Lumia 550? Really?

[bo_woods]

What's up with this Lumia 550 rumor? If they're simplifying their lineup and will only have two budget devices per year, then why a 550?

I thought they were gonna continue the 6xx & 6xx XL model?

Or are they going to use 8xx & 5xx to cover the budget field tier each year...

Confusion is amongst me

 

[libra89]

Why would an 8xx phone be budget tier? Even the 830 is more of a midrange. I think the 5xx might be the one or one of the ones to cover that field.

 

[Tien-Lin Chang]

With the coming of w10m and a clearly demand on power for more features and Android app support. I don't see a point to release a device now which us clearly underpowered? Why not just fit those s400/410 to the 4xx/5xx series and gear up 6xx/7xx with 8 core a53 chips like mt6752/6753/s430/s617, finally give 8xx/9xx/15xx the QCOM top gun chip? How you gonna attract those ppl who never hold a WP if they not even look attractive on paper/specs?

 

[RumoredNow]

[Solved]

The 5xx series is venerated as affordable hardware the world over.

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August, 2015 had 520 + 530 + 535 accounting for 32% of all active Windows Phones world-wide. Almost 1 in 3, baby...

 

[Tien-Lin Chang]

[Solved]

The 5xx series is venerated as affordable hardware the world over.

AdDuplex Blog

August, 2015 had 520 + 530 + 535 accounting for 32% of all active Windows Phones world-wide. Almost 1 in 3, baby...

So this amazing % is converting to how much selling numbers on the market?

Just a quick reminder, Xiaomi's RedMi2 is selling at a speed of around 2m a month

Do you think all of them buying it cos it's a droid device or maybe, maybe cos it's cheap and proper speced?

WP needs those ppl who are outside of your chart more than those already in

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

Since they're going the route of simplifying hardware releases, I'm guessing the Lumia 550 will officially merge the 500x and 600x series together. It's a stretch but I think this is the most likely route.

 

[RumoredNow]

WP needs those ppl who are outside of your chart more than those already in

I started on a 521. For the price I figured, "Why not try Windows Phone?" I was on the most current Nexus at the time (N4) which was not budget. So I wasn't part of the pie chart in terms of OS or price point. Lumia 521 lured me in and the OS hooked me. I moved onto a 925 quite rapidly.

In the last two years I've had a 521, 925, 1520 (current daily), 520 x2, BLU Win HD, 928, 830 and BLU Win HD LTE (current backup). There are many similar stories around the board. Also many users around the board express how they have a 5xx as that is what they can afford. They keep them running as long as they can because they have to. At the value pricing of the 5xx series there is no such thing as iPhone unless it has fallen off the support cycle and on Android I'd dare say the experience is pretty horrible at that low a price level.

Windows Phone users might be rare in the overall, that does not mean that treating it as an elitist market and only offering high dollar phones would work any better. There needs to be a gateway to lure users in who would normally drift to Android because iPhone is priced beyond their reach and inexpensive models let the curious with disposable income try before they go all-in.

 

[Tien-Lin Chang]

I started on a 521. For the price I figured, "Why not try Windows Phone?" I was on the most current Nexus at the time (N4) which was not budget. So I wasn't part of the pie chart in terms of OS or price point. Lumia 521 lured me in and the OS hooked me. I moved onto a 925 quite rapidly.

In the last two years I've had a 521, 925, 1520 (current daily), 520 x2, BLU Win HD, 928, 830 and BLU Win HD LTE (current backup). There are many similar stories around the board. Also many users around the board express how they have a 5xx as that is what they can afford. They keep them running as long as they can because they have to. At the value pricing of the 5xx series there is no such thing as iPhone unless it has fallen off the support cycle and on Android I'd dare say the experience is pretty horrible at that low a price level.

Windows Phone users might be rare in the overall, that does not mean that treating it as an elitist market and only offering high dollar phones would work any better. There needs to be a gateway to lure users in who would normally drift to Android because iPhone is priced beyond their reach and inexpensive models let the curious with disposable income try before they go all-in.

