Review: Nokia Lumia 820

The second of Nokia’s new Windows Phone 8 handsets has arrived rather quietly – and is one with mid-high end feature set and price tag. Compared with the more expensive Nokia Lumia 920 it’s specifications stand up quiet well in many regards.

This new Windows Phone 8 handset is available exclusively from Vodafone NZ. It provides dual carrier 3G capabilities means a maximum theoretical download speed in NZ of 42Mb/s.

The Lumia 820 has a stylish look and like the Lumia 920 has a larger stature than most smart phones. The key area where this handset is lower in specifications is the display. Running a 4.3” QWVGA display (800x480 pixels) rather than the 4.5” HD display of it’s bigger brother.

This handset is extremely responsive and the flexibility of increased storage is a great option which it’s pleasing to see is arriving in many of the newest Windows Phones (as it does with many Android handsets). The Lumia 820 built in a manner which leaves me feeling it will live up to the Nokia name in terms of strength and robustness. Also in the 820 is Qi wireless charging capabilities – an option expected to be available in a broad range of handsets going forward. To enable a separate wireless is needed and currently these are prices around NZ$130.

This is a very nice phone overall and the only reasons it doesn’t get a higher rating is the lower resolution screen and the relatively high price point. For the same price Samsung’s Ativ S will deliver much more storage (32GB) and a massive 4.8” HD display. The Ativ S however has been delayed to market and it’s final deliver date is not yet known.

Specification and features

• Display: 4.3"  (800 x 480 pixels)
• Rear Camera: 8mp Camera / 720p HD Video Camera
• Front Camera: yes
• 8GB Storage, 1024MB RAM
• CPU: 1.5GHz Dualcore Snapdragon S4
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) – incl Wifi hotspot
• 3.5mm stereo audio jack
• NFC: included
• Wireless charging: Qi Wireless charging back cover included (charger available seperately)
• MicroUSB connector
• SIM size: MicroSIM
• Battery: 1650mAh
• Weight: 160 grams
• Size: 68.5mm x 9.9mm x 123.8mm
• Windows Phone 8 hardware features: A-GPS/Glonass, G-Sensor, Digital Compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• Windows Phone 8 software features: Synchronisation of email/contacts/calendar (Exchange, Office 365, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc), Xbox Music/Video/Podcast Hub, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer 10, Maps app, Facebook Integration, Twitter Integration, Pictures Hub, People Hub, fully upgradable OS.
• Nokia Specific Apps: various
• Keyboard: Onscreen touch keyboard
• Physical Keys:  Camera, Power, Volume
• Capacitive Keys: Search, Back, Windows Start key
• Maximum theoretical data download speed: LTE Cat 3 - 100 Mbit/s, HSDPA Cat 24 - 42.2 Mbit/s, EGPRS MSC 12 - 236.8 kbit/s
• Maximum theoretical data upload speed: LTE Cat 3 - 50 Mbit/s, HSUPA Cat 6 - 5.76 Mbit/s
• Data types: HSPA+ (3G), EDGE/EGPRS (2G), FDD-LTE (4G), HSUPA (3G), GSM (2G), HSDPA (3G), WCDMA (3G), DC-HSDPA (3G)
• Data bands: GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, WCDMA Band V (850), WCDMA Band VIII (900), WCDMA Band IV (1700), WCDMA Band II (1900), WCDMA Band I (2100), LTE 800, LTE 900, LTE 1800, LTE 2100, LTE 2600

Official Networks: Vodafone NZ

Compatible Networks: All NZ mobile networks

NZ List Price: $799 incl GST ($695+gst)

Overall Product/Value Rating (as at January 2012): 4/5

Preview: Nokia Lumia 920

It’s been a long time coming, but the Windows Phone platform finally has a top device that can strongly challenge the best Android and iPhone handsets in terms of performance, screen resolution, camera capabilities and industrial design.

We took a quick look to see just how it stands up. The Lumia 920 feels good in the hand and looks great in my opinion – though style comes down to personal opinion. The handset is incredibly responsive and responds well to user interaction.

Compared to other high end smartphones on the market – the Lumia 920 stands up extremely well both in performance and features. The handset has Qi wireless charging built-in, a 4.5” super high definition display (at 332 ppi it’s higher than other smartphone available in the local market), a unique video camera with optical image stablisation, and a very reasonable 32GB of storage.

Oh, and the Lumia 920 supports a number of 4G LTE network bands – which could be handy when you’re travelling overseas or when such fast mobile services are available in NZ (think 2014 or so). 4G LTE can provide mobile data speeds that are faster than a home or business ADSL connection!

Reflecting it’s features the Lumia 920 is priced at $999 incl GST and available from Telecom NZ and it’s dealers.

