Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review : Nokia Lumia 920

Happy New Year!

For the first post on this blog, it's only appropriate to cover the device which prompted me to start this blog, the Nokia Lumia 920. As a background, I was never really a big mobile phone user. I remember the first mobile phone I purchased was the Nokia 5110, an extremely popular device during my younger years. As smartphones started to enter the market, I didn't take too much notice and after using other various "flip" phones, I got my first smartphone, the Samsung Blackjack II. By then, the Apple iPhone was already a big hit and with the smartphone becoming a part of daily life I finally jumped onto the bandwagon and purchased the Apple iPhone 3GS.


Using the iPhone was a great experience; the user interface, the apps, and the performance were all beyond expectations. A few years later I upgraded to the iPhone 4 which was another huge improvement. When the iPhone 5 was announced, I was set to upgrade yet again. However, come launch day I found myself losing interest and decided to wait it out for the next model iPhone. Don't get me wrong - I love the iPhone and it did everything I wanted in a smartphone. But after a while, it started to get a bit stale.



Then, I came upon the Nokia Lumia 920. It piqued my interest mainly because of the camera's features. Being an avid amateur photographer, the amazing low-light capability and Optical Image Stabilization were enticing. After checking out the demonstrations of the new Windows Phone 8 OS, I was hooked and placed a pre-order as soon as it was available.


So here we are, almost 14 years after my first mobile phone - back to Nokia, my first phone manufacturer, and back to Microsoft, my first smartphone OS manufacturer.


For the following review, I will be making a few comparisons to the iPhone 4 since that's the platform I switched from, so there may be useful if you're thinking of switching from the Apple camp.


Build Quality


As anyone familiar with Nokia knows, their phones are truly built around quality and sturdiness, often nicknamed the "brick" for its structurally ruggedness. This is no exception with the Nokia Lumia 920. When the phone was first starting to get reviewed, the major "complaint" that reviewers unanimously seemed to voice was the weight. If you compare it to other phones, it may feel a bit heavier upon first use but it's by no means the brick (in terms of weight) as these reviewers make it out to seem.


I'm not going to lie. It is a bigger phone. And it is a bit heavier. But in real world use, it feels and handles wonderfully. However, if you're accustomed to the super lightweight handling of the iPhone 5 or other comparable phones, you may not appreciate it's bulkiness.


When I used the iPhone 4 I had a slim back cover for protection. Comparing the weight in real world terms, it felt pretty much the same in the hand, maybe slightly heavier. After handling it for a few hours, it felt about the same. The weight issue is honestly a non-issue for me personally. For some, they like the feel of a lightweight device. For me, I like to have a bit of weight since it makes it a bit easier to handle.


Windows Phone 8


The overall user interface is very similar to iOS so I had no problems at all adjusting to the user interface. I've never used Android so I unfortunately cannot compare it to that. The first thing I noticed while using WP8 is how smooth and quick the OS is. There is basically no lag when performing actions and running apps. It's refreshingly responsive compared to iOS6 on the iPhone 4.


The one thing noticeable with WP8 is the lack of customization and some missing features. Live tiles can be customized to different styles and colors and rearranged to your liking. However, you are not able to customize a few different features such as separate SMS and e-mail tones. There is currently a lack of a notification center and no rotation lock as well. Internet Explorer works well and is quick, but here, there is a lack of customization as to the quick buttons you can touch to access bookmarks or new tabs. There is also no way to tap the status bar to quickly navigate to the top of a page. In the volume department, there is no separate ringer and media volume control. Also lacking is a universal search system.


If you're accustomed to many of these standard features on the iPhone, these small shortcomings may make the switch a bit frustrating. In the beginning, these lack of features tempted me to switch back, but so far I have gotten accustomed to the OS and am waiting patiently for Microsoft/Nokia to push out more updates to hopefully fix these issues. Despite these missing features I still thoroughly enjoy using the phone and am more than happy with it.


