My Nokia Lumia 800 ...a brief review.


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Well, if you've not been following my other thread you won't know that I had an Omnia 7 which broke, then was fixed, and broke again, and then replaced, which broke. In the end I got my carrier (ThreeUK) to replace the phone with a new Nokia Lumia 800 at no extra cost, or contract length. This in itself I was very pleased with, although after two months without a working phone, I think it's justified.

Anyway, I received the Nokia yesterday afternoon, and have been playing with it since. Some guys on my other thread asked that I do a quick review - which I shall do now.

Packaging To be honest I was expecting a rather nice box, as the Omnia 7 had, indicating that the device inside is somewhat special. This was not the case. The packaging is bright blue with funky pictures of the phone in its different colours and showing a the home screen and a couple of apps. The box is nicely thought out and comes with the phone (obviously), usb cable/charger, a protective sleeve for the phone, and some headphones. I would say the packaging is very well thought out, just not what I was expecting

The Device The phone was neatly wrapped in an all-round protective cover which neatly unfolds from the phone. The first impressions of the phone are brilliant. It certainly looks the part, and feels it too. The unibody construction on the phone is much better than the Omnia's (quite frankly) horrendous panel gaps. The phone is much heavier than the Omnia 7 and feels much much more solid. It's certainly in the iPhone league in weight (infact I suspect it is probably heavier, but my GF's 4s isn't here to compare with right now). Personally Iike the weight. The device sits in your hand much better than the Omnia too, and better than the iPhone 4s... Although I deeply suspect that depends upon the person and their particular hands! The phone certainly has a premium feel.

In Use Having had the Omnia 7 I knew pretty much what to expect with WinMo7, and I suspect you guys do too, so I won't waffle on about that now. The display is a bit smaller than the Omnia 7's, but is a whole lot better. It's so much sharper, the colours are vibrant, I don't really know how to explain it. The speed of the phone is in another league to the Omnia 7 too. It really is 'iPhone quick'. Even when launching apps for the first time - they're there instantly. I've heard reports of bad battery life - I've not really had a chance to test this out yet, but I will give it a full charge this morning and see how it lasts and report back. Any questions are very welcome indeed and I'll do my best to answer.

Omnia 7 - A phone with Windows Mobile 7 on.

Lumia 800 - A phone built for Windows Mobile 7.

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Lumia is my first WP device and Im loving it so far (had it for a week). Yeah battery life isnt fantastic but pretty much inline with other smartphones and the only thing i would complain about. Even managed to convince a work colleague to get one (iPhone convert) and he loves his too (although complains it could do with iplayer).

It really is a great looking phone and WP7 is fantastic.

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I picked up an Lumia 800 recently and coming from a SE W995 it's a big jump. It's my first modern smartphone (I used to have a HTC TYTN and a SE P910/990 previously) having not been impressed enough with the iPhones and Android phones I have used either for work or friends in the past.

The build quality is as mentioned earlier excellent, there are no join marks in the casing that I can see and it is very well put together. The screen is also excellent with colours very vibrant (the white is a little too bright for my eyes but I have got used to it now). Battery life is about a day with average use but there are some patches on the way that is supposed to improve this I have read. I bought the W995 primarily as I didn't want to carry around a seperate mp3 player and the Lumia hasn't dissapointed either as Nokia Music is a great app. It's similar to Last.fm from what I can see and you can download playlists to listen to on the move which is excellent. I have used the Zune player and it seems to work well too.

There are some features on WinPhone that I miss that I had on my W995 like call recording and proper navigation wheel (would like to find some arrows on the virtual keyboard as my fingers are too big to select words as well as getting the "@" on the main keyboard). I would also like to see better sync options with a PC as while the Zune software is great it's not up to scratch as the old sync software from Nokia and SE I have used in the past. I'm also waiting for O2 UK to support it offically and get the visual voicemail setup correctly.

Overall i'm happy I have got it and would recommend it.

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I really want this handset but of the two people I know who've had one, they both REALLY dislike it - but I haven't been able to establish a concrete reason why. Still hasn't put me off though - still think I want to get one!

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Omnia 7 - A phone with Windows Mobile 7 on.

Lumia 800 - A phone built for Windows Mobile 7.

