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Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE and Microsoft Band 1 (Try the Tech) Part 1

Fellwalker
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Wow. It's orange. That's bright. "I wouldn't lose that in my handbag" said my wife.

2015-10-12 13.50.52.jpg2015-10-12 13.51.40.jpg

So I asked her to set the phone up. The first problem was getting the back off because there doesn't seem to be a gap between the front and back to get a fingernail in. Managed to get this eventually but getting the SIM card the right way round was awkward as well, until she saw the symbol.

 

Then it is a case of plugging in the phone, seeing it has around 65% battery and setting it up there and then. 2015-10-12 13.59.07.jpg The keyboard is a difficult as the standard Google one because you have to toggle between letters and numbers and special characters.

 

Once connected to the Wi-Fi, and after setting the correct time and date the phone enforces an update to 8.1. That takes a little while as it has to update all the apps to fit.

 

 2015-10-12 14.14.39.jpg2015-10-12 14.16.54.jpg2015-10-12 14.19.03.jpg

 

Out of the box, the home screen spreads over two vertical pages, with fitbit but not Microsoft Health.  There are tiles for Lumia help + tips (does a real man need instructions?) and for "Get started".  Must have a look at them some time.

2015-10-12 14.06.34.jpg  2015-10-12 14.06.53.jpg

 

 

Microsoft band

Magnetic connector for charging. Wow, why don't they all do this? So much easier than my wife's Garmin which has a click in holder that has to be just right to connect.  It switches on and asks to confirm English.

Damn. She set it as English US. Now how do I sort that out? That appears to be all it wants.

 

She's given up as the band is much too loose on her wrist, flopping about all over the place.

 

Back to the phone, and installed Microsoft Health which asks for height and weight filling in everything else from my Microsoft account. Then open Health, switch Bluetooth on and it goes through pairing with the band. find an update which have to be copied across to the band which has now been rebooted

"Your band is good to go"

 2015-10-12 O2 linking the band.jpg

Sadly that is only the update. Almost there! it says on the band, whilst the app is now getting me all set up. Then the phone screen went dark, leaving only the time and date.  The phone screen timed out and went to sleep! When brought to life "something went wrong". Reopen the app and it continues, soon getting set up fully.

 

The band is only just small enough for me, a 6 foot bloke. Must be the office jobs I've always worked at, give you thin wrists. Maybe I need to work out first?   Now I understand the comments that have been made and the reason that the 2nd version is more shaped and flexible (according to the recent launch video).

MY WIFE HAS JUST POINTED OUT THAT THE BAND IS A LARGE! I'd never known it came in sizes.  Sadly I think some of the later results it has given me will be affected by the loose fit.

 

 

It is a strange feeling having not worn a watch for 5 years. With the display on the outside of my wrist I'm already getting a crick in my neck, but then I suppose my ability to read sideways and upside down will come into its own once set up and on the go.  I've unclipped, spun it round and now wear it facing inwards.  That seems to be the best way to go (and later when I look up instructions, it is the way it must be for the golf app to work).

 

Lumia 640

Installed Roboform, my password manager since Windows mobile 6 days.

Installed Flickr Central, as there is no Flickr app from Yahoo.

Found the O2 app section, so installed My O2. I wish Roboform would fill in the app sign ons, like it sometimes does in Android, but I suppose it is only the once. So how do I flick between apps to get my O2 sign in and password? I seem to remember you flick from somewhere. The top? No, that tells me from the bottom. No that reminds me that I should flick up from the bottom. That is what I am doing that gives me this message, you stupid phone.  Eventually I realise that this is merely to show the navigation keys.  One flick and they show, another flick and they disappear.

 

Ok, so it's press and hold the back key to get a carousel of the phone's running apps.  Don't really like this display, as I can only see one app at a time.  Well, at least it is quite quick, easy to scroll through and open or close a particular app.  Now that I have a few apps on there, I am struck by the vibrance of the screen.

