BLU Win HD - my thoughts and a small review

[smchambers56]

I got this one on Thursday. Thought I would share my experience thus far.
Background: I own a Lumia 920 (retired), Lumia 1520 (daily driver), and a Lumia 635 (too small screen size and not enough ppi) I got this one to replace the 635 as my backup, and when I want to go small.

The screen is clear, crisp, and vibrant. With great viewing angles. This beats the pants off my 635.
Once I removed the screen protector the touch sensitivity is on par with my other phones. I am not seeing any lag/delays when opening and navigating my apps. Seems the Snapdragon 200 was a good choice for this phone (keeping cost down while not making it painful to use) Battery life is avg. I can go a full day without having to recharge. Can?t say too much about taking pictures. Don?t use my phone too often for this. (Even on my 1520) But the few I have taken seem average. (Not bad)

Here is what is strange. When playing videos from MSN News, and CNN while on WLAN (55 down 5 up at home - 96 down and up at work) it has extreme lag and the sound to video is not in sync. Videos from USA Today, and NBC news play flawlessly. As well no issue?s with Netflix. But once I turn off WLAN and on HSPA or HSPA+ videos from these two apps play flawlessly. Plus why does settings show WLAN instead of WiFI ( I know Wifi is a type of WLAN) Just see that as strange.

All in all BLU did a really good job in creating a low cost Win 8 phone. I give this phone 4.5 stars out of 5 five. I would most defiantly recommend this phone to anyone on a budget looking for a good backup or even a daily driver.

Note: Microsoft store has the battery as a 1950 mAh. It is a 2200 mAh.

 

[smchambers56]

Just ran some tests. It takes about a second longer to open the same apps then my 1520. Not too bad.

 

[mildor]

In the videos the touch reponse seems worst than 630, also when you go back to homescreen it looks laggy, is that right?

 

[guitarpaulo]

Nice Phone

 

[smchambers56]

In the videos the touch reponse seems worst than 630, also when you go back to homescreen it looks laggy, is that right?

I would not say it is laggy. Not as fast as my 1520 for sure. You need to keep in mind this is a entry level phone (although it does have 1gb RAM)
The display is much more clearer, the color is more vibrant, and the viewing angles are better then the 630/635.

 

[smchambers56]

Just a followup. The issue with playing video's in msn news, and CNN has resolved itself. With the last few updates for these apps.

 

[The Arsonist]

I'd have to agree with most of your opinions and observations on this phone. BLU seems to be onto something. Competition in the entry level is great for Windows Phone. Some people may not like Nokia/MS phones (not sure why but hey...) so it's nice to see a good alternative out there. EVEN BETTER that they're unlocked, so you can buy them free of contract agony. I bought two to replace some family members Lumia 521s and they love them. I'm probably going to get one to play around with App Development.

 

[Marquis de Faux]

Just a followup. The issue with playing video's in msn news, and CNN has resolved itself. With the last few updates for these apps.

Do all YouTube videos work now?

 

[jawash22]

I've heard the last update helped with touchscreen issues which is great. My concern is with the 720p video playback in youtube. Is it still only working ok with 360p videos? Happy Holidays!

 

[ea3dfx]

I've heard the last update helped with touchscreen issues which is great. My concern is with the 720p video playback in youtube. Is it still only working ok with 360p videos? Happy Holidays!

I just tested 720P videos in Metrotube. They are playable now.

 

[Marquis de Faux]

I just tested 720P videos in Metrotube. They are playable now.

Thank you so much. That was the primary issue with the phone.
Now I can recommend it without hesitation.

 

[Peter Cichoszewski]

I have used before Nokia 625 and I have to say that Blue Win HD is a much nicer phone... despite its cost being about much lower ( MSRP ).

The screen is larger ( 5 vs 4.7 ) on BLU Win HD and has higher resolution... which makes it a much more pleasant. The only current problem is the ambient light "software" problem on Win HD which hopes are that it will be resolved very soon. I have not used the dual sim option within WIN HD but it might useful to some.... The removable battery is a great option if we could get somewhere an extra batter ( buy 2nd phone? Anyone has better ideas? )

The main camera is "ok" for this price range... I would say somewhere similar to Nexus 4... . Not great. however the front camera is very good. It is better than the front one on Nokia 1020. It does have nice details and colors are not as horrible as on many other phones... . The phone has LED flash.... it doe snot make great pictures but helpful light source sometimes.

 

[angelboy65]

May I know what version of wp is installed? I have been unable to play 720p video in metrotube.

 

[Peter Cichoszewski]

I have been testing with 2 SIMs. One from Rogers ( in the big slot ) and with Mobilicity in the mini slot. I can get data (3G+) on either ( based on what I configure the data to be on ). You can receive calls on either and you can even text to your self from 1 account to the other. The data sense keeps seprate score on data used on each SIM which is great.... switching data from one SIM to other takes maybe 20-30 sec of the connections to re-establish.