Microsoft's flagship smartphones have struggled to wrestle significant market share from their Apple and Samsung counterparts, but the company is fast becoming a major player in mid-range handsets.
Announced at MWC 2015, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are bright and cheerful offerings that deliver the full-fat Windows Phone experience at an affordable price.
We got our hands on the shiny new devices at the Barcelona event to find out whether it's time to ditch that Motorola Moto G or iPhone 5C.
Specs and design
The Lumia 640 and 640 XL offer the kind of specs you would expect at this end of the market, running off quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 chips and 1GB of RAM.
Those internals aren't going to set the world alight, but they are a step up from the Lumia 630 and 635, and should be enough to swerve the pitfalls of those handsets.
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It certainly appears to be a case of all-round improvement as the Lumia 640 and 640 XL boast bigger and better screens, both rocking 1280x720p resolutions.
The 640 measures in at 5 inches and the 640 XL at a hefty 5.7 inches. Colours appear rich on both, while blacks are deep and stark thanks to the inclusion of ClearBlack technology.
Upping the resolution to 720p does not appear to have impacted on core performance, as browsing Windows Phone 8's menus feels no less fluid than on the flagship Lumia 930.
With rounded edges and a glossy plastic finish, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL are attractive devices that feel only marginally less robust than some of the high-end phones that will set you back a good few hundred pounds more.
The 640 is sits in your hand comfortably and feels optimally-sized for web browsing, gaming, and watching videos, but the 640 XL's gargantuan proportions will likely make it more of a niche device.
The Lumia 640 comes in cyan, orange, white, and matte black, while the larger variant will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, glossy white, and matte white.
Camera credentials
We had the chance to field test the 8-megapixel camera on the Lumia 640 and the 13-megapixel snapper on the Lumia 640 XL, and both yielded impressive results.
Photos captured with the more powered camera on the larger handset appear noticeably brighter, but the 8-megapixel camera on the Lumia 640 produces imagery crisp enough to rival any other handset at this end of the market.
Microsoft's Lumia Camera app offers rapid response time, but the mid-range chipset starts to feel the strain when its more advanced enhancement tools are applied, with users in for a slight delay before the results present themselves.
The absence of a front-facing camera on the Lumia 630 disappointed selfies enthusiasts, but their discontent hasn't fallen on deaf ears as Microsoft has included a 0.9-megapixel camera on the front of the 640 and a 5-megapixel sensor on the 640 XL.
As you might expect, the larger handset delivers superior output, but the smaller device is capable of handling low-grade conference calls and passable selfies.
Windows 10 and free Office 365
Both the Lumia 640 and 640 XL will be upgraded to Windows 10 when the multi-platform operating system launches later this year, giving users access to its full range of universal apps and services.
Bagging the latest software at this price point might be enough incentive to ensnare some customers, but the promise of a free year-long subscription to Office 365 makes the new phones a truly tantalising prospects for those on the lookout for a budget handset.
As Microsoft phrased it to us, it's almost like buying a subscription to Office 365 and being given a free smartphone.
Our early verdict
If you're in the market for a mid-range handset, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL will be worthy of your consideration when they arrive in the coming months.
The handsets provide everything you could possibly want from a smartphone if you're the kind of consumer who doesn't balk at the thought of missing out on the latest cutting-edge technology.
There are a dozen handsets out there with a more attractive design and specs that obliterate the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, but the vast majority of these will cost you at least £200 more.
The Lumia 640 will be released worldwide next month priced at €139 for the 3G model and €159 for the LTE version, before taxes and subsidiaries.
Microsoft will launch the Lumia 640 XL this month, priced at around €189 for 3G and €219 for LTE. Exact pricing for the UK market is yet to be confirmed.
