Microsoft Lumia 640 5 inch SIM-Free unlocked 8 GB Smartphone - Black

As a student who is unable to stretch to the high price range of most mainstream smartphones, this phone is just a godsend for me.I can’t say I know everything about the technology behind this phone, but from a usuability point of view it is absolutely brilliant. Most of the functions on the phone are so intuitive that I was using it with ease within minutes of turning it on. Although I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this phone to anybody, it is perfect for people who also possess other appliances with a Windows operating system. One of the main benefits of this is OneDrive, which allows you to automatically upload your photos, videos and documents to the cloud, so you can instantly access them on any appliance. This can make life a lot simpler if you are working on a project! The Windows 8.1 system installed on the phone is also extremely well suited to the touchscreen and the live tiles on the Start screen make it easy to organise everything efficiently. The personal assistant, Cortana, is also extremely useful and can be quite entertaining too if you want to ask it random questions (not that I would ever admit to such a thing). As an added bonus, I have been told that there will be a free upgrade available to Windows 10 as soon as the smartphone download becomes available.The quality of the phone itself is great and it looks good, so I am not embarrassed to use it when I’m out and about. In the months since I started using it, it has proven itself to be pretty durable too, which is very important thing in day-to-day life. The resolution of the display is excellent, so I have no trouble viewing images, watching videos or playing games. The phone’s 8MP rear-facing camera (with flash) takes some fantastic quality images for a smartphone, with the 1MP front-facing camera taking far more basic, but still functional quality pictures (perfect for selfie addicts).One of the most important things to me when I was choosing a new phone was that I wanted to easily connect to the modern world: using social media, email, online shops and other apps on the go. This phone allows me to do pretty much everything I want to do at the touch of a button, with almost all of the app biggies available (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Skype etc). As this is still a very new range of phones, there are still one or two companies that haven’t released versions of their apps for it yet (the most notable being Snapchat), but it’s likely as the popularity of these phones continues to grow that these last few stragglers will be releasing versions very soon.If you’re looking for a reasonably priced smartphone which is nonetheless extremely fun to use and ticks all the boxes in today’s world, then this is definitely the one for you. Just a warning though, use with caution – it can be extremely addictive!! :DWeezy xx

Background:I've been using Android phones and tablets for over 6 years. My last phone was a Samsung Galaxy Note, which was stolen and could not be located with Samsung's online phone locator.Security and regular system updates were important factors in the choice of my next phone. Lack of system updates are a major problem for Android devices. My Galaxy Note stopped receiving updates after just over a year, and my LG G-Pad tablet still hasn't received the promised Lollipop update despite still being a flagship device. Sure, I could get a Google branded Nexus, but I want the capability to upgrade my phones memory.So when Microsoft announced the new Windows phone range with updates "for the lifetime of the device" I did my research on the new Windows Phone features and ultimately bought this phone.Specifications: You can find the specifications on Microsoft's website. http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/mobile/phone/lumia640/specifications/Build & hardware features: The Lumia 640 is a well built phone, no creaks, a sharp screen clearly visible in sunlight that is also great for reading. Apps, downloads and podcasts can be installed to the micro SD card. The design is well thought out - the back cover contains the power & volume buttons and wraps around the sides up to the scratch-proof glass. When the cover does get worn over time, I expect to simply replace it and make the phone look new again.Software: Windows has connected with everything around it & sets things up for me seamlessly. The phone is responsive, the apps open fast, and the Windows keyboard is far better than any Android or iOS device I have used.I like how little work it takes to get things done. For example, screen mirroring to my Sony smart TV works wonderfully, the phone found my TV and projected the screen in seconds. With Android this was an inconsistent experience that was different for each manufacturer and did not always work. Another nice feature is WiFi sensing that automatically turns off cellular data when I am within range of my home's WiFi signal.I can work with Office documents, OneNote stores all my daily notes, OneDrive backs up my photos and everything shows up on my laptop. I also discovered some useful apps Microsoft has created that have made my life easier - a Shopping List, a Conversion app, a Translator app, a Level app for my DIY work.Office Lens is a gem, it does a great job scanning, trimming and brightening up business cards, whiteboards & medical receipts and uploads them to OneDrive. The Windows Store also has apps for the most widely used online services - Kindle, LinkedIn, DropBox, YouTube, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Twitter, Facebook, Angry Birds and many more.Cortana is a Siri-like app that I keep using regularly. I can speak to it and ask it to "Add reminder for 9:00 pm movie" and it will create a reminder on my calendar. Similarly, I can ask it to "Create an alarm for 6am" or "Divide 98765 by 234". I'm quite impressed with it.For mapping the phone uses Here Maps. I used it this weekend for a trip to the mountains and found the maps accurate, it was easy to download map data for offline use. I was impressed to see the phone found my location in seconds.Security: Once I signed in to the phone with a Microsoft account (a Hotmail/Live ID), I could manage my phone's security online. The Lumia 640 shows up on my online account's Devices list which lets me remotely wipe, lock and ring the phone. This service is free and is provided directly by Microsoft rather than an OEM. I was impressed to see the ring feature worked even without entering the phone number, which is useful if someone steals the phone and changes the SIM card. I am looking forward to an upcoming update which will add encryption, and reset protection which prevents a thief from restoring the phone to factory defaults.Software Updates: The phone has already updated itself to the latest build (8.10.15127.138), Microsoft has stated that the 640 and 640XL will be amongst the first to receive Windows 10.Cons: The Here maps application downloads all map data to the phone's main memory. It's not too large, around 700 MB, but I could not find a way to move it to the micro SD card. I hope this is something Microsoft can fix in a future update.Summary: The Microsoft Lumia 640 has far exceeded my expectations. My wife currently uses an Android phone and was so impressed with my Windows Phone that she wants to get one for herself as well!Thanks for reading.------ Update 15th July 2015 -------I discovered I can ask Cortana to open my apps and play my music collection. For example, I press on the search icon & say "Play Bjork All is full of love", and the song starts playing. To pause playback, I say "Stop music". There's no need to type anything or even use the music app, you can even do this on the lock screen. It even doesn't need an internet connection. Brilliant!