Nokia Lumia 900 review
Nokia's superb build quality and a bigger screen, but there's not enough extra to justify buying this over the cheaper Lumia 800
While many manufacturers release their high-end products first before bringing out the cheaper models in the range, with its Windows Phone Lumia range Nokia went straight for the middle ground with the Lumia 800 and 710. It then top and tailed the range with the budget 610 and this, the high-end Lumia 900.
Microsoft has avoided the interface disparities suffered by Android phones by making sure handset manufacturers barely change Windows Phone 7 at all. This makes sure you have a consistent experience, but it also means there’s little differentiating Windows Phone 7 handsets – and that includes those within Nokia’s Lumia range. All the handsets, bar the budget Lumia 610, have single-core 1.4GHz processors and screen resolutions of 480×800 pixels. They also have access to Nokia’s Music, Maps and Drive apps, which let you listen to music mixes for free and have turn-by-turn navigation.
The only real differences between the phones are in the screen sizes, screen technology and cameras. In these respects the Lumia 900 is certainly top dog, thanks to its 4.3in AMOLED display, 8-megapixel main camera and additional front-facing camera for video calls. It’s another beautifully-built Nokia, with a matt polycarbonate body that makes it easy to hold.
The AMOLED screen certainly looks great, as its incredibly deep black levels gives colours a huge amount of punch. Images look just as good as on the Lumia 800, which has a smaller 3.7in AMOLED display, and the larger screen size makes viewing photos a joy. However, the fact that the Lumia 900 has the same number of pixels as the Lumia 800 spread over a larger area makes text look less sharp. Unlike the Lumia 800’s screen, the Lumia 900’s doesn’t curve out from the body, so seems less vulnerable to damage.
Details | |
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Price | £446 |
Rating | **** |
Hardware | |
Main display size | 4.3in |
Native resolution | 480×800 |
CCD effective megapixels | 8-megapixel |
Flash | LED |
Video recording format | MP4 |
Connectivity | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi |
GPS | yes |
Internal memory | 16384MB |
Memory card support | none |
Memory card included | N/A |
Operating frequencies | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 3G 850/900/1900/2100 |
Wireless data | HSDPA |
Size | 128x69x12mm |
Weight | 160g |
Features | |
Operating system | Windows Phone 7 |
Microsoft Office compatibility | Word/Excel/PowerPoint editors |
Email client | POP3/IMAP/Exchange |
Audio format support | MP3, AAC, WMA |
Video playback formats | 3GP, MP4, WMV, H.264, AVI, VC-1. ASF |
FM Radio | no |
Web Browser | Internet Explorer |
Accessories | headset |
Talk time | 7 hours |
Standby time | 12.5 days |
Buying Information | |
SIM-free price | £446 |
Price on contract | 0 |
SIM-free supplier | www.ebuyer.com |
Contract/prepay supplier | www.buymobilephones.net |
Details | www.nokia.co.uk |