The Nokia Lumia 800 has landed and can be picked up in black or blue from Vodafone. As Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, rather grandly pointed out at it’s launch, ‘this is the first real Windows Phone.’ Well, it certainly looks the part but does it live up to the hype? Find out with our Nokia Lumia 800 review.
Verdict
Nokia had to hit the ground running with its first Windows Phone device, and while some will say the company has played safe with the Nokia Lumia 800 we think it’s a striking smartphone that more than lives up to expectations. The bottom line is, as soon as you pick it up you want to start using it and to us, that’s the sign of a winning smartphone.
Love
The Nokia Lumia 800 looks and feels amazing – it’s well-built, robust and an absolute pleasure to use
Hate
You won’t find any form of expansion, you’ll need to switch to a microSIM and yes, it’s essentially the Nokia N9 body with a couple of Window Phone cosmetic changes
Specs:
Screen: 3.7-inch LCD, 800 x 480 pixel resolution
Connectivity: HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB
Camera: 8-megapixel, LED Flash, 720p video
Storage: 16GB
Battery: 1450mAh
Size/Weight: 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1mm, 142 grams
Design and build quality
The Nokia Lumia 800 has a unibody design, so you won’t need to worry about a battery dropping out should you accidentally drop it. It also means that the lines are simple and elegant. The full metal (well, polycarbonate) jacket has a great feel to it that rests nicely in the hand.
In fact. The build quality of the Nokia Lumia 800 is pretty much one of the first things you’ll notice about this smartphone – it just feels right. Dominated by its screen the front of the Nokia Lumia 800 has a slight curve to it, which makes the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system look as though its popping out from the screen, and generally makes things easier to see.
On the top of the Nokia Lumia 800 you’ll find two ports, both covered. On the left is a pop-up lid that reveals the microUSB port for re-charging your smartphone, as well as for synchronising it with your PC, while the right-hand port is for slotting in the microSIM.
You won’t find any sort of expansion on the Nokia Lumia 800, so you’re limited to just the 16GB of internal memory. However, you’ll find that Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud solution also comes with the device, so you’ll find that 25GB of online space is yours for the free taking.
On the right-hand side of the Nokia Lumia 800 you’ll find three hardware buttons, which protrude slightly from the body. They comprise Capture, Screenlock and Volume buttons, which also double as digital zoom for the camera. The buttons are a good size and work well.
Screen
The 3.7-inch screen with 800 x 480-pixel resolution is something of a marvel. As already mentioned, the glass fills the whole of the front of the Nokia Lumia 800 and even incorporates three virtual buttons running along the bottom: Return, Home and Search.
In terms of quality, you’ll find it pretty much ticks all the right boxes, as this AMOLED panel uses Gorilla Glass and even uses Nokia’s ClearBlack Display technology to offer up the best screen experience around.
What this means in real terms is that you can use the Nokia Lumia 800 in pretty much any situations, whether indoors or out. We’ve found it a pleasure to use, with images and emails clearly viewable on a bright autumn morning.
We were initially concerned that the 3.7-inch screen would be a little too small but in practice, as much as we found with the HTC Rhyme, this size is pretty comfortable to use single-handed without feeling too constrained.
Usability
The Nokia Lumia 800 uses the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system and is the first such Nokia smartphone to do so. It follows the standard tile-based approach to layout but what you will find here are a host of Nokia orientated apps already pre-loaded and ready to use (such as Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps and Nokia Music).
What we like about the Windows Phone OS is that while the basic shape and feel is quite uniform and split over two homescreens, each tile on the main one isn’t an icon you need to tap into to start an app. Instead, each one is alive and let’s you know when there is something to check out, such as whenever you get a new email, or Facebook update, for example.
It’s a great way to interact with the Nokia Lumia 800, as it means you can simply give it a glance and if nothing has changed, move on. However, if there is a change you’ll spot it right away without having to tap down into the application, which is a real time saver.
Camera and media playback
The Nokia Lumia 800 comes with an 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-flash LCD. The camera itself is flush with the body of the smartphone and on first appearance looks a little oddly placed, in the centre of the Lumia. However, once you start to use it, you’ll find it makes perfect sense tying in with the screen as a viewfinder.
Our test images so far have been acceptable. It’s not the most advanced or cutting-edge of cameras – the Nokia Lumia 800 is certainly no enthusiasts camera-phone like the Nokia N8 – but for everyday snaps it’s more than acceptable.
With the Nokia Lumia 800 you’ll find video offers a resolution of 720p and from our initial testing is more than reasonable in everyday situations. Indoors it tends to be a little less detailed, with some of the colours looking a little washed out, but with a little trial and error you’ll get decent results.
Apps
The Windows Phone ecosystem is pretty much playing catchup in terms of apps. It’s currently thought there are around 36,000 apps available but this is growing on an almost daily basis. Leading the charge with the Nokia Lumia 800 apps is Nokia itself, as you’ll find Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps and Nokia Music bring a great deal of confidence to the range.
Nokia Maps goes live on the 17th November and turns your Nokia Lumia 800 into a full-blown mapping solution. Nokia Drive, though, is the true winner for the motorist as it offers up free turn-by-turn sat-nav functionality.
For those seeking a few media extras, then Nokia Music is the answer. It offers you the chance to listen to mixes of popular tunes when out and about, without having to download and without signing up to anything. What’s more, Nokia Radio allows you to pick a genre and then stream music to your phone, which is great as it means you don’t need to fill the phone with music for when you’re out and about.
Call quality/battery life
The Nokia Lumia 800 has two antenna locations: the whole of the bottom of the smartphone and also about a third down on the left-hand side as you face the device. This means you’re unlikely to cover either when making calls and we found call clarity was nice and clear. What’s more, you’ll find a speaker on the base of the phone Nokia Lumia 800, rather than the back, which is the common placement, so audio and call clarity is much better.
Conclusion
Some commentators may have bemoaned the lack of experimentation with the Nokia Lumia 800, citing that we’d seen the design already. That said, Nokia hit universal praise for the look and feel of the Nokia N9 only four short months ago, so those who are saying it’s already looking dated seem to be the fickle ones.
Sure, Nokia has played fairly safe in the respect of design but we think the overall quality and usability of the Nokia Lumia 800 over rides any doubts. It’s a striking device that is highly usable, practical and delivers on every level. Nokia is back – and with a bang!
Check out our Nokia Lumia 800 review photo gallery:
