Lumia 550? Really?

[fdalbor]

If it is only equal to the 640 then why bring it out at all. And looking at the specs it does not seem equal to the 640 anyway. This phone confuses me to no end. It seems we are going to have to choose between the high end 950 and the low end 550 and a price gap that would fill the grand canyon. I have been a upper mid range user for quite awhile (aside from my wife's 925), now I have no place to go (830 is way overpriced for what you get, you can get a LG G3 for the same money, and its a much better phone).

 

[libra89]

If it is only equal to the 640 then why bring it out at all. And looking at the specs it does not seem equal to the 640 anyway. This phone confuses me to no end. It seems we are going to have to choose between the high end 950 and the low end 550 and a price gap that would fill the grand canyon. I have been a upper mid range user for quite awhile (aside from my wife's 925), now I have no place to go (830 is way overpriced for what you get, you can get a LG G3 for the same money, and its a much better phone).

There was a phone leaked that is most likely a midrange, but the name isn't finalized

 

[Rooks308]

I wonder what the US retail prices will really be. This also threw me for a loop because the $640 can be found for between $70-$100 all over and would seem to be a better device. I don't understand the pricing strategy of over $100 USD if it will have a smaller display. I need to go read the spec sheet, I must be missing something.

 

[denzilla]

The 550 with the specs announced today is a downgrade from the 640. For nearly the same price as a 640, I get a weaker cpu, and a worse camera. If this is the 640's replacement, who spec'd this thing out?

 

[Rooks308]

Ok, I just read what I think are the specs (someone please correct me here if i'm wrong).

Snapdragon 210
1GB Ram
5MP/2MP cameras
4.7 inch 720P display
Micro SD expansion
Windows 10

Why exactly is this more than a 640? Color me confused.

 

[libra89]

I wonder what the US retail prices will really be. This also threw me for a loop because the $640 can be found for between $70-$100 all over and would seem to be a better device. I don't understand the pricing strategy of over $100 USD if it will have a smaller display. I need to go read the spec sheet, I must be missing something.

Microsoft said themselves that it would be 139. Pricing and Availability for the Microsoft Lumia 550 Announced | Windows Central

One, remember that it is unlocked (unless a carrier decides to bring it on) and unlocked devices are going to be more in general, because they are not locked to a carrier. I don't know about other countries, but I have seen that a truly unlocked 640 is close to $200, so it's not more if you look at it in that way.

 

[Rooks308]

Fair enough, although in the US at least you can buy a 640 on At&t and T-Mobile w/o contract for less than $100 and some of the MNVOs also sell them for even less and after using them for only a few months they will unlock them for free so unless there is no carrier that sells the phone you want I would think people would just buy one locked to their carrier and just get a free unlock in a few months.

Side note, I noticed you list a Lumia 640 in your sig and then list a lumia 550 possibly in your future. Is this as a backup phone or something to play around with or are you considering switching? I ask only because I can't see any reason someone would chose a 550 over a 640 and was hoping you might be able to shed some light on that. Just to be clear I myself buy tons of phones so that I can get a good feel for all of the platforms and their ups and downs. I have about 6 phones on my office desk on any given day but if I had a 640 (which I do, in white) I can't see why i'd pick up a 550. Thanks for you time!

 

[libra89]

Fair enough, although in the US at least you can buy a 640 on At&t and T-Mobile w/o contract for less than $100 and some of the MNVOs also sell them for even less and after using them for only a few months they will unlock them for free so unless there is no carrier that sells the phone you want I would think people would just buy one locked to their carrier and just get a free unlock in a few months.

Side note, I noticed you list a Lumia 640 in your sig and then list a lumia 550 possibly in your future. Is this as a backup phone or something to play around with or are you considering switching? I ask only because I can't see any reason someone would chose a 550 over a 640 and was hoping you might be able to shed some light on that. Just to be clear I myself buy tons of phones so that I can get a good feel for all of the platforms and their ups and downs. I have about 6 phones on my office desk on any given day but if I had a 640 (which I do, in white) I can't see why i'd pick up a 550. Thanks for you time!

It's a fair question. The 550 would be most likely a backup phone. The size is great and it looks like there isn't much of a compromise between it and the 640.

In addition, considering that t-mobile dropped the 640 so fast, I am seriously doubting that it will get Win 10 mobile. I could do the insider thing, but I'll rather not bother with software testing. Looking at the specs, it's fairly decent.

Also hoping for a green shell so that would be great. I was actually considering a 532 to play with and as a backup phone, but the 550 blows it out of the water!

 

[eSocrates]

...I myself buy tons of phones so that I can get a good feel for all of the platforms and their ups and downs. I have about 6 phones on my office desk on any given day but if I had a 640 (which I do, in white) I can't see why i'd pick up a 550. Thanks for you time!

