Nokia Lumia 900 Review

Introduction:

Nokia, Nokia, Nokia. Where have you been? It’s been a long time since the US market has been blessed with a high-end offering from you camp, so you know, there are some big expectations riding with this latest endeavor. Indeed, the Nokia Lumia 710 for T-Mobile was nothing more than a small tease, but when compared to the other pre-existing Windows Phones out there, it didn’t quite come off as being something spectacular. Nevertheless, we’re inching ever closer to that royal grand entrance that’s going to be attached to the Nokia Lumia 900.

Call it a sight for sore eyes, but we can’t believe that a top-shelf Nokia smartphone is headed to a major carrier in the US. Even better, the Nokia Lumia 900 is aiming to be a memorable device in many ways, but if we’d have to pick, its $99.99 on-contract price point right from the onset seemingly ensures that it won’t get lost amongst the masses. Certain to not be forgotten in all of this, Microsoft’s presence in the mobile platform space will surely benefit now that Nokia is bringing something grand to the table. With that in mind, let’s find out if the Nokia Lumia 900 has the stuff to stand out and make a long lasting impact.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Product and Safety Information
• microSIM card removal tool

Design:

Let’s not beat around the bush people, but we’ve seen the Nokia Lumia 900 before. To put it bluntly, the Lumia 900 is essentially a larger version of its close sibling in the Lumia 800. Technically, it’s not something fresh per se, but seeing that this is hitting the US, it’s very different looking from everything else out there. With that in mind, its peculiar looking appearance makes it stand out from the conventional designs we’ve been seeing.

Identical in almost every way to the Lumia 800 before it, except for its overall size of course, the Nokia Lumia 900 combines all the elements that are required in being a compelling offering. Specifically, it employs a unibody polycarbonate design that’s clean looking, somewhat streamlined (0.45” thick), reasonably weighted (5.64 oz), and resistant against debris. No doubt it’s very easy to handle, but if there’s one gripe, it has to the be the sharp feel of its edges – especially the bezel surrounding the display because it’s raised higher. Besides that, it has a distinctive look that’s so uniquely different, yet enchantingly attractive at the same time.



You can compare the Nokia Lumia 900 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

With its trio of Windows buttons below its display, they’re spaced far away from one another to reduce accidental presses. Meanwhile, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera is found on the top left corner above the display, which is there ready for all of our video chatting and self-portrait needs.

Peeking over to the left edge of the handset, it’s completely clean, but the right edge is ridiculously crowded by its volume controls, power button, and shutter key. Unfortunately, they’re all rather flat to the touch, but at least their responses are decent. Rounding things out on the top and bottom sides, we find microdots hiding away its internal speaker, 3.5mm headset jack, noise cancellation microphone, microUSB port, and microSIM card slot.

Sure to impress photo enthusiast out there, the Nokia Lumia 900 is packing an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera, which features a dual-LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics, and an F2.2 aperture lens. Seeing that it’s sporting a unibody construction, there’s no easy way of getting access to its 1,830 mAh battery, nor is there a way to expand its internal storage – then again, this is something becoming prevalent across many top-notch smartphones.


Display:

Nowadays, we’re spoiled by handsets donning super large displays and some pixel crunching resolutions. So when we look at the 4.3” WVGA (480 x 800) ClearBlack display of the Nokia Lumia 900, we’re not all that blown away by it, and the more we think about it, it doesn’t necessarily go beyond what we’ve seen in the Windows Phone space. Well, we’re certain it’s still going to capture some attention in public, because much like other AMOLED panels, it delivers the wow factor thanks to its wide-viewing angles and vibrant color production. On the other hand, are we disappointed with its WVGA resolution? Honestly, it’s a no mainly because that’s the resolution we’ve come to expect with all Windows Phones. Although it’s not a pencil pusher in any way, we’re still content by this sharp looking display, yet at the same time, we were hoping for something better.

Interface:

So what’s there to say about this Windows Phone 7.5 Mango device? Seriously, it’s exactly like every other Windows Phone we’ve reviewed in the last few months – with no difference whatsoever! Again, that’s the way that Microsoft intended its platform to be, and honestly, we can’t be all that upset about it. As usual, Windows Phone has a lot of character and personality with its overall look and feel, which is evident by its familiar dynamic looking live panels in the homescreen and implementation of its Metro UI in its apps. Although it doesn’t have the depth of personalization found with Android, it nevertheless has enough to keep users content – such as rearranging the live tiles or changing the color theme.



