Poll: Will you be buying the Nokia Lumia 920? (And why I will be…)

A lot of consumers may be picking up a new phone around this time. Are you in line to get the new Nokia Lumia 920? Perhaps you’ll be getting a different Lumia? (820) or a different Nokia altogether.

In a recent Poll of Wired readers, 28,900+ have voted that they’ll be buying the new Nokia Lumia 920 vs 9500 for the iPhone.

Attraction to the other side

I had been swaying back and forth earlier in the year. I said to myself that if I was disappointed in the new Lumia, I would go for the Galaxy Note (II) or new iPhone 5. I was thinking I would be getting an iPhone to match my Uni iPad and mac.

Rekindling interest

Also getting an iPhone would have been interesting as something to learn and do comparisons with future Nokias. After a couple of weeks with my iPad, I’m already a bit bored of iOS. I miss my WP keyboard.

Large screen

Also I want a larger screen. I can’t go back to a smaller screen after having the 4.3″ on the Lumia 900. I desperately wanted a phablet. 4.8-5.5″. Something ridiculous. But 4.5″ will do, especially given the next few things that are really interesting me

Design

The design is different to anything that’s out there. It’s not iPhoney. It’s a different kind of beautiful. Streamlined curved screen like that on the N9 and 800. It makes it look like things are floating on top of the display. Also, I want the polycarbonate Electric-Pikachu-Yellow Nokia Lumia 920. I’ve always wanted a bright yellow phone. My previous phone cases have always had a yellow variant for that bright, “hello you won’t lose me” appeal. It’s a nice splash of bright vivid colour to what is otherwise a dull black/white/silver world of tech things.

Super Sensitive Screen

I think it’s great that the whole ‘capacitive is not good for gloves/fingernails, thus you must use resistive’ has been solved. We still have a super sensitive capacitive display for feather light finger swiping. But if you have longer nails or are wearing gloves for the cold (or because you just wear gloves, e.g. at the hospital wards) you can still use the Lumia 920. Sometimes electrons can still pass through thin latex gloves and so might work on other capacitive screens, like the 900. That’s not really ‘super sensitive’ in the way it works on the 920.

A concern has been: how thick the gloves I can use can be? In the demoes, Kevin Shields used huge mittens, so I think winter gloves would be totally fine.

PureView Phase 2

Whilst Nokias, like the N90, N73, N93i, N95, N82, N86, N8, 808 continued the long tradition of excellent imaging in Nokias, I have been left somewhat disappointed by the generation 1 Lumia range. They were ok for a phone but not what I had been growing to expect from a Nokia.

We haven’t seen images and video samples (original) yet but early indications look promising that PureView 2, with floating lens technology to provide optical image stabilisation, really works. This means great low light images sans flash (and possibly with) as well as very steady video. Other images taken in day time should be better too than previous Lumias (that wouldn’t take much though).

If it takes good low light shots of people with flash, then I’d be very happy. That’s why I’ve been crying out over and over again for Xenon and a standard N8 like camera. The 920 however has a different implementation for low light (optically stabilising the camera to let more light in).

I wonder what audio recording will be like. It may not be 808 grade with stereo rich recording but it’ll still top the competition.

PureMotion HD+ with 1280×768 IPS LCD (higher resolution than new iPhone, better retina display i.e. higher pixel density than new iphone), improvement on Clear Black display.

The new screen on the Nokia Lumia 920 is said to be one of the best on the market. Early reviews by bloggers have been agreeing with Nokia’s claims. In comparisons, T3 said it was better than the HTC One X (known for having a great screen, one of the only areas that Android users say One X beats the SGSIII on).

PureMotion HD+ means pixels are apparently move energetic, more responsive, more fluid so less ghosting and overall a more pleasant experience. This extra responsiveness apparently will NOT be detrimental to battery life.

High resolution displays – you can see more things at once without needing to zoom in to read small text. However, some consumers may not really notice much difference (possibly due to eye sight limitations). For me, I would like that higher resolution display. And also nice to know that it is of higher pixel density than iPhone. Not that it actually matters to my use, but just for those who say to me ‘but it’s not Retina’ to which I’ll reply, ‘Exactly. It’s even better’.

I’m not sure about IPS LCD vs AMOLED. It might not be as vibrant but the colours will look more natural perhaps, as well as allowing you to use lighter themes (AMOLED better with black). The viewing angles seem and are reported to be very good. Also, non pentile. (I don’t have issues myself with pentile screens but I see rage in some comments by those totally against it).

