Lumia 540 is the successor of Lumia 535 and improves upon it. The handset still sticks to its roots and aims at delivering a great Lumia experience. Microsoft Lumia 540 will soon be available for 10,199 INR across all major retail stores. Let’s get you through our preliminary examination.
Lumia 540 Quick Specs
- Display Size: 5 Inch HD IPS LCD, 1280 X 7200 resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Processor: 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 Processor
- RAM: 1 GB
- Software Version: Windows 8.1 OS
- Camera: 8 MP rear camera, 480 P Video recording
- Secondary Camera: 1 MP
- Internal Storage: 8 GB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 128 GB
- Battery: 2200 mAh
- Connectivity: 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, GLONASS
Microsoft Lumia 540 Unboxing, Hands on Review, Camera, Features, Comparison with Lumia 640
Design, Build and Display
Lumia 540 doesn’t deviate much from core Lumia design ethics. It looks similar to Lumia 535 or even Lumia 640. The black color variant will have matte finish, while all other colors have glossy plastic back with a transparent layer on top, similar to Asha series devices.
The material used is of good quality and phone looks very durable. You can pop out the polycarbonate back where removable battery, 2 SIM card slots and MicroSD card slot are housed. The phone doesn’t look or feel like a cheap phone or heavy phone.
The IPS LCD display on the front is sharp and vibrant. Viewing angles are good, though not great. There is no Gorilla Glass protection, so you will have to rely on scratch guard, which you advised to install anyways. The display is befitting the price range.
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Processor and RAM
Microsoft has used Snapdragon 200 quad core chip clocked at 1.2 GHz to drive Windows Phone 8.1 on Lumia 540. While we didn’t face any lag or performance hurdle in our initial time with the device, it will still be a hard recommendation over Lumia 640 which is selling for the same price as of now and includes a Snapdragon 400 chip. RAM capacity is 1 GB, which is good enough considering the software and chipset used.
Camera and Internal Storage
The rear 8 MP camera is a basic camera and can record only 480p videos. The front 5 MP camera is more acceptable as a selfie shooter and can record 480p videos as well. In our initial testing, front camera does a very good job. Again, we are bound to compare it with Lumia 640 which offers slightly better camera hardware for the same price. We will reserve our verdict till we have thoroughly tested it.
Internal storage is 8 GB and can be expanded by another 128 GB using MicroSD card slots. Windows Phone 8.1 allows apps to be transferred to SD card too (not all apps). This should work well for most users.
User interface and Battery
Interface is similar to most other Windows Phone 8.1 OS smartphones with Action center, home screen wallpaper and more of conveniently placed setting toggles. Denim update features like App folders, App corners, Snooze times, SMS merge and other security enhancements are also included. Lumia 540 will also get Windows 10 update later.
Battery capacity is 2200 mAh. Battery backup has never been much of an issue with most Lumia phones. On paper, the battery capacity has been improved over Lumia 535.
Microsoft Lumia 540 Photo Gallery
Conclusion
Lumia 540 is definitely an improvement over Lumia 535, but since Lumia 640 (online exclusive) is available for almost the same price, it will make sense for those willing to buy only from brick and mortar stores. The handset has good build quality, a good selfie camera and a very decent display.