 

I do like the copy and paste, it works so much better than Android. Even the selection toggles seem to work. Double tapping to select a word fits with double left clicking on the pc that I've been doing for years.

I can swipe up from the numbers key to touch the @, and then the letters are shown again. Nicely done.  UPDATE THURSDAY.  I am no longer sure about this.  It seems that a single tap selects a word by default, and it is xxxx dificult to select a space to add a word that you missed out.  I have found a frequent need to do that because I am used to swiping quickly and not needing to check what is typed; the Microsoft word recognition is very good, but not the same, and often it seems to drop words or decide two swipes were one word. 

 

Talking of double tap, great way to bring the phone to life.

 

I've now set up the O2 app.  Bother, I'd forgotten that my MyO2 sign on is for my contract phone, so it doesn't cover this one. And you can't get contract and payg on the same MyO2.  Never mind, send a text saying "balance" to 20202 and it confirms my PAYG SIM usage and balance.

 

Whilst swapping between apps, copying and pasting from Roboform, I've pressed back a couple of times and the phone is now just showing "resuming...".   It's confused my poor Roboform which I've had to close. It reopened ok.

 

2015-10-12 15.12.07.jpgI actually looked behind the tile showing help +tips, which led me to songs on the go, which made me look at data roaming.

 

There is an update to the User Guide, only 5MB so that is another download.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are now two notifications vying for my attention.

  • One needed to reboot to update movement information. OK. Done.
  • The other needs to restart due to something with the device hub. OK. But it didn't reboot. It offers to connect to my Sony bravia TV, but no pin appears on the TV so I'll have to try that later. I'm guessing it's because swmbo is watching a recorded program from the youview box.

 

Back to settings. Let's try to set quiet times. It has launched Cortana who wants to to know what to call me. Er, I've done all this on my windows 10 laptop, signed in to my Microsoft account, so why can't she remember me? Turns out she is responsible for quiet times and a whole lot more.

 

Opened OneDrive. It quickly loads thumbnails of all my files; I've used it from my PC before.

 

Opened OneNote. It syncs to my OneDrive, including the note I've started on my Android phone about the 640 LTE.

Yep, it syncs. Strangely, now typing on OneNote in the Lumia, the keyboard is completely different to what it was outside of OneNote. Ah ha! It seems to be because I've now enabled Cortana. There isn't a Cortana emoticon, and when I ask her she hasn't thought about it.  I'd put an emoticon in here, but lithium forum software has dreadful ones.  I would be embarassed to use them; they haven't improved since I first saw them years ago.

 

In OneNote on windows phone I think I prefer the action icons at the bottom, where they are easier to reach than in android.

 

I thought I might include a screenshot, and was prompted to install Office Lens. Brilliant app, I've used it on my Nexus 5. I'm going to run out of space; this phone is a measly 8GB.  Or I'll have to repurpose a micro SD card from my camera.

 

Oh I do love the double tap to select. I swiped a word wrongly, and normally have to go back, curse because the word I wanted wasn't there, then delete and rewrite. I see that when I select a word, it then gives me a wider selection of alternate words to use. Utterly brilliant.

 

 

  • Standard Microsoft Windows Phone keyboard.2015-10-12 16.35.58.png

Too tall. I'm having to stretch to reach the letters.

 

Standard Google Android keyboard - ugh.

 

 

2015-10-12 16.34.53.pngMy preferred SwiftKey has a number row,   an arrow row and long presses for the most used symbols. Just wonderful.

 

 

 

                              Standard Microsoft is better than standard Android2015-10-12 O2 Standard Microsoft keyboard.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued to install and update stuff

Here maps needed me to log in as I had set it up with an account that wasn't Microsoft.

It has updates to install so I'm back on the Nexus tyoing this review. Ye gods and little fishes. I'd forgotten (again) how I hate the standard Google keyboard.

*** I need to find a Microsoft Windows phone keyboard to match or exceed SwiftKey. On Windows mobile 6.5, I had it with the then HTC HD2 sense keyboard. Still unbeaten.

