Meh ...
Unless it has some impressive camera tricks up it's sleeve, I dont see any differentiator on this that would make people go out and buy it .. esp. since it's at the high end of the budget phone range .
But I've been wrong before :)
Nokia has announced its third Windows Phone 8 mobile, the sixth from any manufacturer to use Microsoft’s new operating system. Priced at $249 (£154) SIM-free, the Lumia 620 is a diminutive "budget" model with a 3.8in screen, parking it at the rather pricey end of where the budget market it is today. The 620 includes a microSD …
... I dont see any differentiator on this ...
but the article states
The 620 includes an SD memory slot for cards up to 64GB
and given the number of people who respond to reviews of most recent phones/tablets along the lines of "no sd card no sale" then the 620 looks to hit a large currently unserviced section of the marketplace!
Nokia has the low, mid and high bases covered. The differentiator is WP8, some people are bored of Android and iOS.
You either buy the device that runs the software you want to use or the phone that had the hardware features you require. Sometimes a bit of both.
Not everyone really gives a toss about phones, so long as they make calls, send messages and have a camera then that's enough.
Nokia's build quality is higher than the flimsy junk made by LG and rebadged as Google.
It does have some rather nice features that set it apart from other budget phones such as 802.11a and of Nokia's current offerings this would be the one I would choose because it is smaller and more discreet in the pocket. Mind you I know that I'm in a small minority who finds most "smart"phones akin to a hammer with tits? They might be fun to watch and play with but they don't make it a more useful hammer. Pity any version coming to the US will undoubtedly be heavily customized by a network giant and therefore of questionable utility when traveling abroad.
The last thing you want on an OLED screen is vast swathes of solid *bright* colour, though pure R,G or B at least take the power drain back down to LCD levels. Suddenly that huge empty black bar WP7 had on the home screen looks useful ;)
Not an impressive price either, you just don't get as much hardware for your cash with this budget phone.
Because the Xperia U is the best handset you can get at this price by a mile and a half.
You fire up a Desire C and an Xperia U side by side and you will know exactly what I am on about.
Desire C, 600Mhz single core, 1 camera, gingerbread.
Xperia U 1Ghz dial core, 2 cameras, ICS
Look, I love my Galaxy S III, and would not change it for a Windows Phone at this point. But this price range is where the Android competition is decidedly underwhelming, no matter how much you pretend that there are significantly better phones for the money.
Even phones like Galaxy S3 Mini, which cost noticeably more, are far below the flagship models' specifications. The screen resolution in this price range remains stuck around 800x480, at best. Camera quality is never too good, it wouldn't take much for Lumia 620 to be best in class. Processors may be dual core, but they are A9 or worse. Battery sizes and battery lifes are always mediocre. The Android OSes are always a few versions old, and getting updates seems to take even longer than for the flagship phones. Really, the major Android makers' phones in this price range are so limited that it is clear they are only designed to push people towards the higher-end, higher-margin phones, with the high-end phones' true cost disguised by operator subsidies.
Xperia U? If may "fly along" on its dual-core processor, but that's just good news for Lumia 620 buyers - after all, not only is Windows Phone 8 UI smoother than Android (on the same spec hardware), but the dual-core Krait also runs rings around the A9. So based on that, Lumia 620 won't have any performance problems at all.
Probably a very nice, relatively inexpensive smartphone, then. Should bring some much needed competition to this segment.
Just so I'm clear on the Xperia U comparison. The "shit expensive phone" is the one with equal or better hardware specs overall and the better phone for "this sorta money" is the Sony which is missing a card slot, glonass, and 5GHz wifi? Ok, if the extra 54 pixels of horizontal resolution and 20 mAh of battery capacity blows your hair back, who am I to judge?
Why can't they get all features I want in one phone. This one lacks wireless charging as does the Samsung, the other Nokias lack SD expandability. I am actually getting to like my current Nokia 710 after initially missing my HD7 pro. I still want a phone with a keyboard though and no-one appears to be doing them for WP8 (I don't get a choice on OS)
The 820 has both wireless charging and SD card support but I think it's expensive.
