Nokia Lumia 630

Review in pictures

Colourful, trademark Lumia design

• The Lumia 630 features the iconic Lumia design and quality build materials

• The plastic back panel is removable, and sports a matte finish that doesn’t scratch easily

• Despite its 9.2mm profile, it’s lightweight at 135g

• Onscreen controls in place of Windows hardware keys

Low on pixels, but high on brightness

• The 4.5-inch IPS display has a middling resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, translating into a pixel density of 217ppi

• The screen isn’t the sharpest we’ve seen on a budget handset, but viewing angles are good, and so is sunlight legibility

• It’s responsive, but not as buttery smooth as we’d like

Lone 5MP camera just about does the job

• Say goodbye to selfies. You only get a 5-megapixel primary camera, that too without a flash

• You have a choice of two camera apps – Nokia Camera and the default WP camera app

Good for daytime shots, but not much else

• The default camera app has a close-up mode that’s great for macros

• Shots taken in daylight are fine to use, but low-light images are grainy

Windows Phone 8.1 packs in a lot…

• The Lumia 630 is the first device to ship with Windows Phone 8.1

• The new update brings a host of new features, like Action Center for notifications, the ability to add start screen wallpapers, Skype integration in the dialer and a Swype-like Word Flow keyboard

• Driving Mode turns off all notifications except calls and texts when you’re driving

…more than you can imagine

• Cortana is a digital voice assistant, but is a US-only feature as of now (still accessible with a bit of fiddling) Ask her to perform basic tasks, or engage in mindless banter

• Quiet Hours is the WP equivalent of Do Not Disturb on iOS

• In Windows Phone 8.1, you can install apps on an SD card. Head over to Storage Sense to tweak settings

Not to mention what Nokia adds in

• The Lumia 630 comes with the Nokia Cyan update, bringing a host of extras to WP 8.1

• Nokia Storyteller, Camera and Creative Studio are part of the package

• The Smart Dual-SIM feature lets you forward calls between SIMs

• There’s also SensorCore, a software that can track activity, accessible via the Bing Health & Fitness app.

Plenty of pre-loaded apps too

• The Lumia 630 comes with its share of preloaded apps.

• From Microsoft, you get Outlook, Office, OneDrive and OneNote

• Xbox Video, Xbox Music and Podcasts are new WP8.1 additions

• Nokia’s suite includes MixRadio, HERE Drive and Maps, Xpress, Cinemagraph and Photobeamer

• There are a few third-party apps too, like BoxTV, Flipkart eBooks, Evernote, LINE, Paytm, PicsArt and Facebook

A zippy processor, but not enough RAM

• The Lumia 630 gets a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, paired with 512MB of RAM and Adreno 305 graphics

• The phone is fine for regular use, but some apps take a while to load• Games like Asphalt 8 play without a hitch, with no lags or heating issues• There’s 8GB of internal storage, out of which just under 4GB is available

Battery that easily lasts a day

• The phone is fuelled by a 1,830mAh battery

• Using both SIMs, it easily lasted us an entire day

• The Battery Saver app shows you which apps are consuming energy, and lets you manage which ones run in the background

• You can activate the Battery Saver mode to prolong use when you’re low on juice

At a glance

• 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 pixels (217 ppi)

• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor

• Adreno 305 GPU• 512MB RAM• 8GB internal storage with

microSD slot• 5MP primary camera• Windows Phone 8.1• 1,830mAh battery• Dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi,

Bluetooth, GPS, micro-USB 2.0

-• No front camera or

flash• No proximity or

ambient light sensor• Average display

resolution for its price• Limited 512MB of

RAM

Pros and cons

+• Quality build• Smart dual-SIM features• Latest Windows Phone

8.1 software• Nokia SensorCore for

activity tracking

Price: Rs 11,500

Pricing and verdict“Where the Lumia 630 lacks in hardware, it makes up for in software. Packaged with all the goodies that Windows Phone 8.1 brings, and adding Smart dual-SIM and SensorCore to the mix, it has the potential to replace the Lumia 520 as the highest-selling Windows Phone handset.”