 

Back to the 640 LTE. I LOVE THAT DOUBLE TAP TO WAKE THE PHONE!

 

 

Microsoft Band

I tried to go for a walk to test the band, but it started hoying it down with rain. Not fun, so I gave up on that idea. Could I get my anorak off whilst wearing the band? No. It's just too big. I had to remove the band first.

 

Then it stopped raining, so I went out. 5.36km in 1h 07, with stops for photographs. In the dark. Unfortunately about as far out as I got, it rained so I had to hide the phone and take an occasional photo between showers.

 WP_20151012_20_27_50_Pro.jpg

I've got the data back into Microsoft Health, so I can look at that later.

 

Microsoft 640 - OneNote

I had thought that syncing things would be easy, but it doesn't quite work like that. I've got Windows 10, but it had problems with OneDrive early on, and most of my folders became detached from me as owner. Currently OneNote 2007 is telling me I haven't synced for 111 days and cannot do so now. Sorted - sub folders had lost my ownership, which I have now recovered.

Luckily the modern app for OneNote does sync to the new stuff, but it cannot seem to see the old OneNotes that are in my OneDrive.

 

At this point I threw in the towel and went to bed.  Later I discovered that my full version of OneNote 2007 is obsolete, and has a different format to later ones.  The OneNote app cannot read them - you need a full version of OneNote 2010 or 2016 to open and convert them.  Pah! The free Evernote has just opened them perfectly easily and converted them beautifully.  Microsoft need to get real, and include a converter for free without the fuss of having to install a trial version, convert everything and uninstall it.

 

I made the mistake of using formatting in my OneNote notes - so when I copied them in here, it just went haywire.  The first time I tried, I got about half way through editing what I had input, and when I tried a preview, and it just stopped responding, told me

Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and send the message when you are satisfied.

Bxxxxxy Lithium forums software.  Back to the drawing board, try again another day.

 

So far

 

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE.  Lovely feel, great screen in terms of size and looks; the content really shines.  Seems quick and smooth.  Missing an app I do use, but there is an alternative.

Microsoft Band v1.  Clunky, chunky, but bright display, seems pretty intuitive. Easy to use and tracked me well. On day One I am already looking at steps taken!

 

If you found this review useful you might also like Microsoft Lumia 640LTE camera Review - by an Android user (Try The Tech) - Part 2

 

Or Microsoft Band One & MS Health Review - by an Android user (Try The Tech) Part 3

14 Comments
Cleoriff
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A good review @Fellwalker

It's interesting to read the different experiences from the three people trialling these devices this month.

By the way not sure if this works for you but I often get the message you mentioned...

Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid

When that happens I press post again....and it works on the second attempt...Maybe worth a try?

Anonymous
Not applicable

I have the Lumia 640 lte, my 1st smartphone bought in May as my contract with O2 was up for renewal & I wanted a bigger screen

I'm pleased that you've stated that it has a good feel as I am happy it feels good in my hand

Also I woun't loose the ORANGE coloure phone in my handbags, which tend to be lined in black, a comment your vsoh made lolz

looking forward to further posts from you @Fellwalker

jonsie
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A nice balanced and impartial review @Fellwalker Well laid out and presented slight_smile 

Daddydoink
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Good review and from your own perspective - nice work, @Fellwalker.  Quite enjoyed your viewpoints on the bandsizing, too.

Fellwalker
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@Cleoriff it usually works for me too - just that day it didn't, and I ended up with a blank space into which I couldn't even paste or type anything, so I lost half an hour's input.  Back buton didn't get back to anything earlier.  SOmetimes the forum offers to bring back something it saved earlier, but that didn't happen.  I thhink the Gremlins were just out to get me that day.

Cleoriff
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Oh what a shame @Fellwalker. I thought I may just have solved a technical problem. It would have been one of the few Happy Dance

jonsie
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I often have this problem but usually when sending a long pm to a friend. It gets to the stage where I lose it and can't be assed to rewrite it....

