If you haven’t caught the memo, Nokia is now dead. At least until 2016 by contract (which prevents the mobile phone pioneer from producing their own phones until the said date). For now, Nokia is biding time and licking wounds before it’s allowed to go out into the open once again. For now, Nokia’s Lumia line is owned by Microsoft. And they’re doing pretty well for the line. They’ve just released an affordable smartphone that can do it all, the Lumia 640 XL.
Let me say, right off the bat, that it costs P11,990. That, by general definition, is more than the usual definition of affordable, but it’s amazing for its price. Its processor is a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400. It’s a midrange processor, but the versatility offers enough functionality to bring it out of the affordable performance range.
XL is XL. The 5.7-inch display with 720p resolution gravitates above the industry standard. It’s more phablet than smartphone. Rear and front shooters are a respectable 13MP and 5MP, respectively. This combination is complemented by the Lumia Camera app, which adds some interesting functionalities. Post-capture, you can edit the level of the flash in a photo without having to retake it. It also has a neat Living Images function, which captures the few seconds before a photo is taken in video format to give it context.
Internal memory is a lowly 8GB, but it’s expandable via microSD up to 128GB. Also, the Lumia 640 XL comes with free 15GB worth of storage from OneDrive as a standard with multiple opportunities to expand it even further. With activation of Camera Roll, an additional 15GB of OneDrive storage is added. Finally, with activation of the included Office 365 Personal subscription, a whopping 1TB of OneDrive storage is added to your account.
What’s more exciting is that it is upgradeable to Windows 10 once it comes out later this year. This is all part of Microsoft’s initiative to offer seamless functionality between devices using one universal OS. Currently, the Lumia 640 XL is pre-installed with Windows 8.1.
Expect the 640 XL to last a day with 3,000mAh of battery life. It’s available now in matte cyan, orange, and black colors. If you prefer shiny surfaces, a glossy white color is also available. As mentioned above, it costs P11,990.
—
Also launched is the Lumia 540 Dual Sim, a much more affordable smartphone, which should be good for young, ambitious people looking for their first serious smartphone. It’s armed with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage expandable via microSD up to 128GB and 30GB of OneDrive storage, 5-inch 720p display, 8MP rear and 5MP front shooter, and 2,200mAh battery. It’s available now in cyan, orange, white, and black for only P7,990.
