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Nokia Lumia 800 Review

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PANKAJ
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Snapshot

Price: Rs 29,999

Meant for: Everyone

Key Specs: Windows Phone 7.5 OS; 3.7” ClearBlack AMOLED capacitative multitouch screen with Gorilla Glass; 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lenses that can shoot 720p video

Pros: Amazingly clear and scratch proof screen; Exclusive apps for Windows Phone

Cons: Very flimsy microUSB cover; Slightly underclocked CPU

Write: pcquest@cybermedia.co.in with name of product in subject, for more info.

The Lumia 800 runs the latest version of Windows Phone (WP) and is really a pleasure to use. If you're used or using an iOS or Android device, WP would come as a breath of fresh air over the old staid rows and pages of icons that you get to see. But since we've covered the features of WP before, this review will only take a look at the Lumia's specific hardware.



The Lumia 800 has a 3.7” ClearBlack AMOLED capacitative multitouch screen with Gorilla Glass that makes it completely scratch proof. The curved AMOLED screen makes the 800x480 resolution really shine through and looks gorgeous. Just below the screen are the 3 capacitative touch buttons for Back, Home and Search. One of the small issues I had with the buttons was that they are placed too close to the screen with no discernible difference about where they start. All the other metallic buttons are on the right side — the volume rocker, power/lock and camera. The camera button allows you to not just wake the phone when on standby but even takes you directly to the camera even if the phone has a screen lock — a feature that Apple copied into its latest iOS5. The 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lenses make for a really powerful and nice camera which also shoots 720p video.

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On top are the micro-SIM and micro-USB slots along with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Another issue here is the plastic cover of the micro-USB slot. It's extremely flimsy and the charging cable managed to bend it when plugged in. You will need to be really careful when using the cover.



Inside the Lumia



Internally, the phone uses a Qualcomm single-core CPU. Quite enough for the graphics capabilities of WP. However, the chip has been underclocked for some reason which shows up in the WPBench app with slightly lower performance scores than that of other similar WP phones, albeit very minor differences.

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Nokia does have some exclusive apps in the phone. The first one is Nokia Maps. This is a mapping and local discovery app for the phone. By using this you can find stuff like restaurants, movies etc. around you and find an address. Nokia Drive is a full featured GPS based navigation system with voice capability. While testing this, I found that Nokia Drive was way better than the Bing Maps for my city (Gurgaon) and even much better than Google Maps. I was not only able to find my way back home (which comes after a complex series of turns) but also the shortest and one with least traffic. While Google Maps was able to find the address, it struggled with turn-by-turn directions and never gave me the shortest way back. Drive is highly recommended for use in India. Nokia Music is another exclusive app which is a kind of free internet radio that streams music from Nokia's store.

Bottomline: The Nokia Lumia 800 is a great buy for getting a new and fresh smartphone. It looks gorgeous and apart from some small issues will make you quite happy that you got it.

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