Microsoft is expected to launch two high-end smartphones in October. They should have high-resolution displays, speedy processors, and some nifty features including the ability to act (a little) like a desktop PC when you connect a mouse, keyboard and touchpad.
But what about folks that don’t want to pay top dollar for a smartphone that runs Windows 10 Mobile software? Word on the street is that a new entry-lev
WM Power User and OneTile have obtained some pictures of the upcoming Lumia 550 and some details about the phone’s hardware. Here’s what we can probably expect:
4.7Â 5.0 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display- Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB of storage + microSD card slot
- 1905 mAh battery
- Black, white, blue, and red color options
In other words, the phone’s expected to be a lot less powerful than the upcoming Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones. But it’ll also be a lot cheaper: prices are expected to start at around $120.
It’s also nice to see that even entry-level phones can have HD displays these days.
Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed any details about the phone yet, so there’s a chance that some of the specs could be wrong. Or even if they’re accurate, there’s still time for Microsoft to make changes before officially unveiling the phone.
What is up with the bizarrely similar comments from Bluesworx and gps_guru below? Weird.
“I’ve had a 635 on T-Mo for over a year. ok, so it’s no Iphone but pretty damn good…”
“I’ve been using the 640 on T-Mo for 6 weeks. sure, it’s not as premium as the Xperia Z3…”
Fwiw, I have a 521 on T-Mo. 🙂
Well, it’s mostly because T-Mobile doesn’t offer the higher end Windows phones. I guess they’re too busy getting everyone on the financing plans. I used to be on Jump 1 (upgrade every 6 months) and I had a LG G Flex, LG G3, and the Sony Xperia Z3. For whatever reason they phased out the Sony’s very quickly and aside from the LG G4, they just push Samsung and Apple iPhones now. Even the HTC lineup isn’t getting much love from T-Mobile stores lately. They didn’t even offer the Lumia 640 in-store, I had to pay to get it shipped to me. I went to 4 different stores and all of the sales guys were like “forget the Lumia, here, look at this Galaxy Note 4 and it’s only $xx/month…”.
I like T-Mobile’s service (I switched from AT&T) and I like Android (I’ve had the Motorola Backflip, Samsung Captivate Glide, and LG Optimus G as well as those listed above) but I figured I would try out the Windows Phone experience since I recently got a Surface 3 and the Lumia 640 will be getting Windows 10 as well (and it was the cheapest way to get out of my Jump contract…). Sadly, T-Mobile stopped offering the Lumia 640 about 3 weeks ago after a measly 5 weeks of availability…
They are on crack if they think they can sell a 210 720p 4.7″ for $120. You can get a LG G2 for $130 these day.
Adding 410 would had added like $5-10 to BOM only and they can charge $140 instead.
You’re talking about the sale price… Guess what, this will get a sale price too!
Many budget Lumias can be had for free with contract, $1 down, or less that $50 with multiple deal options including Pre-Paid, SIM-less, etc… This includes even mid range Lumia’s like the 640, which you can get from Cricket for about $30, or from AT&T for $39.99 with Pre-Paid GoPhone plan, or $49.99 just for the phone and that started with a $179 original list price…
Besides, this is still a while from getting released… The image is just a rendering and not a photo, which means details can still change before final release…
Really, it’s like complaining about the list price of the LG G2 you’re now touting because it was originally listed at $699 and comparing another device that’s under a sale and pretend that’s equivalent… Not!
….
My point still stand. $120 is too much for the specs.
Nope, you never had a point… a sale price is not equivalent to a retail price listing and I already corrected your assumption that the Lumia wouldn’t also have a sales price…
The prices would have to be equivalent, like new for new, product range for product range, etc. but your point was nowhere close to equivalent and ignores that the Lumia, under sales pricing, would be even cheaper than the LG…
While your insistence on this only would indicate you have no real idea how things should actually cost…
Because discounts and sales pricing are not equivalent to actual value of a product. It’s just negotiated pricing that only reflects what kind of deal you can get at any given time and most of those types of deals don’t show up until the product value had already depreciated by either being out for awhile and thus no longer new, or simple stock clearance to help make room for the next product.
While the retail listing are starting points… The LG started at $699… so it did dropped a lot but there are better phones out now at that pricing and newer models coming out to replace it that explain that drop… But this Lumia is new and $120 is entry level for retail price listings and it will only go down from there to very cheap and even free, as I already pointed out.
The $120 is also cheaper than the previous budget phones… The 535 was over $149 when it was first listed, for example and it had even lower specs than this new model…
While, unlucky for you, the pricing between entry and mid range phones are closer than you apparently think they should be but that’s the market right now and not some made up fantasy you’re dreaming about…
Besides, many so called good deal phones just hide their costs in other aspects that you wind up paying for later…
Really, your argument is nothing new and has been applied to all sorts of products over the years… I’ve argued with people who thought Chromebooks were going to drop below $200 overnight shortly after they first came out… It actually took over 5 years…
Even when you can find a good deal, it doesn’t mean the whole market will suddenly change or that it should… Business have to make a lot more than BOM, which doesn’t include any other costs like shipping, warehousing, logistics in general, labor for building the product, marketing, R&D, support costs, etc… So those profit margins have to pay for all of that too and still net the company some sort of profit otherwise it wasn’t worth their time…
So no, you never had a point… not in the real world…
I’ve had a 635 on T-Mo for over a year now, needed something quick and cheap as a 2nd phone(under$100, no contract or monthly charges). Ok so it’s no iPhone, but for the money pretty damn good. Except for a few apps I can’t say I miss it. I no longer worry about losing or breaking an expensive phone. Also I like being able to use a memory card for much of my of music. So an inexpensive Windows phone has worked well for me.
I’ve been using the Lumia 640 on T-Mo for the past 6 weeks and it’s a great little device. Sure, it’s not as premium as the Xperia Z3 that I had before it, but it’s an inexpensive way to try out the Windows Phone ecosystem and I’ll be keeping it around as a Windows 10 test phone when I switch back to Android in the next month or two. I’m excited to see more entry-level Windows phones coming out and hopefully this brings more users onto the platform.