Microsoft Lumia 535 Pro Reviews

The Microsoft Lumia 535 has a good build, packs a large screen that, while it hasn't got the highest resolution, produces good colours and operates for the most part with ease, plus you get the full Windows Phone 8.1 experience. But to achieve the low point, sacrifices have to be made. There's no NFC for example, no faster AC/N Wi-Fi and no 4G. These points could be forgiven, but the screen issues I suffered with the Lumia 535 are not easy to overlook. Yes, they could (maybe) be eradicated with a simple software update, that is if the issue aren't hardware related, but only time will tell if that ever happens. Grievances aside, there's lots to like here. The wide-angle 5MP selfie shooter captures decent pics, Cortana is a fantastic virtual assistant that is just as fully featured here as in top of the line Windows Phone 8.1 devices and the replaceable, colourful shells add a dash of fun.

We're fans of Windows Phone 8.1 but the Lumia 535 compromises in too many areas to make it a bargain at £100. You're better off with a Motorola Moto E or - if you want 4G - the EE Kestrel.

The Lumia 535 manages to deliver a good chunk of the Windows Phone 8.1 experience, for a measly cost of $169.99. Yes, there has been a lot of corner-cutting involved, which results in unimpressive looks, low screen resolution and bad viewing angles, below-average camera, and sub-par call quality. On the flip side, however, we have a 5-inch display with comparatively accurate colors, a smoothly-running Windows Phone system, the Office package, the full Cortana experience, and pretty good battery life. It is by no means a daily driver for experienced users, but we'd recommend it as an entry-level device for people who are OS-agnostic. It's also a good pickup for anyone who's interested in just trying out Windows Phone, but doesn't want to pull the trigger on one of the more expensive handsets.As for rivals and alternatives – Motorola's Moto G still offers a great value at $179.99, with a more powerful Snapdragon 400 SoC, a crisper 720p display, and the more familiar, more app-populated, Android platform. Now, whether having a choice of a great many apps actually matters in the world of low-range devices, we'll leave for you to decide.