Nokia Lumia 620 review

If you asked us what Nokia meant to us when we were back in sixth form, we would have said Xpress On covers, free music and stacks of teen appeal.

The rise of the touchscreen however dampened this shine no end and the world turned away from Nokia and onto the masters such as Samsung, HTC and Apple with their smart offerings.

Now, Nokia has returned in force with Windows Phone 8 and its latest offering, the Lumia 620, takes us right back in time. Bright, vibrant removable covers that pop, a fantastic price point of just £150 offline, not to mention a competent spec sheet.

Could the Lumia 620 help Nokia become the aspirational brand it once was?

Nokia Lumia 620 review: Design

Put plainly, the Lumia 620 is as cute as a button. Whatever back cover you get it with, the bulbous shell, comfortable nuzzling in the hand and subtle detailing around the frame of the fascia make for a fine first impression.

It's incredible to think that 3.8-inches was once considered over-sized.

The Nokia Lumia 620 feels positively pint-sized. Reminiscent of the Sony Xperia Tipo, the plastic body is available in either matte of high gloss depending on the back cover you go with.

The Lumia 620 comes with either a black, cyan, green, magenta, orange or yellow cover with all options available to buy separately. With each new cover making our Lumia 620 feel like a totally different phone, the asking price of between £10 and £20 for each new rear plate is definitely fair.

The fascia houses the screen, capacitive buttons and a front facing camera. All the physical buttons are on the right side of the 620, and these include a volume rocker as well as a camera and power button. Up at the top is a 3.5mm jack and at the base is a microUSB port.

Whatever back cover you end up with, underneath it sits a removable 1300mAh battery, micro SIM tray and microSD card slot.

It may not appeal to the business user, save for when dressed in its black back cover, but the Lumia 620 delivers personality and pocketability at a pleasing price, making it a design win in our eyes.

Nokia Lumia 620 review: Display

When asking £150 for a phone, WVGA resolution is about what we might expect, anything more is a perk, so Nokia including its Clear Black screen tech to its Lumia 620 only adds to an overall screen experience.

The 3.8-inches is easy enough to work around in terms of size. We had no problems reaching all four corners with our thumbs and typing is comfortable given Windows Phone 8's well sized and spaced keyboard.

Colours are rich head on and while pixels are indeed discernible up close, clarity is still strong for the price point. Outdoors, the Lumia 620 shines bright, with only the brightest sunlight rendering the screen unviewable.

Thumbing over the glass fascia is also pleasant, with the finish feeling richer than the HTC 8S for example - the main competition. Also packing stronger viewing angles, the Nokia Lumia 620's screen gets our vote.