For Nokia, the Lumia 800, is a big deal. It’s the first Nokia to run Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, and it’s also Nokia’s first real attempt to catch up with the competition. I had the opportunity to try this phone myself on launch day in London and I was very impressed with the quality and user interface.
The Windows OS makes the phone fun and easy to use, with lots of features and integrated social networking sites. It uses the latest Mango version of the operating system, which includes new features and multi-tasking capabilities. Microsoft’s previous mobile OS, Windows Mobile, was a mess. Thankfully the company went back to the drawing board and came up with a brand new interface. Windows Phone looks absolutely gorgeous and the user interface, thanks to some slick 3D effects and its dynamic design, feels more modern than even Android or iOS. Nokia has also pre-bundled the phone with special apps like Nokia’s Drive navigation and Nokia Mix Radio streaming service. The range of apps available for Windows Phone is growing, yet you still won’t find anywhere near as many in the Windows Phone Marketplace as you will in Apple’s App Store or Android Market.
The Lumia 800’s front is almost completely taken up with the gorilla glass that covers the screen and three Windows Phone touch buttons at the bottom. This helps to give the face a seamless look. On the sides, there’s a volume rocker switch, the lock button and a dedicated camera button – this is an incredibly useful feature that, if you ask me, all phones should have.
Like the iPhone, the Lumia uses a micro SIM and is also a completely closed device. You can’t remove the battery or add any more memory to it.
Nokia has built the phone around a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor, which includes an Adreno 205 GPU. The OS has 512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM and 16GB of memory. These specs may seem a bit on the low side, yet the Lumia still feels like a very quick handset – this may be due to the lower demands that Microsoft’s OS places on a phone’s hardware.
Sadly, Nokia hasn’t added a front-facing camera to the Lumia 800. This is a shame as it means you can’t use it to make video calls when Microsoft finally gets around to launching Skype on Windows Phone. On the back, there is an 8 MP camera sensor with Carl Zeiss Tessar optics – the camera is good, but it’s much fussier about having the right conditions than the snappers in the Galaxy S2 and especially the iPhone 4S. For video recording, the Lumia 800 can record at up to 720p resolution.
The phone’s battery life is on a par with most other smartphones so you can expect to have to charge it at the end of each day. Call quality is excellent and it’s good at maintaining a connection in weaker signal areas.
Overall, the Lumia 800 is a good handset. The Windows Phone software is slick and fun, especially if you like to keep up-to-date with friends. It looks attractive and the excellent build quality gives you the confidence that it’s built to last.
The technology enthusiast has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.