NOKIA Lumia 820 Pro Reviews

The Nokia Lumia 820 is a solid mid-range device. At $50, it's an incredible value that offers tons of high-end features in a customizable and compact piece of hardware. Some of its strengths include excellent signal and data performance on AT&T's network, a quick and lively user interface, and a solid multimedia experience. The two biggest faults of the 820 are the middling call quality thanks to poor speaker volume, and the battery life. Of these, the battery life is far more worrisome. It barely scrapes through an entire day, and that might not be enough for some users.

From my experience, there are question marks over the muffled calls and loudness issues with the Nokia Lumia 820. Likewise, the pace of evolution of the WP8 ecosystem, gives pause for thought. Hopefully a firmware fix will sort the call audio out, which impacts on its review rating a little here. It's a pity because overall I found the handset surprisingly comfortable and reassuring. With the Lumia 820, Nokia has made a solid (no pun intended) mass market phone, looking for a mass market.

The HTC Windows Phone 8S is the first Windows Phone 8 handset to fit into the mid-range price category. As such it's not quite the performer of the high-end Windows Phone 8 devices such as the bottom-of-the-high-end Lumia 820, but it's not so poor as to make it a bad deal. It offers solid performance and features for a reasonable price. Whether you prefer it to a similarly priced Android phone will depend on your own subjective preference of platform. The Lumia 820 is a smaller and cheaper version of the 920. It doesn't pack the same punch as that high-end Windows Phone, especially in key areas such as the screen and camera. But we like the interchangeable covers and decent battery life. It's a better phone than the HTC Windows Phone 8S, but it costs more - to buy outright, at least. In Windows Phones, you get what you pay for.

Nokia offers a decent midrange smartphone with its Lumia 820. The good build and rigid casing are compelling. The device scores with its high-contrast, relatively bright 4.3 inch touchscreen featuring a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a very good color reproduction. The brightness could however be a bit higher for outdoor use. Other plus points are the intuitive, smooth operation and numerous Nokia apps. The components provide an appealing application performance alongside acceptable power consumption. The resulting battery runtimes reaped in a "Good" from us. The lush configuration, featuring a decent primary camera, NFC and LTE for all networks as well as dual-band Wi-Fi also belongs to the assets. The low gross storage capacity of 5 GB is countered by a micro SD card reader. One drawback of the Lumia 820 is that it does not belong to of the lightest of its kind. Moreover, the high temperature development in load was noticed adversely. We also found the headset's unbalanced sound disappointing. Ultimately, the Lumia 820 receives a purchase recommendation from us. Buyers who can live with the listed shortcomings will find a decent smartphone for EUR 400 in the Lumia 820. It could have good chances on the market when Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 store has grown.

Nokia’s more modest Windows Phone 8 device is a well-balanced, powerful and affordable handset

Conclusions Given the vast cost of a two-year AT&T smartphone contract, the difference between paying $75 and $99 for your smartphone shouldn’t be taken seriously. Unfortunately, that leaves the Lumia 820 outclassed by a range of $99 devices. The Lumia 920 does everything the 820 does, better. If that’s too big, the HTC 8X gives you Windows Phone 8 in a great physical design, although you lose Nokia Maps and the SD card slot. On other platforms, you can pick the Apple iPhone 4S and Sony Xperia TL, both four-star phones with better cameras, higher-res screens, and far more apps than the Lumia 820 has. We’ve seen this happen plenty of times before. It’s not that the Lumia 820 is a bad phone; it’s that the economics of wireless plans in this country don’t reward phones that give you a little less capability for a little less money, even if the two are in sync. That leaves the Lumia 820 in the uncomfortable middle of AT&T’s lineup, neither cheap and simple nor flashy and powerful.

The Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone isn't bad, but for just a few dollars more you can get something great.

The display won’t win any awards with that low resolution and you won’t become the next Annie Leibovitz with this camera, but for $50 you get a comfortable design, speedy performance, and a well-designed operating system. The Nokia Lumia 820 is a good Windows Phone 8 handset for a good price. It makes an excellent ambassador for the Windows Phone 8 OS. While the 820 might not spur any conversions, it’s a good choice for consumers who’ve already had their own Come To Windows moment. We’d recommend this over the Nokia Lumia 810 on T-Mobile that costs $100 more. But keep in mind that the top-of-the-line Lumia 920 or the HTC Windows Phone 8X cost as little as $50 more. If you have the money, go for the better phone. If you don’t, the Lumia 820 is good.

If you've still got some concerns with joining the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem, the Lumia 820 is a hard sell. While its off-contract price is substantially cheaper than the 920, the difference in subsidized cost is so minuscule that we can't recommend it. The screen is hampered by a last-generation resolution and the camera (while not without its charms) doesn't pack the advanced technical skills of the 920. The display is smaller than the Lumia 920, but the hardware doesn't feel all that much lighter for it. In its favor, there's a replaceable battery for power users and the inclusion of microSD storage. Again, Nokia's propensity for eye-catching color schemes will help these phones stand out from duller safer hardware designs and the inclusion of a free wireless charging plate and case (both in the UK and from AT&T) is a welcome extra. But we'd just as soon pay the premium for the Lumia 920.