Finally, with all that, there’s improved visibility outdoors with that improvement over Clear Black display. I’m not sure it is CBD, but Nokia mentioned improving on it. On early demoes you can see the 920 screen also cutting down reflection. The 900 was crowned as having the best screen for outdoor visibility. This meant that whilst my friends would shade their screen with their hands to read their text/mails, I just had to hold my 900 normally. If the 920 could maintain that, I’d be happy.

Wireless charging.

I am a big fan of the wireless charging. I’ve been using a similar set up on my HP Touchpad and touchstone (and before that, I reviewed an accessory for the n97 that allowed you to achieve something similar). It’s very convenient. Just pop the device on, no need to fiddle with a wire and it’s charging. It might seem a lazy move, but then again, a lot of the improvements we’re getting are just that. Saving a second or two here or there but that certainly adds up.

I’ll be interested to know how far Nokia takes wireless connectivity. e.g. NFC connection to initiate WiFi wireless transfer? 900 and Zune already have a great set up with automatic WiFi transfer or images/videos when set to charge. It wouldn’t be too much of an evolution to initiate transfers directly this way.

WP8

As a WP7.5 user, I can’t wait for WP8. First and foremost, set up will be incredibly easy as Windows Phone remembers all my contacts and can sync calendars very effortlessly just by signing in.

I was surprised by how much more straightforward the majority of apps I have that are on both my iPad and Lumia on my Lumia. I like the consistency of the back button and do get a little flustered every time that changes position on iOS.

The keyboard on WP is much more straightforward than iOS I think. Autocorrect is less annoying. I’m interested in the new live tiles format. I also appreciate how smooth and reliable everything is. Things just work. Not saying it doesn’t on others, but I’m comfortable with that reliability which I hope stays in the 920. With Snapdragon s4 Dual Core at 1.5GHz, I think this will run as buttery if not more than what the likes of the 900 can do already.

Perhaps when W8 tablets are out, WP8 would be more desirable. As it is, this probably isn’t the main selling point for me. Well, I guess I don’t know the full consumer features yet because Microsoft has not officially released WP8 yet. It’s definitely making itself a more attractive option.

Having Nokia Drive is a big plus. So many times this has saved me and family/friends. Office built in and integrated is pretty cool  as well as XboxLive stuff (but I hope they do more with this). Integrated apps is cool, like how I can control spotify’s music controls from anywhere with volume button or even at the lock screen, I can skip tracks. I’ve not been able to manage this on other platforms yet. Also, reading out my messages. An odd feature but something I’ve found so useful on numerous occasions when I can’t get to my phone or use my hands (even with super sensitive screen, I’d rather not dirty the phone).

NFC

Sadly no NFC in new iPhone. NFC is pretty wicked on the 808 and N9. Tap at the precise place and instantly connect over bluetooth. Great stuff for those Nokia original accessories, or possibly in future for games/shopping/picture transfer/promos or whatever else they have planned for NFC (mobile wallers, taxi ordering etc etc). It’s a crowd wower when ever they see this happen. It seems to be a geek feature but it’s actually something a technophobe would appreciate dearly as it’s a very natural gesture to bring something close together to connect.

It’s a Nokia

Always a good reason. Especially being a Nokia fan and having a Nokia blog. It’s good to learn about other platforms mind, but this year, the Nokia is too appealing for me.

It’ll also quiet down the angry comments from the super zealous Nokia fans who say I am only allowed to own Nokia products/Windows

Doubts

The appeal of owning an iPhone is still there, though less so than before. Why? I don’t know, I guess I’m falling for those adverts.

App appeal – whilst WP apps are growing, the natural app place is iOS. Especially in the realm of games. The attraction is so much more less now that I have the iPad and significantly less free time to play games in the first place.

The only thing that really interested me in the Galaxy Note was a bigger screen. Oh and possibly expandable memory but I think 32GB is a nice sweet spot. I also have SkyDrive anyway for additional 25GB (and drop box and box)

What is an even better Lumia is out soon, one that has a larger screen again and combines PureView 1 AND 2? But waiting around for something better gets me stuck on that spiral and you never get anything.

For others, I guess the size and weight might be an issue. I have the Lumia 920 shell in my room and it’s just as big as the 900 which I am comfortable with. WP8 might also be an issue for some but I’m a WP user and I like it.

Category: Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone