Lumia 640 XL LTE: Great smartphone features for a budget price

The Lumia 640 XL LTE from Microsoft Devices is the biggest sibling of the Lumia 640, bumping up not only the screen size, but also increasing the battery, popping in a better rear camera as well. I'm Nic Healy, senior editor for cnet.com. Looking at 640 and 640 XL are two Microsoft devices range affordable hand sets. The small sized 640 costs just $299 in Australian, and 120 pounds in the UK. It's still on it's way to America. 640 XL jumps up to $399 in Australian 219 pounds and $240 in America. But you're getting quite a bit of bang for your buck. The 5.7 inch screen has a 720p IPS display, same as for it's smaller stablemate. Which means slightly fewer pixels per inch, 259 versus 294. It's still more than fine for YouTube videos and viewing your photos. Speaking of photos, the xl offers a thirteen megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens, a big jump up from the basic 640. The battery is also larger, with 3,000 milliamp-hours. A bit smaller than say, the Galaxy Note 4. But nothing to be sneezed it. The processor remains the same as the 640. That's a 1.2 gigahertz dual-core Qualcomm snapdragon 400, but the XL feels more than fast enough when you're using it. The 4G LTE modem is of course, the other big bonus with the XL Particularly great here in Australia where 4G networks are being expanded and developed all over the country. The 640 XL Unit we have has a matte finish to its removable back. This is the single SIM version of the XL. There are variants that include dual SIM, and one that's even 3G. But this is the only one you're gonna find in Australia. Stronger plastic finish can't match the metal feel of phones like the HTC One M9 or the Galaxy S6. The price makes the Lumia 640 XL LTE a great option for anyone after a big screen phone with 4G on a budget. I'm Nic Healey. For more videos and reviews, head to CNET.com.