I'm really the opposite. I like to research and find the best phone for the lowest price and then abuse it for as long as its useful. I really dont like to pay money to downgrade either. I held onto my poor battered Lumia 521 for too long because the 635 was too much of a trade off to feel good about spending an admittedly small amount of money on. I waited and got the 640 a few months back and am almost completely happy with it. I just wish the same specs and features existed in a smaller package (and included a shutter button). Basically the specs and features of the 640 (or better) in the body of the 635 (again, with a shutter button) for $100 (or, you know, less :grin: ) is my dream phone.

That being said since I already bought the 640 it would take a lot for me to buy another phone just because its smaller. But suppose I completely obliterate my 640 the day the 550 comes out and I have to buy something to replace it. If the 550 is smaller and more comfortable to hold I might be happy about that but I probably wouldn't be interested in spending extra on it vs the 640 which is actually better in many ways.

So it comes down to the $140 being a little weird because i think most people who aren't me would prefer the bigger screen on the cheaper 640 anyways. As was said earlier, in unsubsidized markets where the 640 is actually more like $200 then people will probably be happy to save some money and get the lesser processor, lower MP, and smaller screen. Heck, I grew to really enjoy the 5mp sensor on my 521, lack of flash and all. And at least it has 1gb of ram. If the 521 did I'd probably still be using it. If disaster does strike my 640 and the 550 actually ends up selling for significantly less than the 640 is at the time I think its a good enough phone without any major drawbacks that I could see myself save some money and still be satisfied with it. Especially if the screen quality is up to the 640 which IMO punches above its weight class in that category.

 

[libra89]

I'm really the opposite. I like to research and find the best phone for the lowest price and then abuse for as long as its useful. I really dont like to pay money to downgrade either. I held onto my poor battered Lumia 521 for too long because the 635 was too much of a trade off to feel good about spending an admittedly small amount of money on. I waited and got the 640 a few months back and am almost completely happy with it. I just wish the same specs and features existed in a smaller package (and included a shutter button). Basically the specs and features of the 640 (or better) in the body of the 635 (again, with a shutter button) for $100 (or, you know, less :grin: ) is my dream phone.

That being said since I already bought the 640 it would take a lot for me to buy another phone just because its smaller. But suppose I completely obliterate my 640 the day the 550 comes out and I have to buy something to replace it. If the 550 is smaller and more comfortable to hold I might be happy about that but I probably wouldn't be interested in spending extra on it vs the 640 which is actually better in many ways.

So it comes down to the $140 being a little weird because i think most people who aren't me would prefer the bigger screen on the cheaper 640 anyways. As was said earlier, in unsubsidized markets where the 640 is actually more like $200 then people will probably be happy to save some money and get the lesser processor, lower MP, and smaller screen. Heck, I grew to really enjoy the 5mp sensor on my 521, lack of flash and all. And at least it has 1gb of ram. If the 521 did I'd probably still be using it. If disaster does strike my 640 and the 550 actually ends up selling for significantly less than the 640 is at the time I think its a good enough phone without any major drawbacks that I could see myself save some money and still be satisfied with it. Especially if the screen quality is up to the 640 which IMO punches above its weight class in that category.

I'm not sure if you are in my head or something, but I agree with your statements in general. When the 635 came out, I seriously thought about upgrading from the 521, but I just didn't because it felt like a slight change.

I don't know if I would buy it the first day of release myself, but I miss the smaller phone and I'm just glad that Microsoft released one that isn't horrible to look at. I mean the 435 is decent for what it does, but I'm not interested in doing a super downgrade. The 550 feels more like a slight downgrade, at most.

 

[eSocrates]

A little off topic but I would be willing to spend a little extra for a near flagship level camera. A ton of megapixels aren't necessary, just versatile with great low light performance which is a little lacking on the 640. Basically the 830 but I would trade the premium build quality for a lower price. I could have sworn it was supposed to be $299 on release and I expected it to be cheaper by the time I was upgrading not still $400 with a Fitbit from AT&T. Soon after I bought my 521 I saw the 925 for $250 from newegg but money was tight and my 521 was still new so I decided to wait. Then it wasn't available anymore except for used off ebay for too much money. I don't really care about flagship specs but I'm still coveting that epic low light performance and would love a way get it for around $200-$250.

 

[libra89]

A little off topic but I would be willing to spend a little extra for a near flagship level camera. A ton of megapixels aren't necessary, just versatile with great low light performance which is a little lacking on the 640. Basically the 830 but I would trade the premium build quality for a lower price. I could have sworn it was supposed to be $299 on release and I expected it to be cheaper by the time I was upgrading not still $400 with a Fitbit from AT&T. Soon after I bought my 521 I saw the 925 for $250 from newegg but money was tight and my 521 was still new so I decided to wait. Then it wasn't available anymore except for used off ebay for too much money. I don't really care about flagship specs but I'm still coveting that epic low light performance and would love a way get it for around $200-$250.

Have you considered the 735? It might be difficult to find an unlocked one with LTE bands that is not used in your price range, but it might work. It's 4.7 inches. I have been wrestling with that and the 640, but it's more expensive than the 640.