Nokia Lumia 810 Review

Introduction:

Wasting no time in building up its latest army, T-Mobile is being graced with its very own Lumia device – admittedly though, we’ve seen them already get the Lumia 710 way back earlier in the year. Seeing that Microsoft’s mobile platform has been updated to Windows Phone 8, it’s only fitting to see T-Mobile receive one of its first devices sporting the new platform in the form of the Nokia Lumia 810. Although it might be overshadowed by its beefier sibling in the Lumia 920, just remember that it doesn’t necessarily require premier specs and features to prove itself as a worthy competitor.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall charger
• User Guide
• Product and Safety Information
• Limited Warranty Information

Design:

Quick! Someone call the ambulance, the Nokia Lumia 810 has been sucked dry of any intriguing design elements to make it a device that embodies the “look” of a Lumia branded device. Honestly, we’re not flattered by its boring and ugly design, which is considerably more boxy in appearance, but at least we appreciate its clean body thanks to its soft touch coating. Combining its hollow feel and average build quality, it doesn’t particularly convince us that it’ll endure two whole years of usage.



You can compare the Nokia Lumia 810 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Being the Windows Phone it is, we’re given the usual trio of capacitive Windows Phone buttons beneath its display, which are spaced evenly to reduce accidental presses. On the complete opposite edge, we find its earpiece and front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera that can shoot video in 720p.

Quickly glancing around its trim, it’s remarkably a Lumia device seeing as it’s donning the usual buttons and ports typical of any device in the family – these include the power button, volume control, shutter key, mic, speaker, microUSB port, 3.5mm headset jack, and noise-canceling microphone.

Although it’s not attached with the PureView name, the Lumia 810 isn’t a slouch in the camera department, since it’s packing a respectable one in the rear. Specifically, it’s an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera that features Carl Zeiss options, F2.2 lens, dual-LED flash, and 1080p video recording. Lastly, ther hard to remove back cover grants access to its internal 1,800 mAh battery and the microSD slot for memory.



Display:

Surely it’s not as impressive as the one found on the Lumia 920, but nevertheless, the 4.3-inch WVGA (480 x 800) ClearBlack AMOLED display on the Lumia 810 is still pleasant enough to enjoy. With its 217 ppi pixel density, it doesn’t offer the sharpest details, which is evident by the garbled fine text in the web browser, but we’re able to make out other details with relatively few issues. And considering that it’s employing AMOLED technology, it has that wow appeal with its saturated color production and deep black color.

Interface and Functionality:

Uniformity is undoubtedly what Microsoft is achieving with its mobile platform, and knowing that, it doesn’t surprise us that there’s nothing particularly new with the Lumia 810’s Windows Phone 8 experience. Essentially, it’s the same exact one that we find on the Lumia 920. Yet again, it’s the flashy and dynamic presentation of the start screen that really makes the platform intriguing from the onset, but as the same time, we feel as though it requires some additional tweaking to make it as capable to use over other platforms. Thankfully though, it’s carrying along Nokia’s staple of Window Phone apps, such as Nokia City Lens, Drive, Maps, Music, and Transit, to enhance the experience over other WP8 devices.


As usual, the handset’s core organizer apps are no different from any other device running Windows Phone 8. Therefore, for things like the email app, it follows in form to provide us all the essential basics of getting by. And finally, the spacious nature of its 4.3-inch display makes the Lumia 810 ideal in typing up long passages of text with its on-screen keyboards with little issues – and it helps that it’s super responsive and has a great auto-correct feature.

Looking through the listing of preloaded apps, there isn’t as much junk found on it compared to other smartphones in T-Mobile’s stable. Out of the box, it’s packing along 411 & More, CallerTunes, ESPN, Slacker Radio, T-Mobile TV, and Zynga Games

Processor and Memory:

Don’t let its boring design fool you! That’s because the Nokia Lumia 810 is tucking away inside of its body a very capable dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor with 1GB of RAM, which is the same chipset powering the Lumia 920. As expected, the smartphone delivers one snappy performance with all operations, but as we all know too well in this business, that’s the norm with almost all Windows Phones to date.