But just take a look at the price tag of xiaomi's redmi2/2a, they all sitting well around 100USD off-contract price while I checked the lumia 540DS hit the market at around 150USD. I don't think if this thing hit the market carrying the name of 5xx series it will get under 100USD retail price to get a head-on match.

The 52x story is beautiful, pity the market is just not the same and the competitors in the price range is also changing A LOT. We feel things in a relative way, the 52x provide good UX compare to the other choices on the market at the time not meaning the same story definitely repeats. WP OS was known for resource-saving, I doubt that will remain with the coming of w10m and android app compatibility. Already the continuum-feature will divide UX into two parts in W10M era, I don't think it's nice if "runs android app smoothly" divide the UX into another two parts. That's the reason I keep my doubt about MSFT about to release a device with such SPEC at this time.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

But just take a look at the price tag of xiaomi's redmi2/2a, they all sitting well around 100USD off-contract price while I checked the lumia 540DS hit the market at around 150USD. I don't think if this thing hit the market carrying the name of 5xx series it will get under 100USD retail price to get a head-on match.

So either you are (a) saying instead of a 5xx they should make this a 4xx series (b) lower the price of the 550, even though you don't know the price to begin with

I'm not really sure what you point here is at all. You're complaining about a planned phone, with inconclusive specs at this point and no target price that we know of.

 

[fatclue_98]

Already the continuum-feature will divide UX into two parts in W10M era,

Continuum is not going to be available on every device. It's hardware-dependent and budget devices, more often than not, don't even have a flash on the main camera. Still, I haven't seen one render which shows Continuum "dividing" the UX. It's a feature that will run on select devices and the UX will be no more different than running Remote Desktop.

 

[HeyCori]

I have no beef with the 550. As RumoredNow showed, the 5xx range of phones are very popular amongst WP users and MS needs to support that market.

 

[bo_woods]

I'm not against a 550 either, just confused. So what series are their two affordable phones going to be each year.

Just curious

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

I hope the clear accenting around the edge of the shell is still there. That's a beautiful aesthetic. Won't be heart broken if it isn't there though.

 

[RumoredNow]

I had a further thought about this...

The specs aren't completely revealed (or even set in stone) yet. However, it does say 8GB storage in the blog article and I would bet dollars to donuts it has 1GB RAM.

I'm certain this will be the new hardware minimum requirement going forward with Win 10 Mo.

 

[bo_woods]

I had a further thought about this...

The specs aren't completely revealed (or even set in stone) yet. However, it does say 8GB storage in the blog article and I would bet dollars to donuts it has 1GB RAM.

I'm certain this will be the new hardware minimum requirement going forward with Win 10 Mo.

I like Donuts

 

[AntiAB]

I like Donuts

Who doesn't?

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

It makes sense because Microsoft appears to be merging number series. The 540 is a relatively less ground-covered device than the 640, and I'm sure there was a 650 in the air but was shot down after Microsoft decided to trim down their phone line. The 550 will probably mark the homogenization of low end handsets. I expect the 550 to completely blow the 540 out of the water, and that is an iron-solid contender equal to the 640 in my opinion.

 

[keathkeath]

I wish it has Clearblack, light version of Glance (do AMOLED screens have glance?), and non-stuttering display (I'm looking at you my Lumia 535DS). At 4.7" 720x1280, it will have a gorgeous display despite being a starter phone. I really hope they step up the processor though.

 

[bo_woods]

I wish it has Clearblack, light version of Glance (do AMOLED screens have glance?), and non-stuttering display (I'm looking at you my Lumia 535DS). At 4.7" 720x1280, it will have a gorgeous display despite being a starter phone. I really hope they step up the processor though.

Nokia has S history of excluding glance on AMOLED phones (930,735), although it is possible on an AMOLED device (925,928)

 

[bo_woods]

Who doesn't?

Evil People from...