back to article Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 handset review

If you ever go down the pub and let slip you’re a tech writer, you’re invariably asked for recommendations. With smartphones, this is pretty difficult these days because they’re all pretty good. No, scrap that, today’s devices are just amazing compared to what you could get a few years ago. They all do a job; you can’t really …

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  1. Bob Vistakin
    FAIL

    With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

    http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_lumia_920_sample_images_found_to_be_fake_as_well-news-4769.php

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

      Yes, yes, you keep banging on about it.

      However, the images in this article were obviously taken by the author, weren't they? The author also said that the camera was excellent, possibly the phone was worth it for the camera alone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

        "possibly the phone was worth it for the camera alone."

        NO ! you do realize what sort of camera you can actually buy for half the price of this phone ?

        1. dogged

          Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

          If such a camera could receive SMS messages, act as a full voice-guided GPS SatNav and fit comfortably in my pocket, I might consider it. Sadly, I don't know of any. If you do, please link them because I'm not kidding.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

            @dogged - perhaps you missed "possibly the phone was worth it for the camera alone."

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: If such a camera could receive SMS messages...

            http://www.samsung.com/in/promotions/galaxycamera/

            ;-)

          3. Richard Plinston

            Re: I don't know of any

            Try this one.

            http://phandroid.com/2011/09/29/panasonic-lumix-phone-101p-digital-camera-meets-android/

            What I don't understand is why Panasonic with its LUMIX trademark hasn't sued Nokia over their steal this with LUMIA. How close does it need to be ?

        2. Hyper72
          Happy

          Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

          For most people the best camera is the one they have with them when unexpectedly needed.

      2. Manu T

        Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

        The reviewer is using superlative terms to describe this camera although I haven't seen any photos worth of these superlatives. Sure they are a little bit better but not enough to brag about it. The 808's photos are A LOT better, in fact IMHO the N8 even takes better pics.

        I don't understand why ppl are so gullible and susceptible to this kind of pro-WP/pro-Nokia propaganda. The OS still isn't mature enough to replace a recent Symbian device. Many distinctive Symbian features are still not converted to WP and hence quite some Symbian users simply can't make the switch.

        One example. I've been using call recording for ages (SE K700i --> K750i --> Samsung Omnia SGH-900i WM6.1 --> Nokia C7 --> Nokia 701) and simply won't go back to limited pre-2004 phone functionality. This is becomming more and more important since recent leglislation prohibits calling when driving in various states and countries.

        Another example. I've been syncing my contacts and agenda (from the expensive MS Office business suite) to my phones since I had a Pocket PC PDA. Today this list contains well over 600 contacts which I can't store on the cloud due to client confidentiality.

        From what I read here I see yet another smartphone not suitable for professionals but for fashionable kids and yuppies who have nothing else to do than to fool around in Twitter and Facebook. Before the iPhone professional phone users where catered for (not in the least since professionals have the money to spend on expensive phones) but ever since the iPhones it's all for rich kids. It's all about fart apps, games and music. And now even Nokia is falling for that crap :-(

        When will these guys start making smartphones for professionals again?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      8 Page Review

      Nearly twice as long as any other product.

      Are all the Reg hacks enjoying their new Windows 8 goodies that arrived in the post?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 8 Page Review

        @AC 13:05:

        I assume that you're accusing the Reg reviewers of being bribed by MS to give good reviews? If that's what you think then just come out and say it.

        I personally think that if you think that little of people you'll always be a disappointed, miserable and ultimately bitter person. Try to look on the bright side a bit, if all you look for in a person is low standards, you'll always find something, if you expect people to be basically genuine and honest, you'll usually find that and be happier to boot.

      2. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

        Re: 8 Page Review

        Eight pages because it's mostly photographs and there's lots to say about it.

        C.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 8 Page Review @AC

        "Are all the Reg hacks enjoying their new Windows 8 goodies that arrived in the post?"

        That's an oxymoron.

        1. DF118
          Stop

          Re: 8 Page Review @AC

          I don't know if you've noticed over the years but our Mr Orlowski is big on Nokia. He wants to see them do well and obviously went to a lot of effort in producing this review. Doesn't mean the review's biased or that he or the Reg is being bribed. In fact I don't think I've seen a more in-depth and honest review of a phone - either on the Reg or elsewhere - for quite some time. Orlowski's occasional Nokia analysis articles are required reading even if you're only slightly interested in the company or its products.

          In summary, take your snark elsewhere.

    3. N13L5
      Coffee/keyboard

      Re: "They all do a job; you can’t really recommend a ‘bad’ one."

      Yes you can recommend a bad one. Because its not just the device you're buying.

      It matters a LOT if you're stuck with a SINGLE SOURCE APPSTORE controlled by a greedy corporation like Apple or Microsoft.

      Since Microsoft is all-in for copying Crapple's closed business model, there's one BIG FAT recommendation against anything with WindPhone to be made.

      What matters is, if programmers can sign their own apps at no cost, to foster competition between large and small developers and that you are free to get apps from other stores besides a given Corporation's store, or side-load them from your own backups. The way you've always been free to do on the PC. M$ plans to end that, and WART is phase one.

      >>>>> Please don't vote with your money for this shit coming to pass!

      Also important is, that you can actually customize your phone's OS to work the way you like, instead of having to conform to Microsoft's or Apple's one-size-fits-all shackles.

