In the case of the 640, of course, no one's had hands-on with it yet, so there's a little bit of conjecture, but the 735 and Moto G 2nd generation hardware are known quantities, making this fight appropriate and relevant.
Here are the three contenders then:
As usual, I've shaded in green any obvious 'wins', and in red for any obvious omissions or losses, though in fairness there are a lot of subjective calls and equivalence here - let's see which handset comes out on top:
[And yes, we know that AAWP tables don't render well in Internet Explorer on Windows Phone - blame Microsoft - there's a new browser coming ('Spartan')...]
| Lumia 640 (LTE) | Lumia 735 | Moto G 4G (2015) | |
| Price | Expected from £110 on pay-as-you-go | From £110 on pay-as-you-go | Estimated from £140 on pay-as-you-go |
| Date launched | March 2015 | Sept 2014 | March 2015 |
| Form, materials | All plastic, replaceable rear shell, matt effect | All plastic, replaceable rear shell, impression of unibody solidity | All plastic, replaceable rear shell, impression of unibody solidity |
| Dimensions | 141 x 72 x 9mm, 145g | 135 x 69 x 9mm, 134g | 141 71 x 11mm, 155g |
| Connectivity | Up to LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 | Up to LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 | Up to LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Display | 5" 720p LCD screen, Glance-compatible | 4.7" 720p AMOLED, ClearBlack Display polarisers | 5" 720p LCD screen |
| Processor, RAM | Snapdragon 400, quad core 1.2GHz, 1GB | Snapdragon 400, quad core 1.2GHz, 1GB | Snapdragon 400, quad core 1.2GHz, 1GB |
| Storage, expansion | 8GB plus microSD | 8GB plus microSD |
16GB, plus microSD |
| Camera (stills) | 8MP, 1/4" sensor, LED flash, 1MP FFC | 6MP, 1/3.4" sensor, LED flash, ZEISS optics, 5MP FFC ('Selfies', etc.) | 8MP, sensor size not known (probably 1/4"), LED flash, 2MP FFC |
| Camera (video) | 1080p, mono audio capture | 1080p, stereo audio capture | 720p, stereo audio capture |
| Audio | Single speaker, loud, 3.5mm jack | Single speaker, loud, 3.5mm jack | Stereo front facing speakers, loud and good quality, 3.5mm jack |
| Navigation | HERE Maps/Drive+, full offline content, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou | HERE Maps/Drive+, full offline content, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou | Google Maps/Navigation, limited cached local content, GPS, HERE Maps also available if user knows to search it out |
| Battery matters, charging | 2500mAh replaceable, microUSB charging | 2200mAh replaceable, microUSB or Qi charging | 2390mAh sealed, microUSB charging |
| OS, ecosystem | Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 (in theory), upgradeable to Windows 10, ecosystem still missing some key applications in most markets | Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, upgradeable to Windows 10, ecosystem still missing some key applications in most markets |
Android 5.0.2, Google Experience launcher, etc. Access to the full Android ecosystem and application set |
I'd rate the comparison as an equal win for the Lumia 735 and Moto G 4G (2015) then, the two devices look similar, are specced similarly and come out with the same number of 'wins', while the new Lumia 640 pales slightly, even here in its LTE version. Of course, the latter will come down in price further and I'd expect to see the 640 LTE another £20 or so cheaper within a few months, while the 735 is more or less at its bottom now.
Which of the three would you plump for, if it were your money? If Windows Phone was an option for a user then the Lumia 735 would be my pick (mainly the cameras and charging flexibility), while if applications, services and ecosystem was an issue then the Moto G 4G is a safe choice.
It's always fascinating trying to equate smartphones from different ecosystems, but in this case I think I've found a pair that match almost exactly.
We'll discuss this comparison in the next AAWP podcast, I suspect. Watch this space.