Oh, I think they do..... :wink:

Thanks again. I bought the phone on the vodafone PAYG deal. Works just fine on my 3 SIM.
Despite 2 store staff & head office help desk saying it was locked, i got a written confirmation from CPW that all Nokia(Microsoft) handsets are unlocked.

Thanks, I'll go into the shop again and confirm

Hi, is this definitely unlocked?
I have asked in store and via phone and both answers said the payg versions were locked

And if you can upgrade:
Virgin: £29.99
O2 and Voda: £34.99

no top-up required

I had a play around with a demo and it was a laggy experience with choppy animations, enough to put me off. Anyone else experienced this with the 550?

I recently (4 days ago) bought it for 49.99 from O2 but it's unlocked.

Would it be worth it to refund it back to O2 and take this one...

As i think it comes with charger as well and is unlocked which I really want..

Just a note for anyone consiering a purchase, I went in for the 535 deal but it was oos so bought my wife this yesterday and it's a NANO sim. No big deal but you'll nee a sim card cutter if your coming from a micro sim. CPW wanted to charge me £10 the last time I had a similar problem.

Edit, and doesn't come with a charger.- oops! it does, my wife took it out lol

My partner has this phone in the white gloss version. It honestly feels more solid than the 950 xl I sent back.

I tend to agree, but somehow I always feel terrible when passing through Berkshire :wink:

I've just been told in a CPW shop that the PAYG handsets are locked and the information I found on the EE web site - that EE will unlock a PAYG handset immediately after purchase for an £8.99 fee - doesn't apply if I buy from CPW. The only option for an unlocked handset is to pay £99.99 for a specifically unlocked one.
I can't see anything on the linked deal to say if the handset is locked or not. Can anyone point me to something in writing?

In the link above, the only exception that is mentioned is the iphone, no other phone is mentioned under exceptions, so I would presume all other phones other than the iphone are unlocked. As you say handsets have always been unlocked whenever I have purchased from CPW in the past.

Thought it was odd. I have bought several contract handsets from CPW over the years. All unlocked with no network branding. It is the word "Most" in that help article that concerns me, especially with the 550 being such a new handset. Maybe this is an exception, if the sales assistant is to be believed?

I've just been told in a CPW shop that the PAYG handsets are locked and the information I found on the EE web site - that EE will unlock a PAYG handset immediately after purchase for an £8.99 fee - doesn't apply if I buy from CPW. The only option for an unlocked handset is to pay £99.99 for a specifically unlocked one.
I can't see anything on the linked deal to say if the handset is locked or not. Can anyone point me to something in writing?

Anyone got experience of the front facing camera across the range of budget Lumia phones? As I'm having difficulty justify price the of a 735 let alone 640 XL.

Thanks for the correction chancooluk. I'd easily opt for the Blu in that case.

Have a good Xmas!

The specs (as in the raw numbers) are better when comparing both phones. I never said that better specs = a better experience.

I would personally choose the 550 over the BLU, just because its a lumia, and is likely to be a higher quality device.

My comment wasn't actually directed at you, more these 'comparison websites' that simply state the numbers without showing real world performance.

I love when people automatically assume that more megapixels = better camera. I can assure you that it doesn't.

My other half has this phone, it's a lovely bit of kit for the cash. Obviously at this level performance isn't outstanding but it copes with most tasks incredibly well.

Failing? Can you elaborate please, I'm genuinely interested. Thanks.

Also has more units failing....

That information from GSMArena is based on the original 3G only BLU WIN HD, which was not sold in the UK.

The BLU WIN HD sold at Amazon for £59.99 is the 2nd gen BLU WIN HD LTE.

This is the correct comparison: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone2=7612&idPhone1=7205 (the specs at GSMArena show that it doesn't cover the UK LTE frequencies, but the version sold directly by Amazon is fully compatible with all UK LTE frequencies).

The BLU WIN HD LTE has better specs overall:

Faster, more powerful Snapdragon 410 chipset (vs 210).
Higher resolution 8MP camera with 1080p recording (vs 5MP and 720p)

Wouldn't the BLU WIN HD be a better phone at the same price?

you are right i forgot about the twin sim.

great find op, have a good one, heat added :smiley:

BLU WIN HD is a twin sim phone.