    4. Jan Hargreaves

      Re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

      Looking at the pictures the author has posted, I can see every reason why they used a PROPER camera to make the shots for the advertising. The shots he has posted are grainy, fuzzy, lots of noise, just poor overall. But I guess most people now accept this level of picture. Laziness to carry 2 devices is all I can think of as a reason.

      Can you imagine the ads if they used the actual pictures taken by the phone? They would be a laughing stock of tech world. Which wouldn't be so bad, but for the fact that the camera is supposed to be the most impressive feature of the phone... oh dear... the rest of it must be awful.

      I do find it slightly strange how the review starts off really positively, but then this doesn't work... this crashes... this is not as good as the rival... etc etc

      I'm glad some people like the tiles home screen.. .I just haven't met any of them yet. It's big, ugly, a waste of space, and as the author stresses - counter intuiative.

  2. Andy Nugent

    re: With such a great camera why fake the pictures then?

    Do you think it's possible the marketing company was hired to do the campaign before the phone was ready?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    To ee or not to ee

    Sorry - couldn't resist.

    Given my experiences with Orange in the past though there is no way in hell I would invest in a 4G phone only to have to use their sorry excuse of a network. It may be the biggest in terms on the ease with which you can connect but just try doing anything on their 3G network - never mind 4G - once you're connected. As far as I'm concerned the EE exclusiivity is a deal breaker for me, and if Nokia were really to withhold unlocked sets for even longer than currently planned then I may well end up buying something else.

    I hope this doesn't happen though as the 920 looks like a nice handset. Why Nokia would stop people like me from buying one though really is beyond me. Are they still in self-destruct mode?

    1. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Re: To ee or not to ee

      They don't seem to have moved beyond the "sell to the operators" mindset of the last decade.

      People don't want to change their network to obtain a phone, they look for the phone that is on the network they are on or if some cases look for an unlocked handset.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    gloves, hey?

    > This is a phone can even be used with gloves, thanks to.

    Well, maybe the author should have removed his gloves before typing this :P

  5. skeete
    Thumb Up

    Get mine on 15th Nov

    I live in Bangkok, Thailand and I pick up my fully unlocked slate grey 920 on the 15th November. Was £429 and I get a 7% rebate at the airport when I fly out of the country in December.

    I personally went for this phone as its Microsoft and I quite like the Dev community support I have received over the years, it seems far more friendly and willing to help than the Apple Dev community. I have not experienced Android Dev's.

    1. graeme leggett Silver badge

      Re: Get mine on 15th Nov

      Downvoting for giving an opinion on the support you personally experienced from a dev community...

      Fanbois annoyed that you didn't find them friendly, or Fandroids disappointed you didn't give them a go?

      1. Silverburn

        @ Graeme

        Given the abundance of sour grape downvotes on any articles/posts even slightly critical of Android, I'd go with the later.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @ Graeme

          Given the abundance of sour grape downvotes on any articles/posts even slightly critical of Apple, I'd go with the former.

          1. graeme leggett Silver badge
            Facepalm

            Re: @ Graeme

            @Me

            Damn, I meant to post anonymously.

    2. k007

      Re: Get mine on 15th Nov

      Hi Skeete

      Will the 920 be generally available in BKK on the 15th? I get in that day and wouldn't mind grabbing one that day - any tips where to go (MBK, Pantip, etc)

      cheers

      K007

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: Get mine on 15th Nov

        > Damn, I meant to post anonymously.

        I can' believe the mendacity in this hive of scum and villany.

  6. Alexander Hanff 1
    Alert

    Some questions for the author

    I was lucky enough to be gifted with a Lumia 900 from Nokia for free and would very much like to upgrade to the 920 purely because the 900 will not be getting WP8.

    However, a few questions remain unanswered.

    1. Does WP8 support OpenVPN?

    2. Does WP8 support opening password protected MS Office documents?

    3. Does WP8 support full "file" encryption (I say file but obviously I am referring to the user space/files)?

    4. Does WP8 support NTP (the Lumia 900 and 800 both suffer from terrible "time loss" issues).

    I know this is a Lumia 920 review and not a WP8 review, but I would really like to know if these issues have been addressed. If they haven't then I don't see how WP8 devices can ever make serious waves in the business sector as these are fundamental issues.

    1. Ian Michael Gumby
      Alert

      Re: Some questions for the author

      To add to this...

      The article mentions mail sync w Hotmail.

      What about other imap sources including GMail?

      Granted its an alternative to Microsoft, but many potential customers rely on it so easy connections/synch w GMail and Google Calendar is unfortunately a 'must'.

      One advantage over the iPhone... able to swap sims so I can just buy a sim in a new country if I need to, right?

      1. Mike Taylor

        Re: Some questions for the author

        I didn't get that reference either. I have a nokia windowsphone 7.5. I get email from my gmail account into my messages bit, along with other email and facebook messages. Contacts are pulled in from linkedin, outlook, live, google, twitter, facebook and google. Seamlessly. Calendar ditto, i don't have to think about it, it's really sweet and built in. Andrew has been critical of these parts before now. I guess he'd prefer some native set of apps, not this cloudy synced rubbish. :-)

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Some questions for the author

          I'll correct that for ya: "Contacts are pulled in from linkedin, EXCHANGE, live, google, twitter, facebook and google. Seamlessly. Calendar ditto, ..".

      2. matt williams 1

        Re: Some questions for the author

        When he says you can only sync contacts with Hotmail, he's plainly wrong unless WP8 is different to 7.5.

