Going for 650 in 2018

[EFats]

Yes, I roughly know what state Windows 10 Mobile (i.e. dead . I don't really care about apps, I need a good, solid communications device. I'm usually on BlackBerry10 so I'm used to such a situation. The only potential issue with BB10 is real EOL is slated for 2020 and the phones need "activation" with BBID on first start so if I ever do a clean re-install and they've shutdown their servers, I may be hooped. I need to hedge my bets. At least with Microsoft, I'm pretty sure anybody can still have a Microsoft ID many years from now. (Do not want a 'droid that phones home all the time or nor that other fruity flavoured company that seems to know better than me what I want)

Previous experience with Windows Mobile was 6.1 on old Sony Ericsson (clunky, not fun) and 8.1 on a BLU (horribly, horribly buggy).

I want a small, pocketable phone. 650 is actually too large for my taste but I need something that works on T-Mobile AWS bands and this seems to be the smallest one that fits the bill. Don't care about games. Don't care about Continuum (don't want to spring more money for a dock and it doesn't seem that game changing anyways)

My list of "needs"

• Solid reception for voice & SMS
• email (standard compliant, does not rely on any sort of "activation" from any sort of intermediary server)
• Decent browser
• Passable camera
• Maps (preferably offline option available)
• Note taking app (must be offline, so likely not OneNote)
• RSS reader (also preferably with offline option)
• Decent battery life, moderate usage should go easily 1 day (most of my BB10 phones go for 2 days or more)
• Can I still get replacement batteries? Where?

As you might guess, I need a device that can still function as a "light" computing device even when no data connection is available.

Is there any deal breakers here? i.e. will the phone still activate for me, I can still download whatever latest OS update was available? Is the app store still sort of alive for downloading what apps already exist? Is it as buggy as 8.1 was? That would be a dealbreaker. For me, BB10 has never had any "visible" bugs.
That sort of thing....

Thanks for any input!

 

[nate0]

Hi there.
Since you are currently using BB10, I would invest in the cheapest Lumia possible that can upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile initially to test out whether you want to commit to a Lumia 650 or better down the road. Seems you have time...Maybe go with a lumia 640, 735 or 550. However I am not sure if the 735 supports T-mobile well or not. Those can be found online or locally through a private sale usually in most places...

With that said, since you are coming to Windows 10 mobile about 3 years later almost after it was released, just about all the major bugs and quirks are gone. Every once in a while a new one gets introduced (like pdfs not opening correctly in Edge, later corrected by the last update), but are later corrected usually.

The 650 performs well, it is not a work horse but it gets the job done. Reception will just depend on your location. I used the 650 on T-mobile and it did well for me but I used my own hack to enable bands like 12 and VoLTE/HD Voice since they are not standard on the 650 out of the box. I live out of Phoenix AZ. SMS seems to be pretty solid on the Lumias, there have been known issues with syncing or even jumbled messages in the app, but that has been corrected as far as I know and all seems fine for me now. Edge is just known to drain the battery, other than that it works well enough on most any site. The 650 camera is decent and in some cases out performs the Idol 4s/Elite X3 camera...

Maps works and has an offline feature, but I am not certain how well GPS mode only works in Windows 10 mobile as it seems that this part of the Radio stack was overhauled when they jumped to Windows 10 mobile. Many Nokias no longer support GPS offline mode when moving to Certain versions of Windows 10 mobile. I only use maps while online currently for myself.

I am sure you could find an app for note taking in the store. I have not used RSS/feeds or tried to on the Windows 10 mobile platform. The battery should go 1 day, but that is subjective and depends on your phone configuration and how you set it up. I found that disabling apps that run in the background helps...there is a battery saver mode too.

Replacement batteries I have heard can be found through a 3rd party repair company for Lumias called Palco. Or even amazon, ebay is iffy. I honestly have had luck just ordering one for my 950 XL off walmart.com.

Your phone (650) is/will receive/get all the latest updates until stated otherwise by Microsoft.

 

[EFats]

Thanks for the tips. I wasn't aware the other phones you mentioned could get the Windows 10 update. Out of those, I think only the 640 supports the 1700/2100 MHz band that I think I need. It is a bit cheaper than the 650 but looks like for some reason it doesn't get the very latest OS update so that is one thing for me to consider.

