Nokia Lumia 920 review

The Nokia Lumia 920 is the company’s latest Windows Phone flagship, following on from the Lumia 800 and 900 on Windows Phone 7.

The new device runs Windows Phone 8, the latest build from Microsoft, sports a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display and is powered by a dual core Qualcomm S4 processor chip.

At time of writing, the Lumia 920 is only available in the UK through a limited range of carrier exclusives. EE offers it as part of a 4G contract at £19.99 for the phone with a 24 month contract from £46 per month.

According to Nokia it’ll also be available on 3G from EE’s two other networks: Orange and T-Mobile. Retailer Phones4U is also offering contracts with the Lumia 920 from EE, T-Mobile, and Orange.

Design

The Lumia 920 will be familiar territory for fans of the Lumia 800 and 900, more so the latter given its size. It uses the same polycarbonate unibody with an extremely sharp and rectangular silhouette, though the edges roll round smoothly into the slightly curved back panel.

The display still sits on top of the bodywork, it’s not flush but curves out slightly and is housed within a black panel embedded in the front of the unibody, which creates a thin strip of contrasting colour around the edge giving it a very stylish and modern look.

As with the Lumia 900, you get the impression that it’s a solid and well-made handset. But, it’s also slightly dependent on which colour you choose: some of them are matte and some are glossy, but the matte models are much more satisfying in the hand and also easier to grip.

The Lumia 920 is beautifully formed and appealing to look at, but there’s no getting round the fact that it’s a large bulky phone, even for those with big hands.

It’s 130mm long, 70mm wide and 10mm thick, weighing in at a hefty 185g. That means it is thinner than the Lumia 900 but generally larger and a whole 25g heavier, which is noticeable when handling it.

One handed use is a bit of a problem, this reviewer’s big paws found it difficult to extend a thumb from one end of the screen to the other and one-handed typing in particular is right out.

We have to commend Nokia for the positioning of the ports and buttons on the Lumia 920 as they’re exactly where they should be in our view.

The power and camera buttons, as well as the volume rocker, are all along the right-hand side for easy access with either hand, while the camera button is positioned ideally for use in landscape mode.

The Micro-SIM tray is located on the top side and operates with a key, it’s much easier to get into than its predecessor’s ‘puzzle box’ style opening.

You’ve also got the 3.5mm audio jack in the middle of the top edge and this is mirrored on the bottom panel by a MicroUSB port, meaning it’ll neatly stand on charging docks.

Display

Nokia’s previous models used smaller AMOLED displays, but the Lumia 920 instead has a 4.5-inch IPS LCD. Like its predecessors it has been treated to Nokia’s ClearBlack display technology, which helps with bright light conditions, improves contrast and provides richer colours and deeper blacks.

Brightness is excellent and the auto adjustment is also very good, it never feels too bright or too dark.

Nokia has also come up with a new screen technology called PureMotion HD+. The main advantage of this is that it ensures the screen refresh rate is 60 frames-per-second, matching the operating system’s speed and reducing lag and blur.

The effect is a much smoother experience than you’ll find on other Windows Phone handsets, such as HTC’s 8X. Hold the two devices side-by-side and you can really see the difference.

The display has a 1280x768 pixel HD resolution, delivering a pixel density of 332 pixels-per-inch (ppi) for an image that is as crisp and sharp as you could hope for. It easily matches the iPhone in terms of picture quality.

We’ve rarely encountered phones as capable as Nokia’s ClearBlack-equipped models when it comes to outdoor use in bright sunshine and the Lumia 920 is no exception. There’ll be enough reflection that you can see your mug staring back at yourself, but unlike many competitors it remains highly visible and usable.

Surprisingly, viewing angles are quite poor, you won’t be able to make out much on-screen while viewing side-on and the colours become distorted.