Nokia Lumia 635 review

Fast and cheap

Nokia Lumia 635 review
Another enlightening Lumia

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The Nokia Lumia 635's stand-out feature has to be 4G. Unlike its sister the Nokia Lumia 630, the Lumia 635 can connect to the UK's fastest LTE mobile networks.

Nokia Lumia 635 review

I took the Lumia 635 for a spin in a 4G-equipped town, and sure enough, I comfortably attained broadband-like download speeds without so much as a sniff of Wi-Fi.

Even with only two 4G signal bars showing out of a potential five, a quick Speedtest.net test yielded download and upload speeds of around 4Mbps either way.

So the Nokia Lumia 635 is automatically a good choice for those who are intent on capitalising on the fastest connection speeds currently available, but who don't want to pay the earth for the privilege.

It's worth noting that 4G contracts tend to come at a premium, so if you value fast network speeds over class-leading hardware, the Lumia 635 could be your phone.

That's not the Nokia Lumia 635's only stand-out feature though. Following closely on the coattails of the Nokia Lumia 630, the 635 was only the second smartphone to ship with Windows Phone 8.1 as standard.

Nokia Lumia 635 review

I'll discuss the ins and outs of the latest Microsoft mobile OS in the next section, suffice to say that it's a notable (if not wholesale) improvement over Windows Phone 8.

In particular, you finally get the notification menu that we've been crying out for since Windows Phone 7 launched, and which Android and iOS adopted some time ago.

You also get a Swype-like keyboard that allows you to type out messages by sliding your thumb from letter to letter. Again, this is a feature that has been on Android for some time, while iOS is lagging behind. Regardless, we're glad it's here on Windows Phone now.

However Windows Phone 8.1 has since arrived on the majority of Windows Phone handsets, so while this was a big selling point at launch it's less so now.

Still, that Nokia and Microsoft would make these two budget phones the first to receive such a major update says a lot about how important they are to both companies.

Nokia Lumia 635 review

One final key feature I should talk about is that removable rear panel. Nokia has always been good at providing alternative covers for its phones, and that's certainly the case with Nokia Lumia 635.

Share my distaste for the glossy finish? Just purchase a new one and swap it around.