Windows Phone 10 - What the new Lumia phones tell us...
Some off-shore news groups have recently posted specs for two new Windows 10 Phones that appear to be pretty legitimate.
With both phones - the one thing that is very clear is the increase in processor and RAM. With 6 and 8 core 64 bit processors and 3GB of RAM, these phones are dramatically more powerful than any previous MS/Nokia flagship phones.
Screens will be 5.2 and 5.7 QHD (2560 x 1440) and both will have 20MP rear and 5MP front cameras with the rear supporting a triple flash configuration for improved image quality.
Both devices will have 32GB of local storage + SD support.
So while it is nice to see some new higher end MS phones coming out - it raises several questions.
Will they still carry the Lumia name ?
This is going to be a tough choice for MS. On the one side MS has had some success with the Surface brand of device - So not sure if Surface Phone makes sense or not... On the other hand MS in some countries has done well with the Lumia brand - so ......
What carriers will support them ?
This has been a challenge with MS/Nokia - the models are fragmented and not available everywhere. It's too early - but my assumption is that here is the US that AT&T will be the primary carrier. Of all the US carriers they have been the most supportive of Windows Phone...so I don't expect that to change...
Will you need that much power to have a great Windows 10 Phone experience ?
This to me is the $64 question about WP 10 and I think the answer is going to be probably. There will most likely be a larger range of phones as well - but to have the best experience - you may need to start budgeting for one of these.
I've been running Windows Phone 10 Tech Preview on my 8 month old Nokia Lumia 635. The 635 has a 4 core 1.2ghz Cortex A7 processor and SnapDragon 400 chipset along with 512MB of RAM. Overall the build has been stable and I have used features like WiFi calling for extended meetings. But my fear is that there are capabilities coming that are suddenly not going to be supported on the 635. Especially background tasks that would just eat up all the RAM...
One thing I did notice in the most recent build is that the back arrow function does not automatically shutdown an app. If you press and hold the arrow - you then get a task list of the open apps and often there are several apps running you thought were closed.
But more likely I think the new Universal Apps are going to require more RAM and with MS also pushing Skype and maybe some new games...
What will these new phones cost ?
Your guess is as good as mine - but based on what AT&T asked for the Lumia 830 I guess that the 5.2 (Codenamed Talkman) and the 5.7 (Codenamed Cityman) are going to be $699 and $799 respectively. So think iPhone range.
Will I be able to upgrade my existing Windows Phone 8/8.1 to 10 ?
Yes - MS has promised it will support that. But as I've stated - you may be able to run the OS - but you may not be able to run a lot of the new apps...
Bottom line is that the Lumia community has been asking for new high end phones and it looks like they are going to get them.. the question will be - will they sell...?
With both phones - the one thing that is very clear is the increase in processor and RAM. With 6 and 8 core 64 bit processors and 3GB of RAM, these phones are dramatically more powerful than any previous MS/Nokia flagship phones.
Screens will be 5.2 and 5.7 QHD (2560 x 1440) and both will have 20MP rear and 5MP front cameras with the rear supporting a triple flash configuration for improved image quality.
Both devices will have 32GB of local storage + SD support.
So while it is nice to see some new higher end MS phones coming out - it raises several questions.
Will they still carry the Lumia name ?
This is going to be a tough choice for MS. On the one side MS has had some success with the Surface brand of device - So not sure if Surface Phone makes sense or not... On the other hand MS in some countries has done well with the Lumia brand - so ......
What carriers will support them ?
This has been a challenge with MS/Nokia - the models are fragmented and not available everywhere. It's too early - but my assumption is that here is the US that AT&T will be the primary carrier. Of all the US carriers they have been the most supportive of Windows Phone...so I don't expect that to change...
Will you need that much power to have a great Windows 10 Phone experience ?
This to me is the $64 question about WP 10 and I think the answer is going to be probably. There will most likely be a larger range of phones as well - but to have the best experience - you may need to start budgeting for one of these.
I've been running Windows Phone 10 Tech Preview on my 8 month old Nokia Lumia 635. The 635 has a 4 core 1.2ghz Cortex A7 processor and SnapDragon 400 chipset along with 512MB of RAM. Overall the build has been stable and I have used features like WiFi calling for extended meetings. But my fear is that there are capabilities coming that are suddenly not going to be supported on the 635. Especially background tasks that would just eat up all the RAM...
One thing I did notice in the most recent build is that the back arrow function does not automatically shutdown an app. If you press and hold the arrow - you then get a task list of the open apps and often there are several apps running you thought were closed.
But more likely I think the new Universal Apps are going to require more RAM and with MS also pushing Skype and maybe some new games...
What will these new phones cost ?
Your guess is as good as mine - but based on what AT&T asked for the Lumia 830 I guess that the 5.2 (Codenamed Talkman) and the 5.7 (Codenamed Cityman) are going to be $699 and $799 respectively. So think iPhone range.
Will I be able to upgrade my existing Windows Phone 8/8.1 to 10 ?
Yes - MS has promised it will support that. But as I've stated - you may be able to run the OS - but you may not be able to run a lot of the new apps...
Bottom line is that the Lumia community has been asking for new high end phones and it looks like they are going to get them.. the question will be - will they sell...?
Comments
Post a Comment