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Started By
Message
How in the world are Windows 8.1 smartphones so cheap?
Posted on 2/5/15 at 1:28 pm
Posted on 2/5/15 at 1:28 pm
The Nokia Lumia 520 is only $29 on the Microsoft store. I just ordered the newer Lumia 635 from Amazon for $54 for the heck of it. I plan to install the Windows 10 preview build on it and play with it. I might also use it as my in-car navigation device (you can download offline Maps) and also my Podcast player. Will probably save the battery on my iPhone when I am not constantly charging it in the car.
These are full fledged smartphones, with Cortana voice assistant, all the Windows phone apps etc. I can't believe I'd see the day where you could buy an unlocked smartphone for less than $50-60.
These are full fledged smartphones, with Cortana voice assistant, all the Windows phone apps etc. I can't believe I'd see the day where you could buy an unlocked smartphone for less than $50-60.
7
Posted on 2/5/15 at 1:56 pm to Street Hawk
quote:
in-car navigation device (you can download offline Maps) and also my Podcast player. Will probably save the battery on my iPhone when I am not constantly charging it in the car.
How do you propose you'll have GPS access in the car? Will you be switching SIM cards frequently? Hot spot?
I've looked at getting a 520 as my car media player as well.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 1:57 pm to Street Hawk
They are low balling on price to try and gain market share.
/thread
/thread
Posted on 2/5/15 at 1:58 pm to Street Hawk
I own the Lumia 635 and love it, but there are certainly reasons it is as cheap as it is.
1) The camera is 5 Mp and has no flash. This severely limits the quality of pics you can take with it. I don't care, but it is a real limitation.
2) The processor is not very fast. For most of the things I do with my phone, this really doesn't matter either. But I attempted to play a Sonic game that is similar to Temple Run and my phone would straight up turn off it was overworked so badly.
1) The camera is 5 Mp and has no flash. This severely limits the quality of pics you can take with it. I don't care, but it is a real limitation.
2) The processor is not very fast. For most of the things I do with my phone, this really doesn't matter either. But I attempted to play a Sonic game that is similar to Temple Run and my phone would straight up turn off it was overworked so badly.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:00 pm to SG_Geaux
quote:
/thread
We shouldn't end the thread, we should make it a uses for a cheap Windows phone thread.
Are there any Motion Detection apps that would let you turn it into a cheap Nanny Cam?
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:08 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:OP said he'd download offline maps, should work just fine with no internet access afterwards.
How do you propose you'll have GPS access in the car? Will you be switching SIM cards frequently? Hot spot?
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:16 pm to Street Hawk
quote:
How in the world are Windows 8.1 smartphones so cheap?...I just ordered the newer Lumia 635 from Amazon for $54 for the heck of it.
Believe it or not, the damned thing probably cost less than that to make. But if not, it's still probably worth it for AT&T to subsidize the difference even though it's off contract.
quote:The 635 for $54 is not unlocked. It is locked to AT&T.
I can't believe I'd see the day where you could buy an unlocked smartphone for less than $50-60.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:19 pm to Korkstand
quote:
OP said he'd download offline maps, should work just fine with no internet access afterwards.
I guess I just assumed he would want some sort of real-time location service and not just paper-replacement.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:28 pm to Street Hawk
quote:
How in the world are Windows 8.1 smartphones so cheap?
Supply and demand
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:30 pm to Hopeful Doc
GPS can still work without a SIM or data plan I think.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:44 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:
How do you propose you'll have GPS access in the car? Will you be switching SIM cards frequently? Hot spot?
I will just download offline maps on to the phone for my state. It works without a SIM card. Also the Mix Radio app that comes with the Windows phone allows you to store offline music playlists. The same with the Podcast app. In fact I never plan to put a SIM card in the phone. I plan to use it as my media device in the car. If I pop in a 128 GB microSD card, I can bring all my other music along as well. It is a pretty compelling package for $54.
quote:
I guess I just assumed he would want some sort of real-time location service and not just paper-replacement.
You can search for destinations and places even without an internet connection with the when you download offline maps on the Windows phones. The GPS still works.
Here is some more info on the Nokia Offline Maps: LINK
quote:
I wanted a plug-and-play navigation solution, and this was its first test. As it turns out, that 1.8GB of information includes more than just roadways. It also includes restaurants, town names, fuel stations and oodles of other points of interest. That means that even without a nearby signal, you'll be able to search for plenty of destinations. In my testing, Drive managed to find pretty much everything I searched for, save for one or two hotels that forced me to go back online in order to search the web.
This post was edited on 2/5/15 at 2:52 pm
Posted on 2/5/15 at 2:46 pm to Korkstand
quote:
The 635 for $54 is not unlocked. It is locked to AT&T.
Yeah, you are right. I am with ATT and I don't ever plan to switch carriers, so it works for my situation. I heard the 635 were on sale for $39 during Black Friday. $39! Crazy.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 3:06 pm to Street Hawk
I bought a 520 off of Amazon for $29 just to have as a spare.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 3:07 pm to Street Hawk
I downloaded maps of China for a business trip and was able to use it to find my way around the city without using data.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 3:18 pm to Street Hawk
The Lumia 520 is also cheap because it lacks LTE.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 3:24 pm to Street Hawk
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. This is looking much more like a good choice for a media player in my car.
Posted on 2/5/15 at 3:26 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:GPS location works strictly from satellite signals, no data service necessary.
I guess I just assumed he would want some sort of real-time location service and not just paper-replacement.
edit: sorry, I see that's already been cleared up
This post was edited on 2/5/15 at 3:30 pm
Posted on 2/5/15 at 5:59 pm to Street Hawk
The 930s are close to $400.
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