New phones are the stuff dreams are made of for techies. Some of us however are slow adopters of new technology. You could call us laggards. I am the kind of customers technology marketers don’t like, people who take forever to buy new phones or adapt to new technology, having the motto if it’s not broken why fix it.
People like me are simple. We want a phone that works well and is easy to use. Well it’s been an adaptation process learning to use Windows Lumia Phones. Can I confess that the Toshiba laptop I use in the house is still on Windows XP? I know life has moved on but as I said once I get comfortable with something it’s hard to start me on new technology. Worry not though because I have been dragged into the 21st century by my new laptop that uses Windows 8. Believe me it also took quite abit of time to learn how to use android phones. Some of us wish we could get the old type phones with 4G internet. If only that were possible. I had the Lumia 640XL for 2 weeks and I had to learn how to adopt. After using 2 Lumia phones for a whole month I am now more comfortable using Lumia phones.
As somebody who loves and writes on entertainment, travel and food a good camera is key. I went to Kampala with the phone and took a lot of pictures. I love the Lumia selfie app which allows you to take selfies with the camera. I am not a selfie person but I managed to get a couple of great pictures. I also tend to use the phone camera to take pictures of food for review and instagram of course. I got some really good pictures with this camera.
The phone also has 4G internet which I have heard is great. I am still yet to upgrade my SIM card to 4G so I missed out on that experience.
I also love having a radio on my phone so that when I am reading or travelling I can listen to music.The audio is pretty good.
Battery life is very essential. If you love taking pictures or surfing the net you will be surprised at how fast your battery can drain. One minute you are surfing then the next you are being told battery is low. The Lumia 640XL battery is decent and can stay the whole day without charge when you are not using it for heavy battery draining tasks like surfing the net.
One key app I am loving is the MSN health and fitness app that allows you to check out your health and fitness. Because I love food I have to be conscious about what I eat, sometimes saying no to potatoes and meat can be a challenge. This app helps to keep you on track.
The phone has a 5.7 inch screen size which makes it easy to use if you would like to read or watch movies. It also comes with windows phone 8.1 which will be upgraded for free to Windows 10 Mobile when it’s out. It also comes with one year’s subscription to Office 355.
The phone is lightweight, and has a bright plastic backing (mine was white). I love the edges that are curved and rounded. You can remove the back so that you can replace the battery, add the SIM cards and also has a slot of micro SD. It also has OneDrive which gives you cloud storage.
The rear camera is 13 megapixels and the front one is 5 megapixels.
The phone retails for just under Ksh. 20000 although because of its size it looks like it could cost more.
If you are used to android and don’t use windows 8 software it might take abit of time to adapt to this phone. But once you do it is worth it. The windows interface is not complicated, and easy to use. Some of the applications that are there include Facebook, Lumia Camera, Lumia Selfie, MixRadio and Skype.
The phone also has an app store which has some cool apps including MixRadio. I think they need to add more apps and the MSN Health App.
Key features of Lumia 640 XL
• Latest windows 8.1 OS with Lumia Denim which will be upgraded to Windows 10 when it becomes available later in the year.
• Superfast 4G connectivity
• Available in Duel SIM or single SIM
• Display 5.7” HD (1280×720, 16:9) IPS LCD, 294 PPI, Glance screen Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Sunlight readability enhancements
• Battery of 3000 mAh battery, removable
• Processor 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• Main camera 13 MP AF, LED Flash, Lumia Camera of 13 MP AF. Front camera of 5 MP FF.
• Memory of 8GB + free OneDrive, micro SD up to 128GB
• Dimensions 157.9 x 81.5 x 9mm.
Purchase any Lumia phone with a valid 12 months warranty in Kenya, activate it and send a text message containing IMEI number to 22860 for your chance to win 5 Chervolet Cruze cars and 40 Lumia 640 XLs. Winners will be contacted via +254 2301641 and announced on the Lumia East Africa Facebook and Twitter pages.