I can see the point in wireless charging but the main place it would be good is the car and there isn't anything out there specifically for the car yet.
The pick of the Windows 8 phones is probably the HTC 8S
...But internally on a lot of these (phones, tablets, PC's) it seems to this dullard commentard that, with very few exceptions, they're all the same.
For example, Professional vs. entry-level versions of the exact same software. The manufacturers (e.g., microsoft) just deliberately 'hobble' it (Film:Misery, anyone?) You're not paying for more effort in the "Professional" version as you are in the "Home" edition. Strangely, it seems to me that you're paying LESS for MORE effort to hobble it.
Sorry, gonna get seriously downvoted here, but I think Apple got it about right. They tend to make (e.g.) ONE phone. Take it or leave it. Obviously, a helluvalot of people have decided to simply take it.
Credit where credit's due.
Having played with the 710 and 610, I think these phones offer what was once considered a very premium (slick) feeling, at a fairly low price point. As for the limitations, you get what you ultimately pay for,
The only problem I have is El Reg's figure for the SIM free price. At launch, these phones are invariably more expensive than The Register's quoted price.
This looks a nice way for device/OS agnostic me to get a flavour of something different without breaking the bank.
@Eadon: "Didn't they used to make phones?"
Dumb trolls like you are becoming a familar site on blogs like these too.....
For what it offers the Nokia Phone is a Budget device but with some high end features thrown in e.g. NFC, if you want true budget go grab one of those shitty android phones that needs to be soft reset every other day because half the software available causes it to crash.
@simbu: Heavier than iPhone 5
LOL I agree, some of the writers here need to go back to journalism school if they ever went there in the first place.....it appears everytime they write something about a windows phone it needs to have some sort of backhanded jab at it e.g. the weight of the phone in this case. A few grams of weight is going to make ALL the difference in which phone you buy ofc, the specs, software and hardware design and overall quality as well as the cost have NOTHING to do with it at all......//sarcasm mode off
Platform rage is funny. The majority of the comments in this thread are hilarious. And also depressing.
It is rather poignant to realise that one of the most significant impacts of the the arrival of the iPhone is to spread platform zealots from the desktop OS space into the mobile space. Isn't humanity wonderful? Now we can spend more of our time arguing over which mobile phone software is the anointed and righteous path. Fabulous.
...who really wants a phone this size with the feature of the high-end behemoths? I don't want a 4.5 or 5 inch screen, I want something I can comfortably hold and use with one hand. I also want the fancy camera and wireless charging of the 920, more like a 920 mini. I'm sure battery capacity is a limiting factor here, but seriously... I don't want to carry a damn near-tablet in my pocket, I just want a phone that happens to be able to do email and web and gps stuff if I want.
I believe Nokia just needs to find the right sweet spot of hardware, software and price and they will see some success. Maybe this is the one - esp. with the SD slot.
I needed a second phone for travelling so recently bought a 610 on run-out sale, expecting a WP7 to be rubbish but I actually quite like it so I might go for the 620 for my main phone, though I am curious about 720 price & spec when that comes.
Not perfect, room for improvement, but great software, Office mobile, nokia nav, free music streaming, skydrive etc. and I like a smaller phone. And most importantly for me, if I drop it on the ground or get it nicked it's not a huge investment flushed.
Besides - with Tom Tom wanting 150 pounds for a decent nav, and when I last looked 78 pounds for a years' map update it starts to look a good deal even if you never put a sim card in it.
The Finnish Preident's Independence Day (other) ball starts in 20 minutes.
While we light our white-and-blue candles, (2 - traditional) and put my shirt and bow-tie on (again, as traditional as 11/November in England), I'll be very interested if I see Stephen Flop at the party...I'll keep you posted.
Yep, Elop was there. At about the midddle of the queue of 1,800
What staggered me beyond belief was how stunningly beautiful the President of Finland's wife is! Lucky man - Unbelievably attractive! WOW!!! But then, with few exceptions, our politicians seem to be in their early 30s or 40's.