BARCELONA—HTC and Samsung might be bringing out the big guns, but Microsoft is staying the course at Mobile World Congress this year.
The Lumia 640 has a 5-inch display, while the Lumia XL comes in at 5.7 inches. Although these phones have different screen sizes, they're basically the same on the inside, so let's review the similarities between the two.
Both devices are powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processors, with 1GB of memory onboard. Those are thoroughly midrange specs, but Windows Phone isn't a particularly taxing OS, so the Lumias felt smooth in casual operation. Speaking of Windows Phones, the 640s are both running on Windows Phone 8.1 along with the Lumia Denim update, and both will be upgradeable to Windows Phone 10 when it comes out later this year. Both will be available in single-SIM and dual-SIM LTE and dual-SIM 3G variants.
So what makes the two phones different? Size, for one. The Lumia 640 has a 5-inch, 720p display. It has a 2,500mAh battery, along with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1-megapixel front-facing shooter. The phone will be available starting in April and will come in glossy cyan, orange, and white, as well as matte black. Those glossy colors looks super slick in person, but they feel pretty slippery.
The Lumia 640 XL, meanwhile, has a 5.7-inch display, also with 720p resolution, so it's slightly less sharp than the Lumia 640, though it still looks crisp and saturated in person. The 640 XL has a slightly larger 3,000mAh battery, as well as a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with Zeiss optics. And a 5-megapixel front-facing camera should be good for shooting some pretty sharp selfies. The phone will begin rolling out globally in March and will be available in matte cyan, orange, and black, as well as both matte and glossy white. I'm thinking there's less gloss here because it's harder to hold a big phone without the grippy support a matte finish provides.
Back to similarities again, both phones come with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which gets you the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote) on the Lumia, as well as on one PC or Mac and one tablet. You also get 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 free minutes of Skype Unlimited Worldwide calling per month. That's a pretty good bundle.
The Lumia 640 is estimated to cost around $159 for a 3G model and $175 for an LTE model, though I imagine we'll probably just see an LTE version for free with contract in the U.S. The same goes for the Lumia 640 XL, which is estimated to cost between $210 and $245 for the 3G and LTE models.
It's a little disappointing that there's still no new Lumia flagship. Sure, these new phones are perfectly nice and really well-built, but they feel a bit like more of the same. According to Microsoft CEO Stephen Elop, a new Lumia flagship will debut later this year, with the launch of Windows 10. That makes sense, but it also means that interest in Windows Phone devices could wane over time without a big announcement.
In addition to the new Lumias, Microsoft also announced a new service for small and medium-size businesses together with AT&T. Pricing details are scarce, but the AT&T Mobile Office Suite offers businesses access to voice calls, email, calendars, instant messaging, HD videoconferencing, desktop sharing, file sharing, and more.
Finally, I got to check out Microsoft's Universal Foldable Keyboard. It folds up small enough to fit into a bag, and you can unfold it and connect it via Bluetooth to your phone, tablet, or PC. It felt relatively solid, and looks like a decent option if you need a keyboard on the go. We'll be checking out all of these devices as soon as they become available, so check back soon for full reviews.