Behold, the all new Lumia 630 Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone, touted as a high performance device with an amazing price tag (single-SIM for roughly $159). We recently received this device and we are one week into our review. In this post, I will go over some first impressions of the Lumia 630.
First things first, the Lumia 630 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Quad-Core 1.2 GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 8GB internal user memory, a 4.5-inch 854×480 display, and a 5MP rear camera. As you can see, the device sports a quad-core processor, 8GB of storage and a large display, but the 512MB of RAM might be a deal breaker.
The device is positioned as a budget-friendly Windows Phone device that looks beautiful. Microsoft touts up to 13 hours of talk time, but the Lumia 630 does not support 4G. Rather, it only has 3G connectivity. For 4G, you will need the Lumia 635 variant.
Interestingly enough, on Cricket Wireless, the Lumia 630 registers a 4G connection, even though the device is only supposed to support 3G. We are going to test this, but chances are the Lumia 630 is simply connected to Cricket Wireless’ HSPA+ network, which is comparable to LTE. If you want 4G/LTE, you should get the Lumia 635 instead.
The device looks beautiful and feels comfortable when held in one hand. As you can see from the image below, the screen can easily leave smudges, so you might find yourself cleaning the screen every so often.
The device is surrounded by an edge of transparent, tinted polycarbonate. The tint is tonal so it is matched to the main body color (so orange tint over orange, for example) enhancing the hue, giving it a richness and vibrancy not seen before in a mobile device.
The mixing of different tones on the layered edge (green on green, for example) is echoed elsewhere on the device. The Lumia 630 also sports color coordinated keys that blend visually into the body of the device, rather than the traditional black side keys of its predecessors. The “Nokia” logo on the back of the device is also color coordinated.
The Lumia range is known for its love of color, and for the Lumia 630 range, Microsoft has amplified the color palette even further. Alongside the striking and fun trio of Bright Green, Bright Yellow, and Bright Orange, the Lumia 630 is available in black and white variants.
You can easily snap open the back of the device for quick access to the removable battery, as well as the SIM card.
The Lumia 630 comes with Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system. In fact, the device also sports on-screen navigation bar. This means you do not have the physical back, Windows, and search buttons.
Stay tuned, as we dive deeper into this new handset. If you have the Lumia 630, share your opinions of the device in the comments below. In the mean time, you can also check out our Lumia 930 first impressions (another review we are also working on).