We all know someone is going to say it, so allow me to just point out its Windows phone 7. Windows Mobile, the predecessor to Windows Phone, died with 6.x

But nice mini review, glad youre enjoying the handset. Omnia 7 user here as well, will look into the Nokia devices if they get an asia pacific release. Seems to be going well so I believe we can expect one in 2012.

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We all know someone is going to say it, so allow me to just point out its Windows phone 7. Windows Mobile, the predecessor to Windows Phone, died with 6.x

But nice mini review, glad youre enjoying the handset. Omnia 7 user here.

Blah... I thought that wasn't quite right. Nevermind.

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That's for the review man. Windows Phones really rocks, only problem is it doesn't have any official file browser. :s

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I've had mine for two weeks now and there are some things I've come to love and hate about it.

Get the bad out of the way first:

1) Form factor. Its mostly great and as you say it feels nice and solid. My problem is that the edges are actually quite sharp; there's no real rounding to it which makes it actually quite painful to hold for any sustained period of time (say watching a 15min vodcast on my commute).

2) No battery charge indicator on the front; I quite like the little orange/green indicator on my old Desire that told me the phone was charged - glance & go..

3) Battery life - you're right to mention it above, the phone really struggles at present (and reports battery capability oddly - from 100% to 90% in an hour, but it then postulates that I have another 14 hours remaining..??)

-- Enabling battery saver mode seems to make WiFi a touch flakey as well which I find odd - I guess it disables WiFi regardless of charge state as opposed to only when in the critical section as the info says it should...

4) Could have done with more built in storage - 16GB isn't really enough for my uses; but I accept I'm probably an edge case.

The good:

1) Windows Phone 7 - I have some issues with WP7, but on the whole its a really intuitive OS and the phone runs it very well.

2) Form factor - I know I complained about it, but the size, feel and design are all exceptional. If it was just that bit more comfy I'd be very happy.

Quirks (mainly WP7 issues which are device agnostic, but I'd hoped Nokia would have worked to iron out):

1) Zune sync. I listen to/watch quite a few podcasts and there is an apparent disconnect between config on the phone and in zune. I love that once I've pushed a podcast to the phone from zune it then allows me to subscribe directly on the phone, but it then seems to get confused as to which subscription should take precedence and I end up with things I've already watched on the phone being pushed back to the phone as unwatched from Zune.

2) Hidden indicators. WP7 design choice I'm sure, but I'd like a means of constantly seeing my network signal strength, WiFi strength, etc.

3) No built in timers - I use count down timers extensively when I'm performing certain tasks and I'm now having to use a 3rd party app (Cool Tools), to provide functionality that really should be in the default 'clock' app.

Overall - I love the device and I love WP7.

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I've had mine for two weeks now and there are some things I've come to love and hate about it.

Get the bad out of the way first:

1) Form factor. Its mostly great and as you say it feels nice and solid. My problem is that the edges are actually quite sharp; there's no real rounding to it which makes it actually quite painful to hold for any sustained period of time (say watching a 15min vodcast on my commute).

Its fine for me. Personal preference perhaps? Do you have the case on or not?

2) No battery charge indicator on the front; I quite like the little orange/green indicator on my old Desire that told me the phone was charged - glance & go..

Yeah this is a strange one, doesnt the N9 have this but not the Lumia.

3) Battery life - you're right to mention it above, the phone really struggles at present (and reports battery capability oddly - from 100% to 90% in an hour, but it then postulates that I have another 14 hours remaining..??)

-- Enabling battery saver mode seems to make WiFi a touch flakey as well which I find odd - I guess it disables WiFi regardless of charge state as opposed to only when in the critical section as the info says it should...

Wifi is fine for me when i have battery saver enabled. Hope the two updates sort out some of the battery issues.

4) Could have done with more built in storage - 16GB isn't really enough for my uses; but I accept I'm probably an edge case.

I have a zune HD 64 so i can make do with the 16 on the phone (12 by default when i got it.)

The good:

1) Windows Phone 7 - I have some issues with WP7, but on the whole its a really intuitive OS and the phone runs it very well.

2) Form factor - I know I complained about it, but the size, feel and design are all exceptional. If it was just that bit more comfy I'd be very happy.

Quirks (mainly WP7 issues which are device agnostic, but I'd hoped Nokia would have worked to iron out):

1) Zune sync. I listen to/watch quite a few podcasts and there is an apparent disconnect between config on the phone and in zune. I love that once I've pushed a podcast to the phone from zune it then allows me to subscribe directly on the phone, but it then seems to get confused as to which subscription should take precedence and I end up with things I've already watched on the phone being pushed back to the phone as unwatched from Zune.