        Windows Phone syncs with Google as Exchange so you can hook up Contacts, Email, Calendars with ease.

        I don't have any contacts or anything in Hotmail, my live account email account is hosted with google and it all works fine for me

    2. Andrew Orlowski (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Some questions for the author

      Alex:

      These are really good questions, we need to a proper business/pro focussed roundup that gives them answers. It just didn't seem to be a priority for MS getting fixes into WP8.

      Flagging an IMAP message isn't even a particularly 'pro' feature, its absence is a killer for me.

      1. Matt_payne666

        Re: Some questions for the author

        You can add multiple sub calendars to that list too!

        On my iPhone I have my main google calendar which has a sub calendar for work and the subscription to my girlfriends calendar, all works a treat, on my win8 metro calendar I can get my main and sub calendars up, but not the subscribed one... Then only the main is selectable for adding appointments!

  7. pip25
    Thumb Up

    This is what a review should look like

    As much as I don't see eye to eye with Mr. Orlowski on copyright-related matters, I find myself wishing he'd review the fruity firm's newest offering as well next time.

    (Disclaimer: I don't own, nor do I intend to own a WP8 device.)

  8. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Can I buy the review handset off you?

    Cus I'm buggered if I can find some way of getting one without paying for a stupidly expensive EE contract.

    1. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Even worse is EE are delaying the phone for a month stating there are issues with 4G and battery life on their network.

  9. Danny 14

    how much of the 32Gb is available for use? No SD card would put it off for me straight away. Cloud storage would be useless for most people due to usage caps.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Notifications

    Do Facebook notifications work yet? They don't on 7.5 that's for sure....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Notifications

      Go into your people hub and slide across to notifications. All notifications from your friends will be shown. Obviously posts from groups aren't as it doesn't bring in groups.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Notifications

        I mean notifiactions....you know, liek that notify you. Not somethign whereby you need to unlock the device, go into people hub and then check, otherwise you may as well just go into facebook and check there. I mean real notifications that tell you about messages etc...

    2. Bob Vistakin
      Linux

      Re: Notifications

      No, and the fact they aren't present shows the software is half done as they claim to be coming later. What you get now is this half-assed fail, cynically rushed out in time for Christmas in the bizarre hope someone will not mind being forced to use ee and their comedy tariffs.

      It's a prefect example of exactly what Nokia pre-Microsoft would never release in a million years. Nor need to fake crowds outside stores, or fake photos to market it or flood online forums with shills in order to astroturf interest etc.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Notifications

        "It's a prefect example of exactly what Nokia pre-Microsoft would never release in a million years. Nor need to fake crowds outside stores, or fake photos to market it or flood online forums with shills in order to astroturf interest etc."

        What are you smoking, exactly? The slow death of S60 became a bugfest that would have shamed Windows Vista. "N97", that is all.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Notifications

          Symbian was very optimal, but it was also shit.

          https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r04yjaQoL1c_vuwQr-CdbDQ8EjGVGOL_1V6BNVWaR1c/preview?sle=true

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Notifications

        @Bob: You answer so authoritatively that I assume you've got a 920, presumably in order that you can fully understand it before you slag it off. Once you've finished with it, can I have it? I'd really like one.

        Also: It's just a phone and some software, it shouldn't be able to wind you up this much. There are many things to be wound up by, but a telephone that doesn't quite please really isn't one of them.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Notifications

        So the software not finished, like Android 2.2, 2.3, 3.0 (remember that?).....

        Search for:

        gingerbread wifi issues and see the never ending problems people had with it.

        Talk about rush jobs and bad installs...

        1. TeeCee Gold badge
          Coat

          Re: Notifications

          One might also mention a certain mapping application that seems to have had a quick rebadge from "Alpha" to "RTP" and been rushed out the door to coincide with a launch date by A N Other manufacturer.

      4. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

        Re: Notifications

        Bob,

        1. There are many people in the world.

        2. Those people have not had your life experiences, they are genetically different from you, have grown up in a different environment to you, and have not read and heard the same information as you, and consequently, they have not formed the same opinions, desires and expectations as you have.

        3. These other people, when acting on the knowledge and opinions and expectations that they hold, may occasionally do things that you find inexplicable or illogical.

        4. When other people act in opposition to your personal beliefs, it is not the result of a grand conspiracy against these beliefs, but rather the actions of someone whose experience of the world around them is not the same as yours.

        So, when someone on the internet posts that they like a product that you despise, or a product made by a company that you use as a shorthand for everything that is evil in the world, there are several reasons for them doing this: of these reasons, by far the most likely is that they are telling the truth.

        1. Bob Vistakin
          Devil

          Re: Notifications

          @Kristian Do these "many people in the world" include Microsofts former mobile "partners"?

          http://www.asymco.com/2011/02/11/in-memoriam-microsofts-previous-strategic-mobile-partners/

          1. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

            Re: Notifications

            No, those are corporations. Corporations aren't people, and they shouldn't be treated as people. Once you start ascribing human emotions to a legal construct, you're on the slippery slope.

            Google can't love you back, it doesn't deserve your loyalty. It's a corporation, and it exists only to take your money.

            1. B4PJS

              Re: Notifications

              @Kristian:

              I would actually posit that Google exist to sell you to other companies to make money

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The question is not how good it is today. It is will Microsoft be supporting it in a year.

    Good review, but I have no desire to own one. Too much screen real estate is occupied by oversized notification buttons. Save for the superior battery, the specs on this phone are almost identical to my current Android I bought 18 months ago. And that is still working a treat.

