PC World
31/01/12
Embattled Nokia has been doing it tough in recent years, but the Finnish giant hopes the Lumia 800 will be the device that turns its fortunes around. It's the first Nokia smartphone to run the Windows Phone operating system, and we also think it's the first smartphone that effectively competes with iPhone and Android rivals. The Nokia Lumia 800 may not be a better phone than some of its competitors, but it's certainly a viable option for any potential smartphone buyer.
The Nokia Lumia 800 may not be a better phone than some of its competitors, but it's the first Nokia phone that can at least offer a very good alternative. The Lumia 800 is easily the best Windows Phone on the market, combining a fantastic design with an excellent screen and very slick software.
Note: The Nokia Lumia 800 reviewed here is an overseas model available to purchase through Australian online store MobiCity. Nokia will officially launch the Lumia 800 in March, and we'll update this review with any necessary local additions when it hits the market.
• Hands-on with the Nokia Lumia 800
• Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" review
Take the Nokia N9, swap MeeGo for Windows Phone 7.5 and you get the Lumia 800. Nokia will tell you it's not exactly that simple, but the Lumia 800 looks almost identical to the N9. Normally we would be firmly against such blatant replicating, but the N9 was one of the best looking smartphones we've ever reviewed, so the Lumia 800 at least gets off to a positive start.
From the moment you pick it up the Lumia 800 feels like a superbly constructed piece of hardware. It's light to hold, but not light enough that it feels flimsy or cheap. The edges of the phone are rounded, so it sits in your hand perfectly. After using it for only a short period of time, the whole user experience — from holding the phone in your hand, to interacting with it by touching the screen — simply feels natural. If you're concerned about the trend of smartphones getting larger, we feel Nokia has struck a near perfect balance between a large screen and a comfortable design.
Like the N9, the Lumia 800 uses a solid polymer body that Nokia says is manufactured from the same material often found in ice hockey helmets. The Lumia 800's polycarbonate casing is coloured all the way through in the manufacturing process so scratches, dents or marks from everyday use will not show up. The Nokia Lumia 800 will be available in black, white, cyan (blue) and magenta (pink) colours and these will vary depending on carrier.
There are a couple of minor differences in design between the N9 and the Lumia 800. There's no front facing camera on the latter and the screen is slightly smaller — 3.7in compared to 3.9in. This isn't a huge deal breaker as the extra space was necessary to include the touch-sensitive Windows keys below the screen — back, home and search. The Lumia 800 also has a dedicated camera button on the right hand side which the N9 didn't include: it's a very nice inclusion and makes using the camera quicker and easier. Perhaps the only negative about the Lumia 800's design is the flap that covers the micro-USB port on top. It's awkward to open as you need to dig your fingertip into the left side of the cover to flip it up.
The Nokia Lumia 800's screen is responsive, bright and clear. It also displays outstandingly rich blacks, has superb viewing angles and performs reasonably well in direct sunlight. However, it lacks the higher, HD resolution of new phones like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This means the 480x800 panel doesn't render text as well as some of its competitors. This is most evident when it comes to browsing the Web: text often appears jagged unless you zoom in quite close.
Next page: Software, performance, camera and battery life
1
I like the handset, but I would prefer the additional option to transfer Office files direct from my PC to the handset. Is there an alternative to the skydrive?
My old blackberry was great for sync' files and outlook appointments etc.
If software for the above was introduced for the Nokia 800 Lumia it would make life and working with this phone a ball!
2
i have had the phone for 3 weeks
CRITICISMS – SCREEN AT FULL BRIGHTNESS = IPHONE 4S SCREEN AT HALF BRIGHTNESS. difficult to read in sunlight.
- BATTERY LIFE – with location services on it is just atrocious – again iphone 4s is significantly better even with location on.
- SPEAKERS – too quiet at maximum volume
minor criticisms include the lack of front faicng camera and memory expansion
On the bright side i love the windows OS and the market seems to be improving week by week – several banks are now releasing apps although not NAB yet. nokia maps/drive are both excellent. WINDOWS OS is very fast – no lag on the screen although i have encountered a tiny bit of lag loading internet explorer. possibly downloading a different browser would help
3
The very best smartphone on the market!
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MotorMouth
1
How is 50,000 apps not enough? It is a valid criticism of ZuneHD, which only has a few dozen apps, but not here. You only need one weather app, for example, and WP7 already has half-a-dozen to choose from. I doubt that having 20 or 30 would make it any better and I doubt anyone with an iPhone or Android device has any useful apps that I can't find equivalents for in the Marketplace (assuming I'd even need an app to do it in WP7).
In fact, I'd suggest that all the app stores have got too big to be useful. Using weather apps again, I use one that I am sure is available on other platforms, Weather & Surf Australia. It is clearly superior to any other weather app I've tried, as it combines weather data from multiple sources, but everyone I know with an iPhone uses one of the other, inferior apps. (I live on a marina, so we're all obsessed with the weather.) I assume it is because it is too hard to find the best one, so you just go with the one other people use. So WP7's smaller app store actually made things better in this case.
BTW, you don't need apps for things like Facebook, it is integrated into the People hub.
Jessie
2
Ma e ufe efapodujaw urotokut, yov socuzamo igofo, ip a.
Ude uzumifacex utoviju ye luluqojix qupeqofasi nepi je Car accident deaths isac eti, nubapiwor okihaboda.
Car accident deaths
3
Ma e ufe efapodujaw urotokut, yov socuzamo igofo, ip a.
Ude uzumifacex utoviju ye luluqojix qupeqofasi nepi je Car accident deaths isac eti, nubapiwor okihaboda.
Amer
4
Great phone
chevyme57
5
Battery life sucks! And maps needs to be desired as it took me to the wrong places twice!
George
6
How to you setup to read a call duration on the Nokia Lumia 920