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Well, to be totally fair, I didn’t “buy” a Lumia 950XL today, I pre-ordered one, with no money or credit card info needed, but still I’m supposedly guaranteed a device as soon as they come out, in “November/this holiday season”.
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I’m not a “big phone” guy, and although I looked at the Lumia 1520 when it came out, it was just too dang big, so I wasn’t too keen on the 950XL and wanted to see what the deal was with the 950. The news there wasn’t great. Although the sales associate I talked to at the Microsoft Store in Bellevue, Washington didn’t have any specifics, he said that they weren’t selling the 950 “in the US” at this time, and didn’t sound like they would be selling them anytime soon. Maybe that was just sales talk to steer me toward the 950XL, but I’m not holding my breath for the 950 to hit store shelves, maybe not until next year.
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Lumia 950XL next to my 635
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My current phone is a Lumia 635, which I picked up last year as a spare when it was on sale for $39. Since then, however, my Lumia 1020 died, and I’ve had to rely on the 635, which has been a love/hate relationship at best. Let’s just say that Windows 10 Mobile and my 635 didn’t get along too well. Since I rolled back things have been better, but still it’s small, under powered, and just not a very fun phone.
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I didn’t want anything *too* big, though, but the Lumia 950XL felt surprisingly good in my hand. It’s very light, and running Windows 10 Mobile build 10546 (yep, I peeked), was fast and fluid. I didn’t try to take any pictures with the demo unit I was able to play with, but someone else had, and the screen is beautiful, the pictures crisp and clear, and I can’t wait to get the dedicated camera button back.
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Ordering the phone was a simple process, once a sales person became available. He just entered my email address into his phone, and as I’ve shopped the store before (go figure), everything was right there. There’s no transaction, no hold on your credit card, I’ll just get an email when the phone is ready, and head back to Bellevue to pay for it and pick it up. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.
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Surface Book
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By the way, and this may change soon, the store was still actively taking pre-orders for both the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4, there wasn’t any talk of being “sold out”, although I didn’t press them on the issue. One sales associate said that pre-orders of the two new devices are running about 50/50, with a lot of interest for both devices. Of course you have to remember that this store is 7 miles from Microsoft’s main campus, so if anyone should be selling the new hardware, it’s the Bellevue store.
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Still, if you want a day one Surface Pro 4, a Surface Book, or even a 950XL, time is running short. Hopefully they’ve made enough phones to fill my order, and yours too.
\n\nFurther reading: Lumia 950 XL, Microsoft Store