2) Hidden indicators. WP7 design choice I'm sure, but I'd like a means of constantly seeing my network signal strength, WiFi strength, etc.

if you just tap at the top of the screen they drop down.

3) No built in timers - I use count down timers extensively when I'm performing certain tasks and I'm now having to use a 3rd party app (Cool Tools), to provide functionality that really should be in the default 'clock' app.

I guess thats what apps are for. I havent got many at all tbh as most of what i need is built into the phone.

Overall - I love the device and I love WP7.

Same

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Have you Lumia 800 owners updated to the first 7740 update yet? I think some said that fixed the battery, at least a bit. I think there's a 2nd update on the way still.

Also, do any of you use the vibrate setting for calls? My LG Optimus 7 has a weak vibrate and I often miss calls even when it's in my pocket. Of course I don't wear super tight jeans so it's not pressed right up to my leg all the time, but still. How is the vibration on the Lumia? Is it strong enough or weak compared to other devices? My old Motorola razer v3i would vibrate like crazy.

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Have you Lumia 800 owners updated to the first 7740 update yet? I think some said that fixed the battery, at least a bit. I think there's a 2nd update on the way still.

Also, do any of you use the vibrate setting for calls? My LG Optimus 7 has a weak vibrate and I often miss calls even when it's in my pocket. Of course I don't wear super tight jeans so it's not pressed right up to my leg all the time, but still. How is the vibration on the Lumia? Is it strong enough or weak compared to other devices? My old Motorola razer v3i would vibrate like crazy.

Don't know what the last update did for the battery as I thought it was only for Exchange 2003 and Voicemail issues. The battery isn't great compared with my old symbian phone (2-3 days with moderate use) but similar to other smartphones I have used which seems to be what others think as well.

As for the vibrate well it's quite a heavy phone and when it vibrates on my desk it moves around. I haven't had it go off in my pocket yet but i would feel it I would imagine.

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Have you Lumia 800 owners updated to the first 7740 update yet? I think some said that fixed the battery, at least a bit. I think there's a 2nd update on the way still.

Also, do any of you use the vibrate setting for calls? My LG Optimus 7 has a weak vibrate and I often miss calls even when it's in my pocket. Of course I don't wear super tight jeans so it's not pressed right up to my leg all the time, but still. How is the vibration on the Lumia? Is it strong enough or weak compared to other devices? My old Motorola razer v3i would vibrate like crazy.

I updated as soon as i got the phone so perhaps that fixed the wifi/power saver issue MrChris mentioned (although it didnt say if it fixed any battery issues). As far as the vibrate is concerned its probably about average judging from previous phones.

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I updated as soon as i got the phone so perhaps that fixed the wifi/power saver issue MrChris mentioned (although it didnt say if it fixed any battery issues). As far as the vibrate is concerned its probably about average judging from previous phones.

It didn't include any battery fixes so far as I saw in the release note, and I've been running with that patch since day 1 as well.

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Have you Lumia 800 owners updated to the first 7740 update yet? I think some said that fixed the battery, at least a bit. I think there's a 2nd update on the way still.

Also, do any of you use the vibrate setting for calls? My LG Optimus 7 has a weak vibrate and I often miss calls even when it's in my pocket. Of course I don't wear super tight jeans so it's not pressed right up to my leg all the time, but still. How is the vibration on the Lumia? Is it strong enough or weak compared to other devices? My old Motorola razer v3i would vibrate like crazy.

The last update had no Nokia specific updates in it, so battery life is the same.

One of the biggest problems with the Lumia I've noticed is the really bad headphone performance. I can't say I'm an audiophille, but coming off the HTC Titan and to the Lumia - music is a lot flatter and duller and subdued on the Lumia, and it's extremly noticeable. It's like going from an expensive pair of headphones to a cheap pair - except here it's the phone. Add to that the random batter issues, random WiFi dying issues, broken video camera focus, overly sensitive touch screen on occasions, the fact that they've explicitly don't use the batteries full capacity for no obvious reason... it's certainly a rush job. It's a shame that the Windows Phone 7 device that most general consumers are going to use and base their opinion of Windows Phone 7 on happens to be the one currently with the most glaring issues.

