Best Windows Phones: Holiday 2014
by Brett Howse on December 3, 2014 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- windows phone
- Blu
Phablet: Nokia Lumia 1520
Although the Lumia 1520 has been out for over a year now, there still is no real competition to it if you are after a Windows Phone phablet. The 6 inch behemoth still packs a punch too with the Snapdragon 800 SoC inside, which we found transformed the Windows Phone experience when we reviewed the Lumia 930. Also shared with the Lumia 930 is the excellent 20 megapixel 1/2.5” camera coupled with optical image stabilization and a six element lens with Zeiss optics.
The six inch display has a 1080p LCD with Glance support, a ClearBlack polarizer layer, and per pixel Content Adaptive Backlight Control for superior outdoor visibility. With 368 pixels per inch, it does not quite reach the insane 500+ ppi of some devices, but should still provide a crisp clear image. Nokia also includes Super Sensitive Touch, which allows the touchscreen to be operated with gloves on – a great idea at this time of year.
| Nokia Lumia 1520 | |
| SoC | MSM8974VV 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 |
| RAM/NAND | 2 GB LPDDR3, 32 GB NAND + microSD 128 GB |
| Display | 6.0” 1920x1080 IPS ClearBlack LCD Corning Gorilla Glass 2 |
| Network | GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA/LTE up to 150 Mbps |
| Dimensions | 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 (mm) |
| Weight | 209 grams |
| Rear Camera | 20MP, 1.1 µm pixels, 1/2.5" CMOS, f/2.4, 26 mm focal length, Dual LED Flash |
| Front Camera | 1.2 MP wide angle, f/2.4, 1280x720 video resolution |
| Battery | BV-4BW 3400 mAh, 3.8 V, 12.92 Wh |
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Cyan Firmware |
| Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, DLNA, FM Radio |
| Location Technologies | Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning, A-GPS, A-GLONASS, BeiDou |
| SIM Size | Nano SIM |
The 1520 has 32 GB of internal NAND, and support for an additional 64 GB through microSD if you find yourself craving additional storage.
The large form factor allows Nokia to pack a 3400 mAh 3.8 V battery into the 1520 as well, so all day computing on your smartphone should be no problem at all.
If you want a phablet, and you want Windows Phone, this is the device to get, and you can find it for less than $500 now.
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Zizy - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I wouldn't grant flagship win. Both have serious drawbacks I find unacceptable in flagships - one lacks camera, the other misses battery. Either might not be an issue for you, but for a flagship this is a rather large compromise.Budget - if 4" is too small, get Blu Win HD. Lumia 535 if you live in India. 6xx make no sense, except if you really want that better graphics in snapdragon 400.
Flunk - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
Blu Win HD is twice as much as the Blu Win Jr. In fact, the Blu Win Jr was on sale for $49 at the Microsoft store with no contract a few days ago.SeleniumGlow - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
The Blu Win HD has been launched as the LAVA Iris Win1 in India (Both have the same body design, SoC, RAM, display and battery). It costs about INR 5000 ~ $90.I wonder who the ODM is for Blu and LAVA...
garretelder - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
Why get a Windows phone in the first place? Why not get a REAL phone? /Garret at http://www.topreport.org/phones/Gunbuster - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
So the site you're advertising claims the HTC One M8 is the best phone. You do know the M8 comes in a Windows Phone model right?Derp Derp Derp.
lithium451 - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
"Why not get a REAL phone?"That "gag" was old 2 years ago. In light of comparisons between wp 8.1 and android 5.0 not only is it old, it's dumb.
JoBalz - Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - link
Lithium451. I'm in complete agreement with you after having actually used Windows Phone 8.1 for several days. And that's not even taking into account Cortana, which I feel is the crown jewel of the OS. I'm already finding it very useful, it's provided accurate info for EVERY question I've thrown up to it, and I can see it's a useful feature that I WOULD like to see MS carry over to Windows 10. The OS is fast, I find it intuitive to use, and from a personal standpoint I find the UI beautiful. I've spent a couple of hours playing around getting my tiles just the way I like them so that live tiles providing news and weather info as well as phone and camera functions are the first thing I see when I move from the lock screen. I think the "losers" are the ones that refuse to ever even consider trying WP 8.1 a "test drive".JoBalz - Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - link
I find WP 8.1 a REAL phone. It does the job I want it to do and does it well. I've found all the apps I want for it so that's not a problem. While I hated the Metro look on the desktop, I actually like it very much on a phone. It's already proving very useful with the weather reports and adviseries on the live tiles during the deep freeze we're going through this week. And surprisingly I find WP 8.1 much more intuitive to figure out how to use than Android (and I absolutely refuse to pay the Apple tax for an overhyped iPhone). If droid or iOS work for you, fine, but your condescension against Windows Phone OS is simply your personal opinion, not backed up by any facts, just a bash-Microsoft canned response.Drumsticks - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I'm still disappointed in Microsoft, even though I'll give them a few months to make things right. The decision to not ship the 830 with something like a snapdragon 610, and also not even having a hint of another high end Lumia for the holiday season is just frustrating.Unfortunately, I think personally that the UI and general use is way better than Apple or Android. So I'll give them a few months past my upgrade to impress me.
Luc K - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
There were several hints of new Microsoft flagship phones including 9xx and the 1030 with supposedly 30 mp camera. But yes not for this year. Reason I think is upcoming windows 10. That will be a big change and will consolidate all devices into 1 OS with larger app compatibility. That will take until next year but should be interesting (if you can wait that is...).Not sure if faster chip would be something to wait for. I don't think that's an issue with the 830. But a nicer display and 1020 camera would be great.