Nokia Lumia 620 vs. Lumia 630: Budget Windows Phone 8.1

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Meet Nokia's newest entry-level Lumia.

Along with the Lumia 930, Nokia also introduced us to the Nokia 630, a follow on to its Lumia 620, which was announced back in late 2012 and launched early in 2013. This is not one of Nokia's high-end smartphones, but it is one of the higher profile entry-level models the company has (unlike many other prominent phone manufacturers, Nokia has multiple ranges and lines of smartphones within those ranges). Let's see how this year's Lumia 630 stacks up to the Lumia 620 that was made available last year.

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SpecLumia 620Lumia 630
OSWindows Phone 8Windows Phone 8.1
Screen3.8-inch ClearBlack LCD 800×4804.5-inch FWVGA display, ClearBlack LCD
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon S4Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
CPU1 GHz (dual core)1.2GHz (quad core)
GPUAdreno 305Adreno 305
RAM512 MB RAM512 MB RAM
Storage8 GB8 GB
Additonal StorageUp to 64 GB via MicroSDUp to 128 GB via MicroSD
Camera5-megapixel with autofocus,5-megapixel with auto-focus
ConnectivityBluetooth 4,0, WiFi, A-GPS, GLONASSBluetooth 4,0, WiFi, A-GPS, GLONASS
Battery1300 mAh1830 mAh
Launch Price$249$159 or $169 for Dual-SIM version

Nokia has beefed up the specs of its entry-level Lumia, but it's helping things along by dropping the price considerably, too (and that was something the company was sure to mention during its press conference today). The Lumia 620 was already an incredibly solid entry-level device for the price. Now, with Windows 8.1, an upgrade in processor, battery, display, and price, it's an even more attractive deal.

The Lumia 630 will be available this summer and unlike the Lumia 930, it is definitely going to be available in the United States.

Read more: Windows Phone 8.1 Introduces Cortana

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Azn Cracker
    That lumia 630 is a bargain.
    Reply
  • derpderpderp
    I have the Lumina 521 and from using Androids I love this cheap $69 phone. I have the prepaid plan. Just an awesome phone.
    Reply
  • spoonyjack
    Seems like an attempt to go after the Moto G. Lumia 630 might have better hardware overall with microSD but WP8...not so great. Still, that price could come down to less than $100 which would make this very tough to pass up.
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    Not a good product, I dont need extra 2 CPU cores, i just need 1GB RAM. Seriously quadcore is overkill when the 512RAM is the bottleneck.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    That lumia 630 is a bargain.
    Big time. Budget Lumias are great devices for those who buy off-contract.
    Seems like an attempt to go after the Moto G. Lumia 630 might have better hardware overall with microSD but WP8...not so great. Still, that price could come down to less than $100 which would make this very tough to pass up.
    Oh, so I assume you're intimately familiar Windows Phone 8.1 with its newly enhanced MicroSD support? You can install apps to it now so 8GB internal is fine for a low-end phone with support for very large micro SDXC cards. This will also help most current entry and mid-level WP8 devices, after upgrading to 8.1.
    Reply
  • spoonyjack
    Seems like an attempt to go after the Moto G. Lumia 630 might have better hardware overall with microSD but WP8...not so great. Still, that price could come down to less than $100 which would make this very tough to pass up.
    Oh, so I assume you're intimately familiar Windows Phone 8.1 with its newly enhanced MicroSD support? You can install apps to it now so 8GB internal is fine for a low-end phone with support for very large micro SDXC cards. This will also help most current entry and mid-level WP8 devices, after upgrading to 8.1.
    I didn't know that actually. My experience with Windows Phone is limited to messing around with the Lumia 520 I gave to someone as a gift. Considering it was on sale for $60 it was surprisingly functional, the biggest problem with it was definitely its limited storage space.
    Not a good product, I dont need extra 2 CPU cores, i just need 1GB RAM. Seriously quadcore is overkill when the 512RAM is the bottleneck.
    More ram would be nice but it isn't necessary for a low-end budget Windows Phone. The Snapdragon 400 seems to be the go to cpu for decent budget phones, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that it's in the 630.
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    @spoonyjack, the fact is u probably use up the 512MB RAM first b4 utilizing the additional 2 cores. Windows phone are light on resources, it doesnt need quad core to run smoothly, but if u launch enough App to run quad cores, it is most likely the 512MB ram becomes the bottleneck. They should have just stick with dual core 1Ghz + 1GB RAM like how they did on Lumia 525.
    Reply
  • icemunk
    Too slow for the price.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    @spoonyjack, the fact is u probably use up the 512MB RAM first b4 utilizing the additional 2 cores. Windows phone are light on resources, it doesnt need quad core to run smoothly, but if u launch enough App to run quad cores,
    I disagree. Quad cores are so common on phones now, that more and more app developers will take advantage of them. So it's quite conceivable that you could light that processor up with a single app - especially a game or a well-threaded web browser. With that being said, I really want both... which is why I'd go for a higher-end device.
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    @spoonyjack, the fact is u probably use up the 512MB RAM first b4 utilizing the additional 2 cores. Windows phone are light on resources, it doesnt need quad core to run smoothly, but if u launch enough App to run quad cores,
    I disagree. Quad cores are so common on phones now, that more and more app developers will take advantage of them. So it's quite conceivable that you could light that processor up with a single app - especially a game or a well-threaded web browser. With that being said, I really want both... which is why I'd go for a higher-end device.
    when a app that use quad core, most likely it is going to use up 512MB RAM. The Ram is still the bottleneck here.
    Reply