    1. Robert Grant
      FAIL

      AC 12:24

      Okay, I'll bite. So your Android phone has:

      Wireless charging (not the rubbish fiddly old style either)

      Touchscreen you can use with gloves on (winter's coming...)

      Free built-in satnav with offline maps, as many as you can fit on the phone if you like

      Decent battery life

      A 100% smooth OS (hint: it must be running iOS or WP)

      Awesome camera (and 8.7MP, for those who care about that)

      Best-in-class video recorder

      332ppi, high contrast screen

      Worldwide LTE

      So basically you got one of the world's highest-specced phones, highest in some areas, 18 months ago? Who are you AC? And where is your time machine?

      Or...maybe you're just trying to say you're happy with what your current phone does. That's good; next time say that.

    2. Can't think of anything witty...

      fair point on the support front, though i suspect that they will. the way i see it, they felt that they had to make some fundemental changes, so in that respect it's better to do it early and fix it for the future, even though it burns some early adopters.

      As for oversized buttons, i must point out that you can re-size them to the smallest size, which would give you 28 tiles in a 4*7 grid on the screen at any one time. add any more buttons you want underneath. I don't know if there is a limit on the number you can add.

  12. Matt_payne666

    Good review and all that, but it would be nice if someone would tell us when we can actually walk into a store and buy one!!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      EE..... in december!

      Thatcher's Britain.

    2. B4PJS

      Right now in Phones4U (If they haven't sold out already)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh

    "This is a phone can even be used with gloves, thanks to"

    That's like that Sylvester Stallone film, where he goes up a mountain, the one where

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Oh

      That Stallone film you alluded to produced one of the wittiest responses to an interview question I ever heard. Genuinely amazing, as it was Stallone being interviewed:

      "Mr Stallone, did you do any of your own stunts?"

      "Hell no! I've been terrified of heights ever since my first marriage."

  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    I'm sorry

    But a somewhat better camera is hardly a 'game changer'. An incremental update to a poorly selling handset, if you ask me. Ask anyone to spot the differences between a 900 and a 920; I hardly think anyone will be able to tell them apart. Which then begs the question: if the first one sold so poorly, what makes Nokia think this one will do any better?

    Win Pho 8? Anecdotally, the only people I know who might be interested in a Lumia base it on their past experience with Nokia, not Microsoft.

    However, that Nokia Transport thing is something I think Nokia could really use in order to claw back some market share in Europe, as a lot more Europeans travel on buses &c. Tie that in with other data containers, and you might have a winner.

    1. Alexander Hanff 1

      Re: I'm sorry

      ok I will bite...

      920 has...

      twice as many cores running at higher clock speed

      bigger and better display IPS 768 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 inches (~332 ppi pixel density) vs 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density) AMOLED

      2x as much RAM

      2x as much storage (very welcomed)

      2nd Generation Gorilla Glass

      WP8

      Wireless Charging

      Dual Antenna

      Bluetooth 3.1 vs Bluetooth 2.1

      Better GPU

      Full HD Video recording

      Bigger battery giving upto 10h extra talk time and upto 100 hours extra standby time

      Those are just a few of the differences - all of which are beneficial to the consumer in real terms instead of just being nice to have frills.

      1. Alexander Hanff 1

        Re: I'm sorry

        Oh and I forgot NFC - something the 900 was missing which is a pain in the ass when you are syncing up the Nokia Play 360 Speakers... (I don't mention NFC payments because I know entirely too much about the security issues but the non payment related NFC benefits are quite nice)

      2. Ramazan
        WTF?

        Re: @Alexander Hanff 1

        OK, about your points:

        2x more RAM - all eaten by fulll blown NT kernel vs mobile-optimized OS (CE, iOS, Android, QNX/BBRY etc)

        2x more storage - all eaten up by full blown NT install with 4 versions of .NET framework DLLs etc

        WP8 - hardly a benefit

        2nd Generation Gorilla Glass - who gives a fsck?

        Bluetooth a.b vs Bluetooth c.d - see above

        P.S. sir, you are an idiot

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'm sorry

      Almost everything on this phone is new, unique and not available on any other handset at present.

      The sensitive screen (okay sony's hover tech has something similar), the OIS camera, the QI charging.

      But a phone is about the overall experience, not just specs.

    3. Tommy Pock

      Re: I'm sorry

      One can't really use relatively smaller sales as an indication of quality; by such a measure you could say Richard Hawley isn't as good as Westlife.

  15. toadwarrior

    The display unit I saw looked nice and I'm sure it is a great phone but my problem with it, the S3 and even the iphone 5 is they're getting too big.

    Do these companies not factor in that people put these things in their pocket or often use their phone with one hand, whether they're standing on the train or on the loo.

    If I want something big, I'll get a tablet so make a phone that is optimised for single hand usage.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "The display unit I saw looked nice and I'm sure it is a great phone but my problem with it, the S3 and even the iphone 5 is they're getting too big."

      Small hands, eh, toady? Also seem to be permanently angry.. a wild pattern appears :)

    2. Paul Shirley

      re: Do these companies not factor in...

      They factor in that every time they've offered a bigger screen the phones fly off the shelves...

      Don't like a big phone? Buy a smaller one. It's not hard.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: re: Do these companies not factor in...

        "Don't like a big phone? Buy a smaller one. It's not hard."

