Nokia Lumia 630 - Review
- The Lumia 630 was one of the first phones to ship with Windows Phone 8.1.
- Performance was surprisingly smooth thanks to Microsoft’s strong optimization.
- The missing front camera, LED flash, and proximity sensor were the biggest compromises.
The Nokia Lumia 630 was an entry-level Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone aimed at users who wanted a simple, affordable, and colorful device. It was available in both single SIM and dual SIM versions, while users who wanted LTE could look at the closely related Nokia Lumia 635.
Windows Phone 8.1 on a budget
The Lumia 630 was one of the first devices to arrive with Windows Phone 8.1, and that made it feel more modern than its modest price suggested. The update added the Action Center, quick toggles, customizable Start Screen backgrounds, new tile sizes, Cortana, Quiet Hours, SD card app installation, and a swipe keyboard.
That software polish mattered. Even with only 512MB of RAM, the Lumia 630 felt responsive in everyday use. Apps opened reasonably quickly, scrolling was smooth, and the interface rarely felt like it was struggling.
Hardware and design
The Lumia 630 followed Nokia’s familiar design language with a colorful removable shell, clean front glass, and sturdy matte plastic finish. It was available in black, white, orange, green, and yellow, giving users more personality than most budget phones of the time.
The phone used a 4.5-inch ClearBlack IPS display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Around the body, you got volume controls and a power button on the right, a 3.5mm headphone jack on top, and a microUSB port on the bottom.
Microsoft removed the need for mandatory hardware navigation keys with Windows Phone 8.1, so the Lumia 630 used on-screen controls instead. That made the front cleaner and allowed the buttons to rotate with the interface.
Display quality
The 4.5-inch ClearBlack display used a 480 x 854 resolution, which worked out to 218 pixels per inch. It was not especially sharp by modern standards, but it was good for the price at the time.
Colors looked pleasant, viewing angles were solid, and outdoor visibility was one of its better qualities. The lack of an ambient light sensor meant brightness had to be managed using Windows Phone’s Low, Medium, and High brightness profiles.
Camera
The Lumia 630 came with a 5MP autofocus rear camera. There was no LED flash and no dedicated camera key, but Nokia Camera was included out of the box and gave users access to manual-style controls including white balance, focus, ISO, shutter speed, and exposure.
In good lighting, the Lumia 630 could capture some of the better photos in its class. Nokia’s image processing helped the modest sensor produce usable daylight shots, though indoor and low-light photos showed noticeable noise.
Video topped out at 720p at 30fps. It was acceptable for casual clips, but still images were clearly the stronger part of the camera experience.
Connectivity
The Lumia 630 was available in single SIM and dual SIM versions. Users who needed LTE had to choose the Lumia 635 instead, which was otherwise very similar.
- Lumia 630 — GSM and HSPA connectivity with up to 21Mbps download speeds.
- Lumia 630 Dual SIM — Dual microSIM support with dual standby.
- Lumia 635 — Added LTE Cat 3 support with up to 100Mbps download speeds.
Other connectivity features included Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS, and FM radio with RDS.
Software features
Windows Phone 8.1 was the real star of the Lumia 630 experience. The Action Center finally gave Windows Phone users a proper notification area with quick toggles, while Cortana brought Microsoft’s voice assistant to the platform.
The phone also shipped with Lumia Cyan, which included Nokia-specific improvements and apps. These included Nokia Camera, Creative Studio, Storyteller, HERE navigation, and several imaging-related tools.
- Action Center added notifications and quick settings.
- Cortana introduced Microsoft’s personal assistant experience.
- Windows Phone Store gained automatic app updates.
- Microsoft Office gave users Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote support.
- HERE apps made navigation one of the Lumia line’s strongest advantages.
Microsoft also included its Bing app suite, including Travel, Sports, Finance, Food & Drink, Health & Fitness, and News.
Everyday performance
The quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor helped the Lumia 630 feel quick for basic tasks. Calling, messaging, web browsing, social apps, and navigation all worked well. Microsoft’s optimization helped hide the limitations of the hardware better than many Android phones in the same class at the time.
The biggest limitation was the 512MB of RAM. It was enough for normal use, but some heavier games and apps either performed poorly or were not available at all.
Storage and battery
The removable rear shell gave access to the 1830mAh battery, microSIM slot, and microSD card slot. Support for microSD cards up to 128GB was a major advantage, especially since Windows Phone 8.1 allowed apps to be installed on external storage.
Battery life was respectable for the class. The modest display resolution, efficient chipset, and well-optimized software helped the Lumia 630 last through normal daily use.
Final thoughts
The Nokia Lumia 630 was clearly designed to bring Windows Phone 8.1 to the masses. It launched at a reasonable price, delivered smooth performance, and offered a better software experience than many budget rivals of its time.
It was not perfect. The missing front camera, LED flash, proximity sensor, and USB cable in the box were frustrating omissions. But for users who wanted an affordable Windows Phone with a colorful design, expandable storage, and reliable everyday performance, the Lumia 630 made a strong case for itself.
- Colorful Lumia design
- Smooth Windows Phone performance
- Expandable storage
- Good outdoor visibility
- Optional dual SIM model
- No front camera
- No LED flash
- No proximity sensor
- Only 512MB RAM
- No USB cable in most boxes
The Nokia Lumia 630 was Windows Phone’s budget workhorse
The Nokia Lumia 630 was built to bring Windows Phone 8.1 to more people without pushing the price too high. It delivered a smooth interface, colorful Lumia design, expandable storage, and solid everyday performance for its class. The missing front camera, LED flash, proximity sensor, and limited 512MB of RAM held it back, but as an affordable Windows Phone, it still had a clear purpose.
