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Nokia Lumia 800 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £468
inc VAT

A fast, smooth Windows Phone 7 smartphone with some decent free apps, but the camera lets it down

Specifications

Windows Phone 7 Mango, 3.7in 800×480 display

http://www.handtec.co.uk

It feels a bit strange to write this, but in terms of smartphones both Microsoft and Nokia are currently the little guys battling against the giants of Google and Apple. It kind of makes sense, therefore, for the two companies to come together to fight back, and their first joint assault take the form of the Nokia Lumia 800.

This is Nokia’s very first Windows Phone 7 device and marks the start of the phone manufacturer moving away from its Symbian platform. In many ways this handset could be make-or-break for the company.

It’s good, then, that first impressions of the handset are so positive. Measuring 117x61x12mm the Nokia Lumia 800 isn’t the thinnest we’ve seen and, at 142g, is about average for a smartphone, but its neat curved sides mean it fits comfortably into the hand.

Nokia Lumia 800

It looks fantastic, too, thanks to what Nokia calls the ‘single piece injection moulded polycarbonate shell’. It’s this that gives the phone its sleek and sculptured look. Although we reviewed the black version, more attractive Cyan and Magenta versions are also available. Adding to the gorgeous looks is the 3.7in display, which has slightly curved glass that makes it stand out from the body of the phone. It’s good to see that there’s a black ‘bumper’ case included in the box to protect the phone from everyday knocks and bumps, although it lessens the phones desirability.

Nokia Lumia 800 colours

Powering up the phone shows the high quality of the AMOLED screen. It’s bright with excellent contrast ratios. With its dark blacks it really brings out the best in Windows Phone 7’s tiled user interface. We also tried looking at some images on the Lumia 800 – colours looked a little over saturated, and were a little too punchy in some cases. We compared it to the iPhone 4S and found that Apple’s device produced more realistic tones, but it was little more muted. Both are pretty evenly balanced and it’s really a matter of personal choice as to which one you’ll prefer.

With a resolution of 800×480, the Lumia 800’s screen falls in line with other Windows Phone 7 devices. Squeezed into the 3.7in display, this resolution has a high pixel density and we found images and text to be pin sharp.

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Details

Price£468
Rating*****

Hardware

Main display size3.7in
Native resolution800×480
CCD effective megapixels8-megapixel
FlashLED
Video recording formatMP4
ConnectivityBluetooth
GPSyes
Internal memory512MB
Memory card supportN/A
Memory card includedN/A
Operating frequenciesGSM 850/900/1800/1900 3G 850/2100
Wireless dataHSDPA
Size117x61x12mm
Weight142g

Features

Operating systemWindows Phone 7 Mango
Microsoft Office compatibilityWord, Excel, PowerPoint
Email clientPOP3/IMAP, ActiveSync
Audio format supportMP3, AAC
Video playback formatsASF, AVI, VC-1, WMV, MP4, H.264, 3GPP
FM Radiono
Web BrowserInternet Explorer
Accessoriesrubber case
Talk time9.5 hours
Standby time14 days

Buying Information

SIM-free price£468
Price on contract0
SIM-free supplierwww.handtec.co.uk
Contract/prepay supplierwww.t-mobile.co.uk
Detailswww.nokia.co.uk

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