Please note: this is only the first part of my Microsoft Lumia 535 Review. I`ve decided to split it up into different categories and publish them all seperately and then in the end I will just combine every part and publish the full review. I do this because I finally want to share some of my impressions and I think it`s probably also more pleasant to you to read it in some shorter parts. And if you prefer to read the whole review you can do so in the coming weeks. Then I will also add some pictures!
Review – First impressions & Build quality
After using the Lumia 535 for quite a while now we finally get to the review. I will talk about every single aspect of the device sorted in different groups, so it should be transparent. If you`ve got any suggestions for improvement, please make sure you let me know in the comments. But now to the actually review…
First impression
I`ve unboxed the Microsoft Lumia 535 on January 27. If you want to watch my unboxing (in German) you can do it here. The first thing I noticed, was how premium and well-built it feels for its price. The matt back provides a very nice feel in the hand. It actually reminded me a lot of the HTC One X.
Then when I powered up the device, I was really curious to see how bad the touchscreen really was. As you probably all know many 535 owners complain about the touch sensitivity. Well, my first impression was actually the same. The setup of the phone wasn`t a great experience. I had to touch the setup boxes several times to move on with the process. This of course did impact my great first impressions I had with the device regarding the build quality. But still it wasn`t that big of a deal for me, because I was kind of expecting it.
Next step was to get the Lumia 535 fully charged. First I messed around with the charger. It was a pain to plug in the USB cable. Maybe it`s just me being unable to do things right but the rounded sides prevent me to plug in the cable with one or two try. Speaking of the rounded sides and edges I absolutely love them since holding the phone for the first time. The phone just fits perfectly in your hand. That`s something I don`t get with my daily driver, the Lumia 830. While I quite like the edgy design regarding aesthetics, they hinder me to comfortably holding the phone.
As you can see as far as first impressions are concerned the experience is mostly positive. Now let`s see if the device could prove them or not…
Design & Build Quality
I know I actually said a lot about those topics under first impressions, but because they are so important (at least to me) I will share some more information with you. First let`s talk about the design. The Lumia 535 looks nearly like every low-end Lumia phone we know today. You get your familiar plastic back with space for the 3,5mm headphone jack on the top, for the main camera with a flash and for the speaker on the back, as well as for the micro-usb port at the bottom of the device. The front is completely black with the front camera and the usual brightness sensor on the top. But now what`s different is, instead of the Nokia stroke you will find the Microsoft branding on the front as well as on the back. The back is removable to put in the battery, the sim card(s) (depending on what version you have, you are able to use one or two sim cards simultaneously) and last but not least a micro-SD card with up to 128 GB of space. On the left side of the Lumia 535 there is the power button and the volume rocker. Sadly, there`s no dedicated camera button which I really got to love on my Lumia 830 as you can read here and watch here.
As said before the build quality impressed me very much. The whole device feels just very sturdy and premium (again for its Price). Of course the Lumia 830 does feel much more premium but I think it`s out of question that we can`t compare them without taking a look at the targeted price. The buttons which are also made out of plastic are well-made. They are slightly on the shaky side but still they offer a good enough pressure feedback. As for the placement I`m totally fine with it, you can reach all of them without having to spread your fingers too much. The plastic back not only provides a great built quality it also doesn`t get as cold as the Lumia 830. This is nice to see, especially in the winter.
On the front of the device you can definitely notice that the device isn`t made out of one piece by the clearance (hope this is the right expression; I mean the “gap” between the back cover and the front part). This part is not even or yet nicely rounded like on the 830 but again, we can`t expect this from a device of this price class.
All in all I`m definitely impressed by the build quality of the device. As for the design I really love it and the rounded edges have their advantages but they also make it harder to plug in a charger or a headphone.
Now this was the first part of my review. I`m working hard on the other ones and I hope that I can publish them as soon as possible. If you`ve got any questions about the device or if you have suggestions, please let me know in the comments. And I`m sorry if there are many mistakes in this text, but as you know English isn`t my native language. Please make also sure to check out my Youtube channel here.
