Nokia and Windows Phone 8 are a fine
combo, but the bulky, battery sapping Lumia 920 has too many issues to earn a
recommendation
The Lumia 920 is the first smartphone we've
seen with Windows Phone 8, and it's a critical launch for Microsoft and Nokia.
It's a good-looking phone and feels strong;
like the HTC One X, it's milled from a single block of polycarbonate. The
curved back and chopped-off ends have a gloss finish, and it's also available
in black, grey, red and yellow.
Its 10.7mm girth and 185g weight make it
noticeably bigger than its rivals. Samsung's Galaxy S III is 8.6mm thick and
weighs 133g, and the iPhone 5, with its smaller screen, weighs a mere 112g
that's 39% lighter.
The Lumia 920's camera is the first
smartphone shooter with optical image stabilisation, and quality is excellent.
Colours are accurate, detail almost matches the Galaxy S III's shots, and
low-light pictures are superb, with more colour and detail, and considerably
less noise, than any other smartphone camera. It's paired with a good macro
mode, and the stabilisation smoothed out any shaking in video, although it
wasn't noticeably better than the iPhone 5's digital stabilisation system. The
software is easy to use, with effects collected under the "Lenses"
button.
The
Lumia 920 is the first smartphone we've seen with Windows Phone 8, and it's a
critical launch for Microsoft and Nokia.
Nokia has added several of its own apps.
Nokia Maps is fast and accurate, and maps can be downloaded for free offline
use. The turn-by-turn satnav app, Drive, worked well, quickly calculating
routes and alternative directions. It had problems at one roundabout, and its
voice instructions were occasionally obtuse, but it's generally good.
City Lens layers local points of interest
over images from the camera, like Layar, but it's little more than a gimmick.
Nokia Music uses intelligent "mixes" to find tracks it thinks you'll
like.
The IPS screen's 768 x 1280 resolution and
Retina-beating 332ppi pixel density mean that Windows Phone 8 is crisp, and
quality is great. The 427cd/m2 brightness and a contrast level of 711:1 make
for superb vibrancy and colour accuracy.
The
427cd/m2 brightness and a contrast level of 711:1 make for superb vibrancy and
colour accuracy.
The Lumia's score of 920ms in the SunSpider
test beats every other phone in this Labs. Slowdown was rare, and we saw no
sign of juddering frame rates in games, including Need for Speed Undercover and
Real Football.
There is dual-band 802.11n wireless,
Bluetooth, NFC, and 4G LTE support is included.
The major disappointment, though, is the
Lumia 920's 2000mAh battery pack. When combined with the high-end processor and
internal radios, the Lumia had only 40% of its capacity left after our 24-hour
test, compared to the 60% of the Galaxy S III.
The outright pricing for the Lumia 920 is
also a disappointment, coming in much higher than the Samsung Galaxy S3 and at
the same level as the iPhone S. Given the uphill battle that Nokia and
Microsoft still face in getting consumers to accept Windows Phone 8, this ends
up as quite the sticking point, especially when there are better iOS and
Android phones for cheaper.
We can't criticise Windows Phone 8 itself,
which is a slick, attractive OS. Assuming more apps appear, it could prove a
genuine alternative to Android and iOS. The camera and Nokia's apps are
excellent, too. However, the price and battery life prevent us from handing the
Lumia 920 an award.
Specifications
|
|
Display
|
|
|
Screen size
|
4.5in
|
|
Resolution
|
1280 x 768 pixels
|
|
Pixel density
|
332 PPI
|
|
Type
|
IPS LCD
|
|
Processor and battery
|
|
|
Family
|
Snapdragon
|
|
Cores
|
Dual-core
|
|
Clock speed
|
1.5GHz
|
|
Battery
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2000 mAh
|
|
Claimed 3G talk time
|
10h
|
|
Storage and memory
|
|
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RAM
|
1GB
|
|
Internal storage
|
32GB
|
|
microSD
|
No
|
|
Camera
|
|
|
Megapixels
|
8.7MP
|
|
Resolution
|
3264 x 2448 pixels
|
|
Flash
|
Dual LED
|
|
Aperture
|
f/2.0
|
|
Stabilisation
|
Optical
|
|
Video
|
1080p
|
|
Front-facing camera
|
1.3MP
|
|
Wireless
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|
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Network
|
4G LTE
|
|
Wi-Fi
|
802.11 a/b/g/n
|
|
NFC
|
Yes
|
|
Bluetooth
|
3.1
|
|
Charging
|
Yes
|
|
Dimensions
|
|
|
Size
|
130.3 x 70.8 x 10.7mm
|
|
Weight
|
185g
|
