Some days ago, Finnish handset maker Nokia unveiled its first phablet, the much anticipated 6-inch Lumia 1520 in the Indian market. The Lumia 1520 is priced at Rs. 46,999 INR. Simply put, this new phablet from Nokia features an expensive price tag as compared to the Google’s recently released Nexus 5 as well as the iPhone 5C from tech giant Apple. However, buyers are curious about what justifies its astronomical price.
Design and build
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is very big, and by big, it is huge, nearly gargantuan in its size. If you were of the opinion that the Galaxy Note 3 from Samsung is a huge Smartphone to use, then the Lumia 1520’s size totally eclipses that of the Note 3. The HTC One Max is faintly taller than the 1520 but the Lumia 1520 is a lot wider than the One Max. Indeed, the Lumia 1520 is not quite easy to operate from one hand.
Nokia keeps the Lumia 1520’s thickness of only 8.7mm; this does not include the protruding element of the phablet’s rear camera. However, this Lumia is weighing more than 200 grams and is bulky to hold. The Lumia 1520’s sheer size is one of its most glaring drawbacks. Thus, you need to be quite sure that you are extremely comfortable in using a device so huge. The Galaxy Note 3 from Samsung sports a screen size faintly smaller than the Lumia 1520 but the Note 3 is a manageable device as compared to this one.
Even if you find it comfortable to use the Lumia 1520 with two hands, it becomes quite uncomfortable to keep in trouser pockets. Also, it is highly likely to slip into a phone or a tablet holder which are normally found in cars. Despite its sheer size, Nokia decides to use a rather unusual nano-SIM card which comes as a surprise.
The Lumia 1520’s build quality is simply exceptional and in trend with most other devices belonging to the Lumia range. This phablet from Nokia sports a one-piece, striking uni-body shell which feels quite nice to hold in the hand and the soft matte finish also feels quite comfortable. Some of the 1520’s colors come in a glossy finish. The Lumia 925 is the only device from Nokia that uses a metal chassis.
The Lumia 1520 comes equipped with a Gorilla Glass 2 that is seamlessly embedded in the plastic body of the 1520 but the Lumia 1520 does feel like a high-end product, and it should look premium when you are paying a premium price for it.
Hardware and performance
Ever since Windows phone have entered the intensive competitive market, they have lagged behind its major competitors as far as hardware is concerned. However, there is a significant leap in this direction as Windows launched its latest version. This new version of Windows supports high-end quad-core processors as well as screen resolutions that are much higher than the standard 768 x 1280.
The Lumia 1520 is also the first phone on a Windows platform that uses a full HD resolution (1080 x 1920). The 1520 features an IPS screen with outstanding viewing angles. The screen also comes armed with ClearBlack technology that delivers exceptional contrast which users have become used to with Nokia phones’ screens. The screen of the 1520 also performs brilliantly that most other outdoors.
While the screen of the Lumia 1520 looks quite good, the pixel density of its screen is somewhat substandard as compared to other Full HD, high-end Smartphones, simply because of its sheer size. The Lumia 1520 sports 367ppi pixel density as compared to other models that typically sport a 440 ppi pixel density.
The screen of the Lumia 1520 no doubt looks much more impressive. However, there is a lot of difficulty using the phone one-handed. Even if someone with decently large hands can only access a third of its display with one hand.
Performance
Under its hood, the Lumia 1520 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. This is the same 2.2 GHz quad-core processor that is seen in many high-end Android phones. The Lumia 1520 also packs in 2 GB RAM cache.
The internal storage of the Lumia 1520 is 32 GB. Out of this, only 26 GB can be used to stock apps, videos, music and photos. Like other Lumia devices, there is the 7 GB freely available Microsoft SkyDrive cloud storage. The Lumia 1520 also comes with a MicroSD card slot that can accommodate a memory card of maximum capacity of 64 GB.
Software
The Lumia 1520 features the latest version of Windows Phone 8, known as Black. Nokia also has introduced some minor tweaks to the latest operating system which includes the feature of closing apps from multi-tasking screen, option for toggling screen rotation and an ‘X’ button instead of a single swipe.
Camera
In the camera department, Nokia is the undisputed leader for producing the best smartphone cameras. It set a new benchmark with the Lumia 1020 and with the 1520, it raises is benchmark even further. The Nokia Lumia 1520 packs in 20 megapixel PureView primary shooter that captures some stunning pictures.
The camera quality is exceptional even in low-light conditions. The regular camera of the 1520 shoots pictures at 5 megapixels while the Pro Cam app in the 1520 provides complete access to all the 20 megapixels, it shoots at 5 megapixels along with a 16 megapixel, high resolution camera version.
Battery life
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is big, in all respects. For a phone with such a size, it only means that there is enough room to pack in a huge battery pack. With this effect, the Lumia 1520 packs in a staggering 12.9 Wh (3400mAh) battery. Since the Lumia is 1520features a unibody shell, its battery cannot be removed.
The device can be charged through a standard microUSB charging port and it also comes with a built-in Qi wireless charging feature.
nokia lumia is attractive because it uses the windows operating system.Most of apps are faster. grt vishal sir