By Kinan Jarjous
The last time I have owned a Nokia phone was back in
college, when at around 2003 or early 2004 I have jumped ship and swam across
the treacherous ocean before boarding the Sony Ericsson ship with the T610.
Fast forward a decade later, and I am now in repossession of a Nokia phone. And
not only a Nokia phone -- but also a different OS altogether: Windows Phone 8.
The Windows Phone operating system was not new to me
as I have used the HTC 8X for a couple of weeks for review.
Since I have bought the Lumia and have had more experience with the phone, I
will only touch lightly on the OS, but mostly in terms of the Nokia experience
that is bundled with the phone.
Build Quality
I have to be honest here: the Lumia 920 didn't give me
that "wow" factor that the HTC 8X gave; the HTC 8X is a remarkable
and unique piece of engineering. That does not mean that the Lumia is, by any
means, built badly; in fact, it is anything but.
The screen is phenomenal and represents colours
beautifully. When placed next to an HTC 8X you will notice that the HTC has a
cooler colour temperature than the Lumia. I personally prefer the Lumia, though
as it is with colour temperature, the eyes do adjust quickly. The Lumia is more
comfortable though to look at, even if the HTC 8X is sharper (smaller
screen with slightly higher DPI).
The power button is thankfully on the side.
Considering the phone dimensions and ergonomics, it makes sense to not place it
at the top. You have the dedicated camera button and volume buttons, all of
which feel very polished and nice.
The phone itself is heavy. I wouldn't go as far as
labelling it "unusable" as some tech sites pointed out, but it is
heavy, and heaviness that you will appreciate when the phone falls and does not
even scratch. The 920 is possibly the most heavy-duty and sturdiest phone I
have ever used. Period. I have had it for a few months now and it has been in
pretty tough spots on trains, asphalt, and keys, and still no damage.
Once you get past the bulkiness of the phone, you will
start to appreciate how good the device is. I would still wish for it to be
lighter, though.
Camera
There has been a BIG hype on the camera quality of the
Lumia 920, particularly night shots. I have to give them the advantage and say
that the night time photos ROCK, no exception. The photos easily blow the
competition -- ALL of it -- out of the water. There were photos that have been
taken in near darkness and they came out beautifully. There is a learning curve
in keeping your hands steady, so if you haven't held a DSLR before you need to
accept the idea that sometimes you need to wait and not move after you
tap/press the shutter.
That said, the daytime photos are a mixed bag, with
some photos being just too damn good while others were just average. I didn't
have the white balance flicker problem experienced in the HTC 8X, which is
fantastic as it is one less thing to worry about. There is a clear issue with
sharpness, though. Even after the firmware upgrade -- which improved the front
and rear cameras -- there is a distinguishable softness to daytime photos. You
can increase the clarity with the built-in Creative Studio app, but that it an
unnecessary step but they are in no way as sharp as the Galaxy S3, for example.
Macro photos on the other hand are oddly sharp, but it
is almost impossible to manually focus with a macro without trying at least a
dozen times. This is a core issue with the Windows Phone camera in general,
since tapping will attempt getting that area in focus AND shoot. The only way
to focus without shooting is by half-pressing the shutter button and recomposing
before taking the shot. But in macro, this is very imprecise.
What solved my macro problems (and gave me more
control over the camera) is the ProShot
app. I won't give a full review here but suffice to say it is a must-have
companion, if only because have a manual focus option which helps greatly in
macro shots.
When it comes to video, the camera pulls off a stellar
performance at any hour of the day. It's almost too ridiculously good, and with
the camera stabilisation you feel that the camera has been placed on a rig.
You'll never look at camera videos the same way again. Ever. And you don't get
the post-processing softness you would get in the photos.
The Nokia Bundle
If there is any reason why I would choose the Nokia
over the HTC -- all other things being equal -- it would be the fantastic
collection of Nokia applications (most of which have been rebranded as
"HERE"). City Lens shows nearby attractions as well as directions,
distance, and information. Drive+ is a navigation app that works well. HERE
Maps is a must-have and is a fantastic replacement to Google Maps, and works
great in the Middle East, and have used it in Sri Lanka as well. It comes
complete with routes, traffic, and other things you are used to from Google
Maps (sans Latitude). What is great about it is that you get street numbers in
areas that Google Maps does not have. If you prefer Google Maps, you can still
get gMaps
from the Windows Phone store. HERE Transit shows you public transit routes, and
works well in the UAE, too.
You also have Panorama, Nokia Music, and a bundle of
other apps at your disposal.
Battery
Shocking, to say the least. On some days with heavy
use, it hardly lasts five hours -- six if I am lucky. With light to moderate
use you can add a couple of more hours, and if I were connected on WiFi at work
then it can clock in 12 hours. Taking a video at 1080 for 40 minutes can drop
your battery by 60%. Non-stop texting on WhatsApp over 3G, with a few photo
exchanges (from camera) can kill your battery in 3 hours.
I have tried all different things with the phone and
the best way to keep it going is to have chargers in the office, the car, and
home, and to charge the phone fully if you know you're going out at night to a
concert or something. You can push a a full day without charging with moderate
use over WiFi, but on most days you'll find yourself plugging it in by 4 PM.
Conclusion
The Lumia 920 is a bulky, sturdy phone that will take
a while to get used to. With a gorgeous, large screen and lots of horsepower,
you can hardly go wrong with it. If the camera performance and stabilisation
are not your concern, then you can go for the 820 model and still get the rest
of the Nokia goodness. Just remember to have chargers with you.
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