Nokia Lumia 630 is the first smartphone from the merged Microsoft and Nokia division. Yup, Nokia is gone. This is actually the last nail in the coffin. It is the final hurrah of Nokia after which, it will soon be transformed into ‘Microsoft mobiles’. The phenomenon that started from Nokia World 2013 is finally coming to an end. This one, along with the Lumia 930 and Lumia 635 is the end of Nokia for now.
While the Nokia Lumia 635 is just the 4G variant of the same device (not released yet, sadly). The distinction with the Nokia Lumia 630 is that it is one of the first Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones and one of the last actual Nokia smartphones.
After the Nokia X, this is Nokia second attempt to woo the mid-range consumer. Is it worthy of the final hurrah that Nokia deserves? Let’s find out.
Here is our Nokia Lumia 630 review.
Nokia Lumia 630 Specs
- 4.5-inch display
- FWVGA (854x480p) resolution
- 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor
- 512 MB RAM
- 8 GB internal storage
- microSD slot
- 5 MP AF camera
- 1830 mAh battery
- Windows Phone 8.1
- HSPA+ 21Mbps/5.76Mbps, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), BT 4, micro-USB
Hardware
The Nokia Lumia 630 debuts in a vastly different time than its predecessor, the Lumia 620. With the release of affordable, worth-it phones like Moto G, the market has shown that the consumer needn’t make too many sacrifices, with what he/she wants in a phone.
At the onset, let me state, that rather than its predecessor, the Lumia 620, it reminds me of the Nokia X, thanks to what body mechanics. It combines the solid polycarbonate feel and bright colors of the X with the rounded edges of 620, resulting in a delightful package of sorts – the Nokia Lumia 630 is easy on the eyes and feels good to hold.
The Lumia 630 feels to me like a massive improvement on the Nokia X, if, say the Nokia X looked like this, I’d go for it. With 9.2mm thickness and weighing just 134g, this phone just feels smooth, easy on the palm and light. There are no sharp edges on this phone, thankfully. The polycarbonate body fits smoothly around its basic structure enveloping it and lending the phone strength and durability.
A word for the polycarboante material used, It has a kind of matte feel around it which just states sophistication. The moment you hold it in your hand, you just want to run your fingers on it again and again.
Another concept that has been borrowed from the Nokia X, is vibrant colors. While the handset comes in shades of black, green and orange, I got a white one. Even the white is what I would call vibrant. The back is graced with a Nokia logo along with the camera that, once again in a Nokia X-esque fashion comes without an LED flash, which is something I was appalled by, but more on that later.
There is a tiny speaker grille near the bottom right hand corner of the Nokia X. The headphone jack is located atop the handset, while the MicroUSB port is located at the bottom. Thanks, to Windows Phone 8.1, there is no need for a dedicated camera button.
Another far throw from previous handsets and to the credit of the Windows Phone 8.1 OS, the Nokia Lumia 630, does not require any capacitive keys to be located on the bezel. Rather, they now grace the screen itself. The Lumia 630 is the first smartphone to do so. This lends a clean feel to the Nokia Lumia 630.
Display
The Nokia Lumia 630 comes with a 4.5-inch 854 x 480p FWGA display with a display density of 221 ppi. The numbers aren’t too impressive, nor is the display at the outset. But, once you start playing around with it, you will find the color temperature pleasing and the viewing angles good. The letdown is the ClearBlack technology, surprisingly. There is too much black around for my comfort. Instead of the elegance that it usually endows to devices it kind of hampers the vibrancy of the handset.
Also, another thing that is appreciable about the Nokia Lumia 630 is that it has a good sunlight visibility which once again makes it pretty usable. In the downside, the display gets too smudgy too soon.
Overall, it is a pretty okay display.
Software
Windows Phone 8.1 is the star of this handset. The fact that this is the first handset to come with the OS out-of-the-box counts for a lot.
It also brings along Start Screen wallpapers. You can easily set a wallpaper as your start screen background. Although, I cannot totally be glad about it since not all the Live Tiles are transparent so as to make us able to see the wallpaper in the background.
As an immediate user though, you wouldn’t notice too many changes too soon. Windows Phone 8.1 has included more companies in its ambit, for e.g. Micromax by relaxing the earlier mandatory requirements like a dedicated camera button and capacitive buttons.
Not just that, the Nokia Lumia 630 comes with many useful
pre-installed apps such as PayPal, Line and Skype. I love most of the apps such as Finance, News and others. Which also makes me sad for Nokia’s future, since nobody does pre-installed apps like Nokia. You also have the option to uninstall most of these apps, which is great. Some apps like Here Drive+ are pretty amazing.
But, you will have to update most of them when buy the handset and you will also need an outlook ID for that.
Obviously, Office and OneNote too make for good stuff.
Live Tiles work well on the Nokia Lumia 630. You can now set a background image for Live Tiles which won’t be too visible behind them.
Other things I found wonderful about this phone was that unlike previous Windows Phone smartphones, you can now install apps on the SDcard and you can use the keyboard with a swipe gesture. I feel very sad to inform you that Cortana wouldn’t be available on the Indian version of the Nokia Lumia 630. Things like the Kids Mode are pretty cool too.
Overall, Windows Phone 8.1 is not a complete revamp of the OS, which I expected since it was launched after such a long time
Camera
Well, the camera on the Nokia Lumia 630. You will have your compaints but will be delighted too in your own way. It is a 5-megapixel camera with no LED flash and no accompanying front cam.
The camera though isn’t too bad. When it comes to camera tech, Nokia knows its stuff. You have two options when it comes to the camera app – Cinematograph and Nokia Camera.
The most amazing thing is that you can select from a variety of lenses, which I found pretty cool. You can also tamper with settings such as White Balance.
The Nokia Lumia 630 also works well in sunny conditions. Color temperature is great and I fell in love with the camera over time. Also, the Autofocus is pretty great. The camera holds its own in a variety of conditions.
Performance and Battery Life
The Nokia Lumia 630 comes with a 1.2-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512 MB RAM and 8 GB internal storage. But the little that it is, I love that Nokia has endowed it with 128 GB MicroSD support.
Windows Phone 8.1 is not RAM hungry. Therefore, it is easy for handsets such as Nokia Lumia 630 can pick up. It actually works pretty well.
The battery life is good, thanks to the 1830 mAh battery.
Verdict
The Nokia Lumia 630 is a phone that does well on its own. The competition such as the Moto G though might leave you thinking. The Lumia 630 came on the scene as the first Windows Phone 8.1 device. That is actually not the highlight of the device.
The device though, is an entirely another thing. I would say that the Nokia Lumia 630’s highlights are its camera software and its forma factor rather.
As far as the phone goes. It is a good phone. For around Rs. 9.500, it is mostly a good experience, but there are a lot of choices in the market in this range.
