Nokia has finally shown off its new flagship devices for Windows Phone 8: The Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820. So far Nokia has seen some pretty decent success in the Windows Phone market, offering the best Windows Phone experience that we’ve had with the Nokia Lumia 900. Obviously we had high hopes for the Finnish company’s debut in to Windows Phone 8 and so far we haven’t been disappointed.
The Lumia 920 and 820 both sport vibrant new designs with a focus on brighter colours than we’ve previously seen from Nokia. The Lumia 920 is the flagship of the two, with the Lumia 820 aimed more at the mid-range of the market.
The Nokia Lumia 920
The Lumia 920 sounds like just about everything we hoped for from Nokia for the Windows Phone 8 launch. The large, 4.5 inch screen boasts an impressive 768×1280 resolution that ever-so-slightly beats out standard 720p as far as pixel count goes. Nokia also makes mention of its new “PureMotion HD+” technology, which is reportedly faster and more clear than any of the competition. The screen is apparently also particularly bright, allowing for better viewing in direct sunlight.
The dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor might not be as powerful as the quad-cores we’ve seen from current leading Android devices, but it doesn’t really need to be. We’ve mentioned a few times that, while quad-cores are impressive, there’s not really too much of a need for them quite yet. A dual-core CPU should be able to handle just about anything the contemporary market can throw at it, especially considering that the Windows Phone ecosystem is much more closed than Android, allowing for better efficiency optimisation on the behalf of app developers.
1GB of RAM is nice to see, as we’ve traditionally seen less from Windows Phone handsets in the past.
Once again something we’ve mentioned in the past is our desire to see manufacturers switch their focus from CPU power to other areas, such as improving the camera experience. The Lumia 920 appears to be a perfect example of this. As previously rumoured, the Lumia 920 will feature Nokia’s keenly anticipated PureView camera tech. Don’t get too excited, though; the Lumia 920 will only sport a 8.7 megapixel PureView sensor, rather than the ridiculous 41MP shooter we saw in the original PureView 808.
However, we’re going to stay optimistic that the Lumia 920 will at least be able to go up against the iPhone 4S, or even the upcoming iPhone 5. Yes, there are other smartphones out there with great cameras but we’ve just never really tried our hands at anything that compares to whatever its contemporary iPhone can offer in the photo quality arena.
The Lumia 920 has some great-sounding photo and video capture options such as an anti-shake function due to the “floating lens”. However, a bit of a shadow was cast over the anti-shake when it was discovered that the recent Nokia ad showing off the technology was a fake.
On the plus side the Lumia 920 will apparently feature 4G LTE, which is always good news. No word on which regions this will be in, but hopefully we should see some of that 4G LTE here in Australia.
As an added bonus the Lumia 920 features wireless charging. One of the accessories is a charging pad upon which a 920 can be placed, causing charging to begin with no docking or wires required. Pretty fancy stuff.
The Nokia Lumia 820
The 820 is a bit of a more trimmed-down device in terms of specs. The 4.3 inch WVGA display features just a 480×800 resolution but he CPU is the same dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 from the 920. There’s still 1GB of RAM, which is promising, but internal storage is limited to just 8GB, unless you wish to expand it via the MicroSD slot.
4G LTE will also apparently be making a comeback, which is somewhat unexpected from the mid-range version of a new series of handsets.
The camera, unfortunately, appears to be a fairly standard 8MP affair with no sight of PureView tech. It’s not a big surprise, as otherwise there wouldn’t be too much reason to opt for the 920 over its little brother other than the slightly larger screen and superior resolution.
Much like the 920, the Lumia 820 will be available in multiple colours; Red, Yellow, Blue, Black and White. Unlike the 920, the 820 will feature the ability to switch covers on your device, allowing users to effectively change up their smartphone’s appearance if they get tired of the old look.
Nokia introduced this concept back with the Lumia 710 when the Lumia line originally launched. It’s a fantastic idea that helps encourage consumers to go for a more outlandish look like bright red or yellow, as they can always change it up if they end up disliking it. We’re getting kind of tired of seeing Black, White and Grey phones everywhere, so we can really get behind this kind of thinking.
The Lumia 820 will also feature wireless charging.
Our Thoughts on the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820
We think both phones sound great. Although we’ll have to hold off a complete opinion until we learn a bit more about pricing and availability. Obviously we’ll also have to review each of these badboys before we give any solid advice, but for now we’re definitely pleased.
The 920’s focus on camera while still delivering a powerful enough CPU is fantastic and the 820 shouldn’t have any trouble competing against its WP8 contemporaries with its changeable covers. All up we think this is looking like a win for Nokia. Let’s just hope that Microsoft has done its job well with Windows Phone 8, otherwise all of Nokia’s good work may have been for naught.