        That reminds me of the handy hint "don't like gay marriage? Don't marry a gay!". That works, too.

      2. Dana W

        Re: re: Do these companies not factor in...

        Its not as easy as it used to be, if you want a mainstream phone they just keep getting bigger and bigger.

      3. nigbose

        Re: re: Do these companies not factor in...

        "They factor in that every time they've offered a bigger screen the phones fly off the shelves...

        Don't like a big phone? Buy a smaller hand, it's not hard ;)

    3. M Gale

      "standing on the train or on the loo."

      Must have a strong seat.

      Is this like some kind of steady-aim game?

  16. Mystic Megabyte
    Big Brother

    Spyware

    Don't buy this phone for your children, especially if the national database is up up for sale

    http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-patent-spies-on-consumers-to-enforce-drm-7000007102/

    In fact just don't buy it at all

    1. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

      Re: Spyware

      So, what you're saying is that we should avoid Windows Phone because Microsoft's invasive user tracking offering is laughably immature compared to Google's?

    2. Bob Vistakin
      Big Brother

      Re: Spyware

      Careful - you're liable to get a lecture on your life's experiences for saying stuff like that round here.

  17. Wibble
    Boffin

    What's the browser like?

    Curious what the bundled browser's like. Given that websites are now all optimised for Webkit browsers in Android & iPhone, does the WinPhone's IE work or is it buggy?

    Can you download a WinPhone emulator a-la Android & iPhone?

    Just a web developer wondering if Microsoft have learned from their past mistakes.

    1. MikeyWilko
      Thumb Up

      Re: What's the browser like?

      The browser is actually really good. Fast and responsive from a users point of view but as a fellow web developer, I've had no issues at all with it.

      It manages to render old sites really well but for all the HTML5/CSS3/JQuery (and other scripting libs) sites I've done, there have been no problems at all. All sites I now do are built with responsive design very much in mind and again, no problems here!

  18. Ted Treen
    Thumb Up

    Looks nice.

    I'm quite happy with my iPhone, but I love it when Apple's competition introduce something that's good.

    There's nothing like a bit of competition to act as a spur to ALL manufacturers, which generally results in a better product for the end user.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Looks nice.

      Except Apple won't introduce any of these new features on their phones since they're more interested in design goals and making something the thinnest, lightest etc.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Yet its still not ready...

    "Come to mention it – how did anyone get around a city before 2009?"

    Well, same as we now in 2012. Because the feature you're hinting at, Local Scout, is still not supported in all countries. You guys are lucky because in the bigger countries such as England and Germany Local Scout has been fully implemented.

    Yet in a dozen other countries; Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain it simply doesn't work. Of course some application developers jumped right in the gap and created apps to cover for all this. But the fact remains that several years after Windows Phone has been released many of its features are still not fully supported.

    Local scout is one, what to think about speech dictation? Or having the option to search for pictures or sounds? Bing maps? Its nice that it comes with a "find directions" function, it becomes a little useless because you have to actually tap the screen to tell the phone that it should show you the next waypoint.

    So quite frankly; yes, a new phone is kind of impressive. But being a WP7.5 users myself I'd be more impressed if Microsoft would also have made some improvements to the availability of their phone services.

    If you buy yourself a Winphone 8 you're also buying into something which provides many unsupported features if you happen to live in 'other' countries. That really doesn't sound very impressive to me.

    1. B4PJS
      FAIL

      Re: Yet its still not ready...

      @ShelLuser

      He wasn't actually referring to local scout, he was referring to Nokia Transport. Read The Sodding Review before making an incorrect comment.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "If you ever go down the pub and let slip you’re a tech writer..."

    "..you’re invariably asked for recommendation"

    Let slip? Bang on about might be closer to the mark..

    1. Christopher Rogers
      Thumb Up

      Re: "If you ever go down the pub and let slip you’re a tech writer..."

      I really hope your a friend of the author. That would make your comment hilarious!

  21. djstardust

    Hmmmmm

    Decent camera - Kudos

    Throttling supply to one network which not a lot of people like and the high sim-free price bats this well out of my scope. Add to this an incomplete OS and it's a no-no.

    Galaxy Note 2 all the way!

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Speaking as a conspirator from...

    ...the Evil Plot to Destroy Nokia for Benefit of Short Sellers or Something (EPNBSSS) I have to protest about the existence of this phone. Looks like Elop will have to replaced with a more compliant CEO.

  23. squilookle
    Thumb Down

    It looks like a decent phone, WP8 looks like an interesting OS. I really think they've blown it though, unfortunately. The fact that I can't walk into any phone shop and get one, or go on the website of any operator and order one is the big issue.

    I'm not clear if I can get one on contract without going on 4G, I looked briefly and couldn't see anything to indicate I could - although this is not definitive research - and this is/would be a deal breaker for me. I don't want 4G. I want a decent 3G connection with unlimited data. I'm not prepared to pay stupid amounts for a connection faster than I need and a data cap lower than I need. (Interestingly, the reviewer used an unlocked handset on 3 and reports good battery life: I wonder what the EE supplied 4G handsets are like with the battery).

    So I'm getting the Nexus 4. True, I'm not going to be able to get it from where I normally would, and the lack of SD card slot on it is a failing (as it is on the Lumia 920). But it's an impressive bit of kit and it's cheap which brings us to the biggest problem for Nokia: the competition is strong. The iPhone 5, the S3 and the Note 2, the HTC windows phones and the Nexus 4 and countless others. We're spoilt for choice at the minute and can get most of them on almost any operator/plan we choose. This phone looks good, but not good enough to bring anyone but the most loyal Nokia/Windows Phone fan off of the network that they prefer, when those networks can provide such a wide range of equally good phones.