If you're looking for an inexpensive, approachable smartphone with a few more features, the Nokia Lumia 820's $50 price tag is tough to beat.

Nokia didn't pay much attention to its 820 during a grand unveiling in New York in September. Saddled at the end of a press event, it felt like the forgotten Lumia child. And the reality is that while the 820 might be attractive to some thanks to removable covers and different colors, it's more likely that you'll want to purchase a Lumia 920 instead. If you want a Windows Phone 8 that's not as bulky as the 920, the 820 is just such an option — but HTC’s 8X beats both in terms of pocketability and size, without sacrificing specs. Overall, I wish Nokia had taken a different approach with its mid-range offering. The company had the perfect size with the Lumia 800, and I can't help but feel that a 4-inch or 4.3-inch version of this form factor with less bulk than the Lumia 900 would be a popular choice for many. The 820 display and camera also don't come close to matching Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 8 device. With a $50 price difference between the two, it's hard to say that the Lumia 820 is worth the saving.

The Lumia 820 may not have the high-end features, buzz, or looks of its higher-end cousin, the Lumia 920 – but for half the price, it doesn’t need to. For fifty bucks or less on-contract, customers get a Windows Phone 8 device with beautiful industrial design, solid features, the full suite of Nokia-exclusive apps, and a great camera. Keep your expectations realistic, though; it’s still a midrange phone. Its display packs last year’s resolution with no Gorilla Glass, the front-facing camera is no good, and the compromises on storage and battery capacity will irk some. But if those aren’t deal-breakers for you, and you’re looking for a very good Windows Phone 8 experience on hefty, comfortable, easy-to-palm hardware without all the gloss and glitz of the higher-end devices, the Nokia Lumia 820 is a solid smartphone for the price.

It's easy to appreciate the Nokia Lumia 820 for its build quality and level of equipment, but when you realize it's just the sensible, mid-range package by the Finns, you may even begin to be impressed. As the Windows Phone platform is growing out of its infancy, the more affordable member of the new Lumia duo has a far wider audience to appeal to and it might just be able to grab that chance. The Nokia Lumia 820 is built to a high standard and its AMOLED screen is well above average. It's a silky smooth performer too and one that has access to the third richest app repository in the business. There's also the free lifetime voice-guided navigation, which adds an extra dimension to the whole package. As we see it, this still won't be enough to beat the droid army in terms of productivity, especially considering that the Lumia 820 is priced right about the level of droid flagships such as the HTC One X and the Galaxy S III. However, you'd have to be completely new to the smartphone business to expect WP to magically leapfrog the major platforms overnight. What the Microsoft needs to do now is present itself as a worthy alternative of Android and iOS, offering a safe exit to anyone willing to experience something new without sacrificing any of the core functionality. From that perspective, the Lumia 820 comes in as a great option. It looks cool but its appeal goes beyond appearance. This smartphone knows a few cool tricks to keep you interested. If you still aren't sold and would rather shop around some more, here's what else your money can get you.

The Lumia 820 is a smaller and cheaper version of the 920 but doesn't pack the same punch, especially in key areas such as the screen and camera. We like the interchangeable covers and decent battery life. However, in the Windows Phone 8 market, HTC's 8X could well outdo the 820 for the same price so look out for our review soon. Those not set on the operating system should consider the Nexus 4 which has high-end specs but sells for £240.

A capable little brother to the range-topping Lumia 920, but we think Nokia's more expensive Windows Phone 8 handset is worth the extra

The Nokia Lumia 820 is an interesting smartphone – it does well in some things, but falters in others. To be more specific, we like its solid build quality and its overall size and feel. The hardware is also good, while the Nokia-branded apps, especially Maps and Drive+ are major differentiators. However, the weak camera and poor call quality are major flaws, which cannot be understated. If these aren't that much of deal-breakers for you, then we see no reason not to recommend the 820, but if you're looking for a well-balanced and all-round solid performer, better start thinking about something better, like the Lumia 920.

Nokia seemed to have been so focused on packing the Nokia Lumia 920 with as much tech as it could, that for us it forgot about what people might actually want from a phone. Here, with the Lumia 820, that's not the case. The micro SD card slot gives you plenty of storage for movies, photos, and music, while the removable battery gets you over any power issues you might have. Add that to a great core operating system and a design that stands out on its own and you start to feel this is the phone Nokia should be putting all its efforts into promoting. Agreed it isn’t the flagship and agreed the camera isn't nearly anywhere as good as on the 920, but this is a phone you'll be happy to use, a phone you'll enjoy using, and besides a lack of third-party apps at the moment, a phone that for many people will be a fantastic phone they will enjoy for the next two years. If you are tempted by Windows Phone 8, this is the phone for you.