and a 925)

1. SD Card support is pretty good, and you can install apps and data on it. Personally I put apps on the phone, data on the SD.

You personally put apps on phone and
Data on sd means video,music,pictures,downloads etc.
(Not app data)
That what's you mean right???????

 

[libra89]

It seems like all of your questions have been (mostly) answered but I want to add my experience with using the 640 in direct sunlight. For me, it hasn't been hard at all. I don't get what this "almost unusable" thing is about because that is not the case for me. I have been walking, attending outdoor concerts, baseball games (in the day), and whatever else and it hasn't been an issue for me at all.

My theme is even set to light and it just hasn't happened.

 

[Cristi Bursuc]

Currently using 640, I can say it's pretty awseome for its price range. Direct sunlight no problem, but if you're using it moderate to heavy in direct sunlight, expect a slighty faster battery drain. In terms of gaming, I have no problem running asphalt 8, its running not okay, but pretty great. As in system overall, I have had around 20 apps running, and even then, not even a slight delay or stuttering or freezeing. This phone is pretty well optimized on it's OS with the pretty outdated snap 400 and adeno 305, it's running like a beast. The best thing is its camera. Yea, I know, it sounds awkward, but the camera hugged with Lumia Camera makes really fantastic photos for it's price range. ( won't handle that good in low light conditions, sometimes indoor if light is insufficient). Hats down for this phone, again, having in consideration its price.

 

[Guytronic]

I'll chime in being a 640 owner.

It's not a spectacular phone.
It does satisfy many needs or wants in the Windows arena.
Hard to beat this offering for the price.

I have no trouble seeing the screen in bright sunlight.
8GB is no problem when used with a fast reliable uSD card.
Battery time is good on 8.1 U2.
Camera is OK
Sound is OK
Overall the phone is OK

Not much to dislike about this device.

Just to note I'm thinking seriously about dumping mine for an unlocked 640XL.

 

[captaincalamity]

Managed to have a go on a 640 and 640XL in the O2 store last night:

Wow what a couple of superb devices, to be honest they could have doubled the price of these and they would still be good value, definitely not low end phone, i would say mid range to a bit more, both the screens looked pretty much identical under the inside store conditions, and both were as fast and slick as each other, very fluid, especially compared to my current device the Galaxy S4, which is a laggy as a bus with flat tyres in a muddy field.

I would say the build quality is pretty OK, nothing amazing, but fairly solid, the XL is just way to big for me to use on a daily basis, nice for occasional use, but I use my devices all the time, in and out the pocket, the weight/size of the standard 640 is far nicer, pretty much perfect, screen seems superbly bright as well, but overall i was very impressed with the speed of these, I can imagine that over time i might notice some slow downs compared to the L930 i had before.

Im pretty hooked, going pick one up hopefully later today

 

[worldspy99]

Anyone who tells you that the display on the 640 is not good does not have objective evidence like the one presented in the link below. You will not be disappointed. Take a peek at the display review numbers.
Display - The Microsoft Lumia 640 Review

 

[Harsh Vyawahare]

My question is
Does our 640DS contains 2 camera app?
One of them is lumia camera and another one Microsoft camera can found @ toggle bar/switch/quick access (which is not showing in app list) why?

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if i ask cortana "what/which song is playing?" It force close every time..
Strange bug!!feel's like she is not listening to me or song running in background


Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk

 

[xandros9]

My question is
Does our 640DS contains 2 camera app?
One of them is lumia camera and another one Microsoft camera can found @ toggle bar/switch/quick access (which is not showing in app list) why?

Sent from my XT1033 using Tapatalk

Because MS Camera is the default app of Windows Phone 8.1. It is hidden in this case, all you need is Lumia Camera.

 

[anon(9435020)]

I live in New Mexico. The phone is definitely usable in sunlight, and bonus! it is even usable with polarized sunglasses on.