Nokia Lumia 920 Review

Introduction:

It’s do or die time for Nokia, right? Already on numerous occasions, the industry has questioned the staying power of the once magnificent handset maker, as they’ve redirected their focus in recent times towards Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. In all fairness, it’s rather difficult to say how much time the Lumia 900 has bought Nokia, but in any event, they’re here once again trying to stay relevant on top of the heap of other smartphone makers making it big in the industry. Most recently, however, the Finnish company has been able to turn heads thanks to the impressive delivery of the Nokia PureView 808 – a magnificent camera centric handset that decidedly opted to rely on the older Symbian Belle platform.

Well people, they’ve listened intently to all the concerns and followed through appeasing the masses by incorporating a PureView camera into a Windows Phone. Culminating all into the Nokia Lumia 920, the successor to the Lumia 900 from earlier in the year, there’s a lot of excitement regarding this flagship device – but most importantly, will it actually stir enough noise to entice consumers to take grasp of it? Considering that it’s attached with a very attractive $99.99 on-contract price point, it would seem as though the Lumia 920 will have enough of the prized elements to make it the runaway Windows Phone 8 smartphone to own at the moment.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Product and Safety Information Guide
• NFC tag

Design:

Distinctively a Lumia handset, there’s nothing particularly fresh about the design of the Lumia 920, as it maintains an almost identical figure to the previous Lumia 900 model. To its credit, though, the single noticeable improvement is evident with the glass over the display, which is now rounded around its trim to match the contour of the device. Still, it’s one hefty feeling (0.42” thick) and very weighty (6.53 oz) device compared to the svelte and compact constructions of other premier smartphones. Nevertheless, its unibody polycarbonate design is sturdy enough to ensure it’s going to withstand the usual bout of normal wear and tear it’ll experience throughout its lifetime.



You can compare the Nokia Lumia 920 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Most prominent amongst its look, is the variety of Skittles-like colors that are available with the Lumia 920 – thus, giving it a stylish edge over other things out there. Even though we appreciate the hint of character and pizazz it adds to the familiar looking handset, the glossy appearance of our red model is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. Then again, the cyan and black versions of the Lumia 920 opt for a matte finish to minimize those unwanted distractions. In a world of cold looking industrial design, it’s heartwarming to see the Lumia 920 setting itself apart with its vibrant color selection and solid construction – albeit, we wish it weren’t so darn bulky.

Being a staple amongst most Windows Phones, the Lumia 920 packs the typical trio of capacitive Windows Phone buttons beneath its display, which are spaced far from one another to minimize accidental presses. Conversely, we’re greeted with the usual assortment of characters on the opposite edge – these include its earpiece, light & proximity sensors, and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera that has the ability to shoot videos in 720p.

Looking around the trim of the handset, the left edge is completely barren, but on the right, the power button, volume control, and two-level shutter key are placed near one another. Luckily, they’re raised enough to offer a sufficient feel with the finger – while exhibiting springy responses when pressed. Meanwhile, the top trim is home to the microSIM slot and 3.5mm headset jack. Showing off its attention to detail, microdots line up in unison to make up its speaker grill on the bottom edge, with the microUSB port also there for charging and data connectivity.

Recognized easily as its main attraction, the Lumia 920 is packing along an 8.7-megapixel PureView camera in the rear, which features a dual-LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics, and an F2.0 lens. Furthermore, it features Nokia’s “floating lens technology” to deliver optical image stabilization. Needless to say, there’s a lot of talk riding on its back, but we’re quite intrigued by how it’ll perform in the end – so we’ll find if it can walk the walk later on.


Display:

Undeniably regarded as a vast improvement, since the Lumia 900 from before featured a 4.3-inch WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display, this latest Lumia smartphone impresses with its larger 4.5-inch IPS LCD PureMotionHD+ display, which so happens to employ a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels. Doing the math, that equates to a pixel density of 332 ppi – making it one of the most detailed screens out there. And of course, it shows as fine text in a zoomed out view in the web browser are visually crisp to make out with ease.

As much as we appreciate the saturated colors produced by the prior ClearBlack AMOLED display of the Lumia 900, we’re nevertheless still content with the natural looking colors pumped out by this IPS LCD screen. Throw in the fact that it has good viewing angles and a strong iridescent glow, it’s more than visible in outdoor conditions with the sun present. All in all, it absolutely rivals some of the best displays out there, like the ones on the Apple iPhone 5 and LG Optimus G, so we have no complaints about its brilliance. Oh yeah, did we mention that its sensitivity is maintained if we were to use gloves over our hands courtesy of its supersensitive touch technology?