Microsoft Lumia 650 review: Dress for less
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- AnonD-152638
- mhA
- 01 Apr 2016
Too expensive.
The 640 LTE costs about half, and for that price, it's ok value for money.
The advantage of WP is that it can run fine on low end CPUs, andoird does not do that as well.
However, with every new generation of CPUs, android gets better and better on low end devices.
The problem here, is at the price of this device, you can have an android device, with good enough CPU.
I have a Lumia 635 1GB that I got cheap.
I was considering getting the 640 LTE instead.
But after I got the 635, and expericenced performance with heavier apps, like spotify, I was glad I did not get the 640, that has higer resolution display, usually that has a negative impact on performance.
That doesnt seem too promising for this device.
And then we have the App situation of WP.
It lacks banking apps, for example.
Some companies use Apps to distribute offers (cupons), WP lack most of these.
But perhaps the worst part. There isn't enough competition. Android has too many apps that does the same, but on the other hand that means that people can pick the one with best ratings. That keep developers on their toes. In WP there are lot of apps with bugs and other issues, but they are all you have to choose from, so they still get downloaded.
having a lot of apps that basically does the same also means that you can find apps that has special features, that suits your needs.
WP might cover many bases when it comes to essential apps.
But most are simply not as good as those you find on android.
So at this price, when you get a Android that does not have performance issues, the 650 does not feel like a great deal. Even if it might have some advantages, like slightly better camera and better sunlight contrast on the display.
But in other areas alternatives might be better. And the App situation is miles better.
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- Anonymous
- LH0
- 01 Apr 2016
These h/w specs are laughable poor phone
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- exec
- LiX
- 31 Mar 2016
yann, 31 Mar 2016Please, speak the truth. I've Lumia 640LTE from AT&T u... moreHey i know that Glance screen and Touch, after update to W10M deasepear from Settings>> Extras, for some reason, but you can easily download them. Just type in Google: lumia wm10 oem apps onedrive, and there you will find Glance, Touch, also 5-6 other stock apps from Lumia with W10M...
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- Anonymous
- J5P
- 31 Mar 2016
The audio-quality test was the only unique and really great with GSM Arena reviews, without they are just pointless!
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- yann
- gxG
- 31 Mar 2016
AnonD-477406, 31 Mar 2016Strange how some prefer the plastic cutouts to "unsightly" ... morePlease, speak the truth.
I've Lumia 640LTE from AT&T unlocked and .164 is far from stable!
Even phone dialer is slow, can't catch my fingers, not to mention all other apps issues. Slow and crashing Edge etc.
And you speak for full Glance screen support?!? Where? Try install w10m, build .164 and reset the phone. Then find glance screw if you can and try to set night mode. Congratulations - you'll never do that.
So do not speak good things about SD212 and w10m experience.
For 200$ you can buy much more capable phones - Huawei P8Lite for example.
This phone do mot deserve even 100$. It is outdated before it arrives in the shops.
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- Vishal
- bJ2
- 31 Mar 2016
AnonD-477406, 31 Mar 2016Strange how some prefer the plastic cutouts to "unsightly" ... moreYeah, this was such a half hearted review from the team of gsmarena. I've always loved the Windows OS for its simple yet beautiful UI and my requirements from a phone are pretty basic. This looked like a neat phone for my requirements, nice design, good display, good camera and Windows 10. I've been looking forward to their review since the announcement of the phone and look what I get. I really want them to update the review with the audio tests. The display tests didn't even have the delta scores. Such lazy work from gsmarena. They must really dislike Windows phone. :)
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- Anonymous
- 0Ue
- 31 Mar 2016
AnonD-513067, 31 Mar 2016The app support on Windows store is in ground state....I us... moreJust out of curiosity: what apps are you using? The necessary ones.
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- AnonD-513067
- ITm
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016It's not MS's fault for the lack of apps. Developers just g... moreThe app support on Windows store is in ground state....I used a windows phone for 2 years and after switching to android and using all the necessary apps on play store, I feel satisfied that finally I get to access many apps instead of restricted and paid third party apps(which are actually free on Playstore)!!!
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- AnonD-92238
- KAe
- 31 Mar 2016
AnonD-513766, 31 Mar 2016What android phone did u used? Buy galaxy series then talk!... morewell I'm using micromax A1 right now! it's cheaper than the cheapest windows phone (by Microsoft), by far works better than your lumia 830/40 (idk)
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- AnonD-92238
- KAe
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016You see that vicious circle? Users don't want to use Win ph... more" Google even blocked Microsoft's Youtube app because it was way better then theirs and they feared people will migrate to Windows phones because of it. " - really!!!! and people are soooooo stupid that they'll change from their SMARTPHONE to a DUMBphone coz of YouTube only ...! the reason is ads revenue, I used that app on my lumia 520 and I still think it was great with no ads and Google doesn't want to break their revenue, that's why they even banned adblocker apps from Google play.
