Microsoft is busy this year with more than just desktop operating systems and video game consoles. The Washington-based tech company is also bringing out the new 5-inch Lumia 640 smartphone in April, as well as a significantly larger 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL.
Both smartphones were announced during the Mobile World Congress earlier this month in Barcelona, Spain as the latest devices for budget-minded consumers worldwide. Both phones will be available in Dual-SIM and LTE versions in April and will be loaded with Windows 8.1, but upgradable to Windows 10 when that releases later this year.
Both phones share the same technical specs, including a Qualcomm quad-core Krait chip running at 1.2 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, and 128 GB of removable storage through microSD. The display features the durable Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against scratches and cracks, and allows for multi-touch capacity.
The rear camera on the 640 is an auto-focus 8-megapixel with a 0.9-megapixel camera in front. On the 640 XL, those cameras are upgraded to a 13-megapixel in back and a 5-megapixel in front. Both phones also feature Bluetooth 4.0, assisted GPS, FM radio, Internet radio, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and USB 2.0 connection.
The battery on the 640 XL is also larger at 3,000 mAh, versus 2,500 mAh on the 640 to power that larger display. The 640 XL brags 23.7 hours of talk time on a 3G connection and up to 39 days of standby time. That's certainly good news that will appeal to a larger audience.
The 640 XL was originally thought to be called the Lumia 1330, but Microsoft decided to go with 640 XL to show its similarity to the 640.
Both phones also will be signed up for the OneDrive cloud storage service that adds an additional 15 GB of storage and an additional 15 GB when you activate the automatic upload feature from the camera roll.
A one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 is also included with either phone, giving you the full suite of Office on the Go, as well as a copy for the PC or Mac, and a copy for the tablet.That Office subscription also adds an addition 1 TB of storage through OneDrive (in addition to the free 15 GB that is available without the Office 365 subscription) and 60 minutes of free Skype calling to landlines in 60 countries and mobile phones in eight countries.
Both phones will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white or black (matte black for the 640 XL) and in single- or dual-SIM models.
The Lumia 640 is expected to drop in April at a starting price of $149, while the 640 XL is expected to launch even earlier in late March for around $200. Both phones will be available in the U.S. on AT&T and T-Mobile, while Carphone Warehouse, EE, O2, Orange, MetroPCS, and Telefonica will also be an option in the U.K.
