New Moly W5 running Windows 10 Mobile set at $199 for April 13 launch

By Daniel Rubino
published

A few weeks ago we did a quick review and hands-on with the Coship Moly X1 running Windows 10 Mobile. The $299 LTE-enabled Windows Phone brings an extremely thin and light profile to the open market and left us mildly impressed.

Starting on April 13, there will be a new Moly in town, and it is labeled the Moly W5. The phone drops the X1's price from $299 to a more affordable $199 along with the expected reduction in specifications.

New Moly W5 vs. Moly X1

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Category(New) Moly W5Moly X1
Display Size5.0-inch LTPS Display5.5-inch LTPS Display
ResolutionHD (1280 x 720 )Full HD (1920 x 1080)
OSWindows 10 MobileWindows 10 Mobile
CPU1.1 GHz
Snapdragon 210		1.2 GHz
Snapdragon 410
RAM1GB2GB
Internal Storage8GB16GB
microSD expansionYesYes
Chargingmicro-USBmicro-USB
Camera8MP rear
2MP front		13MP rear
5MP front
FlashYesYes
Battery2250 mAh2600mAh
Bluetooth4.04.0
Thickness7.3mm6.9mm

As you can see from the above specifications the Moly W5 definitely drops a lot to hit that $199 price point. However, it does keep the slim profile and adds a gorgeous looking metal frame to up the premium feel of the phone.

Like the Moly X1 the W5 is LTE-capable on AT&T and T-Mobile and is of course non-CDMA (no Sprint or Verizon).

Like other open-market Windows Phones that ship with Windows 10 Mobile the W5 should receive OS build 10586.164 over-the-air if not already flashed onto the device. Additionally, it should continue to receive frequent OS updates as Microsoft continues to build out Windows 10 Mobile.

Overall, the Moly W5 looks to be a solid phone and we'll pick one up for a hands-on impression as soon as it is released on April 13. The phone ships from China so expect a bit of a lag time to reach your US designation.

See the Moly W5 at Amazon.com (opens in new tab)

