Nokia Lumia 800 is the company first attempt to enter the modern smartphone age using the Windows Phone platform and in this review, we’ll see if Nokia was able to make something that can compete against the latest iPhone
and Android devices or if this was too turkeys trying to be an eagle. It’s only actually been a few months since Nokia announced it would use Windows Phone, so let’s see if the Lumia 800 can live up to its lofty expectations.
Hardware
If you think that the Lumia 800 is like the N9 with Windows Phone, you'd be pretty right but that's not such a bad thing. The Lumia 800 has a smaller screen than the N9, lacks the front-facing camera and has a few other tweaks but it's still a nice piece of hardware that feels exquisite in the hand. The internals are also on par with what you'd expect from a high-end smartphone at this point in the game with a few exceptions.
Design
If I were playing that word association game with the Lumia 800 I would say, "smooth," "beautiful," "elegant," and "premium." The Lumia 800 really shows that Nokia is truly capable of creating stunning hardware, even if I'm not 100 percent convinced on some of the design decisions.
The backing is polycarbonate and there's a smooth finish to it. The spines and backing are rounded slightly enough to help it fit into your hands but not so much where it can't rest comfortably on a table. The edges are a bit too pointy for my liking but that should only be a problem if you hold the Lumia 800 in certain ways. Other than that, it's a very comfortable device in your hand and the weight is just spot on.
There's a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen takes up the majority of the device's face and it too is also slightly curved. The screen is bright, beautiful, responsive and the way the screen is curved kind of makes the content seem like it's floating up to the very top of the screen. It's an interesting experience that is really augmented by the stylish user interface of Windows Phone Mango, although some of you may find some of the text a little grainy. I'm not super bothered by it but some of you may be.
Underneath the screen are the traditional Windows Phone buttons (Back, Windows and Search) and these capacitive buttons are responsive.
The Lumia 800 is a great first step for the next generation of Nokia smartphones and it makes me very excited about what phones are to come from Espoo. Because of the amount of time that passed since the Windows Phone partnership was announced and when this hit the streets, you know that Nokia wasn't fully able to do what it really wanted to with this device. For example, you know that it wants to get some of its code into the underlying platform with the next update.
The disappointing camera was a letdown, especially coming from Nokia, but I still found the Lumia 800 to be quite a solid device. I wouldn't recommend picking one up unlocked in the United States unless you're a Nokia completist but rumors suggest we'll get a revamped model for AT&T that will sport 4G LTE support, a front-facing camera and some other improvements in 2012. If that happens within the next few months and the camera gets better, I will have no hesitations recommending a version of the Lumia 800.
The Nokia 800 is a well-made device that looks, feels and is a premium smartphone. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as the build quality of Nokia's smartphones haven't been the problem, the company's issue has been the software it runs. When there's a high-quality smartphone with a high-quality platform, it just makes the overall design and build quality feel better.
I really like the little touches on things like the flip-out microUSB slot or the pop-out microSIM slot. I'm a big torn about that flip-out microUSB slot though, as it's slick and looks nice but it can be bent and then it doesn't quite fit back into its slot as well as it's supposed to. Yes, if you're trying to bend it then you deserve a busted phone but I could see some scenarios where you have the flap open while charging, drop the phone at a weird angle and it may bend. Hopefully, that won't happen to you.
Not having easy access to a microSD slot or the battery may bother some of you but Windows Phone doesn't really need that expandable storage slot and I understand the decision to not give the user access to the battery. The fact that this screen is smaller than the N9 and the missing front-facing camera is kind of bummer but overall, I'm impressed with the industrial design of the Lumia 800.
Hardware
If you think that the Lumia 800 is like the N9 with Windows Phone, you'd be pretty right but that's not such a bad thing. The Lumia 800 has a smaller screen than the N9, lacks the front-facing camera and has a few other tweaks but it's still a nice piece of hardware that feels exquisite in the hand. The internals are also on par with what you'd expect from a high-end smartphone at this point in the game with a few exceptions.
Design
If I were playing that word association game with the Lumia 800 I would say, "smooth," "beautiful," "elegant," and "premium." The Lumia 800 really shows that Nokia is truly capable of creating stunning hardware, even if I'm not 100 percent convinced on some of the design decisions.
The backing is polycarbonate and there's a smooth finish to it. The spines and backing are rounded slightly enough to help it fit into your hands but not so much where it can't rest comfortably on a table. The edges are a bit too pointy for my liking but that should only be a problem if you hold the Lumia 800 in certain ways. Other than that, it's a very comfortable device in your hand and the weight is just spot on.
There's a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen takes up the majority of the device's face and it too is also slightly curved. The screen is bright, beautiful, responsive and the way the screen is curved kind of makes the content seem like it's floating up to the very top of the screen. It's an interesting experience that is really augmented by the stylish user interface of Windows Phone Mango, although some of you may find some of the text a little grainy. I'm not super bothered by it but some of you may be.
Underneath the screen are the traditional Windows Phone buttons (Back, Windows and Search) and these capacitive buttons are responsive.
The Lumia 800 is a great first step for the next generation of Nokia smartphones and it makes me very excited about what phones are to come from Espoo. Because of the amount of time that passed since the Windows Phone partnership was announced and when this hit the streets, you know that Nokia wasn't fully able to do what it really wanted to with this device. For example, you know that it wants to get some of its code into the underlying platform with the next update.
The disappointing camera was a letdown, especially coming from Nokia, but I still found the Lumia 800 to be quite a solid device. I wouldn't recommend picking one up unlocked in the United States unless you're a Nokia completist but rumors suggest we'll get a revamped model for AT&T that will sport 4G LTE support, a front-facing camera and some other improvements in 2012. If that happens within the next few months and the camera gets better, I will have no hesitations recommending a version of the Lumia 800.
The Nokia 800 is a well-made device that looks, feels and is a premium smartphone. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as the build quality of Nokia's smartphones haven't been the problem, the company's issue has been the software it runs. When there's a high-quality smartphone with a high-quality platform, it just makes the overall design and build quality feel better.
I really like the little touches on things like the flip-out microUSB slot or the pop-out microSIM slot. I'm a big torn about that flip-out microUSB slot though, as it's slick and looks nice but it can be bent and then it doesn't quite fit back into its slot as well as it's supposed to. Yes, if you're trying to bend it then you deserve a busted phone but I could see some scenarios where you have the flap open while charging, drop the phone at a weird angle and it may bend. Hopefully, that won't happen to you.
Not having easy access to a microSD slot or the battery may bother some of you but Windows Phone doesn't really need that expandable storage slot and I understand the decision to not give the user access to the battery. The fact that this screen is smaller than the N9 and the missing front-facing camera is kind of bummer but overall, I'm impressed with the industrial design of the Lumia 800.
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