I do realise that simply changing the colour of an item of technology is utterly trivial in one sense, but it's also very satisfying when it's you that has to live with it day to day. Back in the mid 2000s, Nokia introduced the idea of Xpress-On covers for many of its Symbian smartphones, changing the look and feel 'according to your mood'. And, with Nokia's/Microsoft's Windows Phone low and mid range, the same is now true for almost every handset. You just have to know where to find the various colours... Me? I ended up with a Lumia 830 that looks altogether more classy...

Of course, the many AAWP readers with high end Windows Phones will be out in the dark here, since the likes of the Lumia 920/925/1020/1520/930 all 'come' in a specific colour and that's your lot. If you then want to change things up you've got to use a third party case or external shell, making the phone bulkier.

But in the mid and budget range, things are far more flexible. it's somewhat bizarre that the more money you spend, the less flexible your phone becomes, but that's how it's ended up, with everything from the Lumia 830 downwards having a back that comes off, usually to reveal a swappable battery and access to various slots. Quite apart from the utilitarian nature, the fact that the back cover comes off at all means that you can swap it for one of a different colour.

Now, back in the day, Nokia used to ship such phones with several covers in the box, but these days back covers can contain various coils and antennae, such as for NFC and Qi charging, so there's a potentially higher component cost. So you'll need to buy such a replacement/alternative yourself - as a case study, I treated my bright green Lumia 830 to a new black back, with the cost being £13.50 including postage in the UK. For a gadget that I'm going to pick up thirty times a day and leave on desks in front of me or use to snap pics and generally wave around, the cost is quite reasonable - in the Lumia 830's case, the back cover contains a Qi charging coil, a significant component.

Of course, you can't usually walk into a phone accessory shop and buy something like this - you need access to the same store of original parts as the manufacturer itself. Which is where eBay comes in - or rather OEM part sellers that use eBay as their shop front. I've been dealing with fonejoy - I've no affiliation with them, by the way, and I'm sure there are other part sellers online which can help here too, but fonejoy was the one that got my business because it was bang up to date in terms of models supported.

The new part arrived with official protective plastic, inside a bag, and all mouldings and indicators are indeed that this is the real thing - thankfully. There are some clones and copies of (admittedly) more widely used smartphone parts out there online.

I was expecting to find the new black back a big improvement (I like to stay inconspicuous!) and it was. The Lumia 830 is now a pleasure to pick up and wave around in all company(!):

The cheaper Lumias (635, 535, 520. etc.) work out even better in terms of buying backs of different colour - the Lumia 520 ones are simple and work out to less than £4 each, with most others in the same ball park. In fact, at this end of the parts spectrum, everything works out to about that price, with the part itself costing almost nothing and the cost being for the supplier's shelf space, time and trouble, plus - usually - postage included. [By the way, the Lumia 735's back cover is more expensive because there are both Qi and NFC coils/aerials integrated.]

I've not heard Microsoft talk about 'Xpress-On', of course - why would it, that's a Nokia thing from times past? But the effect is much the same - by shipping smartphones with replaceable backs, users can collect alternatives to suit the occasion and mood. A bright green or orange back for the party, a black one for the office meetings and a white one while on holiday?

Comments welcome if you've also experimented along these lines. Would you welcome other colours, even if only available via Internet outlets? Plus it occurs to me that custom DIY colours might be possible, how creative do you feel?

PS. Of course, the other big thing about a replaceable back is that you (usually) get to remove and replace the battery if needed, either because it's on the way out or because you'd like to swap in a spare after a particularly long day out or had forgotten to charge overnight. I'll be looking at the aftermarket battery scene for Lumias shortly here on AAWP.