The WiFi / power issue still exists on all the Lumias (Nokia have ruled out a single defective batch as the reports are basically coming from every batch they've made), so it's some combination of software settings and WiFi networks that're screwing it up for people. I've had a WiFi issue quite a few times, where hte WiFi would die, and then then phone would just stop responding until the battery completely discharged.

Can't say the vibration performance in great exactly (Samsung's can get beastly sometimes in comparison to this) - but the vibration controller / driver doesn't work properly on the Lumia anyway. It doesn't accept any varying levels of vibration, just one fixed level - and I've felt it be quite different across 3 different Lumia's I've laid hands on.

Hardware's nice though :p

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The last update had no Nokia specific updates in it, so battery life is the same.

One of the biggest problems with the Lumia I've noticed is the really bad headphone performance. I can't say I'm an audiophille, but coming off the HTC Titan and to the Lumia - music is a lot flatter and duller and subdued on the Lumia, and it's extremly noticeable. It's like going from an expensive pair of headphones to a cheap pair - except here it's the phone. Add to that the random batter issues, random WiFi dying issues, broken video camera focus, overly sensitive touch screen on occasions, the fact that they've explicitly don't use the batteries full capacity for no obvious reason... it's certainly a rush job. It's a shame that the Windows Phone 7 device that most general consumers are going to use and base their opinion of Windows Phone 7 on happens to be the one currently with the most glaring issues.

The WiFi / power issue still exists on all the Lumias (Nokia have ruled out a single defective batch as the reports are basically coming from every batch they've made), so it's some combination of software settings and WiFi networks that're screwing it up for people. I've had a WiFi issue quite a few times, where hte WiFi would die, and then then phone would just stop responding until the battery completely discharged.

Can't say the vibration performance in great exactly (Samsung's can get beastly sometimes in comparison to this) - but the vibration controller / driver doesn't work properly on the Lumia anyway. It doesn't accept any varying levels of vibration, just one fixed level - and I've felt it be quite different across 3 different Lumia's I've laid hands on.

Hardware's nice though :p

Yeah it sounds a bit tinny to me like im listening to cheap laptop speakers. The zune HD sounds a million times better.

Cant say ive run into any of the issues youve mentioned.

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I'm really interested in this WP7 phone, since the other WP7 phones from Samsung and HTC I have seen all had dubious build quality, and this one looks very solid, the build quality looks almost as high as an iPhone. However I'd like to know how long the battery can last for less intensive daily use. I know it won't last long if it's used to play video and/or music all the time, but what I'm talking about is no music and no video, just the default settings, with wifi off, and mostly just standby, with about ten minutes calling each day, and may a dozen SMS received and sent. For my current Symbian phone from three years ago, it can go on for about a week without recharging with that kind of use. If this new WP7 phone can do three days under that kind of condition, I'll just go out and get it. But sometimes I heard it won't last a full day even without doing anything, and that'd be too short for me. Anyone has any experience like that?

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Yeah it sounds a bit tinny to me like im listening to cheap laptop speakers. The zune HD sounds a million times better.

Cant say ive run into any of the issues youve mentioned.

Well the video camera is the only issue that really effects everyone (it more often than not fails to focus the first time you switch over to it), along with the sound quality (And the fact that they don't allow the battery to charge to it's full 1,500 mAh capacity, but that's being fixed in January - for some reason it's not going to make the December update).

The touch screen, wifi & battery issues are all sporadic, and Nokia don't think it's a batch issue so they probably are just obscure circumstantial software bugs that weren't caught due to the accelerated development pace. It just so happens that 3 Lumia's down the line, I seem to be getting all of them on every Lumia, so I'm placing the blame on the WiFi drivers not handling my WiFi network properly, and then procedding to kill my phones. :p

I'm really interested in this WP7 phone, since the other WP7 phones from Samsung and HTC I have seen all had dubious build quality, and this one looks very solid, the build quality looks almost as high as an iPhone. However I'd like to know how long the battery can last for less intensive daily use. I know it won't last long if it's used to play video and/or music all the time, but what I'm talking about is no music and no video, just the default settings, with wifi off, and mostly just standby, with about ten minutes calling each day, and may a dozen SMS received and sent. For my current Symbian phone from three years ago, it can go on for about a week without recharging with that kind of use. If this new WP7 phone can do three days under that kind of condition, I'll just go out and get it. But sometimes I heard it won't last a full day even without doing anything, and that'd be too short for me. Anyone has any experience like that?