Reception is a nitpicky point for me. We've been testing a bunch of phones and my BlackBerry devices usually grab 10-15dB better than other Android devices we've tried (same carrier, same location). SE, LG, Samsung, etc. I've got iPhones in the house and they aren't as good either, I've gotten calls on my BlackBerry's where the iPhone couldn't even get a signal.
I'm hoping the Lumia's coming from the Nokia lineage will have good reception as well, hence I didn't want to consider the Alcatel phones.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I have a 950XL in good condition if you just want a solid Windows Phone?

 

[EFats]

Well, 950XL is way too big for my liking, even the 650 is big for my preference. Never say never, but I doubt it would be inexpensive enough for me to overlook the size of that beast...

 

[EFats]

Got a 650 Dual SIM which gives me a functionality none of my other phones have.
Used on eBay, but looks new to me! It is very nice design and generally feels very good in the hand, feels smaller than its actual size. Only issue is it feels so light, to the point I wonder about its durability. But otherwise, it's the best handling 5" I've got kicking around, I think.

Fairly easy to get going, decent experience. Immediately detected I needed OS updated, got it and installed it no fuss. Keyboard was surprising quite ok, and I generally do not like virtual keyboards.
Some not so good:

• What is with all the reboots??? Change language, reboot. Change this, that, reboot. I don't recall having to reboot on the other platforms, other than OS updates
• Within the first hour already noticed some bugs (or are they features?). For example, it would say that I already have an app, then launch, then realize it needs to get updated or I "own" it but i hasn't been installed, open the store, there's no update or it thinks I have it and launches again, so this goes on for a while until it realizes, oh yes, there is an update or a download.
• What's with the missing FM radio? I understand it was removed? It's also not obvious what I should be using to play my music or video library (Groove and Films & TV? I thought Groove was being cancelled).
• That latency. Every time I do something it feels like it pauses for a bit before executing. Maybe too many fancy animations and effects...

I'm not a big apps guy, I need it to be a communication device and help me keep track of my life. The apps situation is still quite sad, even compared to BlackBerry standards. On the other hand, it's easier to find ad-free apps than on Android. Still, compared to iOS or BlackBerry which was ready to be productive out-of-the-box, I had to go looking for apps to fill the gap. I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions.

• RSS : I found Newsflow? Seems ok, but some usability issues
• Mail : Outlook will do, still nothing beats the Hub though. Didn't see any alternatives.
• Calendar : It's Outlook, but it's separate? It's ok.
• To-Do : Using To-Do Prime. Actually think this is pretty good. Like. The Microsoft version requires me to be online so that's no good for me.
• Notes : Haven't found yet. OneNote, I generally like for the desktop (I use the Office 2016 version at work) but I need it to work offline. Might just use To-Do Prime to take notes as well.
• Podcast : ??? haven't found yet
• Contacts : Automatically sync's with all my online email contacts. Can I disable this? I want only a select list of contacts on my phone.

Generally starting to feel a bit happier about this than the Android phones I've tried. Gonna have to dig in to the security/privacy aspects a bit too. BlackBerry let me have a lot of control over what apps can and cannot do, so I would like to have that back.

 

[nate0]

If you just booted it up today or did a hard reset/needs updates/OS updates give it a day or two to finish it all before you assess its performance and or bugs. Other than that have fun.

 

[Timbre70]

For real offline FM Radio, you can install FM Radio Phone from the Store.

For Android, try looking up in their play store and you'll vomit blood. All are "scams".

 

[EFats]

Oh believe me, I have. My first test was to get a slightly older Android phone to see if that would be a suitable replacement. Sure, the Playstore has lots and lots of apps, but most of it is junk or scams or just a vehicle for ads. The more I used it, the more I decided that Android would probably not be an acceptable option. (By the way, both BlackBerry 10 and Windows 10 are considered "dead", but both got updates in 2018 whereas the Android phones I have got nothin', they are already considered dead by their manufacturers. So much for being an updated "supported" OS).
That's when I decided to take a closer look at Windows phones given my limited app "needs". So far so good, pleasantly surprised most of the apps I've tried have no ads (only found 1) and even those that have in-app purchases, the app is generally very usable and nicely done without the upgrades.
I will give it a real test drive over the next several weeks (months) to see how the Lumia 650 does. It's a good sign that I'm liking it more as I use it, but I am not expecting it to displace my BlackBerry 10 devices until Blackberry decides to shutdown their activation servers anyways...

Just need a fitness tracker that connects with my Bluetooth heart rate monitor and I think I'll be set.

 

[Jozef Sliacky]

I have Lumia 650 dual sim in UK..this mobile is perfect for me..not big,only 5' display,this very good..very good working email,office sms,calling..edge very fast.I have last update 6.2018 number 15254.489.I happy whit this mobile