It’s been 2 weeks since I put my Vivid down and switched to the Lumia, graciously provided by the kind folks at Nokia. I find myself shocked at what an incredible device this really is. Nokia has been absent from the U.S. for so long, and this phone can truthfully be called a triumphant return. I’ll do my best to differentiate the phone’s features and Windows 7.5 for you, but honestly they integrate so well together that I can’t say enough good things.
First of all let’s discuss price point, it’s a 99 dollar LTE phone with an 8mp camera designed by Carl Zeiss, front facing 1.3mp, 16 gig internal memory, 512 ram, and 1.4 GHz Qualcomm processor. The phone is a steal, packed with features and not mega expensive.
The phone has a sleek unibody design that fits in your palm beautifully. The battery is not removable, which can be considered a con, but it’s easy enough to perform a hard reset on the device, that it isn’t noticeable. It is one of 5 At&t devices using a micro sim, and the charging port is placed on the top instead of the bottom. I thought that would be a bother, but I’ll explain why I love it later on.
This phone integrated itself into my world within minutes, from the fast set up to the ease of use. I barely missed my Android phone, (I had just updated to 4.0 the day I received the Lumia so that’s saying something.) Even though it’s running a single core processor the phone is snappy and responsive and I found data speeds and install times to match my Vivid. App availability has reached a point with WP7 that I found something to cover all of my bases. Metro Radio took care of Pandora, Zune organized my synced music (with WP7 connector for mac which is pretty solid.) And the gaming integrated to my Xbox flawlessly with a simple sign in process. Next Thumba Photo Editor for my instagram needs, FourSquare and Facebook, and finally My Expenses for those pesky travel reports and we’re home free.
For you work junkies out there, let’s talk email. I haven’t found a faster way of managing email, than the one provided by WP7, touching to the left allows you to begin checking messages to be deleted or moved to a different folder, a quick touch on the message pulls it up with all of your items waiting on the bottom. The keyboard is fast and responsive, and the auto correct is incredibly accurate, my typing times are so much better on the WP7 keyboard than on Android. (This is whether I use swift-key x, swype, or the stock keyboard.) My fingers find the keys much easier, and I don’t find myself adding extra spaces or periods when I type fast, (swift key you devil.) For heavy users you’ll find the battery life to be great. I went from 6-8 hours before charging to 10-12, making it through a work day was pretty exciting for me, seeing as most of my devices spend a portion of their day charging at my desk before I return for them.
The top charging port ended up being quite a plus for me, and here’s why. Generally when I’m driving I use my Blue-Tooth, but on days that I’ve forgotten it I leave my phone plugged into the car charger and use it like a normal phone would require, pressed up against my face. The distance is a bit far from my cigarette adapter to where I sit while driving and generally the power gets pulled out of the phone. With the port on top the charger stayed in perfectly, life was that much easier, also, while laying on my seat or desk charging the device is still upright, pretty nice eh?
The phone itself has kept very well, seeing as I’ve been walking around with it before launch cases and screen protectors haven’t been overly abundant, or truthfully at all available. The poly-carbonate body has stayed completely scratch free, and the screen looks as perfect as the day I un-boxed it. However there is a small patch of stainless steel by the camera lens that made it about 30 minutes before getting scratched. If I have to find something to complain about, my stainless piece is scuffed, scratched, and dinged, the rest of the phone looks perfectly fine, When showing others the phone I generally cover the lens in shame.
Windows Phone itself has quite a few inherent features that make the switch almost painless. Again for us business folk, and even students the built in Office integration is a huge win. Quick access to Word docs, Excel, and Power Points makes moving data and editing a breeze, and has shaved hours off of my work day. By default the phone will read text messages to you and allow you to reply through voice with a blue-tooth. No additional app needed, no set up it simply does it. The first time my Jambox yelled at me I was shocked, and my wife thought I was just talking to myself. Being given a truly hands-free experience through the operating system is quite a relief, I realize that Siri does many of these things, but the Windows development made it feel effortless.
I whole heartedly believe that Nokia has made a triumphant return into the marketplace and has given WP7 a huge chance to continue growing. Currently there are few Windows Phones that I would heavily recommend to someone switching operating systems with the Lumia is at the top of that list. When doing a price point comparison, I don’t know why you wouldn’t save $100.00 and go with the gorgeous solid-body Lumia.