The Nokia Lumia 800 is, according to CEO Stephen Elop, “the first real Windows Phone”. Other models, made by HTC and Samsung, have been decent enough, but they don’t offer the solidity of the new Lumia 800.
The operating system now boasts over 40,000 apps, too, so the two companies can claim that the partnership is already driving increased momentum for Microsoft's superb operating system.
And although the seamless polycarbonate shell and the solidity of the device are impressive, in fact it’s the Windows Phone software that really shines. Teamed with Nokia’s excellent design and camera heritage, there’s a lot to like, whether it’s the Office integration, gaming with Xbox live or simply social network integration.
The 3.7” screen offers Super AMOLED resolution, and Windows Phone’s living tiles really do look impressive; showing you the weather, a boarding pass or a friend’s photograph, the display hardware here is as good as this software needs. And the phone’s tactile, matte finish means the Lumia is not like the bar of soap that many other phones often seem to be modelled on. It’s also pleasingly weighted, at 142g.
Unique apps on the Lumia are limited; Nokia Drive offers a decent satnav alternative, but so do iOS apps and so does Google Maps on any Android phone. A Music app provides pre-arranged playlists, for people who would like a radio substitute. Elsewhere, of course, other Windows Phone apps can be downloaded from the main Microsoft Marketplace.
There’s no front camera on the Lumia 800, which will be a pity when Microsoft roles out Skype, but it does mean the all-screen design, hardly evolved from the N9, looks lovely. There’s a single-core 1.4GHz processor inside the Lumia 800 and 16GB of internal storage, and an 8mp camera on the back. With 512MB of RAM, the phone performs perfectly well enough.
What this device does, simply, is to give Windows Phone the flagship hardware it has deserved since the Mango update. That doesn’t make it as compelling a product as a top Android phone, but it puts Windows back in the game. And it shows up rival manufacturers: Samsung, for instance has excelled in designing Android devices, but its Windows devices have not had the same style.
Admittedly, with Nokia and Microsoft so closely aligned, why should others focus on Windows? If the Lumia ranges does as well as it could, then rival manufacturers may well see merit in putting more resources into developing Windows Phones. This, of course, is what Microsoft hopes and it may well work.
The Lumia 800 finally makes Windows Phone good enough to compete for early adopters’ attentions. But in truth that is not where Nokia or Microsoft is aiming – they want regular, mid-market upgraders to think Nokia is a good choice. They’re right, for the first time in years.
Key features
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Quad-band 3G with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA support
3.7" 16M-color AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of 480 x 800 pixel resolution
Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display with anti-glare polarizer
8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash, 720p@27fps video recording and fast f/2.2 lens
Windows Phone 7.5 OS (Mango)
1.4GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset, 512MB of RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Non-painted polycarbonate unibody, curved screen
GPS receiver with A-GPS support and free lifetime voice-guided navigation
Digital compass
16GB on-board storage
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
Built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack; FM Radio with RDS
microUSB port
Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and EDR
Impressively deep and coherent SNS integration throughout the interface
Main disadvantages
Display is much dimmer than the N9's display
No Flash or Silverlight support in browser
No USB mass storage (file management and sync pass only through Zune)
No video calls and no front-facing camera either
Non-user-replaceable battery
No memory card slot (and no 64GB version like the N9)
microSIM card slot
No native DivX/XviD support, videos have to be transcoded by Zune
Nokia Lumia 800
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