Microsoft already sells a few phones that ship with Windows 10 Mobile software, but if the $549 starting price for the Lumia 950 line of phone seems a bit steep, now there’s a cheaper option.
The Microsoft Lumia 550 launches today in select markets for $139.
The phone will initially be available in Europe, but Microsoft plans to bring its most affordable Windows 10 smartphone to additional regions in the next few weeks.
So what do you get for $139? The phone has a 4.7 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a microSD card slot for up to 200Gb of removable storage.
There’s a 5MP camera on the back with an LED flash and support for auto-focus, and a fixed focus 2MP front-facing camera. The phone also features a 2,100 mAh removable battery.
It supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, and 4G LTE networks, features a nano SIM card slot and micro USB connector.
Microsoft offers the Lumia 550 in black or white.
via Microsoft
139$ microsoft phone – removable battery
2600$ i7 512gb ssd surface pro 4 2 in 1 – non replaceable battery imposible to open and repair or upgrade – simply trash it once battery is ruined
absurd
Lumia 550 thickness: 9.9mm
Surface Pro 4 thickness: 8.45mm
Yes it is a problem, but it’s not just MS – non-removable batteries seems pretty universal for ultra-portable tablet/laptops. Supposedly being non-removable allows extra flexibility to pack more into a given volume (laptops that do have removable batteries tend to be the less portable ones). On a dirt cheap phone, there’s less need to impress or be as thin. Even among phones, it’s not uncommon that the more expensive ones have the non-removable batteries. It’s not just Microsoft. Also consider that the kinds of people who spend lots of money on tech are probably upgrading more frequently anyway…
Personally this is one of the reasons I tend to go for the lower cost ultra-portable laptops/2-in-1s, as I know its lifespan is limited by the battery.
I got the 640 for $40 on sale and the 640 is better in my opinion.
I got the 640 for $29 at Best Buy on Black Friday, and I’m staggered by how good this thing is with Windows 10 Mobile on it. The camera is fairly impressive considering the price, but if it had a flagship-grade camera there wouldn’t be much reason for anything more expensive!
I got it a day before the price drop to $29 on best buy and I was too lazy to return it or do a price adjustment. I’m using it as my main phone currently.
Are you running Windows 10 on it yet? MS says that it’s supposed to get the official update sometime this December, but there’s no way to know if AT&T won’t delay the rollout to AT&T devices indefinitely. If you’re not keen on waiting, then you should get the Windows Insiders app and update it through that.
I am still using the software that came with the phone. My 640 is running on T-Mobile. Thanks for the Windows Insider Tip. I might try that when I get the chance
I don’t think Windows 10 is available for the 640? Prove me wrong… Please 🙂
It is available to anyone who joins the Windows Insider program. Anyone can install it. Just download the Insider app.
While technically it isn’t officially released, the current Insider build is the final one that will be the official release. The only thing missing are a few device specific optimizations to the firmware, which don’t seem to affect the Lumia 640 very much, if at all. Higher end phones may notice that the videos only record mono or stereo audio instead of 5.1 surround sound, and a few other firmware specific tweaks that have yet to be implemented.
In my country (Romania), full retail price for an unlocked 640 is around 150$ (cheaper if you get it on sale), so 550 is too expensive, even if it has W10
doesn’t look like this has anything on the 640.
5mp camera phones should be $20