Functionality:

As we’ve blatantly mentioned already, the experience on the Nokia Lumia 900 is exactly the same to all other Windows Phone devices before it. Therefore, its core organizer apps don’t deviate in function or form. Essentially, we’re presented with the usual assortment of features with each specific hub – though, they’re bland in appearance when compared to other hubs. Specifically, the Alarm, Calculator and Calendar hubs look too plain and boring, but nonetheless, they provide us with the customary set of features that we come to expect nowadays.

Conversely, the People and Me Hubs make heavy use of the platform’s Metro UI, while still integrating with social networking services like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. In fact, we can wholeheartedly say that social networking is one of the defining features of Windows Phone that’s crucial to its ecosystem. Not only can we post things to all three services simultaneously, but we’re given some organizational functions as well – thus, making it the one-stop hub for all our social networking needs.


Thanks primarily to its spacious display, typing up messages with the handset’s on-screen keyboard is not a problem at all. In addition to its responsiveness, the Windows Phone keyboard has one of the best auto-correct and predictive text features out there, which even rivals the iPhone. To tell you the truth, we’re able to casually type messages at a blistering rate without any worries because it’s simply that good in correcting us if we do press the wrong button.


Well, the email experience hasn’t made any huge leaps over previous devices. Obviously, it’s more than adequate in keeping us organized, but when compared to things like Android’s Gmail experience, it doesn’t have the same depth of features. Frankly, it’s still easy to use and setup is a breeze – albeit, it can surely benefit from a “select all” feature for deleting everything in our in box, as opposed to selecting each separately.

Processor and Memory:

Do we really need to detail its hardware specs and all, especially when we’re talking about a Windows Phone here? Well, for those who are dying to know, the Nokia Lumia 900 is packing a single-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8055 processor with 512MB of RAM. In an time when dual-core and quad-core CPUs are taking hold of the market, some might be skeptical about this one, but there’s nothing to be alarmed about. And why is that? Simply, it performs handsomely without any slowdown or lag evident in any of its operations – thus, showing us how effective Windows Phone really is with a single-core CPU.

If you’re big into multimedia, you’ll somewhat be more cautious as to what you save on the smartphone. Although it’s mentioned to have 16GB of internal storage, it’s actually 13.61GB out of the box – meaning, you’ll be managing more things since it can’t be expanded.

Internet and Connectivity:

Finally, we have a Windows Phone that lives up to the expectations of being a real “4G” device. We haven’t seen it before yet on a Windows Phone, but it’s surely refreshing to know that the Lumia 900 is packing 4G LTE connectivity. On top of the quick page loads we’re seeing with the handset, its web browsing performance is fashionably top-notch because it exhibits the same fluidity we’ve experienced before on other Windows Phones. By now, we’re also forgiving in the fact that it doesn’t offer support for Adobe Flash, which is something unlikely we’ll be seeing at all. Regardless of that, it’s more than sufficient in presenting us with a tasteful experience.


For an LTE smartphone, we’re not entirely sold by the data speeds we’re getting with the handset – especially when it’s marginally better than HSPA+ connectivity. When testing it out in New York City, it was able to get maximum download and upload speeds of 10Mbit/s and 3Mbit/s respectively. In contrast, it puts out 8Mbit/s and 1.5Mbit/s speeds under HSPA+ connectivity. Of course, there could’ve been many factors that affected the results, but still, we were hoping to see faster speeds. On top of LTE connectivity, it also features aGPS, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and mobile hotspot functionality.

Camera:

Naturally, we like that the handset features a dedicated shutter key to instantly launch the camera app – even when it’s locked. Yet again, the interface is familiar, as it sports a relatively clean look with very few items cluttering it up. No doubt we like the wealth of shooting and manual options available with it, but even better, we find it ever so useful getting quick access to our photos by simply executing a left to right swiping motion in the interface.


For all the talk surrounding its 8-megapixel snapper with Carl Zeiss optics, we are underwhelmed by the results – mainly because we were expecting better quality. Being most effective with macro and outdoor shots with plenty of lighting, its results are average at best – though, it’s worth noting that it has a noticeable bluish tinge with its color production. Sadly, it fails to handle low lighting situations since its quality is heavily softened by the abundance of noise muddying up its results. Thankfully, its dual-LED flash is able to counteract most of its deficiencies, but as a whole, we’re not smitten by the results.