Nokia Lumia 630 - Unboxing and First Impressions
With the Lumia 630, Microsoft has used more colorful packaging, which represents the various colors the device is available. While our trial unit was in plain black, you could also pick up your Lumia 630 in green, orange, yellow or white.I will continue to test out the Lumia 630 and you can check out all the details about Nokia's affordable Windows Phone 8.1 device in my Nokia Lumia 630 Review.
Nokia Lumia 630 - Camera Review
Camera Features
- 5 megapixel sensor
- autofocus
- 4x digital zoom
- 1/4 inch sensor size
- f/2.4 f-number/aperture
- 28 mm focal length
- 10 cm minimum focus range
- JPEG/Exif image output
The fact that the Lumia 630 packs a quad-core processor means that you will be able to capture photos very quickly. Having used a Lumia 1020 as a daily driver, it becomes evident that the 41MP sensor is a huge task on its dual-core processor. Since the Lumia 630 has only a 5MP camera, its quad-core processor has no trouble with quick photos.
The 5MP camera on the Lumia 630 is quite a decent unit. It captures photos quickly and the results can easily be shared with your family and friends on your favorite social networks or backed up on OneDrive.
The device comes with Nokia Camera for Windows Phone preloaded out of the box, which should help enhance your camera experience.
Nokia Camera allows you to choose between 5MP 4:3 mode and 3.7MP 16:9 samples, there are no other resolution options. You also get other options like, white balance, focus, ISO, shutter speed up to 1s and exposure settings.
The Lumia 630 captures video in 720p @ 30fps. While the video quality is decent, it isn't as impressive as the still images.
Nokia Panorama (download)
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| click for original |
Nokia Refocus (download)
While the Lumia 630 is clearly not the best Windows Phone we have tested, it is clearly capable of capturing beautiful photos under enough light.
Nokia Cinemagraph (download)
Nokia Cinemagraph is a great mix of photos and videos, allowing Lumia users to capture a photo which seems to come to life. You can capture photos in landscape or portrait modes and share the Cinemagraphs on your favorite social networks after saving them to your Nokia account.
Cinemagraphs can also be exported to GIF format, so you can share them easily. Keep in mind that cinemagraphs are quite large, so you may want to upload them over Wi-Fi to avoid data charges.
The Lumia 630 does an impressive job capturing cinemagraphs... While we had to admit using better Lumia cameras, especially among the Pureview devices, the Lumia 630 is truly impressive for an entry level smartphone.
Nokia Glam Me (download)
Nokia Glam Me is a tool which helps take the perfect selfies. This tools is very useful on the Lumia 630 which doesn't have a front camera. The app automatically recognizes when your face is in shot and takes the photo for you.
Bing Vision
Bing Vision is another extremely useful lens on your Windows Phone. It comes pre-installed on your Lumia 630 and is Microsoft's version of Amazon's Firefly. Bing Vision for Windows Phone can scan barcodes, QR codes, books, CDs and DVDs.
Bing Vision is the same service that loads when you click Search
on your Windows Phone and click the 
icon. Interestingly once you have enabled Cortana, Bing Vision seems to be limited to scanning only QR codes.Nokia Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 receive update to fix bugs and improve performance
Among the improvements, the update brings a fix for audio issues, improved connectivity and more, along with performance and stability improvements to the devices. Checkout the full changelog below.
The 01061.00066.14235.36xxx update for the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 brings the following enhancements:
- Fix for intermittent audio issues during a call
- Improved connectivity
- Enhancements to battery level monitoring
- Usability improvements, such as a fix for calendar invites sometimes not showing for the correct date
- Performance and stability improvements
Nokia Lumia 630 - Video Review
source - PhoneArena | Techvideo.de (YouTube)
Nokia Lumia 630 available starting today as first Windows Phone 8.1 device
The Nokia Lumia 630 will be available starting today, making it the world's first commercially available Windows Phone 8.1 device. The device sales will reportedly start in Asia this week, while Europe and the US should get the smartphone a bit later.
Nokia Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 officially announced - First Windows Phone 8.1 devices coming this summer
Both feature 4.5-inch ClearBlack displays with FWGA (480x854) resolutions and run on Snapdragon 400 quad-core CPUs. However users will have to be content with the 512MB of RAM and 5MP cameras which come with both handsets. They will be available in five colors with the option of changeable plastic back-panels shells. 
As both the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 sport decent processing power, they will be treated to all upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 features, including Cortana. They also have an unique property - a Sensor Core. The phones have in-built motion and location tracking sensors which, emulate the functionality of trendy wearable devices. They keep track of data such as steps and calories burned, and present it through the Bing Health and Fitness app. The functionality is of the always-on type, and the great news is that Microsoft will be providing an API. Developers will have the Sensor Core at their disposal to come up with their own contextually-sensitive apps. In addition, Elop revealed that Nokia's Imaging SDK v1.2 with new image manipulation, filter effects, and rendering techniques is also heading towards app creators.
Windows Phone 8.1 demonstrated on Nokia Lumia 630 in leaked videos
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