Microsoft Lumia 640 UK SIM-free 5 inch Windows Smartphone - Orange

I honestly can't be more extreme in my recommendation that people use a different smart phone in preference to a Windows one.I'm sure that the Lumia is a fantastic piece of hardware, that is until it's been married to Windows.MS's obsession with unifying your identity across all MS platforms that you possess is in theory a great idea and if they'd been Apple it would even work. However it doesn't, and worse than not working properly, it actually prevents you downloading any updates or apps until their "My Family" process completes. As it doesn't work, the process never completes.Additionally, and of no real interest to me, but of great interest/disappointment to the child I bought this phone for, SnapChat isn't available for Windows and, most likely, never will be (due to one of those girly tiffs that tech companies occasionally have with each other).Don't buy this, and, if you're interested in your personal data security, don't buy Android.Go for Apple even if you can only afford an older, second hand device.UPDATE (24 hours later): So, after a web chat with MS, who are only available 9-5, Mon-Fri (what is this? the 1980's?), it turns out that it takes 24 hours for the "My Family" setup to percolate through their system.Whilst that sort of overnight batch processing seems a bit old school to me, surely it wasn't beyond their ability to simply state that in words on the web pages and emails relating to the setup procedure. After all they do manage to include the 5000+ words of Ts & Cs that nobody reads.So the phone I now fully updated and functional and I probably ought to up the rating but I won't simply because of the level of frustration MS caused me and because others might read this review and learn from it.UPDATE (6 Months later):The curse of Microsoft continues. This months current craze is Pokemon Go. Guess which phone platform doesn't support it? Yes, got it in one - Microsoft.So one more reason why an apparently inexpensive, child suitable device just isn't.

Great phone that was delivered very quickly and very easy to set up. If youve had a windows phone before it literally copies evrything over, like any Apple product, but is very fast in doing so. Bought this to replace a Lumia 820 with connection on its way out, this feels much lighter and has nice bright HD screen. Sound quality is very good and battery is impressive even when using demanding apps ect.Seems to be priced very well as this seems to be on par with most mid range phones. Software is good and repsonsive, will hopefully improve even more with Windows 10 update and a better app selection due soon.

Not the best phone in the world. Does hang up from time to time, the browser is really bad and tends to crash on some websites. Good enough for simple use, but would rather go for Android next time.

got this phone back in 2015 for my dad and he's used this phone ever since.great quality phonegood phone for the not so tech savydecent camra for front camra and backexellent sound quality of the speakers

When it comes to the build quality of this phone, Nokia have done a good job. It has enough power for my use, it's solid and has survived a few clumsy drops with not even a scratch. The only poor choice with the physical build is the placement of the speaker being ont he back. This means if you were to initiate loud speaker on a call and place it on the table, the speaker is covered and you can't hear squat. Alternatively you could flip the phone and the person you are talking to can't hear squat... it was a silly mistake.The poorest area of the phone however is the operating system. I've used Android for the most part but have always been curious to try out a Windows build (lured in by it's compatibility with Windows 10). Windows is robust enough, the OS layout I actually enjoy (it looks sleek and is functional) but it lacks the majority of common apps you find on both OSX and Android. The majority of the time you need to get 3rd party advert riddled alternatives to the real deal... People just aren't developing for it. Another annoyance is the lack of haptic feedback when you type/ button press (i know not everyone likes this, however the option should still be present for those who do).My advice as a consumer is to pick up a cheap £100-£120 android alternative, not because this phone is flimsy or cheap... but simply because of it's lack of functionality and a lack of developer support.