    I would really like to see this succeed: more competition is better for us (the customers). Unless it becomes more widely available in the new year and gets some good marketing, I don't think it's going to.

    1. RICHTO
      Mushroom

      That will come - exclusivity is only until Christmas.

      I called Orange about an upgrade to the 920 (works out cheaper than via EE), and they said they are swamped with people asking about these handsets and that the first batch received will likely sell out immediately...

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    More mugs queing up to be reamed.

    The 10 people interested in the Lumia 920, are making the same sounds at the 12 people that were interested in the Lumia 900, and look how that turned out for them.

    They have long since gone an bought proper smartphones safe in the knowledge they won't get dumped on from a great height and left for dead with an extinct OS app format...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

      Microsoft isn't going anywhere, mobile is too big a market for them to move away from.

      18 month guaranteed support period for WP8 phones. Try getting that sort of guarantee from any one else.

      1. Robert Grant

        Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

        Er, massive WP fan here, but clearly Apple support stuff the best, even if they sometimes create worse OSes to upgrade to. At least you CAN upgrade.

        Android though - totally agree. Nexus or no support.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

          When Apple provide an upgrade to an older handset it is often missing features and dreadfully slow and get lots of angry users moaning.

          When Apple don't provide an upgrade they get loads of angry users moaning.

          Personally I'd sooner know in advance the support period so as to plan what contract to go on and when to get ready for an upgrade.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

            "Personally I'd sooner know in advance the support period so as to plan what contract to go on and when to get ready for an upgrade."

            You mean like,

            1) Nokia 'releases' Lumia 900 in May 2012

            2) device is actually in stores on June 2012

            3) Microsoft declares NO WP8 upgrades for these Lumia 900's in July 2012

            That's definitely the way to keep punters happy.

      2. M Gale

        Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

        "18 month guaranteed support period for WP8 phones. Try getting that sort of guarantee from any one else."

        Asus?

        Google?

        Apple?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

          Sorry but I've never seen them publicly announce it.

          As an iPad 1 owner I got shafted by Apple with that, no iOS6.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

        Most Android sellers have a 18 month update agreement

        http://yourstop.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/taking-a-look-at-androids-18-month-update-system/

    2. h4rm0ny

      Re: More mugs queing up to be reamed.

      "The 10 people interested in the Lumia 920, are making the same sounds at the 12 people that were interested in the Lumia 900, and look how that turned out for them."

      Extraordinary that at the time of posting, it seems six of the those ten people have already downvoted you. What are the chances that so many of the nation's ten people interested in this phone would be El Reg readers and present on this story?

  25. Silverburn

    Nice phone...I'm actually tempted. Shame about the OS X support being terrible.

    But then again...a windows phone, syncing with a mac? It just seems...wrong. Taboo, even.

    1. Giles Jones Gold badge

      It supports USB mass storage now, you can drop and drop files.

  26. Bernard

    Nokia's strategy is weird

    First they tie themselves to a new Microsoft o/s that very few people have high hopes for and so which will minimise the addressable market even if the phone is great.

    Then they sign an extremely restrictive exclusivity deal with the people in the UK who want you to pay through the nose for a new network that few people want or need.

    If this is their plan for recovering mass market appeal and turning themselves around then I wouldnt fancy owning shares.

    Why don't they refuse to sell a handset to anyone whose name doesn't begin with V to give it a sense of exclusivity?

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best camera?

    If those photos are representative of the best available camera in a phone, I weep. The photos (even the daylight ones) are blurry, pixelated and just plain weird. The leaves in the photo of the rock, for example, look like they're viewed through gauze. The sample video has the drunken, floaty image stabilisation thing going on.

    Perhaps they were bad jpg compression for the article and YouTube stabilisation, but I doubt it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Best camera?

      Nokia have stated they will improve it.

      Personally I feel that the camera is largely fine but isn't suited to the point and shoot brigade at present. Image stabilisation can take a while to kick in and the camera does work more like an SLR in the sense that what you see on the screen isn't what you get (in low light especially) since the lens stay open longer than a preview image can show.

  28. HarryDevlin

    Nokia is not Serious about Apps Development, Dooming Windows Phone 8

    Last night I went to a Nokia "Developer Appreciation Party" in San Jose. It was held at a fancy hotel in a swanky shopping area. There must have been 500 people there. All I took away from the party is that Nokia doesn't appreciate developers very much. While the open bar was fine, they were really stingy on food. But refreshments aside, what struck me is that to Nokia expects developers to fork out money to buy Nokia devices in order to develop applications for which there is almost no market. They were touting ways that developers could earn points to get Nokia merchandise like T shirts, by playing games and taking quizzes. It was insane. For the money they spent on the party they could have given everyone there a development platform.

    Oh well, I left with a 16GB USB stick and a T-shirt, and the vodka was good.

    1. RICHTO
      Mushroom

      Re: Nokia is not Serious about Apps Development, Dooming Windows Phone 8

      Yes but everyone knows Nokias own platforms are dead. I am surprised they still have a developer marketing budget for them.

      The Windows 8 platofrm will be massive and will have something like 500 milion target devices in a year or two. No developer with any sense will miss that - you will within reason just be able to change a few Visual Studio settings to target multiple Windows 8 platofrm formats - that's a major selling point for application vendors.

