Nokia Lumia 630 Review
by Brett Howse on July 22, 2014 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Microsoft
- Nokia
- Mobile
- windows phone
Final Words
Designing an affordable phone is always going to have compromises. In this case, Nokia has hit on some reasonable compromises but gone too far in others. The lack of a proximity sensor was something that I didn’t miss at all, and the phone has no issue relying on the touch screen to know if it’s against your face for a phone call. This worked flawlessly in my experience, so it was the right call. The lack of an ambient light sensor was too much for me though, as I’ve come to count on it for using a device outdoors.
Another such compromise was the 512 MB of RAM, which is definitely one that went too far. It limits a good chunk of the app store’s game library from being able to be installed at all, which is just not acceptable in 2014. But again the storage of only 8 GB is no problem at all due to the included microSD card being able to add another 128 GB if needed, and Windows Phone 8.1 supports SD cards better than any other mobile OS.
The display is yet another compromise. Here we have a display which is almost at the top of our charts for accuracy, yet has a lowly resolution of 854x480. The lack of Glance screen support is another knock against it especially when the 620 of last year did include this feature.
One thing that Nokia nailed though is both the size and design. A 4.5” phone is a nice fit in the hand, and doesn’t run into any of the issues larger screened devices do with one handed use or being able to fit in your pocket. The phone is also nice and light, and with a great feel to it. I love the texture of the polycarbonate for this model with its matte finish. It never felt like it was going to slip out of my hand. The colors, as usual with Lumia phones, have a great range from pedestrian black to eye popping orange.
Using the 630 as a daily driver for a couple of weeks wasn’t a bad experience, and that says a lot about a phone with a retail price of around $160. Unfortunately for me, I found the phone had compromises in certain areas that were just too painful and would be issues for everyone. The first is the display resolution, which is just too low for 2014 and a device of this size. The second is the lack of RAM, which compromises the Windows Phone experience by limiting the number of apps available in the store.
I’ll admit my expectations were high when I received this phone after a good experience with the 620, and they were not quite met. Going forward in time, we generally expect progress and there’s not a clear case of progress here. As a successor to the 520, it does fairly well, and with the price of the 630 it’s much closer to the initial price of the 520 than the 620. The device is certainly faster than last year’s model and that’s a good thing, but the loss of features like the ambient light sensor and dedicated camera button make for a phone that’s not always a pleasure to use. If you don’t do a lot of gaming on your mobile device, you can get by with the 630. It’s always difficult to get the compromise just right, and in this case I think it’s very close but comes up a bit short in a few key areas. Price isn’t one of them though, and once again you get a decent smartphone experience for not a lot of money, but it’s just not the clear upgrade I was hoping it would be.
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cashnmillions - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
I have the 635 after having an HTC DNA and then a Google Nexus 5. So far the phone has grown on me, there are definitely fewer features than some of those Android phones. Win Phone 8.1 takes a bit getting used to. It is simple though and runs pretty smooth. The thing I probably like the most is the size and feel of the phone when you hold it. I will probably switch back to android though in the next year and probably will get a compact or mini version of one of the bigger phones like the Xperia Z1 or S5.Alexvrb - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
A lot of the mini versions are gimped in terms of specs. Sony is usually better about that than most. Nokia has some good small phones that are higher end than the 6xx series. There's also talk of a 1520 V (smaller version) that might be good those those looking for something compact. Personally I'd be more interested in the 1820.kyuu - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
Thanks for the review, Brett. It's great to see real Windows Phone coverage return to Ars. I only wish there were some flagship phones to review. Newest one is the Lumia 930, and that's not even available in the US market.Oh how I wish they'd release a successor to the 1020. Hell, they could use the exact same camera module and it'd still be a winner. Just modernize the rest of the phone and address the 1020's chief shortcomings (white balance problems and lack of mSD).
Gunbuster - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
The really bizarre thing is they have done a ton of marketing for the 1020 in the past few weeks. It's like no one told them the phone has been out for over 6 months and is soon to be discontinued...skiboysteve - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
return to ars?kyuu - Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - link
Yes...? Unless my memory is completely out of whack (which isn't a possibility I ever discount), Ars hasn't had any real reviews of Windows Phone hardware/software since the initial review of WP8 and the HTC 8X. Note that pipeline articles don't fall under my definition of "real reviews".noblemo - Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - link
This is AnandTech.hahmed330 - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
This is a downgrade from nearly every aspect... Rather cough up 20$ extra buy a Moto G and not be this cheap... Only thing good I can say is well great reviewVengenceIsMine - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
In spite of the #, this isn't really a sequel to the 620, significantly lower price point. If this thing was at $150 or better $129 then it's a solid phone for the $ but it's currently overpriced. I expect it to drop soon much like the 520 did, that thing came out at $129 but was under $99 within 3 months of release practically everywhere & often below that.512mb is definitely the weak point in this phone, kind of unforgivable and short sighted, hopefully now that MS has control they will but a stop to the 512 mb madness. Screen res is ok and performance is actually pretty good for the price point and Lumias are generally pretty well built vs competition in these cheaper market segments.
Microsoft has to wake up and stop paying $ for Qualcomm in this market segment & get onboard with a cheaper SOC like MediaTek and spend the $ on ambient light sensor and extra RAM.
jimjamjamie - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link
I thought the 630 was a pretty conservative configuration for Nokisoft. If you compare it to the Nokia X2, the X2 beats it soundly and for a better price. Funnily enough it's only for select markets.