Camera


The Nokia Lumia 920 camera was one of the main features of the phone that enticed me to buy the phone and was heavily marketed by Nokia. The initial release saw many users complaining about photos coming out a bit soft but the recent Portico update pushed out by Microsoft / Nokia seems to have fixed this issue somewhat, at the cost of higher grain. Several users complain about a problem with the auto-focus not working perfectly. There is an app in the marketplace called Camera Pro which enables the user to use manual focus and this seems to take care of the problem. Still, Nokia is constantly working on more updates so hopefully this issue will get resolved as the camera performs wonderfully for me.


Overall colors are vibrant and the optical image stabilization is a delight to have, especially when shooting video. Low-light photography is superb, easily besting the iPhone 4 in this department. As an avid amateur photographer with over $5000 worth of quality lenses, be assured that the Lumia 920 is no slouch. Straight-out-of-camera photos look great and with a bit of post processing, photos can look like they were taken with a dedicated camera system.


One complaint about the camera is the menu-based adjustments of ISO, exposure, white balance, etc. When switching settings on the fly, it's a bit time consuming to enter the menu to adjust the settings, especially since I'm accustomed to the quick adjustments available on my DSLR. I would love to see small icons to select an adjustment and be able to adjust it via the volume controls. In either case, hopefully they put out an update to redo the camera settings.


Apps / Marketplace


The main complaint and concern of new users to Windows Phone 8 is the lack of apps in the marketplace. When you compare the Microsoft Store to iOS or Android, yes, there is a relatively big difference in the selection of apps, especially the quality. Let's be honest, it's all about the money. The marketshare on iOS and Android is considerably bigger than on Windows Phone and so of course, the developers make apps on the big two and usually leave out Window Phone users out in the cold.


Currently, the Windows marketplace is growing considerably as more users slowly switch over and more developers show Windows Phone users some love. There was a recent article stating that 47 out of 50 of the top apps are available on Windows Phone. If you're a light to medium app user, the app selection should be more than enough. One thing to take note however is that although many of the apps are available on the Windows Phone, many lack the quality and features that are available on the apps on iOS and Android. But don't let that deter you! Many third-party apps by developers dedicated to the Windows Phone platform have plenty of quality apps that surpass the official apps and work wonderfully. Some apps are unique and offer features that aren't available on iOS or Android.


If you are a heavy app user, I would considering searching through the Microsoft Store first for your favorite apps and see if they're available and if they're any good. Be sure to check for third-party apps as well. One lacking category in the Microsoft marketplace is navigation. When I owned the iPhone 4, there were several great navigation apps that were free (Waze) or cheap (Skobbler) that I loved using. The Microsoft marketplace lacks the choices and for $10-$40, the Garmin, Navgion, etc choices are not fully optimized for WP8.


In the end, it's a chicken and egg problem. Developers won't create apps without more users and users won't switch without the apps. Hopefully the quality of Nokia phones and the wonderful WP8 OS entices more users, bringing along the developers.


Nokia Drive


Speaking of navigation, this brings me to Nokia Drive, the built-in navigation app currently found on the Nokia Lumia 920. The user interface is beautiful and easy to use and performance is excellent. It locks on and tracks quickly and re-routes quickly as well. You can download offline maps to save on data and voice navigation with street names are available with a free voice download. However, using it in the San Francisco, Bay Area, I have found that the routing is a hit or miss. Many times it would lead me to known dead ends and long loops. Since Nokia Drive is still in Beta form hopefully they improve on this. Users in Europe seem to have less complaints about the quality of the routing.


Related to navigation is the included Nokia Maps. The interface is the same as Nokia Drive and both apps are linked so that you can search for a location and automatically get driving directions. However, the lack of local street traffic deters me from using it often and I rely on the Inrix traffic app for up to date traffic information.


Conclusion


Overall, the Nokia Lumia 920 is a wonderful phone. It's not without it's faults, but no smartphone is. The iPhone didn't become great overnight. If you're new to smartphones in general, you'll undoubtedly love the Nokia Lumia 920 and WP8 OS. If you're switching from iOS or Android, it'll take some getting use to. You may get frustrated at first, but if you give it a chance it may just start to grow on you as it did for me.



Rating : 4 of 5
Pros : Build quality, solid camera, smooth WP8 OS
Cons : "Standard" features currently missing, app selection may be limited depending on your taste





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