Continuing with their tradition of using Mobile World Congress event as a spring board to launch Lumia devices in the past (the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 at MWC2013 and the ill-fated Nokia X at MWC 2014), the team from Redmond unveiled the 4th generation of Lumia devices today in Barcelona. Unintentionally leaked by Microsoft on the day before launch, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL builds on Microsoft’s strategy on providing the best value for consumers in the mid to lower price tiers.
Though launched with Windows Phone 8.1 (Update 1), the 4th generation of Lumia devices (designated with the number “4” in the model code) has been designed to be fully upgradeable to Microsoft’s next operating system, Windows 10. Comparing the specs of the Lumia 640 to the previous generation Lumia 630, it is evident that Microsoft is aggressively cascading high end features to lower price points. In fact the Lumia 640 is more akin to the Lumia 730 series than the Lumia 630. It brings a 1280×720 screen (versus 800×480 on the 630) , a 8MP rear screen camera (versus a 5 MP camera without flash) and like the recently announced Lumia 435 and Lumia 532, the Lumia 640 will come with 1 GB of RAM (versus 512 MB). This strategy is critical in fending of the stiff challenges from new entrants in the affordable smartphone space such as Techno and WikoMobile.
The Lumia 640 will come with a 2500 mAH battery, several colors including Blue, Orange, Green and Black. It will be available in both single SIM and dual SIM variants. It will be available in April 2015 at the affordable prices (before taxes and subsidies):
- 3G – 139 Euros, 155 US Dollars , KES 14219
- 4G version – 159 Euros, 178 US Dollars, KES 16,265
Microsoft envisions the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL as great devices for enterprise with features such as Office, Outlook OneDrive and Skype. As such, both devices will come with a free 1 year subscription to Office 365. This package will include:
- Office 365 license installable on one PC (Windows or Mac) and one tablet (Android, iOS or Windows)
- 1 Terabyte of online storage on OneDrive
- 60 minutes per month of Skype World.
Specifications
| Lumia 640 | Lumia 630 | Lumia 730 | |
| Pricing | $155 3G, $178 4G | $159 | $260 |
| Design | |||
| Device type | Smart phone | Smart phone | Smart phone |
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim UI | Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim UI | Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim UI |
| Display | |||
| Physical size | 5.0 inches | 4.5 inches | 4.7 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1280 pixels | 480 x 854 pixels | 720 x 1280 pixels |
| Pixel density | 294 ppi | 218 ppi | 312 ppi |
| Technology | IPS LCD | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Touchscreen | Multi-touch | Multi-touch | Multi-touch |
| Features | Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3) | Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3) | Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3) |
| Camera | |||
| Camera | 8.0 megapixels | 5 megapixels | 6.7 megapixels |
| Flash | LED | LED | |
| Camcorder | 1920×1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps) | 1280×720 (720p HD) (30 fps) | 1920×1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps) |
| Features | Video calling | Continuous autofocus, Video sharing | Continuous autofocus, Video sharing |
| Front-facing camera | 1MP megapixels | N/A | 5 megapixels |
| Hardware | |||
| System chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 |
| Processor | Quad core | Quad core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7 | Quad core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7 |
| Graphics processor | Yes | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 |
| System memory | 1024 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM | 1024 MB RAM |
| Built-in storage | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage expansion | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 128 GB |
| Battery | |||
| Capacity | 2500 mAh | 1830 mAh | 2220 mAh |
| Multimedia | |||
| Radio | FM | FM | FM |
| Speakers | Earpiece, Stereo speakers | Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker |
| Internet browsing | |||
| Technology | |||
| GSM | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| UMTS | 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz | 900, 2100 MHz | 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz |
| Data | HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS | HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS | HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, EDGE, GPRS |
| Micro SIM | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple SIM cards | 2 slots | 2 slots | |
| Positioning | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning | A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning |
| Navigation | Turn-by-turn navigation, Voice navigation, Points of interest (POI) | Turn-by-turn navigation, Voice navigation, Points of interest (POI) | Turn-by-turn navigation, Voice navigation, Points of interest (POI) |
| Connectivity | |||
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b, g, n | 802.11 b, g, n | 802.11 b, g, n |
| Mobile hotspot | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Connector | microUSB | microUSB | microUSB |
| Features | Mass storage device, USB charging | Mass storage device, USB charging | Mass storage device, USB charging |
| Other | NFC, Computer sync, OTA sync | NFC, Computer sync, OTA sync | NFC, Computer sync, OTA sync |
| Other features | |||
| Notifications | Service lights, Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | Music ringtones (MP3, WAV), Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | Service lights, Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone |
| Additional microphone(s) | Yes | for Noise cancellation | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer | Accelerometer | Accelerometer, Compass |
| Other | Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording, TTY/TDD |
| Availability | |||
| Officially announced | 2-Mar-15 | 2-Apr-14 | 4-Sep-14 |
