Nokia is hoping that the Lumia 920 will be its big come back device - the handset that will ensure its success in the smartphone arena. KYMI spent some time with the high-ender to find out what really sets it apart from the competition.
Design
The Lumia 920 combines the comfort of curves with the edginess of modern design perfectly. Nokia has built its flagship on the same design aesthetics as the older Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 handsets. It has given the new phone the same polycarbonate unibody and sharp rectangular form factor but has made the edges roll round into a slightly curved back panel.
The display of the Lumia 920 sits within a black panel and curves out slightly. The panel itself is embedded into the front of the phone's body and lends a contrast around the edges, making it look stylish.
Nokia's flagship gives the impression of a being a sturdy, solid device but at the same time, it is a large handset. It is a big phone to hold and use in the palm of one's hand, though the matte versions of the Lumia 920 are easier to grip than their glossy cousins. One hand use and typing are difficult on the phone, especially for those with big hands, as the guys over at KYM found. It is, after all, 130mm long, 70mm wide and 10mm thick, weighing in at 185g.
Despite its large size though, ports and buttons are easily accessible on the Lumia 920. The power and camera buttons, as well as the volume rocker, are conveniently located on the right-hand side of the device. Both the Micro-SIM tray and the 3.5mm audio jack are found on to the top of the phone, while the MicroUSB port is found on its base.
Specifications
| Height | 130.3mm |
| Width | 70.8mm |
| Thickness | 10.7mm |
| Weight | 185g |
| Size | 4.5-inch |
| Resolution | 1280 x 768 pixels |
| Colours | 16 million |
| Battery capacity | 2000 mAh |
| Standby | 400 hrs |
| Talktime | 10 hrs |
Display
The Finns have gone big with the Lumia 920, giving it a 4.5-inch IPS LCD screen. Nokia’s ClearBlack display technology makes it a display to reckon with, since it helps with bright light conditions, improves contrasts and provides richer colours and deeper blacks.
Lumia 920's brightness is certainly worth writing home about. Thanks to its auto adjustment it is never too bright nor too dark, and is almost always perfect.
Thanks to Nokia's PureMotion HD+ screen technology, the screen refresh rate is 60 frames-per-second, matching Windows Phone 8's speed and reducing lag and blur. As a result, the Lumia 920 offers users a much smoother experience than competing Windows Phone handsets.
Noka's new handset packs in a HD resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels and a pixel density of 332ppi. Images on the phone are clear, crisp and sharp and can easily match up with competitors like the iPhone in terms of quality.
On the flip side, you do experience some amount of reflection on the phone in bright sunlight, but even then the Lumia 920 is much more visible than other handsets. Viewing angles on the device are a letdown though, for you can't make out much on-screen while viewing side-on - colours on the display become distorted too.
Operating System
Windows Phone 8 is a marked improvement over its predecessors. Among other things, it supports multi-core processors to deliver a faster, smoother performance with enhanced multitasking.
The platform's Modern UI is set apart from its peers with its colourful Live Tiles that act as both short cuts and push update enabled widgets, making for a continuously flowing start screen. Moreover, Live Tiles can be customized in terms of size and colour to suit your preferences.
Nokia and Microsoft's app database is yet to grown to its full potential but the Lumia 920 does house some of the most convenient to use and functionally relevant apps on the two systems. People Hub, Xbox Live Games, Xbox Music + Video, Xbox SmartGlass, Office, SkyDrive, OneNote, Nokia Drive and Nokia Streetview make the phone an all-in-one device.
The Lumia 920's keyboard is precise and word prediction too is relevant and easy to use.
Camera
If ever the Lumia 920 had a trump card, its PureView 8.7-megapixel camera is it. The snapper boasts of a Carl Zeiss lens, a back-illuminated sensor (BSI), a f/2.0 aperture and a LED flash.
The shutter speed on the camera is slightly delayed but since its open for longer, more light is allowed in. Backed as it is with its PureView ‘floating lens’ optical stabilisation technology, the Lumia 920 handles the extra light to create some gorgeous imagery. For the same reason, video quality on the phone is also good. Video is recorded at 1080p HD resolution at 29fps.
Pictures on the device are sharp even when fully pinch-zoomed and images rarely look de-saturated. The dynamic range is excellent too. In low light conditions, saturation and exposure take a bit of a hit and images look slightly washed out. However, given the circumstances, the photos are still sharp.
Multimedia and Storage
With Xbox ‘Music + Video’ you can upload, synchronise and playback videos on the Lumia 920. MP4 video plays back up to full 1080p HD, making the phone the perfect device on which to watch films and shows on the go. Both Nokia Music and Xbox Music have a range of tunes you can stream or buy as well.
The handset's speaker is powerful and the phone boasts of rich sound quality with a distinct lack of tininess. An equalizer and Dolby headphone support lend it quite an advantage too.
Gaming, however, is one area where Windows Phone 8 needs to spruce up its act. Games on the platform and thus on the Lumia 920 are basic and lack the sophistication one would expect from Microsoft.
On the storage front, Nokia has given the Lumia 920 32 GB of inbuilt memory, which is sufficient for most users. Unfortunately the phone does not support external memory expansion and for hard-core media enthusiasts, this may be a bummer.
Connections and Web
The Lumia 920 offers its users a range of connectivity options including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspots, 4G LTE, NFC, GPS and DLNA.
Internet Explorer 10, as the handset's stock browser, is quick and smooth. Pinch-zoom, tabs and copy & paste all work well. Even when zoomed in to the maximum, text display is crisp and sharp.
Performance and Battery
Powered as it by a Qualcomm S4 Snapdragon dual-core 1.5 GHz MSM8960 chipset, a 1 GB of dual-channel RAM, an Adreno 225 GPU and 28 nm semiconductor technology, the Lumia 920 is fast and fluid. Apps load quickly on the phone and multitasking is seamless on it.
The device is power efficient as well and its 2000 mAh battery lends it ample juice for calling, texting, mailing and entertainment. While the phone lasts a day and a half with light use, it works a full day with maximum use as well. Charging the Lumia 920 is easy, both via USB and via wireless charging pad.