      Then lets not forget that Microsoft's mobile OSs have a couple of orders of magnitude lower vulnerability counts than IOS and Android - so it is likely that Microsofts walled garden will remain relatively secure - and piracy losses will be lower.

  29. dazzyp

    I think the author has missed something. I have two Windows Phone 7.5 handsets and sync all my contacts, calendar, and email with my google account. I also sync my hotmail email, which appears in a different inbox but can be unified with my gmail.

  30. El Presidente
    Windows

    Those Photos

    Prove that scribblers can't shoot fer shit and togs shouldn't try to scribble for a living.

    1. Andrew Orlowski (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Those Photos

      Fair enough.

      That "division of labour" idea has a lot going for it!

  31. Bad Beaver
    Paris Hilton

    Utilitarian and boxy?

    You make it sound like it was bad thing!

    Anyhow, as long as MS cannot get the Mac sync right (and we like to sync PIM data offline here) it is just no sale.

  32. Potts

    Rating?

    What happened to the rating/score/grade for this review El-Reg?

    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: Rating?

      See the article on Reg Hardware for the score..

      http://www.reghardware.com/2012/11/08/review_nokia_lumia_920_windows_phone_8/

      C.

  33. Benjamin 4

    I really like the hardware but I'm not touching Windows Phone with a barge pole. If I could get this with Android, especially CM7.2 with ADW launcher I would really like it as a phone. Sadly the software lets it down.

  34. Donquixote
    Thumb Up

    Why bash Nokia for moving to Windows Phone?

    S60 was good. I used symbian phones until late last year. But Symbian was functional in a world which was fast moving towards pretty. Symbian was solid in a world which sought fluid. Nokia had to move away from symbian as their sales were dropping like crazy. No one I knew was buying Nokia phones after 2008. It was either Apple (In the US) or Samsung (In Asia).

    I trust Nokia hardware. They last for years - which is important as I don't really buy new mobile phones every other year.

    I have used Windows Phone 7.5 and it was good aesthetically. I am keen on trying the Nokia 9/820. WinPho is stable, offers a great user experience and is pleasing to use. I can no longer say that about Symbian.

    I can't say 'pleasing to use' about either iOS or Android. iOS is very fluid and was very great until 2010 or so. Android has been just playing catchup to iOS in design, but sadly hasn't quite got it yet.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why bash Nokia for moving to Windows Phone?

      "But Symbian was functional in a world which was fast moving towards pretty. Symbian was solid in a world which sought fluid."

      - Only kids and yuppies care for pretty. Professionals require functional and solid!

      "Nokia had to move away from symbian as their sales were dropping like crazy. "

      - Nokia Sales were dropping like crazy because Elop prematurely exterminated Symbian. The N8 was selling good and so was the C7. Even the XM5800 sold very nice.

      "I trust Nokia hardware. They last for years - which is important as I don't really buy new mobile phones every other year."

      OLD Nokia hardware last for years. The newer models are crap. I've had a Lumia 800 and it is build by crappy chinese compal. Mine broke down twice after i bought it (feb 2012) and finally gotten replaced after it was clear that the repair-company did more wrong than good. I dumbed that POS end August 2012 after I received my replaced Lumia 800. I just hated it and wanted to get rid of it at ANY cost. My N8 is build FAR better then ANY of those lumia's.

      Also Microsoft declared that WP7 was dead 3 months after the Lumia 900 got released. And then you state that you don't buy a new phone every year? Then I guess you'd better stay away from Lumia's.

      "I have used Windows Phone 7.5 and it was good aesthetically."

      Indeed all bling and no substance. Crippled bluetooth, no local USb syncing, no call recording, no notification led, disastrously quiet ringer volume, crippled multitasking, battery charging problems, fragile build quality, screens with purple tint problems, enforced use of cloud etc... But hey, you got 11 colours to "personalize" your phone instead of only 10 on Samsung or HTC's WP7.x devices!

      "I can no longer say that about Symbian."

      Funny I prefer Symbian over WP. Of course I DON'T mean Symbian from the N97! My reference points are Nokia C7 and Nokia 701. Solid performance, great navigation app, the FM transmitter is invaluable, full BT syncing and transfers, automatic full 2-way call recording (3rd party app), handles +600 contact fantastic.

      Plus there's the little things like real a hangup button. Or the little white charging LED next to the microUSB-port. Or the dual 2mm-pin/microUSB-charging. Or the flashing menu-button/notification-led. Or the UI (and MOST apps) fully usable in landscape AND portrait. Or the loud loudspeaker.

      But again. If you don't use a PHONE for making PHONECALLS then a shinny blip with facebook and screens filled with apps that replace web-sites/fartsounds or any other insignicant crap is the thing to go for.

      Luckily people today have short attention-spans, short memories and are gullible.

      1. Ramazan

        Re: Or the dual 2mm-pin/microUSB-charging.

        or the real miniUSB or microUSB charging on your beloved C7 or N8 fsking OLD Nokia hardware, you coward?

  35. Nanners
    FAIL

    Come on ...

    I don't need to tell you guys this is a dud right? good luck using that camera after your sweaty palms have been all over it as well. Come on people, I need an apple alternative...you fail, yet again. Please give me a reason to dump apple's over the top greed and dominating tyrrany. I beg of you.

  36. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    App control?

