With so many handsets to choose from, buying a new smartphone is becoming harder by the day. Not only this, the sheer number of Brands selling super-phones and the different operating systems make it difficult for us to single out a device which we can buy and use.
To make the competition even more extreme, we have a new competitor in store. Microsoft joined the race of smartphones in November 2014 with its first smartphone in a long time, the Lumia 535. This phone was the first phone to be manufactured by the software giant after acquiring Nokia, once the best cellphone manufacturer in the world. But what can the collaboration between superb software and amazing hardware give us?
To start off with the review, we would like to rate the said smartphone in different fields. Here’s how it fares.
| Design | 9/10 |
| Performance | 9/10 |
| Features | 8.5/10 |
| User Experience | 9/10 |
| Cost/Performance ratio | 10/10 |
| Overall Rating | 9/10 |
That’s a very good score for a smartphone, but how does the ‘first’ smartphone from Microsoft score so well? Let’s find out.
Key Features:
| Display | 5.0 inches IPS LCD multitouch capacitive touch display with support upto 16M colours with a qHD resolution of 540 x 960 pixels (~220 ppi pixel density)Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 clocked at 1.2 GHz (Quad core Cortex A7) |
| Graphics | Adreno 302 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Memory | 8 GB internal memory with support for microSD cards upto 128 GB |
| OS | Microsoft Window Phone 8.1 |
| Camera | 5 MP Primary with autofocus and an LED flash5 MP Secondary Selfie camera |
| Battery | 1905 mAh Li-ion battery |
| Miscellaneous | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA support and hotspot modeBluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, LE and apt-XGPS with A-GPS and GLONASSSensors: Accelerometer and Proximity sensor |
Looking at the above specifications, you might think that this phone might cost you a lot for your pocket, that’s where you are wrong because this superphone from Microsoft costs only a little over Rs. 9,000, making every single coin you pay worth it.
Now let’s get to the review. We will divide the review into sub-categories to make it easier for you to understand.
Box Contents
The packaging for this new guy is a straightforward approach by Microsoft, just the essentials. But there is one complaint we have and that is the absence of a USB to microUSB sync and charge cable. The stuff present in the box is as given:
- The Handset (Duh)
- An integrated microUSB charger
- Microsoft earphones
- Quick Guide and Warranty Certificates
That’s all there is in the box.
Design
The first thing anyone will observe about any device will obviously be its looks. For those of you who love smartphones which look beautiful, the Lumia 535 is waiting for you. The rectangular slab design gives it a premium look and makes holding it very comfortable too.
The back panel can be swapped for different colours if you are one for fashion. But if you like metal designs, with aluminum bodies and such, this will seem like something you would rather not buy, but all in all, the look and feel of Microsoft’s first smartphone is premium as it goes.
Performance
With Windows phone as the OS and a 1.2 GHz Quad core CPU, the 535 is a very snappy phone. With a little over 12 days of usage, we have encountered little to no lag at all while using this device.
The UI in itself is quite snappy too and doesn’t show stutters or such while opening/closing apps, browsing through the interface or playing games.
The Adreno 302 GPU supports almost all of the modern games and makes gaming a good experience too.
Camera
The Lumia 535 was widely promoted as Microsoft’s approach of a selfie phone and yeah, it lives upto its name.
The beautiful 5 MP Primary camera may seem less on paper but photo quality is quite good. Even in the absence of light you can get some good shots.
Now for the Secondary, which is the spotlight here, 5 MP which gives you high quality pictures and a wide aperture to go with it.
Not only this, the 535 has an awesome camera interface and an amazing integrated photo editor which make you snapshots a charm to see.
Battery
One of the main lookouts people have in buying new phones is the battery life. We all love it when our smartphones last longer.
The 1905 mAh battery on this beast is very good in temrs of how it powers the phone. With medium to high usage, we got almost a day and a half without a sweat with mixed usage. But we recommend charging it every night so that the battery lasts longer.
If you need a phone with good features, amazing performance and an awesome battery life, the Lumia 535 is the one for you.
Misc
The 535 has an awesome amount of features and a very good interface to support it all. May it be connectivity, data syncing, work management or anything else, the 535 can take it all and will not disappoint you.
The Negatives
The few cons to this amazing piece of hardware are:
- Primary camera shoots video at 480p
- Touch sensitivity and relay is a bit off
Verdict
Finally, after that long speech, we would like to tell you that, if you are in need of a new smartphone, want to experience Windows Phone 8.1 with a promise of an upgrade to 10, want a low cost phone with high end features, the Lumia 535 should be your preference.