Microsoft today launched its latest smartphone for the Philippine market — the Lumia 640 XL — a real handful of a device that toes the line between phone and tablet, flaunting a 5.7-inch, 720p IPS screen fronted by Gorilla Glass 3. It’s the company’s most recent attempt at bringing a deluxe smartphone experience to the mid-range market, something we’ve been hearing a lot from phone makers these days.
To do that, the Lumia 640 XL relies on a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor running at 1.2GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 13- and 5-megapixel main and secondary cameras. The operating system of choice is Windows 8.1 — though Microsoft is quick to point out that an upgrade to Windows 10 will be available later this year. The phone supports two SIM cards as well, which should come in handy for those with more than one mobile number.
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Microsoft’s Lumia 640 XL lands in the Philippines next month for P11,990. Not as cheap as we’d like it to be, to be honest. An LTE version is set to arrive some time in June at a still-undisclosed price.
Specs of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL (Price in the Philippines: P11,990):
* Dual SIM
* Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU
* Adreno 305 GPU
* 1GB RAM
* 8GB internal storage
* microSD card slot (up to 128GB)
* 5.7-inch IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (720 x 1,280 resolution)
* 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
* 5-megapixel front camera
* 3,000mAh removable battery
* Windows 8.1 Denim
RAMON LOPEZ’S TAKE: Pricing aside, I like the Lumia 640 XL. It earns additional brownie points for including the Glance screen functionality and double-tap to wake.
For all the time and resources Microsoft has spent trying to build a worthy alternative to iOS and Android, Windows still feels like a product in its infancy — years away from true contention.
But I have a contrasting opinion about the software that defines it: For all the time and resources Microsoft has spent trying to build a worthy alternative to iOS and Android, Windows for mobile devices still feels like a product in its infancy, in 2015 — years away from true contention.
Majority of the apps I rely on daily are still MIA on Microsoft’s platform. The settings menu remains a collective mess of sorts. Microsoft’s Office suite isn’t compelling enough to make me want to opt out of using Google services altogether.
But that may all change once Microsoft begins rolling out Windows 10. The concept of “One Microsoft” — a universal software and app store for all Windows-based machines — sounds like the stuff of dreams. Here’s hoping Windows reveals its true potential sooner rather than later.
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