Since Microsoft and its manufacturing partners introduced Windows Phone seven, they have tried in vain to introduce a legitimate competitor to the Apple iPhone. They take as well failed to unseat an regular army of Android devices that have been more than lucrative for the aforementioned manufacturers who first embraced Windows Phone. Nokia'south entry was an all-in run a risk that was supposed to platform among the elite of smartphones, just being the nigh popular of the agglomeration didn't translate to commercial or critical success.

In the Nokia Lumia 920, Windows Phone eight has a worthy competitor to iOS and Android. It continues the design philosophy that made the original Lumias the most pop Windows Phone handsets by having eye-catching colors and distinguishing features. It besides features brand new software that is faster and more robust than its predecessor. Volition a winning hardware foundation and vastly improved software secure the Lumia 920 a place amidst the elite?

Hardware, Key Features

The Nokia Lumia 920 isn't guaranteed to earn millions of sales, but the telephone is sure to garner plenty of looks thanks to its bold color choices. Bachelor in a matte cyan finish or a high gloss red or yellowish, the bold color choices that wrap around a blackness face stand out from a crowd.

People who want a more conservative color scheme tin opt for a matte black or glossy white model, but even those will exist distinguishable because of the Lumia 920's body. The phone measures 134.62mm x lxx.87mm 10 x.67mm (5.13in 10 2.79in x 0.42in). Arriving in an era where smartphone vendors are racing to make each phone thinner than the last, the slightly curved dorsum of the Lumia 920 protrudes far enough to make this a relatively thick phone.

It'southward also on the hefty side by topping the scale at 184.27g (half-dozen.5oz). The Lumia 920 is the heaviest flagship phone to striking the market place in quite some time. The phone's weight is non excessive, but there's no getting around that this phone carries actress ounces that the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Southward III do non.

The Lumia 920 carries its weight well by still managing to introduce an attractive figure with solid hardware credentials. The height and bottom of the device are completely flat, so the Lumia 920 can stand on a table or desk. Both sides curve equally if the ii sides were squished smoothly meet in the back and give shape to the phone. The left side is a blank slate but the right side has volume buttons, a push to plough the device on or off, or take a photo. The bottom houses a microUSB slot and a pleasingly loud speaker, and the top has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a SIM door that'south accessible by a cardinal included in the box.

In an effort to make an equally bonny display, Nokia built the Lumia 920 to have a iv.5-inch screen with PureMotion HD+, ClearBlack, Sunlight Readability Enhancement, and Corning Gorilla Glass two.0. To put those clever brand names and marketing terms into patently English, the Lumia 920 displays vivid colors and deep blacks accurately, and animation and video move smoothly across the screen without any drops in quality. The Sunlight enhancement works as advertised and does a very good chore of combating the glare or lack of visibility that occurs on sunny days. The screen adjusts outdoors to brand content readable even nether straight sunlight. The curved drinking glass reduces the daze of touch of drops or scratches, and a touch on panel with increased sensitivity makes the device operable even when wearing gloves.

While Windows Phone vii was a temporary stopgap to modernize Microsoft's smartphone operating organization, Windows Telephone eight is truly a whole new experience. Modern UI, formerly known as Metro, is a flexible interface that is a comfortable departure from Android and iOS. It's easy to brand sense of the UI, which relies on Live Tiles as its main feature. Live Tiles are alike to Android widgets because they provide updates and shortcuts on the domicile screen. Rather than show an icon for an email account, it shows the icon and the number '14' to betoken that at that place are 14 unread messages. Tiles can likewise show tiptop stories from CNN, tweets from friends, or photos from a camera ringlet. Live Tiles can be repositioned, fit into themes with dissimilar colors, and adjusted to unlike sizes.

A i.5 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM brand slick movements possible, simply Windows Telephone 8 doesn't e'er feel like it benefits much from the hardware increase. When browsing the dwelling house screen or loading system apps, things snap at a reasonable footstep; however, at that place's a considerable filibuster when loading apps. Users should become accustommed to seeing the word "Loading" because it appears frequently. Whether this is the error of the OS or poorly coded apps from developers, many news apps like ESPN, CNN, and Entrance spend besides much time displaying loading or splash screens before actually displaying content. Most apps move quickly once loaded, but the slow start-up times pop-up ofttimes enough to become an annoyance.

Not all apps are a letdown. Nokia delivers some interesting mapping solutions similar Urban center Lens, an augmented reality app that showcases famous landmarks and nearby points of interest. It too includes a very powerful Maps app with offline plow-past-turn navigation and lots of data from beyond the globe. Windows Telephone provides added privacy with Kid's Corner, a sandboxed section of the phone where guests can only admission pre-approved apps, games, and songs. These built-in software features are equal to, and arguably better than, what'south offered on other platforms.