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- AnonD-477406
- Qgx
- 31 Mar 2016
Strange how some prefer the plastic cutouts to "unsightly" antenna lines while this site sees them as a con. I, for one, don't mind them.
Also, doesn't the Lumia 550 have an OLED display? I thought they had made a big deal about that. I guess I was mistaken.
And you're wrong, there are more than four devices that come with Windows 10 Mobile out of the box. It is not just Lumia devices that run it. Nuans Neo is just example.
The last paragraph before the Performance section looks like it was copied from the Lumia 550 review. It still says "Lumia 550" and "Snapdragon 210."
Overall, I have to wonder why a full review wasn't written for this phone. This essentially is the time-saver edition. I would quite like to see audio tests and such. It seems to be a solid phone, and it is absolutely gorgeous. My only qualms with it is the large bezels on the front and the lack of wireless charging. Oh and I guess the small battery is disappointing. The processor is fine, it's the equivalent of the Lumia 640 in most parts and my Lumia 640 runs great on Windows 10 Mobile. And I'm on the Fast Ring of the Insider Program, so it's even more unstable than Threshold was (.164 is very, very nice). It really does look amazing, and it seems like a really solid package. And full Glance Screen support is a big plus, not like the half-Glance Screen the Lumia 640 has. Oh, and Glance Screen has been around longer than any "always-on" display Samsung, LG, or Motorola has done. Oh and the front facing speaker is a big plus too, which was never mentioned.
I do have to agree that the only thing we're missing is a solid mid-ranger. A Lumia 850 with this beautiful design, but a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 2GB of RAM, and Snapdragon 652, USB Type-C, Continuum, Windows Hello, Qi wireless charging, physical camera shutter, Glance Screen, 13MP PureView camera with OIS, thinner bezels...I'd buy it in a second.
This is an interesting comments section as well.
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- Anonymous
- p6y
- 31 Mar 2016
"it seems not all current web technology works in the native browser"
looks like Internet Explorer won't go down quietly
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- AnonD-477406
- Qgx
- 31 Mar 2016
YowYow, 30 Mar 2016can't wait for the full Win10 to be finished, Win10 is doin... moreWindows 10 will never be finished, and that's entirely purposeful. Windows 10 is no longer a product, it's a service. It will be constantly refined and updated, perpetually improved.
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- Anonymous
- J5M
- 31 Mar 2016
"Cortana is another neat feature to have", most countries, Sweden..., do not have Cortana at all ( and no Quiet-hours because it needs Cortana)!
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- Anonymous
- tx4
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016You see that vicious circle? Users don't want to use Win ph... more
why should he support ms by buying their phones? microsoft dont serve him better than google.
google map and google now also almost completely supports my country. but ms dont care about that, cortana sucks, ms map is incomplete.
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- AnonD-513766
- tDM
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016He was talking about phones in the same price range. And a... moreJokes on you
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- Anonymous
- pv@
- 31 Mar 2016
AnonD-234961, 31 Mar 2016Developers got lazy ? Stupidest comment of the year. Dev... moreThank you for trying to look bright.
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- AnonD-234961
- 95j
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016It's not MS's fault for the lack of apps. Developers just g... moreDevelopers got lazy ? Stupidest comment of the year.
Developers work for return on investment. No one develops on a ghost platform if there is no one to buy the apps.
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- BossMS
- v3F
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016You see that vicious circle? Users don't want to use Win ph... moreHey--Google was my favorite~
But one thing: "not enough people" using Win phones. Was right!
Not even Avast want to develope more updated version for Windows Phone.....
At least for now.
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- Anonymous
- pv@
- 31 Mar 2016
Anonymous, 31 Mar 2016developers got lazy because most people dont want to use wi... moreYou see that vicious circle? Users don't want to use Win phones because some apps are not present in the store; developers don't want to create those apps because there are "not enough people" using Win phones.
Also, Google is not likely to develop their apps for Windows phone. Google constantly tries to bring the Windows platform down or at least try keep it from growing. Anyway, except for Youtube and Maps, Google doesn't offer anything interesting really. Their email, calendar, docs, drive, hangouts services don't offer any really useful features like Microsoft's services do and they feel real clunky when you use them. They are also many years behind Microsoft in terms of user interface, user experience and ease of use. (but are trying to catch up to Microsoft now, by copying the flat interface and simple design language)
Besides these, Google even blocked Microsoft's Youtube app because it was way better then theirs and they feared people will migrate to Windows phones because of it. But that doesn't matter now, as 3rd party apps are better than Google's own Youtube app on their own Android OS. You don't have to worry about Youtube ads when using Win phones. Youtube apps keep playing even when the phone is locked. You can even open Youtube in Edge, start playing a song and then either minimize Edge and work with other apps or you can pop up a new tab and browse other content - all while the video and sound are still playing in the background.
Transfer music from PC to phone? No cables required. Just save your music file to OneDrive and they will appear on your phone's music player.
And many more other features.