Blu WinHD vs 640

[TwoBitWhackJob]

So I had a Blu WinHD (Non-LTE) a few months ago and returned it. I've now had the 640 for almost a week - since they're in the same general $ range, here's a few comparison notes (Note that I returned the WinHD because I didn't like it)

1. Glance. I went from an 810 to the HD and man did I miss glance, and especially double tap to wake. Honestly, I may have considered a decent Android, but these 2 things are what are keeping me hardcore in WP.
2. Performance. Apps were far more laggy and crashed far more often on the WinHD. I've had a bit of that on the 640, but not much at all.
3. Bluetooth. Neither performs great streaming to my old Moto T505 (BT 2.0 with A2DP) with dropouts. The Lumia 810 was better than both - but I probably need to just get a new BT Device with FM Capabilities)
4. Buttons. The WP8.1 screenshot changed to power and volume up, on the WinHD they were in the same place on opposite sides of the phone - the top corner. I was deleting a screen shot every time I took the phone out of my pocket.
5. Camera. The WinHD camera was terrible. The end.
6. Construction. Both devices feel sturdy and well made. The click back on the WinHD was probably preferable, thought it did make changing the color impossible, as the sides would still have been white, even with an orange or yellow back.
7. Phone. I don't know, I never take calls on either
8. Physical Buttons. The Win HD did have the windows/cortana/back buttons on the screen. That was my personal preference.
9. Dual Sim. I have the TMo single sim variant, and that's plenty for me. The dual sim just annoyed me as I'd be texting on no sim and have to go back and change, etc.
10. LTE. Don't buy the non-LTE variant of the WinHD, or any phone, really.

I don't remember the screen on the WinHD well, but I didn't have any issues with it, so I'm willing to say they're even there.

Overall, the Lumia 640 is a better phone, and depending on sales and such, probably cheaper. The clear winner for me.

 

[worldspy99]

Nice, thanks for posting.
The 640 screen is probably one of the better ones out there, at least according to Anandtech so I think it might have been better than Blu Win, but who knows...
Display - The Microsoft Lumia 640 Review

If you don't take calls on the devices, which device do you use to take and make calls? Just curious

 

[kgraham182]

The Blu Win HD is not comparable to the 640, the Blu Win HD LTE can go toe 2 toe. It has a better processor 410 64-bit vs 400 32-bit, FFC 2MP vs 0.9 MP. The 640 has NFC (I will never buy a phone again without it), removable battery, and Glance. Both have FM radio, a feature that's never talked about. How many flapship androids have that?

 

[jdballard]

Both have FM radio, a feature that's never talked about. How many flapship androids have that?

I'd be curious to know how many people actually use the FM radio. I've never used it on any WP I've had that had one - other than once to try it out.

 

[libra89]

I'd be curious to know how many people actually use the FM radio. I've never used it on any WP I've had that had one - other than once to try it out.

I have used it a few times, I just hate that I have to have headphones to use it so I don't use it as much.

 

[TwoBitWhackJob]

If you don't take calls on the devices, which device do you use to take and make calls? Just curious

Just no friends :\ haha

 

[TwoBitWhackJob]

I'd be curious to know how many people actually use the FM radio. I've never used it on any WP I've had that had one - other than once to try it out.

I used to be a radio host, and I used it on remote broadcasts. I pinned it on the 640, at least. I know my KiN had it (I wanted WiFi w/ No Data plan), and I think my HTC Touch did, too (VX9600, I think was what TMo called it before HTC branded their own phones)

 

[worldspy99]

Just no friends :\ haha

That makes a lot of sense now

 

[sixseven]

TwoBitWhackJob,

How does it compare to the 810. My wife's 810 is starting to show it's age. She has the wireless charging shell, so I know she's gonna miss that. Is it slower, faster, or the same? I'm really interested in how the camera performs. While no pureview, the 810 performs well. Is the 640 a step back from that? To me the 640 seems like a lateral move, with the exception of wireless charging.

Any info you can share is greatly appreciated.

-sixseven

 

[TwoBitWhackJob]

When I went back to the 810 from the WinHD, I noticed the display difference immediately - would be the same if I tried from here. I found the 810 to be a pretty zippy phone that handled all I really wanted to do, but it never got WP8.1....so it had limitations in that:
1. I was always having to manage what apps to keep since they all are stored on the phone, not on SD. Some I couldn't even get. The biggest "hogs" I ran normally were NBA Jam and Sonic 4 Ep 1, and didn't have any lag or anything on it - just couldn't afford to keep both installed.
2. Custom SMS tone - I'm weird, really missed that on the 810.
3. Glance is better, as it has the notifications.
4. My 810 battery was shot, so I had 2 charges a day being old. Even when new though, the 640 lets me run more live tile apps w/o killing the battery.
5. Storage Sense in the 8.1 is nice
6. WiFi sense is amazing in 8.1....
7. 810 had the speakers on the bottom, the 640 has a hole on the rear which muffles sounds on a table.
Picture wise, I thought the 810 took really good photos, though the shutter speed did lag keeping up with my 3 year old... this has a quicker response. The overall quality though is a little bit lesser on the L640.

