Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia)
Currently occupying the third tier, Microsoft’s Windows Phone takes the style of Windows 8 and applies it to a phone, bringing multiple sizes of tiles to a smaller screen, with each square or rectangle able to be updated in real-time, just like the widgets of Android.
Everything you’d expect on a phone is here — dialling, messaging, web browsing, social networking, emails, etc — and because Microsoft owns the ecosystem, you’ll find compatibility for some of Microsoft’s bigger applications, such as its Office suite, which is built into every Windows Phone. If you’re editing or checking a lot of documents, spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations, this makes the platform ideal.
Surprising no one more than us, Windows Phone has been growing on us lately, especially as we get more and more used to the Windows 8 interface on our desktop computers.
On the computer side of things, it’s a reasonable departure from what previous versions of Windows have been like, so we totally understand why people are frustrated by Microsoft’s latest computer operating system.
But on the mobile side of things, the simplicity of a tile-based menu that you can easily control the design of, followed by the one other main menu of apps, help to make Windows Phone 8 very easy to get your head around.
In that way, the simplicity of menus makes Windows Phone almost as easy as Apple’s iOS, making it well suited for people a little daunted by Android’s complexity.
Nokia helps improve things with a dedicated camera button which, when held down, automatically activates the camera app on whichever device you’re using.
There are problems with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, that said, and we’re not impressed by the operating system’s inability to let you select a default web browser, or change out the keyboard.
Other things appear to be locked down, and wearable devices, as an example, can’t run their drivers in the background, spelling trouble for future accessories which may or may not be compatible with the platform until Microsoft lets developers play around.
The application ecosystem is also much weaker than what it is for either Google Android or Apple’s iOS. It’s nowhere near as bad as it used to be, and owners of Windows Phone-based devices can at least find apps for Instagram and Twitter, as well as the obligatory copy of Angry Birds, but there are still quite a few pieces of software missing in action.
For instance, you won’t find Google Play Music here, nor will you find dedicated official apps for Google Drive or Google Mail. An official app for Dropbox is also lost here, and if there are kids who want to play games on their phone, Windows Phone 8 doesn’t seem to be the platform for them, despite Microsoft’s deep connection with Xbox Live accounts.
Battery life, though, is one thing that Windows Phone seems to pack in, and every phone we’ve tested so far running WP8 seems to net a day without any problems, while others score as high as two and three days.
Recommendations
Nokia Lumia 1020
Price: $899
One of the more creative experiments for Nokia, the Lumia 1020 is one part smartphone and one part camera, taking advantage of a 40 megapixel camera that crops as it zooms. The image quality on offer rivals many a compact, and Nokia has paired this up with similar specs to its other 2013 flagship models, like the Lumia 925, except in a solid plastic body.
Nokia Lumia 1520
Price: $899
The first tablet-sized phone for Nokia, the Lumia 1520 also manages to be the brand’s best phone yet, providing updated specs, an excellent 6 inch Full HD screen supporting an extra column of Windows tiles, 4G LTE connectivity, and a camera that doesn’t quite live up to the 40 megapixel of the Lumia 1020, but still boasts a fair amount of power with 20 megapixels of PureView tech.
Nokia Lumia 1320
Price: $449
Announced at the same time as its first phablet, Nokia’s second phablet is a budget price model, taking some of the hardware from older flagships but sticking it under a 6 inch screen running High Definition, as opposed to the Full HD of the 1520. The camera needs work, but the battery life is impressive, churning out days of support. Plural. With an “s.”
Nokia Lumia 520
Price: Starting from $179
Nokia doesn’t have a lot in the “cheap” end of the spectrum, but the Lumia 520 definitely fits that bill, providing Windows Phone on the cheap, with a retail price of under $200, and street prices of much less. The experience isn’t the best you’ll find, and the camera isn’t great, but if you like colourful cases and the look of Windows Phone more than a budget Android could ever pull, it might be worth looking at the 520.
Wait for…
With Microsoft owning Nokia, you’ll more than likely see more Windows Phones out of one of the oldest phone manufacturers in the world.
Already, we’ve seen some impressive phones from Nokia, and the PureView camera technology which replaces optical zoom with digital zoom cropping has really worked in the company’s favour, encouraging people to switch to have a better than “decent” camera in their smartphone.
There’s still work to be done, that said, and the ecosystem could do with some more improvement, but it’s unlikely Microsoft will give up on Windows Phone any time soon.
