Just bought a 640...

[sidtek50]

Back in the day, I bought a Lumia 920 on launch and was relatively happy with it. I got it on a contract and it was my daily driver for around 8-12 months. I got a different handset because I was unhappy with the app store lacking things.

I've had a bunch of iOS and Android phones since and have always wanted to go back to a Windows Mobile Phone. A few days ago, I picked up the 640 from the Microsoft Store. I instantly updated it to Windows 10 and so far so good. I like it.

However: I didn't do enough research and now Microsoft might be ditching the Lumia line, it has me asking a few questions. Will Microsoft still support the 640? Will it continue getting updates? I'm part of the insider program - will that continue for the 640?

The only thing i'm struggling with (even more than I was with the 920) is the app store. 6Snap has gone now. PayPal has gone. There is no MyFitnessPal. The app store is actually worse now than it was back when I had a 920. Do you think it will improve after Microsoft ditch the Lumia phones? If it will - i'll hang around for another 12 months to see. If the store doesn't improve, this is very, very sadly going to have to be my last Windows phone. I love the OS, it's stable and is quite speedy despite the low-spec hardware, but I use MyFitnessPal and Snapchat on a daily basis and use PayPal approx 3-4 times per week. Without these apps, i'll probably struggle to have the phone as my daily driver.

Sorry for all the questions, hope some of you guys who have been following Microsoft can give me an insight into what might happen.

 

[ven07]

I'm honestly getting tired of this

MS isn't dumping anything... ok they might be from the looks of it lol

The idea here, is to move out of the hardware game so that others (OEM's - blu etc) can step in and fill the void..

The lumia line hasn't been the success everyone wanted so they're moving away from it. This helps the Surface Phone to take on a live of it's own (ok might help)

In the end what matters is that your phone will still be supported and you might be able to pick up other lumia's for a cheaper price (maybe lol)

 

[sidtek50]

No, no, no. I totally understand that Microsoft isn't dumping Windows 10 Mobile. I get that :winktongue:

But I was just worried that Microsoft will not send OTA updates to Lumia series such as mine. It would be a great shame to miss out on what the future holds because I think moving away from Lumia is a good thing and a move that should have been made a long time ago.

The next question I have (which I probably didn't put across very well) is: will having OEM's mean that more developers jump on board and fix the app store? If the app store becomes heavily populated with good apps and supported by mainstream devs, we could see a huge rise in sales of Windows Phones.

 

[libra89]

It depends on the developers when it comes to apps.

The 640 is over a year old, it should still have support for a good while. I don't think that Microsoft would cut off support for it.

 

[ven07]

If the app store becomes heavily populated with good apps and supported by mainstream devs, we could see a huge rise in sales of Windows Phones

I would love to see more apps, but tbh we have apps and substitutes for some others we don't have. The problem is perception.

People would much rather use the original one and afterwards go looking for a different app that delivers the same functionality, so when you dive into the store and the original app is nowhere to be found, people will most likely just say that it isn't there.

That being said, we are still missing a lot of apps and mainstream dev support wouldn't hurt

 

[ttsoldier]

Should have gotten the 650. Just my 2cents.

 

[Grimwar]

Should have gotten the 650. Just my 2cents.

I think not, i recently bought the 650 for a Uncle. At that time i was using a Lumia 640 xl.
The 650 is super light and it was the correct size 5" and it had a nice Amole screen. and was also cheap.
The 650 has a 5" display and a metal trim. (looks really nice) The back cover is plastic and thin and i guess it will be harder to make a case for it?
Comparing to a 640 xl is not fair, due to a way bigger screen, but the 640 xl is really just a camera upgrade over the 640.

To me the 640 seamed faster, even though it's native platform is Windows 8.1 Denim, Windows 10 works fine on the 640.

 

[aybarrap1]

I would love to see more apps, but tbh we have apps and substitutes for some others we don't have. The problem is perception.

People would much rather use the original one and afterwards go looking for a different app that delivers the same functionality, so when you dive into the store and the original app is nowhere to be found, people will most likely just say that it isn't there.

That being said, we are still missing a lot of apps and mainstream dev support wouldn't hurt

This is true in all aspects. One of things that could help is universal apps. Until W10 and W10M, the app store for tablets and PC was different from the phone. Apple and android had their tablet and phones working together in this respect well before. The other issue I was is that Windows tablets are kind of pricey. There are less options compared to android takes as well.

 

[Raygreen3]

I am still able to use myfitnesspal on my 640. I know if I uninstall it I will not be able to reinstall it, but for now I can still use it and the scanner works for reading bar codes off food items. The one encouraging sign is that I found some apps that have come back to Windows 10 that were not available just 6 months ago. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, even though Amazon pulled there Windows 8 app they have added a clunky Windows 10 app. I found apps for Nest, and one for my Honeywell Thermostat. The game Orbital that I had on my iPhone and Android phone is now on Windows phone. So maybe some apps will comeback. Especially if Microsoft makes it easy for developers to port them over.