If you could get WP8.1 on the 810, I would still move for the bigger screen, but probably would have waited for a sale on the 640... but the jump to 8.1 from 8 (and soon to 10) makes the change absolutely worth it, even if the hardware performs about the same.

 

[sixseven]

Thanks! I do have 8.1 (via developer preview) on my wife's Lumia 810, so she has the stuff you're liking (storage sense, Wi-Fi sense, etc.). You're right about the camera speed on the 810; I found that a good class 10 SD card helps. It sounds like you're confirming that moving from the 810 to the 640 is mostly a lateral move. She's not in a hurry for something new, and she doesn't want to lose wireless charging. I think I'll hold off to see what's coming with Windows 10.

 

[sequoia464]

The Blu Win HD is not comparable to the 640, the Blu Win HD LTE can go toe 2 toe. It has a better processor 410 64-bit vs 400 32-bit, FFC 2MP vs 0.9 MP. The 640 has NFC (I will never buy a phone again without it), removable battery, and Glance. Both have FM radio, a feature that's never talked about. How many flapship androids have that?

I had a BLU WIN HD LTE for a while - I returned it only because of the lack of accessories for it (protective cases in particular) and the lack of gorilla glass on the display.

While I did have it however I really liked it, I have a 640 XL and a 1320 - the BLU seemed to function smoother to me than either of my current phones. I can occasionally see lags and delays with the 640 XL - never had them with the BLU.

 

[anon(26204)]

Just out of curiosity, What can windows NFC be used for ?

I been away form windows for awhile and don't know what all been going on with windows..lol

 

[etad putta]

I'd be curious to know how many people actually use the FM radio. I've never used it on any WP I've had that had one - other than once to try it out.

I work at a fleet truck shop and for me fm radio on a cell phone is great. I have an old 2.1 speaker system that i plug into my 635. The cable in to the speaker system acts as the antenna and the sound from the speakers is great and loud as heck. Over 8 hours of play uses minimal battery. Love it!!

 

[TwoBitWhackJob]

Hey! I got a phone call (My wife wanted to talk about what to have for dinner)

The WinHD, the 810 and the old Lumia 6161 I carried in college all have a better speaker phone than the 640 - which again utilizes a hole on the back of the case to transmit the sound. Travelling at ~40mph with the air on and windows up and I had to switch off speaker to the regular handset to be able to hear without going "HUH? WHAA?" every 3 seconds.

 

[ScrubbyXD]

I am a 1520 and BLU WinHD owner and have had a 635 so I will chime in my opinion on these:

1. Glance. I do not use it on the 1520 so didn't miss it on the WinHD
2. Performance. Apps were far more slower but not annoyingly so. The extra battery life of the Snapdragon 200 is worth it.
3. Bluetooth. Equally bluetooth, the technology has never been reliable for me no matter the device.
4. Buttons. I prefer the WinHD layout and wish my 1520 had it.
5. Camera. The WinHD camera is terrible in low light. I'm not aware of any BLU phone with a good camera. Luckily for me I have the 1520 when I want to take something more than a rough photo.
6. Construction. The WinHD is thinner, tougher and has handled far more abuse than either the 635 (which was my former work phone but broke twice before switching to the WinHD) or the 1520. I cannot imagine the 640 changes anything there.
7. Phone. Voice quality on the 635 or the WinHD were fine. Not great.
8. Physical Buttons. I also prefer off screen buttons but would like to see the nav toolbar as an option for all phones.
9. Dual Sim. I have two carriers, This is a must.
10. LTE. HSPA+ is plenty for me. I do not watch video on my phones.

Overall the WinHD beats the 635 in the things I need. A comparison to the 640 is not entirely fair because the hardware cost came down signifigantly over the year between the releases and I have not hands on experience with the WinHD LTE that was released this year.

Oh yes, I use the FM radio everyday.

 

[neodk]

I'd be curious to know how many people actually use the FM radio. I've never used it on any WP I've had that had one - other than once to try it out.

I use the FM radio on my phones all the time when I have one. It's amazing to me that this feature is still available given the obvious and blatant attempts to force people onto streaming media where you pay a premium to listen to music on demand. Sometimes I just want my local channels and content. Without the buffering you find on iHeartRadio or TuneIn.

 

[jonnob]

How does it compare to the 810. My wife's 810 is starting to show it's age. She has the wireless charging shell, so I know she's gonna miss that.

I bought an after market Qi wireless charging receiver and put it on my 640. Now I have wireless charging. I came from the 925 with wireless charging shell so this hack was a must for me. You can add it under a case you put over the phone or do like I did and hack it to fit inside the standard cover.