Fellwalker
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@jonsie I tend to use Firefox on my PC, and have a great add-in called Lazarus:Form recovery, which can recover what you have typed into forms.  It is amazing, doing auto saves every so often, and has saved me from swearing a multitude of times.  Unfortunately in this instance, it didn't help becasue nothing would allow me to paste into the empty box.

The other thing that can help is a PC program called Ditto which acts like a continual clipboard, so if you copy something it is saved, and can be pasted later, even after a reboot.

For bot, just remember to clear them out from time to time (or use settings so that data doesn't hang around unecessarily).

jonsie
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Very useful @Fellwalker....I think some of my friends here may think I'm being a little ignorant at times with the rewritten short replies but it's just that most times I'm with the missus and she doesn't take kindly to me being engrossed in spending my time writing on the tablet. 'Who you chat' with is the usual question ....very untrusting Thai ladies....LOL

Cleoriff
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Those last 3 pictures are beautiful. Thanks for including them all though.....a review is incomplete without pictures in my opinion. Adds so much more.

Fellwalker
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Thanks.  I do take rather a lot of them.  In the film days I got told off about it.  Now it is digital, it is not so expensive.

Fellwalker
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Considering moving from an Android phone, the thing that most gets mentioned is the apps.  I'd always thought that Windows Phone had pretty much caught up, but I may be wrong.  Some are superb, some are rather poor imitations.

 

The small on board memory is beginning to get frustrating. Apps are constantly being closed in the background. I'm noticing lag when I touch the back button and nothing happens. I think I've missed it so touch it again, and then it goes back twice.

I'm down to 2.16GB free, of only 7.28 total. It would probably be better with an SD card, but I don't have a spare. Must look again.  I found a spare 16GB card that I can spare for the time of this review. 

It is easy to choose where apps, music, photos or downloads are stored. That is better than Android which needs some of the app stored on the phone memory.  So far after installing a dozen additional apps, it has performed seamlessly; no need to worry about whether there is enough memory in one part or the other - the phone operating system just sorts it out.

 

The phone still runs smoothly, for the most part. Occasional hiccoughs when I start something then change my mind and try to back out.  Some web sites don't work QUITE right.

 

Screen

The Microsoft Lumia 640 has a lovely looking screen, clear, crisp, good colours. I find the brightness settings of low, medium and high rather limiting. In a dark or unlit room, it is too bright. If I was keeping it I'd be looking for something like Lux that automatically dims the screen even more than normal settings allow.  So far it has been bright enough outside - though it is late autumn so we are not in the brightest part of the year.

 

The phone has an FM tuner, but it requires a headset which acts as the antenna.  Luckily I have an old one so I have been able to listen to it.  Not a bad signal strength.  Some stations excellent, better when I use a combined earphone/microphone headset from my old HTC phone.  Once a headset is plugged in, you can then use the speaker.

 

SurprisedThe speaker is a tiny round hole on the back of the phone.  It can easily be covered up, and then it loses all the volume

 

I have tried to be as accurate as I can be in the following assessments of apps between the platforms.  If I have made a mistake, I welcome corrections.  If you disagree about an interpretation - good for you - these are only MY feelings bsed on how I use the apps.

 

Apps

Amazon Kindle

looks much cleaner, but desperately lacking. Amazon are IMHO pretty much rubbish in usability. Here in Windows, all I can get is a list of

  1. Recent books
  2. All books on the device or
  3. "archived items"

which is actually all of my 270 books including new books I just haven't downloaded yet. The only choice in listing these to scroll through is by author or title. No search available. No access to the tags I've set in the android app to show I've read a book already, and my personal rating. It's not far off unusable.

The windows app is ©2013 version 2.0.0.7 whereas the android version is ©2010-2015 version 4.16.0.75.

