Best Windows Phones: Holiday 2014
by Brett Howse on December 3, 2014 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- windows phone
- Blu
Low-Cost Device: Blu Win Jr
There is far more competition on the lower end of the price scale for Windows Phones now, with several companies launching devices this year. Going into this guide, people who follow Windows Phone might have guessed I would put the Nokia Lumia 630/635 here. The Lumia 630 is a good phone, and for the right price, it is not going to be a bad choice, but for me the 630 had too many compromises. There was no flash, no ambient light sensor, and on-screen keys. The Blu Win Jr delivers all of these features missing on the Lumia 630, and undercuts it on price as well.
Though we have not tested it here, the Win Jr is a lot of phone for the less than $90 unlocked asking price. The four inch display is a bit small compared to the norm now, but it makes the 800x480 resolution a bit sharper. The Snapdragon 200 is certainly low end, but carries the same quad-core Cortex A7 at 1.2 GHz as the higher priced Snapdragon 400 models. Although the GPU is not as strong, with only 512 MB of RAM the low cost phones are not going to be great for gaming anyway.
| Blu Win Jr | |
| SoC | MSM8212 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 |
| RAM/NAND | 512 MB LPDDR2, 4 GB NAND + microSD 32 GB |
| Display | 4.0” 800x480 display |
| Network | GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA up to 42 Mbps |
| Dimensions | 124.5 x 62.5 x 10.2 (mm) |
| Weight | 122.5 grams |
| Rear Camera | 5 MP CMOS, Autofocus, LED Flash |
| Front Camera | VGA resolution |
| Battery | 1950 mAh |
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 |
| Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n + BT 3.0, USB2.0 |
| Location Technologies | Qualcomm IZat Gen7A |
| SIM Size | Dual Micro SIM |
There are certainly some corners cut to get to this price, but you still get a front facing camera, ambient light sensor, 5 MP rear camera with LED flash, capacitive navigation keys, and microSD to compliment the paltry 4 GB of onboard storage.
So there you have it. If you are a Windows Phone fan looking for the next flagship, it is there, or if you maybe just want to check out the platform, jump in for less than $100 with the Blu. The number of devices has expanded quite a bit since the last time we took a look at the platform, and hopefully this will continue into 2015 with some exciting new models.
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Zizy - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I wouldn't grant flagship win. Both have serious drawbacks I find unacceptable in flagships - one lacks camera, the other misses battery. Either might not be an issue for you, but for a flagship this is a rather large compromise.Budget - if 4" is too small, get Blu Win HD. Lumia 535 if you live in India. 6xx make no sense, except if you really want that better graphics in snapdragon 400.
Flunk - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
Blu Win HD is twice as much as the Blu Win Jr. In fact, the Blu Win Jr was on sale for $49 at the Microsoft store with no contract a few days ago.SeleniumGlow - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
The Blu Win HD has been launched as the LAVA Iris Win1 in India (Both have the same body design, SoC, RAM, display and battery). It costs about INR 5000 ~ $90.I wonder who the ODM is for Blu and LAVA...
garretelder - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
Why get a Windows phone in the first place? Why not get a REAL phone? /Garret at http://www.topreport.org/phones/Gunbuster - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
So the site you're advertising claims the HTC One M8 is the best phone. You do know the M8 comes in a Windows Phone model right?Derp Derp Derp.
lithium451 - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
"Why not get a REAL phone?"That "gag" was old 2 years ago. In light of comparisons between wp 8.1 and android 5.0 not only is it old, it's dumb.
JoBalz - Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - link
Lithium451. I'm in complete agreement with you after having actually used Windows Phone 8.1 for several days. And that's not even taking into account Cortana, which I feel is the crown jewel of the OS. I'm already finding it very useful, it's provided accurate info for EVERY question I've thrown up to it, and I can see it's a useful feature that I WOULD like to see MS carry over to Windows 10. The OS is fast, I find it intuitive to use, and from a personal standpoint I find the UI beautiful. I've spent a couple of hours playing around getting my tiles just the way I like them so that live tiles providing news and weather info as well as phone and camera functions are the first thing I see when I move from the lock screen. I think the "losers" are the ones that refuse to ever even consider trying WP 8.1 a "test drive".JoBalz - Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - link
I find WP 8.1 a REAL phone. It does the job I want it to do and does it well. I've found all the apps I want for it so that's not a problem. While I hated the Metro look on the desktop, I actually like it very much on a phone. It's already proving very useful with the weather reports and adviseries on the live tiles during the deep freeze we're going through this week. And surprisingly I find WP 8.1 much more intuitive to figure out how to use than Android (and I absolutely refuse to pay the Apple tax for an overhyped iPhone). If droid or iOS work for you, fine, but your condescension against Windows Phone OS is simply your personal opinion, not backed up by any facts, just a bash-Microsoft canned response.Drumsticks - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I'm still disappointed in Microsoft, even though I'll give them a few months to make things right. The decision to not ship the 830 with something like a snapdragon 610, and also not even having a hint of another high end Lumia for the holiday season is just frustrating.Unfortunately, I think personally that the UI and general use is way better than Apple or Android. So I'll give them a few months past my upgrade to impress me.
Luc K - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
There were several hints of new Microsoft flagship phones including 9xx and the 1030 with supposedly 30 mp camera. But yes not for this year. Reason I think is upcoming windows 10. That will be a big change and will consolidate all devices into 1 OS with larger app compatibility. That will take until next year but should be interesting (if you can wait that is...).Not sure if faster chip would be something to wait for. I don't think that's an issue with the 830. But a nicer display and 1020 camera would be great.