Daily Driver: BLU Win HD LTE

This past week I shifted from my Nokia Lumia 1520, which I have been using since last February, to the BLU Win HD LTE. My goal was to see how the device would perform under my typical daily use regimen.

The Win HD LTE is an updated handset recently released by BLU, a Miami based company, and at $199.99 it is a very reasonably priced unlocked LTE phone. You can read more details about the handset in Rod’s First Look: BLU Win HD LTE and BLU JR LTE from last month.

The Win HD LTE uses a Micro-SIM while my Nokia Lumia 1520 uses a Nano-SIM so my first challenge was to either get a Micro-SIM from my carrier, AT&T, or an adapter for my Nano-SIM. AT&T was more than willing to let me swap back and forth between two different SIMs but each time I wanted to move the card between devices it would require a phone call with them to change over.

That meant a SIM adapter was the path of least resistance to testing on handsets with Micro-SIMs. After much discussion on Twitter with folks who have used them in the past I decided on the MediaDevil Simdevil 3-in-1 SIM card adapter kit. Since I already had the smallest sized SIM out there, a Nano-SIM, this kit easily lets me upsize that to a Micro-SIM.  It only cost $7 so it is also an inexpensive investment for the time savings it would produce over time by not having to get on the phone with AT&T to swap/activate SIMs.

The biggest piece of advice I received for using an adapter was to make sure the Nano-SIM stayed in the adapter and did not come lose as that can make it difficult to remove the adapter from the SIM tray.  The Simdevil adapters come with sticky tape in the adapter to hold things in place and it works well as I have already moved the Micro-SIM adapter with the Nano-SIM out of the Win HD LTE into a Galaxy S4 without any issues.

So now that you know how I got my AT&T SIM into the phone how about the experience of using the Win HD LTE full time?

I have to start by being up front that my experience using the Win HD LTE is compared to the 1520 in many aspects. Of course, one is a flagship phone and hardware while the other is a solid mid-range Windows Phone with decent specs so some difference are to be expected. That does not diminish the Win HD LTE itself as it simply cannot beat the 1520 on specs and performance. However, it is a good mid range Windows Phone option that can bring some users a solid upgrade.

Setting up the Win HD LTE for my daily use was simple as all I had to do was reset the phone and then restore a recent app and settings back up from my 1520. This is all possible because of using a Microsoft Account. Once the reset/restore was completed the phone downloaded my apps apps, added my various email accounts and laid out the Start Screen just as it was on my 1520. This makes moving to another handset a pretty painless evolution and anyone who still refuses to use a Microsoft Account is missing out on not only this but a lot of functionality across their Windows Phone.

So once the device was setup I laid aside the 1520 and kept the Win HD LTE alongside using it for my normal daily things like using social media, catching up on news with Nextgen Reader, syncing my Microsoft Band which is connected by BT, playing a few word games, etc. I am probably on my phone 2-3 times per hour on a weekday while at my desk working and double that on the weekends.

My Windows Phone has become a real consumption device and it is rarely used as an actual phone – just 2-3 calls per day - but I do quite a bit of texting with family. My phone also pulls double duty as a hotspot when I do not have good connectivity for getting online.

So my performance demands on a phone are pretty straight forward and nothing outrageous. In all of the above areas the Win HD LTE performed well and, while it did lag occasionally as I opened apps or moved between screens, it was very functional.

If someone picked up this phone coming from a low end device it would be a good upgrade in performance and capability. For someone like myself, looking on this from my 1520 experience, it is going to seem less than stellar.

That of course, is not the phones fault but it is my perspective. It is with this point of reference I give you the feedback below after using the device daily for the past week:

If you are looking for a phone that is in the middle tier of devices then the BLU Win HD LTE is a viable option and should be considered as you shop for a device.  Its current price of $199 is excellent for the hardware and capabilities you get plus the phone is unlocked although it is only compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile.

Side by side camera shot comparisons:

Sunlight

BLU Win HD LTE

Nokia Lumia 1520

No Sunlight

BLU Win HD LTE

Nokia Lumia 1520

Have any of you tried the BLU Win HD LTE? What did you think of the device and its performance/capabilities?

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