So what’s not to like? Not much really in my opinion, though if you like small and light handset then this isn’t for you. In that case there are other options such as HTC’s upcoming Windows Phone 8S (at a mid-range price point) or the iPhone 5 ($1199 for the 32GB model). One thing that smaller markets miss is colour choice – so in New Zealand initially at least the Lumia 920 is available only in black.

Specification and features

• Display: 4.5"  (1280 x 768 pixels), Pixel density 332 ppi
• Rear Camera: 8.7mp Nokia Pureview autofocus Camera / 1080p HD Video Camera
• Front Camera: 1.2mp still camera / 720p HD Video Camera
• Audio, Photo, Video Streaming to TV, Xbox, etc (DLNA)
• 32gb Storage, 1024mb ROM, 1024mb RAM
• CPU: 1.5ghz Dualcore Snapdragon S4
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) – incl Wifi hotspot
• 3.5mm stereo audio jack
• NFC enabled
• Qi Wireless charging (wireless charger required to utilise)
• MicroUSB connector
• SIM size: MicroSIM
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Weight: 185 grams
• Size: 70.8mm x 10.7mm x 130.3mm
• Windows Phone 8 hardware features: A-GPS/Glonass, G-Sensor, Digital compass, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor
• Windows Phone 8 software features: Synchronisation of email/contacts/calendar (Exchange, Office 365, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc), Xbox Music/Video/Podcast Hub, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer 10, Maps app, Facebook Integration, Twitter Integration, Pictures Hub, People Hub, fully upgradable OS.
• Nokia Specific Apps: Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens, Nokia Transport, Nokia Music
• Keyboard: Onscreen touch keyboard
• Physical Keys:  Camera, Power, Volume
• Capacitive Keys: Search, Back, Windows Start key
• Maximum theoretical data download speed: LTE Cat 3 - 100 Mbit/s, HSDPA Cat 24 - 42.2 Mbit/s, EGPRS MSC 12 - 236.8 kbit/s
• Maximum theoretical data upload speed: LTE Cat 3 - 50 Mbit/s, HSUPA Cat 6 - 5.76 Mbit/s
• Data types: HSPA+ (3G), EDGE/EGPRS (2G), FDD-LTE (4G), HSUPA (3G), GSM (2G), HSDPA (3G), WCDMA (3G), DC-HSDPA (3G)
• Data bands: GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, WCDMA Band V (850), WCDMA Band VIII (900), WCDMA Band IV (1700), WCDMA Band II (1900), WCDMA Band I (2100), LTE 800, LTE 900, LTE 1800, LTE 2100, LTE 2600

Review: Nokia Lumia 800

After a European launch in late 2011, Nokia’s first flagship Windows Phone has finally launched in New Zealand. It’s stunning in Cyan and also in the generic Black option. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with the Nokia Lumia 800 both before and after it being released publicly in NZ and have been extremely impressed. It’s a phone with an impressive design and...

Click to read more ...

Nokia jumping to Windows Phone platform (dropping Symbian)

                        

Today, Nokia have announced they have selected Windows Phone as their primary smartphone platform. They will phase out Symbian, their existing smartphone platform. It’s announcement that divert at least a little wind out of Google’s sales of Android.

In addition to delivering new Windows Phone handsets – Nokia plans to bring it’s own App Store, Ovi Maps and other features to the Windows Phone platform. They believe Windows Phone 7 will make them more competitive in the U.S. and global markets in the growing smartphone race.

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer highlighted this partnership will help accelerate the advancement of the Windows Phone platform. It’s been announced that Nokia will be targeting a range of price points. This suggests Nokia will likely be one of the first to handset vendors to launch Windows Phone 7 handsets other form factors – like candy bar handsets (with smaller screens and Q9 keyboards).

No timing for new Windows Phone based Nokia handsets have been announced yet by Microsoft and Nokia, however Nokia highlight the expect to deliver quick results. I would expect that means the first Nokia handsets will ship this year – likely around the time of the major Windows Phone update (codename Mango) in August-October timeframe .

Stephen Elop (Nokia CEO and ex-Microsoft Exec) highlighted that Nokia has been given exclusive rights to customise Windows Phone 7 should they wish to. He mentioned however they are unlikely to make any big customisations to the product.

Nokia has been confirmed they will be shipping their first MeeGo smartphone this year – but will be focussing on Windows Phone as their primary smartphone platform.

Going forward Bing will power search on Nokia handsets, and Microsoft expects Nokia Maps to become a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services.

In a joint open letter from Nokia’s Stephen Elop and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer the two closed with the following:

“There are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them.
  There will be challenges. We will overcome them.
  Success requires speed. We will be swift.”

Regarding tablets - Nokia was coy about what their Microsoft relationship might mean other than to highlight that Nokia has access to whatever tablet software Microsoft brings to market. That suggest it’s certainly been an area of discussion between the two parties and that Nokia has likely been privy to details of Microsoft’s tablet roadmap.

Follow @WindowsPhoneNZ to be kept up to date.