on the fence about getting this phone

[Sasquatch2]

I live in Canada, and my options are limited on Windows phones I currently have an android (and about to die) device and have never owned, a windows phone before. I'm wondering if the 640 Xl would be a good choice!?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[ttsoldier]

It's a great phone .

 

[gpobernardo]

It is a good choice, but what other Windows Phone options do you have?

 

[stevesu]

640 series, if I recall reading correctly, is the fastest growing Windows phone. I bought my daughter one and she loves it (primarily uses it for gaming and texting me).
I've read a lot of folks are very happy moving from android to windows phone. But your happiness depends mostly on your use case scenarios.
If you mainly use the phone as a phone with some extra stuff, it's a great change. It has a great phone/email/texting/camera/etc. experience.
If you are deep into google stuff, there is definitely a difference as Google has not created a nice app experience for their users in the windows phone platform. This has pushed many folks to change and use Microsoft services (they are happy).
If you are someone that looks for the game/app of the day, Windows phone is usually last on developers radar. So you might not be pleased.

 

[Sasquatch2]

Other low end windows devices like blu, and jazz.

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[gpobernardo]

Ah; then the Lumia 640XL appears to be the best choice available for you. To mention a few, at the very least Lumia phones will receive the first updates released by Microsoft than the other brands of Windows Phones.

 

[Sasquatch2]

I'm not deep in to the Google ecosystem, I use onedrive, Outlook etc. But by the sounds of it the 640 Xl looks right right up my alley and I don't worry about apps that much.

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[stevesu]

Then you should be in good shape. Good luck to you and congrats on hockey season starting!

 

[wplee]

I'm thinking of getting one too and upgrading from my 630. From the various YouTube videos I've watched this week and web reviews it seems the 640 XL is still a great deal. Big screen (though average resolution good contrast). Zeiss 13mpx camera looks good apart from average video recording. Runs fast enough with 1GB and also LTE version available. Thin and light despite size. I'm considering the blue (matte) back and getting a black flip case to try reduce the impression of size. Its not a 950 XL device of course but similar experience for almost a 3rd of the price. Bargain.

 

[Angelrocking]

It's a great phone. Something like jack of all trades. Screen's nice no matter the low number of ppi's, great contrast, quite fast, fantastic camera for the price, good feel and construction, great overall quality. It's my first windows phone; been using it for just a week and i am very excited.

 

[wplee]

It's a great phone. Something like jack of all trades. Screen's nice no matter the low number of ppi's, great contrast, quite fast, fantastic camera for the price, good feel and construction, great overall quality. It's my first windows phone; been using it for just a week and i am very excited.

Good to learn about the screen especially the solid contrast. I'm sold, this will be my next to tide me over until Microsoft's true 2016 'Surface-division' built flagship or perhaps Apples all new iPhone design.

 

[Paul1266]

To echo other users here, it is a great phone. Prices have come down making it very good value now. A solid all rounder with good build quality and rather good battery life.

 

[Sasquatch2]

Good to learn about the screen especially the solid contrast. I'm sold, this will be my next to tide me over until Microsoft's true 2016 'Surface-division' built flagship or perhaps Apples all new iPhone design.

I'm going to do the same! I can't wait!

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[perpleSlerp]

I live in Canada, and my options are limited on Windows phones I currently have an android (and about to die) device and have never owned, a windows phone before. I'm wondering if the 640 Xl would be a good choice!?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

I own both the 640 and 640XL, the 640XL has been sitting in my nightstand drawer for the past couple of months unused. Why? Too big for a carry around phone, at least for me. The 640 fits great in my front pocket and allows me to go about my business and forget it's there. The 640 XL fits in my front pocket no problem but I always know it's there and have to take it out of my pocket when I get in the car or sit down or bend over for fear it's going to get bent or otherwise damaged. I just can't get used to having it on me all the time.

Things like about the 640/640XL:

Affordable (insanely so for the 640)
Build quality
Aesthetics
Software: simple uncluttered symmetrical look and layout
Good (640) and very good (640XL) cameras

Things I don't like about the 640/640XL:

Too big (640XL)
Internet Explorer is fidgety, hard/confusing to scroll back to previous web pages and other annoying issues.
Can't set Google as the defualt search engine.
Voice to text not nearly as well implemented as Android.
Notifications not nearly as well implemented as Android
Dialer not nearly as well implemented as Android.
Too many taps to do simple things like clearing cache in I.E., and to turn on the speaker phone and get back to the keypad is like 30 taps! (not really but twice as many as Android).
Not enough shortcut/widget type actionable options
Double tap to wake is virtually useless, unless you tap 6-8 or more times.
Scrolling lag issues when web surfing.

Sounds like a lot of dislikes when taken as a whole, but the 640 at $80 is still a no-brainer for the price and you simply will not get a phone with a better camera in that price range. The 640 XL? Hmmm, there are other phones in the price range that are way more powerful and probably better overall. However, if you can deal with all the little annoyances (at least to me), you might love it. I still have mine for a reason, might give it another shot before getting rid of it and see if I can live with it for a while.

 

[Sasquatch2]

I own both the 640 and 640XL, the 640XL has been sitting in my nightstand drawer for the past couple of months unused. Why? Too big for a carry around phone, at least for me. The 640 fits great in my front pocket and allows me to go about my business and forget it's there. The 640 XL fits in my front pocket no problem but I always know it's there and have to take it out of my pocket when I get in the car or sit down or bend over for fear it's going to get bent or otherwise damaged. I just can't get used to having it on me all the time.

Things like about the 640/640XL:

Affordable (insanely so for the 640)
Build quality
Aesthetics
Software: simple uncluttered symmetrical look and layout
Good (640) and very good (640XL) cameras

Things I don't like about the 640/640XL:

Too big (640XL)
Internet Explorer is fidgety, hard/confusing to scroll back to previous web pages and other annoying issues.
Can't set Google as the defualt search engine.
Voice to text not nearly as well implemented as Android.
Notifications not nearly as well implemented as Android
Dialer not nearly as well implemented as Android.
Too many taps to do simple things like clearing cache in I.E., and to turn on the speaker phone and get back to the keypad is like 30 taps! (not really but twice as many as Android).
Not enough shortcut/widget type actionable options
Double tap to wake is virtually useless, unless you tap 6-8 or more times.
Scrolling lag issues when web surfing.

Sounds like a lot of dislikes when taken as a whole, but the 640 at $80 is still a no-brainer for the price and you simply will not get a phone with a better camera in that price range. The 640 XL? Hmmm, there are other phones in the price range that are way more powerful and probably better overall. However, if you can deal with all the little annoyances (at least to me), you might love it. I still have mine for a reason, might give it another shot before getting rid of it and see if I can live with it for a while.

I have big hands so it being large is no issue. And I can look past what you have claimed as annoyances. Thanks for the heads up

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android