 

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE

wp_ss_20151013_0004.pngwp_ss_20151019_0008.pngwp_ss_20151013_0005.pngwp_ss_20151013_0006.pngwp_ss_20151013_0007.png

 

LG Nexus 5

2015-10-13 21.53.06.png2015-10-19 14.07.16.png2015-10-13 22.02.12.png2015-10-13 22.02.36.png2015-10-13 22.02.42.png

 

and Android also has a huge set of options about how books are sorted, or added to collections

2015-10-19 14.07.22.png2015-10-19 14.07.42.png

 

RSS Reader

I've been hooked on NewsBlur in Android since Google abandoned their reader. The developer has not started on a Windows version but there is hope as he's got a windows phone recently. The best I've found is Feed Reader Free, which uses the NewsBlur API to pull in its feeds and sync. It isn't as good, but seems to be highlighting an issue with Windows phone rather than necessarily the app. The headings are all BIG and take up space. Mind you, that is why I've not upgraded android beyond 4.4.4 as I find Lollipop and Marshmallow to be to pretty at the expense of usable.

 

Using similar settings, my Nexus 5 displays 4 stories to the 640's 2 or 3.

2015-10-13 20.48.49.png2015-10-13 22.21.23.png            

wp_ss_20151013_0009.pngwp_ss_20151013_0012.png

 

BBC News

Not available on Windows Phone - you have to read on the web page, which means you need a good data connection.  That isn't consistently possible round Durham - though we have had a big jump in service with 4G recently arrived which has helped with a few of the formerly dead spots.

 

 

Flickr

Not available - but there is Flickr Central, which works at least as well.

 

MetOffice

OMG.  What have they done.  This really highlights the differing design of Android and Windows.  The windows version is awful, showing 3 hours of forecast only, though it does seem to refresh more often.

Nexus - lots of info, very clear which day is which

2015-10-19 15.36.47.png2015-10-19 15.36.55.png2015-10-19 15.37.21.png

Lumia 640 - confused; no dividers between the days

wp_ss_20151019_0009.pngwp_ss_20151019_0010.pngwp_ss_20151019_0011.png

Nexus 5 too zoomed out 2015-10-19 15.37.37.png2015-10-19 15.38.05.png2015-10-19 15.39.16.png2015-10-19 15.39.47.png

 

Lumia 640 - better use of the screen

wp_ss_20151019_0012.pngwp_ss_20151019_0013.pngwp_ss_20151019_0016.pngwp_ss_20151019_0015.png

and the wind speeds vary quite a bit between the two OSs- perhaps because the Android updated at 1400 and the Windows at 16:39

 

wp_ss_20151019_0017.png

 

And there is something utterly weird if you press the eye icon.  You get a set of 3 panels hanging in the air in 3D, with the camera view behind.  I have no idea what this is all about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roboform - password manager

It is OK, but it is not as good as Android or desktop Windows.  In major part, that is down to the way Windows phone 8.1 works - it does not allow add-ons for browsers or apps at all.  It hasn't been updated recently either, falling behind the Android version.

  • Android version 4.2.8 dated 31 August 2015
  • Windows desktop programme version 7.9.16.7 dated 17 September 2015
  • Windows desktop modern app 2.2.0
  • Windows phone version 2.0.4 dated 13 February 2015.  This highlights the sad fact that up to now there have not been enough windows phones around, so there is not the impetus for developers to develop.

 

Open Street Maps - OSMAnd+

gives offline access to the full set of Open Street Maps, including POIs.  I can sign in to my OSM account, upload bugs and view others.  I can navigate using it, with turn by turn verbal instructions, and create tracklogs.

The Windows phone alternatives are few, and there isn't one that gives the full package.  The best I've found is Map Factor, which allows map downloads, search for address or POI, and routing, with turn by turn spoken navigation.  Navicomputer only displays maps and lets you create tracklogs.  It isn't a turn by turn routing app.  A routing alternative might be Vectorial Map which lets me download by country, but needs payment before I can do anything more than look at the maps.