Thanks, Greg M., for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

64 Comments
  • Keep them coming.
  • The question is why Microsoft is recycling the same "GSM focus on a CDMA market" strategy used for Windows Phone 7, and why Microsoft has not obtained Qualcomm CDMA certification for Windows 10 for Mobile via the Global Certification Forum.
  • Because **** CDMA
  • Yeah, these keep coming no matter the app store's losing. Msft really should focus on their cons.
  • Am I the only one who feels it's a tad bit expensive for that specs.. :-/
  • Its too expensive especially considering it is a local almost never heard of company phone
  • Would hazard a guess the factory knocks out branded phones as well. Had a mooch around the web and have built htc, LG there
  • To me it's 650 shell 550 hardware plus extra ££££
  • Verizon and Sprint customers are missing out. Sucks for them. GSM is where its at
  • Wasn't Verizon making the switch to GSM
  • From my understanding, CDMA is an old technology that is no longer being installed. (For that matter, so is GSM I believe.) The stuff that is going in now is all the LTE stuff and newer (i.e. 5G), which is a different technology. While there CDMA is no longer being installed on the towers, it is still in use and has not yet been deprecated. Posted from Windows Central for Windows 10 on my Surface Pro 3
  • People should stop using Verizon and Sprint. Let them disappear.
  • they won't American's love getting raped out of money
  • I have 4050mAH battery, SD 650 and 3GB RAM, Full HD 1080p display, 32GB internal at that exact same price, actually a little less considered the1$ is around ₹68-₹67.. Right now..
  • Which phone do you have?
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. Indian Version.
  • Great for you bhai
  • That phone doesn't run Windows 10 Mobile so all those specs and the amount you paid mean nothing to buyers that are looking for a Windows 10 Mobile phone.
  • That doesn't mean **** if it ain't running Windows 10
  • Yeah its an awesome phone but no windows version so literally useless
  • Droid ? Shut up already !
  • Ok seriously...stop commenting around here with your android propaganda...you've been at it for a while now and its ******* off. If you like it stick with it. If any of us are interested in moving out of windows, we don't need your help...
  • Where did you get this
  • Would be an interesting competitor for the 650, but, as usual, the lack of glance support for OEMs...
  • WHAT?"????? 410 vs 650??? DUDE?? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?? SD650 has Arm cortex A-72. 410 will get extinct.!!
  • He means Moly W5 vs Lumia 650. Calm down. Read more slowly. Then reply.
  • He should mention "lumia" when the post is about hardware then obviously I'll think he's talking about the SoC :-)
  • Uhh, "the lack of glance support for OEMs" was a dead giveaway for anyone who bothered to read before posting an indignant reply. Just leave these forums already.
  • Even if I wasn't, this article is about the Moly W5, not the X1.  Not sure why anyone would randomly be commenting on the cpu of a sister phone mentioned in the article to another random cpu.  You must be hitting the bottle early today
  • LOL :P kind of true :-)
  • He didn't mention "SD" too..then how could you think it as snapdragon... :p
  • Kamesh is the local village idiot. His mistakes are frequent and glaring.
    Unfortunately, he's difficult to ignore!
  • That's the plan! :-) you can't IGNORE me. LOL :P
  • You need to watch your language.
  • No.
  • Kamesh, it is painful reading your missteps in these forums. Time to pack your bag and bug Android Central users instead
  • I'm not leaving WC. Ever. Ever. Ever.
  • At least put a photo on that profile so we can skip you at a glance :p
  • No option to put in this CP :-)
  • He is android he uses his mummies nexus.
  • My mom has iPhone, I told you before also, eat almonds
  • Man they really get rid of the 8gb/1gb of ram phones. 16gb/2gb of ram should be the lowest they should go.
  • I agree. Posted from my Moto X Pure Edition via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Does the 8GB/16GB matter when it includes a spot for a MicroSD card (as long as you are using high rated media)?  [I am not up on the limitations of W10 and external memory.]
  • Lots of features drop for only a hundred bucks...should be $150 or less.
  • "Limited data speed"? Is that something to be concerned about? Sent from my more personal computer
  • Xiaomi will sell these exact specs for like.. $50-$60.. And they want $199 for such old hardware..
  • What's going on with smartphones having almost no internal storage? Expandable storage is nice, but there are numerous apps that don't allow moving them to an SD card, and I prefer leaving offline maps in the local storage.
  • This'll be great for recommending to recovering iPhone users
  • The first one must be doing fairly well for them to release another phone running windows 10. Out it could have just been in the pipeline who knows?
  • Everyone needs to start supporting third party hardware, so they won't shun windows OS for android. This is how Android has so much more lead in third party support.
  • Nice addition to the family. Would take a 640/50 over it any day though.
  • Right now there are like two phones with continuum now (both lumia) and they aren't selling amazingly well. Most new phones are low budget. Is continuum equipped WP dead?
  • I would really love to see a high midrange phone come to the west from one of the OEMs. Something like the VAIO...
  • From the specs listed on Amazon's page, neither phone has Band 12 LTE, so your experience on T-Mobile will subpar if you buy this.
  • Do the Moly phones have NFC?
  • pass on the Chinese phone. 650 for me thankyou!
  • Overpriced
  • Looks good! But it will probably have the same 4G/LTE Bands as its older sibling, the Moly X1; which means no Band 1 and Band 3 that works in my country :(
  • Costlier compared to the blu win HD lte. You can pick one up for 60 -70 bucks these days and the only con is the build and that it ships with 8.1 . Will get the update for sure so the second con is not a problem. I would suggest any buyers for this phone to stay put and wait for new phones from BLU or if you are in India from micromax and xolo.
  • An Indian will never buy a WP. Even a Nokia 1100 is better in functionality than this WP. It's so lame.
  • I'm an indian and my Lumia 640xl is my third windows phone...so just stick up your own personal opinion up your own android ass...no one wants you here...
  • I'm glad we're seeing more companies getting into the Windows Mobile market, but I'd like to see more Continuum-compatible phones. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • The Blu Win HD LTE is currently selling for $90 at Amazon.  I don't think the upgrade to Win10 has been released yet, but hardware wise, the specs are better.  $199 is too much for this phone.