Knowing that this is being billed as an entry-level model, you’re going to need to moderate what content you save on the device – that’s because it’s only coughing up a measly 7.41GB of free storage out of the box, but luckily this can be expanded with an microSD card.

Internet and Connectivity:

In contrast to its sibling in the Lumia 820, which features LTE connectivity, this T-Mobile bound Lumia 810 merely relies on good old HSPA+ speeds instead. Indeed, it’s not as fast as loading complex pages compared to its LTE counterpart, but nevertheless, it’s still quick enough to satisfy our liking. Moreover, the web browsing experience is enjoyable due to its snappy performance, proper rendering, and balanced speed – so yeah, it has all the qualities we’d want to find. However, its low resolution display doesn’t add that hint of sharpness to make pages pop, then again, pinch gestures typically remedy it.


Traveling internationally isn’t a problem with this GSM smartphone, seeing that it’s compatible with the majority of networks around the world. In addition, it also packs connectivity features such as aGPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot functionality, and NFC.

Camera:

Normally, entry-level smartphones aren’t known for their camera quality, but with this, we’re utterly impressed that there’s some love being thrown onto it. Despite lacking the PureView association, the Lumia 810’s 8-megapixel auto-focus camera delivers some very exciting looking results. Sure, it might be lacking some fine details, but at least the general look of its shots are pleasant enough to accept. Furthermore, its F2.2 lens shows its worth in low lighting conditions as well, since it’s able to brighten things up to draw out some details – without the sacrifice of exhibiting stronger noise. Finally, it’s dual-LED flash is potent, but it does cast a noticeable vignetting effect.


Far from perfect, the 1080p video recording quality out of the Nokia Lumia 810 is still tolerable enough to accept. However, there are some distractions found with it – these include its dull details, instances of artifacting, and slow focus adjustment. Nevertheless, its neutral color reproduction, gradual exposure, and smooth 29 frames per second capture help to balance things out.

Nokia Lumia 810 Sample Video:



Nokia Lumia 810 Nighttime Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Finding the same old lovable Windows Phone 8 music player, which clearly retains the consistent dynamic appearance of the platform, it’s both visually pleasing to look at and functional to use. Unfortunately, the audio quality out of its speaker is rather sharp and irritating in tone – thus, delivering a strained output.


No doubt, we would’ve like to see a higher resolution display, but nonetheless, WVGA isn’t much of a distraction when it comes to watching videos. In fact, its ClearBlack AMOLED display delivers the goods, as the poppy colors of the screen help to keep our eyes affixed on it – plus, it has a very smooth playback with 1080p videos.

Calling Quality and Battery:

With the exception of the sharp tone and muffled voices produced by the speakerphone, the call quality on the Lumia 810 is rather pleasing. So much so that voices on both ends of the line are clear, distinctive, and noise-free.

Signal strength remains steady with the handset, as we didn’t experience any major fluctuations or dropped calls during our testing in the high coverage areas of the greater Philadelphia region.

Stuffed with an 1,800 mAh battery, it’s only able to provide us with average results. Specifically, a full charge enables us to get by through a solid work day with our mixed normal usage – albeit, it’s still something that requires nightly charging to be at a sufficient level for the next day.


Conclusion:

On the surface, there’s nothing cool or hip looking with the Nokia Lumia 810, which is a shame considering it’s a Lumia device, but yet, it’s lacking any of the distinct design cues to make it a part of the family. However, once you’re able to overlook its boring design and discover its inner beauty, the Lumia 810 really shines as an entry-level smartphone. Interestingly enough, the Windows Phone 8 experience here is identical to what you’ll find in Nokia’s flagship in the Lumia 920. And even though it’s not packing a PureView camera per se, its quality is remarkably pleasant for a basic handset. Therefore, if you can overlook its beastly appearance, you’ll find the beauty within that’ll impress on so many levels.

Software: Window Phone 8.0
OS Version: 8.0.9903.10