 

Apps that Seem to work very much the same

-- even if the layout is different and the menus are completely different

  • BBC iPlay, iPlayer Radio, Sport
  • BT Wi-Fi
  • Bus Checker
  • ebay
  • Evernote
  • Excel, OneNote, Word
  • The excellent Office lens
  • Facebook - I hope it doesn't use as much battery life as it does in Android.  I have actually taken it OFF my Nexus 5 because I got fed up with it being the major culprit of battery use.
  • FreeCaddie (paid for version) - the golf DMD I have used up to now.
  • here maps
  • iPrint&Scan - Brother printer interface
  • Love Clean Streets - a brilliant app for reporting fly-tipping, overgrown paths, damage, potholes, etc.
  • Media Monkey
  • MetOffice
  • MyO2,  My Network, Priority and all your favourites
  • National Rail Enquiries
  • NatWest.  ** Now this is how easy an app should be.  It works so easily in both Android and Windows.  Seamless.
  • the trainline
  • Rightmove
  • RSPB e-guide to British Birds (can't check it is exactly the same as it costs £5.39, but the screen shots are)
  • Rules of Golf - the current version of the PGA rules
  • Shazam
  • Skype
  • Sygic - offline maps and navigation, with lane guidance at junctions
  • Teamviewer
  • Tower defence games - many of them are the same developer, and looking virtually the same
  • TuneIn Radio
  • Twitter
  • VLC media player
  • WhatsApp
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Zinio - A magazine reader.  In some ways better, as it can auto-download new magazines, and auto-delete them after a period.  On Android, it MUST use the phone memory, despite having a huge SD card.  But, it is typical of Windows apps, pretty.

 

Equivalent apps

  • Google maps changes to Here maps
  • Translate - Google translate changes to Microsoft Translate. Both seem to have the ability to translate language from photos of signs.
  • Tube map London
  • Wikipedia - there is a very modern-app tile-designed interface in Wikipedia by Rudy Huyn. It seems to work well and is free, in keeping with the WIkipedia foundation's concept.
  • Various games such as Solitaire, Scrabble-like games, Sudoku (though I cannot find the one that I used to use on Windows Mobile 6.5.)

 

 

Not available

(apps I actually USE rather than just have installed!)

** What surprises me is that as I have searched for apps, I have found some with a very similar or identical name, and logo, but they are written by someone altogether different, and are NOT the official app.  I am surprised that the trademark owners have not made them change the logo  at the very least.**

  • BBC News - yes I know I have already mentioned it, but I do use it daily
  • BBC Weather
  • Browsers - there is a very limited selection of browsers.
  • Blackvue - viewer software for my dashcam.
  • Booking.com
  • Chrome
  • Chronica - a brilliant little app that consolidates wikipedia information into a big timeline that allows you to compare events across the world at the same time - from deep history to date.
  • EasyJet - only has a flight checker.  Cannot book or get boarding passes on the Windows phone
  • Firefox. My favourite browser and what I use on my PC.
  • Gmail
  • Goodsync - what I use for backups, and transferring files. I have it on 2 Windows PCs, 2 Android devices. 
  • Panasonic image app - for remote controlling my Lumix TZ60 camera.
  • Lexmark mobile printing
  • McAfee security
  • OMN - Anquet Map Navigator .  DAMN.  I've paid a lot to get full UK OS maps downloaded to my devices.
  • OVO Energy, the app I use to report my monthly Gas and Electric usage.
  • Pathwatch, the Ramblers app for their UK wide survey of footpaths
  • Volvo Manual - a downloaded pdf will have to do.
  • Youtube - the original apparently excellent app was withdrawn due to action by Google preventing Microsoft from linking in to its main site.
  • Youview - the Android app lets me browse TV now and for 7 days, and set recordings on my set-top box.

 

 The big question I keep asking myself is whether there is enough positive to overcome the app shortfalls.  After all, 2 years ago, I didn't have an Android phone, so I didn't have half of these apps.  The old Windows Mobile only had limited RAM of something like 256MB, by design of the OS; I remember that when Sygic changed their interface, they stopped supporting Windows Mobile because it did not have enough RAM to cope with what they were trying to do - but Android didn't have any artificial limit in it.

