Nigerian CommunicationWeek

Microsoft Lumia 550: What’s In The Box

Lumia 550.jpg

Microsoft Lumia 550, to start with, comes in a much smaller box than others more expensive in the range.

Actually, Microsoft’s Windows Phone has been pointed at the low-end of the smartphone market since the Lumia 520 was revealed to have sold 25 million units shortly after its debut.

Recall, ‎in 2014, Nokia attempted to capitalize on this by releasing a successor to the Lumia 520, the 530. ‎Now, what do you get in the box?

Thumbs Up For Lumia 550: with this device, Microsoft retains its history in the Lumia “world”, especially the pocket-friendly mobile devices it’s known for. ‎Simply say, Lumia 550 would be a nice low-end Windows Phone. ‎

Thumbs Down: As if Microsoft does not remember that this is a very competitive market, in Lumia, ‎the 5 MP wide angle lens of the 535 and 540 is gone; the 8 MP camera of the 540, no way; the bigger battery is not there. Even though  there is a LTE to gain in the 550, but that is a benefit of the Snapdragon 210 rather than a design feature; Microsoft should listen.

The Review: The Box
The pack is in a relatively nice looking box that contains the Lumia 550, a battery, a micro-USB charger and the manuals.

Please, there are no headphones or USB cables present, implying a bare essentials box for a bare essentials phone for a bare essentials user.

Design
The Lumia 550 principally, shares design cues with the Lumia 640. In other words,  the flat sides, removable shell at the back complete with a painted on Microsoft logo and the buttons at the side are all there. The white (dull) coloured device I have is cool, but I think Microsoft’s colourers should up their game. To retain Nigerians as fans of the Lumia shell design, Microsoft should further study the market. Nigerians like shinning colours.

Still on design, Lumia 550 ships with a 4.7-inch display unlike the 540 or 535 with 5 inches. Depending on how you feel about size, this would either be a boon or a demerit for you. In terms of usability with either one hand or two, users looking for compact devices will be quite pleased with this one.

Display
With the 4.7 inch paired with a 720 p HD scree, the device’s display quality is worth experiencing.  It is bright, colors are accurate, and the small size of the screen ensures that everything remains crisp as long as you don’t whip out the magnifying glass.

It is also a plus to the device that supports Glance Screen.

Cameras
The Lumia 550 comes with a 5 MP rear camera and a 2MP one for Skype and selfies. No no no! Why the step down from the 540 which featured an 8-megapixel camera with BSI and a 5 MP wide angle lens that was specifically touted as being for Skype? Has Microsoft forgotten that the hardware is a very important means to project the software and cloud solutions. How do I Skype with Lumia 550?
While using the rear snapper on OK pictures, it is somewhat slow to focus and no frills on this camera means that you are pretty much limited to taking bad-average images in good light with some bright spots here and there.

Performance And  Battery Life
Windows 10 Mobile still runs smoothly on the Lumia 550.
Although, snapdragon 210 in the 550 is not one for speed, the revised processor brings goodies like Bluetooth 4.1 and LTE to the low end. Smile Communications needs to partner with Microsoft on this in bring it’s VoLTE to users. It will be very compatible.

The battery life on this device is par for the course, it lasted almost a whole day of medium use (messaging, Reddit, Twitter), only being charged at nighttime. For the price, one shouldn’t have  complaints.

Software ‎
As with all the newer Windows Phones manufactured and shipped since the launch of Windows 10, the 550 comes with Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile. Yeah, the OS is highly welcomed by many for its great ideas and unique features like Hello and Continuum, but none of those matter to users of the 550.

They are open to be the basic Windows 10 Mobile.

Unfortunately, the device it isn’t totally free of glitches and odd behavior.‎ “For starters, the first set-up experience of Windows 10 Mobile is horribly broken. The instant you start up the phone and get done with all your accounts and configuration, it starts updating almost every single app on the OS, from the store all the way down to the phone app. While that is going on, it also begins to download and install an OS update in the background”.

An average Nigeria, without iota of idea on what’s going on may rush to return the phone to the seller or to Otigba for repairs, hence we are usually in a hurry! There ought to be a signage such as “Getting Your Device Started” until all the apps and things have finished preparing themselves.

Pricing
Depending on shop, online or offline, Lumia 550 sales between N25,000 to N27,000. *Consider the dollar/naira impasse as you approach the counter to buy. It’s not Microsoft’s making now.

Verdict
Essentially, aside from those few issues mentioned above, the Lumia 550 works as well as can be with Windows 10 Mobile. ‎The Lumia 550 is really a nice low-end Windows Phone. But, this Lumia 550 is part of a series of devices made by Microsoft and cannot be judged in a manner that overlooks its history. ‎The tech giant, seemingly, discarded all the good ideas of the Lumia 540 and 535 and reverts back to cutting costs so Microsoft can give these devices away to people who will hate them. Owing to its position in the market, Microsoft should be targeting “everyman” phone. They have made a name, but let it transform the device out there.

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