You're going to be pushing it to get 3 days from ANY modern smartphone. But with 3G turned off , no data connection, no location services, low brightness, no WiFi, (and the update in January that unlocks the full charging capactiy of the battery), you can certainly probably make at least 2 days and get into the third. Of course, with that kind of usage, is there really much point in getting the phone? Most people just have to get used to plugging their phone into the charger every night these days.

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I know it's been mentioned before but update OP before Neobond posts it as a member review.

Repeat after me, Windows Phone is not Windows Mobile.

Repeat after me, Windows Phone is not Windows Mobile.

Repeat after me, Windows Phone is not Windows Mobile.

Repeat after me, Windows Phone is not Windows Mobile.

.

.

Repeat after me, Windows Phone is not Windows Mobile.

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I'm really interested in this WP7 phone, since the other WP7 phones from Samsung and HTC I have seen all had dubious build quality, and this one looks very solid, the build quality looks almost as high as an iPhone. However I'd like to know how long the battery can last for less intensive daily use. I know it won't last long if it's used to play video and/or music all the time, but what I'm talking about is no music and no video, just the default settings, with wifi off, and mostly just standby, with about ten minutes calling each day, and may a dozen SMS received and sent. For my current Symbian phone from three years ago, it can go on for about a week without recharging with that kind of use. If this new WP7 phone can do three days under that kind of condition, I'll just go out and get it. But sometimes I heard it won't last a full day even without doing anything, and that'd be too short for me. Anyone has any experience like that?

From the usage you've said, I'd say not less than 2.5 days, since Windows Phone has an excellent battery saver and with a heavy usage, I have to recharge it at night.

With heavy usage, I mean, Wi-Fi, for the most part, plenty of games, some voice calls and plenty of text messaging

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I've had my Lumia 800 since release day. The battery life was rubbish at first but improved daily for the first fortnight. Turning off location and feedback services really helps, I easily get a full day out of the battery now. For heavier users hopefully the two updates will improve it even more.

The camera is very fast, the display is amazing (to the point you can't see where the screen ends and the black bezel begins, that's how deep the blacks are) and general performance is exceptional. It's amazing how an optimised OS pays dividends.

The one complaint I do have however (and at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite) is the pentile screen. Most of the time you won't notice it BUT if you go into the monthly calendar view, you'll find the grid has a strong green hue to it, and zoomed out text in the web browser has a similar issue. For me, using a pentile screen with the metro UI is a big mistake. It's the most noticeable OS to put it on imo.

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You're going to be pushing it to get 3 days from ANY modern smartphone. But with 3G turned off , no data connection, no location services, low brightness, no WiFi, (and the update in January that unlocks the full charging capactiy of the battery), you can certainly probably make at least 2 days and get into the third. Of course, with that kind of usage, is there really much point in getting the phone? Most people just have to get used to plugging their phone into the charger every night these days.

well, sometimes I like to go out camping with some friends in the countryside during weekends, and we don't use much electronics nor have any access to electrical power source during those trips. However I do need to be reachable so anyone can contact me by phone. That's why I'd like my phone to be able to hold on for around three days with minimum use. And I do need constant 3G connection standby for people to be able to call me, but things like wifi and gps will surely be off.

Although I'm not a heavy smart phone user, from time to time I do use my phone to surf the net, receive emails, and play games, etc. etc. so I do need a smart phone for those more complicated tasks when normally I can charge it all the time, but I also need it to hold on for at least a whole weekend when I go wild camping.

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well, sometimes I like to go out camping with some friends in the countryside during weekends, and we don't use much electronics nor have any access to electrical power source during those trips. However I do need to be reachable so anyone can contact me by phone. That's why I'd like my phone to be able to hold on for around three days with minimum use. And I do need constant 3G connection standby for people to be able to call me, but things like wifi and gps will surely be off.

Although I'm not a heavy smart phone user, from time to time I do use my phone to surf the net, receive emails, and play games, etc. etc. so I do need a smart phone for those more complicated tasks when normally I can charge it all the time, but I also need it to hold on for at least a whole weekend when I go wild camping.

1.5 days

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And I do need constant 3G connection standby for people to be able to call me, but things like wifi and gps will surely be off.

You don't need a 3G data connection to receive phone calls. You can turn 3G off and still receive calls.

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