 

As at Monday night, I don't know.  It may be that I will end up with a Windows 10 PC, a Windows phone, and an Android tablet for the apps I can't do without.  After all, I do actually read most of the RSS feeds on the tablet, the next most on the PC and a few on the phone.

What I have done is swapped the PAYG SIM I bought for the test out, and put my own proper SIM into the Microsoft phone.  I'll see over week two if I can live with it!

Fellwalker
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Two weeks on and what are my overall feelings about the Lumia 640?

 

It is a lovely mid-range phone with a beautiful screen and an easy interface.  The camera works well, with reasonable low light performance.  I love that it still has a replaceable battery, and how seamlessly the SD card works and allows additional storage for apps and data.   Cortana works very well, and is easier than typing.  The core apps like messaging, email and Web work very well indeed. 

 

I already had my contacts in Microsoft since starting out with Outlook years ago on my PC since before some of my readers were born!  Smiley MadRANT COMMENCES: For the last two years I've had to be Google on mobile because Microsoft broke my upgrade route by moving from Windows mobile 6.5 to phone 7, making ALL of my apps and investment in the system obsolete. It was without doubt the darkest moment in my technology life. Worse than the loss of DRDOS,  worse than losing Lotus 123,  as bad as Psion giving up. All the developers who'd made great mobile apps jumped to Android as it worked similarly. Ah well. :RANT ENDS: slight_smile

 

Anyway, I started that rant meaning to say that Outlook on the phone connected very easily to my Google calendar and contacts. It shows appointments alongside its own versions,  and merges duplicate contacts. In addition it has to-dos.

 

Apps like WhatsApp and Facebook and Facebook Messenger and Twitter work very well.  The maps (here maps)  are good and routing is fine.

 

TuGo worked, BT wifi worked. I never could connect to the O2 wifi in Debenhams  / Costa, but then again I have never done so on any of my Nexi.

 

Sadly I've become dependant on a few Android apps that don't have windows phone equivalents.  Even so, I am tempted.  I've written a full post on what worked and what didn't in terms of apps. https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-Feedback/Android-user-Microsoft-Lumia-640-LTE-and-Microsof... I also tend to have lots of things open and click between them,  but with only 1GB of RAM,  the phone kept closing apps, and returning to a Web page always refreshed it.

 

Many apps have windows alternatives, and they work as well or better, like the one for Flickr.

 

So, as a phone for phoning, texting and social use, it is excellent. I have recommended it to my wife in place of her hand-me-down nexus 4. It is smoother , with a better screen and a much better battery. Even I could sometimes eke two days out of it.

 

For a power user, which is how is describe myself, it is close but  the app gap is frustrating. The closing of apps in the background was frustrating.  The recently announced 950 and 950XL would overcome any and all issues I have with the basic hardware of this phone.  I will keep watching, as on balance I'd prefer one system,  and there is no way Android comes close to what I do in Windows proper.

 

The only thing that currently leaves me in a dilemma is how to replace my Nexus 5.  I'm not that keen on Android Marshmallow. I do not trust its poor attempt to pretend that it is giving you control over the personal information that apps can access. But that is for another forum, and in any case Windows is no better.  If you have read John McAfee's recent comments about web safety, and data leakage and personal privacy control, you'd be worried about the demise of the human race.  He sold the eponymous anti-virus software to IBM years ago, and now lets off steam whenever he can.  I really don't like Apple, Blackberry is evensmaller than Windows with less apps, and Cyanogen phones are all low spec. I had high hopes of Ubuntu and backed their crowd sourced phone, but it missed its target and what has been released isn't a patch on that vision.

 

I couldn't have written this review without the Try the Tech scheme. Thanks to O2 for providing the devices, and to Tony who runs it as well as responding to forum comments. He always seems to be there and replying to private messages whatever time or day it is. Thanks Tony.

 

Thanks to the regulars on the forum for their encouragement. I don't think posters generally realise that this is a community forum, and without the hard work of the mods, it would fail.

jonsie
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Loved the review but one feels bowdowness doth not suit thee well sire....I'm joking wink

Nice job mate ☺