First, My Two Cents on Windows OS Platform
Everywhere we look, we can only see Android and iOS operating system in the majority of smartphones here in Malaysia. When we mention Windows Phone, some would shrug it away like it’s a sinful subject. But they don’t mind using Windows 10 in their computers and laptops, only not in phones.
Why?
My answer is simple enough. There’s just not enough apps made for Windows Phone. But users can now get the basic social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as an official made apps in Windows Phone environment. Last year in 2015, there were no official Instagram app for Windows Phone. I had a Lumia 640 back then and I had to use 6Tag for Instagram instead. See why now?
So now Microsoft really have to step up in order to gain users for Windows Phone or Windows 10 now since they are losing ground over the mobile OS market.
Now they are making the changes, in a good way with the release of their more stable Windows 10 OS for phones and periodically updating the system to resolve any bugs. I’ll say congratulations, and it’s about time.
Microsoft Lumia 650 with Windows 10
Ever since December 2015, Microsoft has been rolling out the updates for their mobile OS to Lumia devices everywhere. At first it was a little bit buggy but with the latest updates coming in, they managed to squash the bugs and made the OS more stable and reliable. Their flagship Lumia phone, the Lumia 950, is a stunning phone. But the price does not match with the built quality of the phone because it is still made of plastic. People are still not buying the phone. Too expensive and all plastic. There’s no premium feel to it.
Introducing the new Lumia 650, a probable savior of the Microsoft phone. Why I said this? It sits in between an entry level and mid range Windows 10 phone that looks good in an all-metal aluminum body. The Lumia 650 is the lightest of the Lumia series and best looking one out there, simply because of the all-metal body. I like it. I really like it a lot.

I have a thing for all-metal body phones nowadays. It simply feels good and premium. Just like the ZTE Blade V7 Lite that I reviewed recently, the Lumia 650 feels great. Like I said earlier, I had the Lumia 640 and was using it till late last year. When I was using it, I love the responsiveness. The OS never lags even though with only 1GB of RAM. That’s the beauty of iOS and Windows Phone. It doesn’t use as much resources as an Android phone.
The Lumia 650 is a huge upgrade to the older Lumia 640. When I say huge, I meant huge, but not the screen size. Lumia series has been known to use the Clear Black display. And the display of the Lumia 650 is super crisp and fine and vibrant although the screen ppi is only at 297 pixel density. It is an affordable phone that has the premium finish. A good phone to have if you’re thinking of making the switch to Windows Phone platform.

It is powered by Snapdragon 212 CPU running at 1.3GHz quad-core with Adreno 304 GPU. It has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal space, expandable to 200GB via MicroSD card. The screen is 5″ with 720 x 1280 resolution using OLED capacitive touch and Corning Gorilla 3 protection. It supports dual SIM with both supporting 4G LTE network where you can assign which SIM card you wish to use.
As for the camera, it has an 8-megapixel f/2.2, 28mm rear camera with autofocus and able to shoot 720p @ 30fps video. While the front camera is 5-megapixel f/2.2 that is also capable of shooting 720p video. The battery size is 2000mAh and it’s removable. Comes in black or white colour variations.
All I can say is that I love this phone. I wouldn’t mind having it as my secondary phone at the moment. Perhaps I should get it as an upgrade for my mum’s phone. It is so user friendly that you will be able to start using and become an expert in it within a few hours.
The Lumia 650 is already on sale at various outlets in Malaysia. It is priced at RM899 at the official Microsoft outlets.