Hardly catching us by surprise, we’re actually not all that bummed by the fact that this beauty is sporting only 720p video recording, but still, it would be nice for Windows Phone in general to finally make the move up. Just like its still shot quality, the Lumia 900 produces the same average looking results that are more than acceptable to the eye, but it’s nothing spectacular. Knowing that, we do like that it offers continuous auto-focus, but it simply takes too long to adjust.

Nokia Lumia 900 Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Surprise, surprise! We have the Zune experience for all our music listening needs, which, as we all know, is what’s expected with all Windows Phones. Even though we’ve seen it on other devices, we don’t tire of experiencing it because it’s so dynamic and engaging. Meanwhile, its internal speaker pumps out some powerful tones, but it exhibits some strain at the highest volume setting.


Seeing that it’s packing a 4.3” WVGA AMOLED display, we find it more than pleasing when it comes down to watching videos. Using our test video that’s encoded in DivX 1920 x 1080, it’s able to deliver that all too expected engaging experience thanks its smooth playback, rich colors, and good details. Honestly, it has the perfect set of ingredients to make the entire thing exhilarating.


Compared to some of the Android devices out there, we’re again faced with the realization that there is no quick and easy multimedia sharing function with the Lumia 900, or more importantly, with Windows Phone in general. Without a doubt, it would’ve been nice to have some kind of mirroring functionality with the handset, so we can view content on a high-def TV, but it’s still something that’s sorely lacking with the platform.

Software:

Strangely, we were somewhat caught off guard knowing that the handset didn’t have Nokia Drive preloaded out of the box – though, AT&T Navigator is on there from the start. Nevertheless, it simply made us wonder why, but in any event, a quick download in the Windows Phone Marketplace ensured that we got it. As for some of the other notable third party apps, they include ESPN, Tango, and YPmobile. Otherwise, AT&T’s presence is in full force with items like AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T myWireless, AT&T Radio, and AT&T U-verse Mobile.



Seeing that this is a Windows Phone, productivity focused users will surely enjoy using Microsoft Office, as it grants us the ability to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Rounding things out, the Games Hub provides us access to all of our gaming needs – while still integrating with XBOX LIVE so that we can view our profile and achievements.

Performance:

Backed by the strong volume output experienced through its earpiece and speakerphone, we find calling quality on the Nokia Lumia 900 to be nearly perfect. In addition to its ample tones, voices on both ends of the line are discernibly clear and natural – without a shred of noise or static muddying down the results.

Testing out the smartphone within the greater Philadelphia area, we didn’t experience any situations when its signal strength would fluctuate tremendously, nor did we experience any dropped calls.

Despite getting a sampling of 4G LTE speeds while in New York City for a brief time, we mainly used the handset with HSPA+ connectivity instead. Similar to previous Windows Phones, its battery life is indeed likeable seeing we’re able to get 1 ½ days of normal usage out of a full charge, which is well in line to previous devices. Furthermore, its 1,830 mAh battery is able to push out over 8 hours of continuous talk time, which is an improvement over the 7 hours it’s rated for. Content for the most part, those results are expected to decrease if it’s used primarily under 4G LTE connectivity.

Conclusion:

After spending some quality time with the Nokia Lumia 900, we have to admit, we’re not entirely blown away by it. Rather, it’s essentially yet another device that we’ve experienced on numerous occasions in the past already – and it merely plays to the same level found with existing Windows Phones like the HTC Titan and Samsung Focus S. Of course, we do like the fact that it’s sporting 4G LTE connectivity, but beyond that, it doesn’t have anything particularly exciting in the hardware front – though, we have to give credit that it has a unique looking design.

If we take out LTE out of the equation, the Lumia 900 isn’t anything special. However, we seriously need to give some props to both Nokia and AT&T for agreeing on a price point that is unbelievable in so many aspects. At $99.99 with a 2-year contract, it’s an uncharacteristic price point, and even more, it’s unheard of in this day and age. Yet, that’s what it is in the books people! Surely, it’s going to attract a whole lot of attention and stir some things up with the competition, but in the end, it boasts a ton of value for buck.

Despite not being the most cutting edge thing out there, it’s a valiant offering from Nokia’s camp – and by far more alluring than T-Mobile’s Nokia Lumia 710. As we’ve seen, it’s not entirely flawless with its offerings and performance, but when it delivers enough quality elements to the table, combined with its stellar pricing, it’s sure to stand head above water over the competition. Ultimately, its pricing is what makes the Nokia Lumia 900 so agreeable over other things.

Software version of the reviewed unit:
Software: Windows Phone 7.5
OS Version: 7.10.8112.7

Nokia Lumia 900 Review: