what is wrong with Microsoft and their pricing

[miguel11691]

How can the Lumia 640 Be cheaper than the Newly announced Lumia 550... the specs are better on the 640 and you have a bigger screen to boot... and talk about over pricing for the 950 sheesh

 

[Jakoh]

Answer to thread, Nothing.
You ll get over it.

 

[gordonfink]

I think the OP was comparing 640 to 550. I haven't looked at the 550 to know what sort of specs it has. I am sort of hoping though that there is a firesale on the 640 - I'd like to pick one up cheap as a backup.

 

[Aquila]

Oh I misread that as the 950. My mistake.
ok, Lumia 550 is definitely bad on paper. 4.7" 720p LCD, Quadcore Snapdragon 210 with 1 GB RAM, 2100 mAh battery.
Lumia 640 is 5.0" 720p LCD, Quadcore Snapdragon 400 with 1 GB RAM, 2500 mAh battery

 

[anon(6078578)]

I was wondering that too. I can only assume they are trying to realign the lowend, but that implies they feel they under priced the 640. I can only hope that in a years time the next low end phone they release, improves on the 640 specs regardless of what they decide to call it. I certainly won't be considering a premium windows phone until the new universal app ecosystem has at least started to prove itself which will most likely take at least a couple of years. That's only if I stay the course though.

 

[Elitewolf]

They said the 550 was being sold factory unlocked for $139.99 which is not too bad all things considered. I can't buy a factory unlocked 640 with 4G lte for that price in the U.S.

 

[libra89]

They said the 550 was being sold factory unlocked for $139.99 which is not too bad all things considered. I can't buy a factory unlocked 640 with 4G lte for that price in the U.S.

Well said, I think that is a BIG point that many are missing here. It's only "cheaper" because it is locked to a carrier.

Also, for reference, you can buy a factory unlocked 435 in the $90 range. Hopefully that will give some additional perspective.

 

[anon(6078578)]

They said the 550 was being sold factory unlocked for $139.99 which is not too bad all things considered. I can't buy a factory unlocked 640 with 4G lte for that price in the U.S.

That's a fair point, although I still think $99 would've been a good psychological impulse price point. As most potential customers still don't know what unlocked means, they won't see why an unlocked phone should be more expensive. I think the main problem at the moment will be carrying on the momentum of the 640. There needs to be a value upgrade for existing 640 users at some point in the next year as the 550 is seen as a step backwards. Of course, you can argue, that hopefully by then other OEMs will have filled the gap but I'm sure a lot will want to stick with a Lumia if they have a good experience.

 

[fdalbor]

Could not agree more. For most customers the phone being unlocked or not is not a issue. Most people only care that their phone works with the carrier they have now; not one they might have two years from now. The 640 (at least to me) was the best move Microsoft had made with their phone effort in quite some time. The 550 (probably a good phone) is not going to be seen by most customers as a upgrade if they already have a 640. Just the name (550 less than 640) suggests that already. It may be a decent upgrade to the 5XX phones, but it will NOT replace the 640. Did I hear someone say 650/645.

 

[Elitewolf]

I think the 550 is targeted towards people with 435's 530's ect a low end upgrade. They might be waiting for next year on the 640 replacement since it's still newer in the u.s and doing well.

 

[gordonfink]

The 640 is a steal for what they sell them for. That phone performs way above its pay grade.