    This is a decent review. Gets around many areas and touches on good stuff and bad.

    One question from me would be, what is the app control like?

    Meaning: How much control do I have, over what access an app has?

    On my current phone, a semi-old Nokia, I am able to control most apps quite easily. (Although a few are uncontrollable, and the bundled facebook app had settings that couldn't be altered - which prompted me to delete it).

    I don't really mind the fancy phone all that much, I just want to have some measure of control over what happens to the data I put on it. I don't want my calendar to be used by any other apps for instance.

    And I would imagine that the app-control is similar to Winpho 7/7.5, so can anyone who uses that tell me?

    1. dogged
      Boffin

      Re: App control?

      On 7.5, all apps are sandboxed and must ask APIs for access to things such as internet connectivity, your location, your address book, etc.

      All apps must (in order to be approved for the app store) ask clearly for each permission they require (you have to actually set sliders) or they're simply not available.

      I was expecting to find apps sending my data all over the place; it was actually something of a shock to find that this doesn't happen. The differentiation on privacy is something MS have pushed quite hard.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They are phones. Not football teams.

    It is OK to be impartial and honest about products. You may love your favourite corporation, but it doesn't love you back. Sure, it values "brand loyalty" - in purely monetary terms. Every time you defend a corporation or its products, you are working for them free of charge. That's OK if they reciprocate by doing stuff for you free of charge, but otherwise it is probably not very sensible.

    Still, it's your life, and you are free to find religion anywhere you like.

    That is all.

  38. MrRtd
    FAIL

    8 pages...

    8 page review, is ridiculous. Surely it could have been reduced. Here's an idea, publish the article over a page or two and have a slideshow of photos as an option.

    1. dogged

      Re: 8 pages...

      That wouldn't have been straightforward with the comparison photos.

      And to be honest, those were necessary because even with them, we get idiots claiming they're faked.

  39. Talamasca
    Thumb Down

    You can polish a turd...

    <wpfanboisdefeflectoron> I had the unpleasant experience of owning a WP7. You can polish a turd all day long, but at the end of the day... it's still a turd.. </wpfanboisdeflectoroff>

  40. Hubert Thrunge Jr.
    Coat

    Only quad band.

    My Burning Platform Nokia is Penta-band.

    It has 64Gb of storage.

    It has a lighter OS that doesn't need a load of cores to make it look slick - it just is.

    Now waiting for Jollaphone's release due very soon according to reports,.

    Just saying, OK.

  41. hazydave

    This and that

    The photos just aren't that good -- there's plenty of noise in there. Yeah, it's a smartphone, and yeah, the blow-up you selected looks better on the Nokia than the iPhone, but no one's going to mistake this as a photo from even a moderate P&S camera.

    And there's a bunch of interesting things here not even mentioned. Nokia's gone to great lengths to claim special magic in the display -- very fast performance (for an LCD, still 1/1000th the speed of OLED) capable of full 60fps video or gaming without smearing, and good viewing in the daylight. Trying this out -- and reporting its effect on battery life (both technologies use more power) should be part of a complete review. It's certainly possible.. the IPS+ display on my Asus Transformer is dramatically more viewable outdoors when in "IPS+" mode, but it's also going to eat battery faster. The need for outdoor viewing on a smartphone is at least as critical as a tablet, and many use these for gaming. I think readers want to know how this stacks up against an iPhone IPS or a Samsung OLED on display speed and daylight view. You didn't actually touch on real battery life or the screen issues at all.

    And this is at least as much a Windows Phone 8 review as a Nokia review. If you're goal is to review the device, no need to mention much about the generic parts of Windows Phone -- that's fodder for a separate review.

  42. Robert E A Harvey

    Q2 next year

    So thats around 4-6 months from now. Or nearly a quarter of the way through a 2 year contract.

    Hmm.

  43. twilkins
    Stop

    HOW much?

    Think, I'll be pocketing my Nexus 4 later this month and kissing expensive network lock-in goodbye!

  44. Duncan 4
    Thumb Up

    i want one

    I've used the 710 and windows phone is undeniably brilliant!! As an iPhone user who never remembers his camera for anything important and is sick of dodgy pics, this is perfect. Haven't figured out where I'm gonna keep this in the summer when I don't have a big jacket pocket tho, no that's not an invitation for a suggestion from a fan boy!!l

  45. Richard Plinston

    > will have something like 500 milion target devices in a year or two.

    How well did your prediction that Nokia would sell 30 million WP7 phones this year work out ? There were rumours that they had to dump 1million because distributors cancelled orders when MS killed the platform by announcing no upgrades.

  46. Wallyb132
    FAIL

    When is Microsoft going to realize:

    `Users want flexibility and choice, not tie-ins and limitations. Microsoft needs to stop trying to be apple and bring back the flexibility of Windows Mobile, R.I.P.

  47. Paull90

    UK Sim free 920

    It's not easy to find but it is available

    http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_justphones_sub.asp?ManKey=1&sr%3D1103%26du%3D10074%5F8%25B7%253F5%25CA%251C7%25215P%25E5%25D3%25F3%25A3%2517%25E9%25AB%25CC%2586%251A%25A0u%25C4%2598o%25C9%259B%25CA%25E1%2504%25CFq

    1. Pie

      Re: UK Sim free 920

      Those phones are sim free, but a different phones 4 u definition where you don't get a sim with them, so are free of sim but they are LOCKED to the EE/Orange/T-mobile network...

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