Microsoft has finally announced the Lumia 630 in India. Priced at Rs. 10,500 (single sim), it is targeted at the entry-level smartphone buyer. Here’s our analysis of what the Lumia 630 offers, what it misses out on and who should consider buying it
The Nokia Lumia 630 is the first of the new range of Nokia Lumia devices running the updated Windows Phone 8.1 OS. With a handful of new Lumia devices in the pipeline, Microsoft has launched the Lumia 630 as the first smartphone to hit India from the latest updated series.
While the specifications of the Nokia Lumia 630 were out long back, around the MWC 2014 event, with its India pricing of Rs. 10,500 and Rs. 11,500 for single SIM and dual-SIM respectively being announced, here’s our buying guide around the Nokia Lumia 630, aimed at helping you decide on whether it is a worthy buy for you or not.
What’s new with the Nokia Lumia 630 and where it disappoints
Updated processor but with the same low RAM: The Lumia 630 offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, equipped with a quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz per core. This is a substantial update from the earlier dual-core 1.0 GHz Snapdragon SoC. The extra cores will surely help to make the Lumia 630 operate faster, especially with the Windows Phone 8.1 update that brings in a host of new features like the notifications/Action center, customized start screen with parallax motion, the updated camera software with burst mode and busier live tiles with more information and real-time updating. All these new features will benefit by the extra two cores and faster clock speeds. While the Nokia Lumia 630 makes good progress on the SoC front, the paltry 512MB RAM is a questionable decision by Microsoft/Nokia. With heavier Apps and games hitting the Windows Phone App store, 512MB RAM leaves very little head room and even brings down the future proof quotient of the Nokia Lumia 630
Bigger screen, good colors, but with same low resolution: The Nokia Lumia 630 gets a 4.5-inch IPS screen with “ClearBlack” technology. ClearBlack screens are excellent in terms of contrast, black-levels and color reproduction. And, it will surely make everything look more lively and colorful on the Lumia 630. But, we are disappointed with the low resolution of the screen, with 480 x 854 pixels spread over a 4.5 inch screen, the pixel density drops to a poor 218ppi. Lumia 630’s lower pixel density might not be very evident on the Windows Phone 8.1 tile based UI, but it will surely make a difference when browsing the web or playing latest games. A 720p screen choice for the Nokia Lumia 630 would have earned the Lumia 630 a “substantial upgrade” batch from us. We obviously can’t say the same now. Having said that, the upgrade to Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection for the 4.5-inch Lumia 630 is a welcome update.
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Camera disappoints: The Nokia Lumia series is renowned for its camera tech, especially in terms of hardware. Unfortunately, the Lumia 630 isn’t a reflection of Nokia’s imaging prowess. It’s a pity that Nokia decided to go with the same 5MP snapper without flash and even missing out on a front camera.
Dimensions, design and battery pack: Nokia has done quite well in cutting down on its expenses by using an all-plastic body and still managing to have an appealing design. The Lumia 630 looks very similar to the Nokia X/XL having a removable soft polycarbonate back panel which comes in a variety of colours including Orange, Green, Yellow, White and Black. For a budget smartphone the Lumia 630 has a very chic look and the fits perfectly well in the hand. Battery consumption is a major point to consider as the hardware coming out in smartphones consume need a lot of juice. The Lumia 630 features an 1830mAh battery, a big update from the 1430mAH on the 525, which sounds pretty good for a 4.5-inch display and with Windows Phone 8.1’s power management capabilities it should offer a long battery backup.
Who should buy?: If you are looking for a new smartphone, or planning to switch to the Windows Phone platform, then the Lumia 630 will suit your needs. Since this is the first dual-SIM running Windows Phone smartphone, it is also recommended to people who are looking for a smartphone with active dual-SIM standby at an affordable price range
Who should skip?: People who already have a Lumia device, or even the ones who are planning to upgrade from the Lumia 520/525 should probably give the Lumia 630 a miss. While the hardware on the Lumia 630 has been (slightly) improved, it doesn’t seem worth the upgrade. Also, the new WP 8.1 update will be rolling out all existing WP 8 running smartphone, so if you already have a Lumia device, you can get the benefits of the new update in the coming few weeks without having to invest in a new device.