One thing that Microsoft is doing and doing well with Windows Phone is going after the entry level market. They have been doing this for some time and their latest offering in that space, the Lumia 635, is packed with performance for the price. I received a unit Friday to review and having spent the majority of the weekend with it, I have to say I’m very impressed. For the price point of this Windows Phone – £129.95 here in the UK (about $240 US) Unlocked & SIM Free – it is a very powerful Windows Phone. Sure it lacks some of the high end features, most notably a reasonable camera with a flash, but it is still a worthy contender for those who are looking for a budget friendly Windows Phone.
I’ve been using the Lumia 635 almost exclusively this weekend, take the time to get it setup the way I wanted and taking it out and
Nokia Lumia 635
about with me to snap photos and see how it performed over GSM and 4G. The only difference between the Lumia 630 and the 635 is the 4G element. Specification wise they are identical other than 4G.
The unit I received comes with the bright orange back, one of several colours that Nokia offers on the 635. When I say bright I mean bright. It could certainly serve as a road reflector if I ever had a break down. But I personally love it given the amount of orange in my life on a day-to-day basis.
The Lumia 635 comes standard with the Windows Phone 8.1 on the Lumia Cyan firmware. If you aren’t 100% clear on these check out this post to get some clarification. The benefits of 8.1 are longer than I have time for in this post but it comes with it out-of-the-box so no need to do a Phone Update. One thing it doesn’t have however is Update 1 as it is not generally available yet. That is going to be a few months more than likely so if you are looking at a 635, you may want to sign up for the Developer Preview (which will allow you to download it to your phone) so you can get the benefits of that release (Cortana outside of the US, Live Folders on the Start screen and an improved Internet Explorer experience). As this is a review unit I won’t be able to install it on this unit but having used it already on other devices, I can tell you I miss Cortana.
I’m going to be using the Lumia 635 heavily over the course of the next week and will get a full review out afterward. So far, first impressions are good. It’s fast and certainly should meet the need of those who want a Windows Phone but don’t want to or can’t shell out for the top end 930 or 1530.
If you have any specific questions about the 635 just leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer them.
You can get more information on the Lumia 635 on the Nokia website.
Windows Phone was a poor name choice and the lacunh and subsequent update process was deeply flawed on virtually all dimensions. Which is too bad because the OS itself is some of the best work MS has ever done. I too am trying to figure out the logic of them making their own phone just as OEMs are finally releasing some half decent looking units. There doesn’t seem to be an obvious answer beyond having one more item to fill the shelves at their retail locations. But two things make me wonder if something broader isn’t going on. The first is Elop’s comments on this story, which sounded like things between MS and Nokia aren’t 100% (even by normal partner imperfection standards). The second is Ballmer’s recent comment about MS being a devices and services company in the future. Usually I’d just write that off as typical Ballmer fantasy, but perhaps there’s more to it. Maybe, like your last paragraph indicates, they’ve realized that in order to win they need to attempt to change the game completely.