Nokia Lumia 1520 Review : The Windows Phone Built for Business, Gaming and Entertainment
When Lumia 1520 was announced with Snapdragon 800 at the Nokia World, we all wowed because not only it improves the performance overall but it has huge impact on the battery life. After using it for 14 days, I can say that this is the Windows Phone I had waited to grab my hands on. HD Display, SD card support, Loud Speaker and a phone that can last 24 hours is finally here. Starting with the video review below, check out the in depth details of the phone performed and if its worth it.
Video Review
Hardware You Always Wanted (Specifications)
Lumia 1520 becomes the first handset to include hardware specs that we had looked from a long time to appear on Windows Phone. Snapdragon 800 which improves battery life to a great extent, SD Card to store more than 32GB of data, Full HD Display and so on. After using it for a week, I can confirm that the performance is just outstanding for anything. Pickup gaming, WhatsApp, time to launch an app, there is no complaining.
Two more areas which it improved compared to others. Direction Sensing Microphone which makes sure that the noise in background is cut off by a great extent and speakers which are loud and clear. Listening to music or even when watching a movie, it’s just a bliss.
A Windows Phone that Lasts All Day (Battery Life)
Snapdragon 800 does its magic. The big phone proves its battery life is much more than what users would have ever expected and goes as long as over a day even when used heavily over 3G, WIFI and what not.
- Day 1 : 1 Day 4 hours on WiFi with Gaming and Music.
- Day 2: 12 hrs about over 3G, WiFi, Gaming, Photography, Browsing, Twitter.
- Day 3: 21 Hrs over 3G, WiFi, Gaming, Photography, Browsing, Twitter.
- Day 4 : 1 day 5 hrs over 3G, WiFi, Gaming, Photography, Browsing, Twitter.
This is also the first Windows Phone where I did not put any constrain on type of usage. It just lasts incredibility long for you to not carry any battery pack with you. What left me impressed what the battery drain over night which was only 2% for 8 hours with Glance Screen on and over 3G.
Handling the Gigantic Size: (Handling on Day-to-Day Basis)
While 1520 did made sure that you get a lot better hardware, it also increased in size. It’s the first Windows Phone Phablet and trust me its gigantic i.e. one handed operation, damn hard! It even makes the Note 3 look smaller forget about any other device.
The Drawbacks:
So what happened when I started using it on daily basis ? It was damn tough to use it like a phone and single handedly. Primary reason is that it doesn’t fit my hand or even a person with bigger hand will have issues. You cannot reach the other end with your thumb and doing it with one hand will topple the phone to drop. My biggest issue was using it in crowded place like bus, trains or even while walking. You should be always using two hands for almost everything except when taking a call which I always made sure I did after taking a corner.
Also the buttons on the 1520 are difficult to use. They have a low profile compared to the device and many a times it was hard it to find it, specially to unlock.
The Advantages:
The huge size has its own advantage, the six inch display makes sure you get to see more, you use less scrolls and if you have thick thumbs, it is much easier to type in. You will find all the positive things about the display as you read in. To summarize everything it’s all about document editing, watching movie, typing anywhere and incredible speakers.
FULL HD Display, You will Fall in Love With (Display)
The display will make you fall in love with the device instantly and distract you with its huge size. Full HD Display with Clear Black technology and Wide Angle View are the perfect ingredients for attracting any customer even if he cannot afford to buy it. The text is sharper, the colors are natural, videos look equal from all the angles. Also the Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2 make sure you get less scratches.
The screen of 1520 is the brightest of all the Lumia phones. Even on low brightness or auto mode, it looks brighter than any other phone. The pictures and videos just look lot better on this display without a doubt.
The Perfect Gaming Machine (Gaming Performance)
I am a big fan of Asphalt 8 and Asphalt 7 for two reasons. One, they are the best car racing games on any platform and second, if a mobile phone can run these games perfectly, it’s a perfect gaming mobile you are looking for.
Lumia 1520 not only comes with 2GB of RAM it comes with Snapdragon 800 processor, and a bright massive 6 inch HD screen. This makes it a perfect gaming device.
To be short and sweet, I have played around 10 different games and it was flawless. No lags in graphics, sound or even resolution on this big screen. The only issue is of heating which happens right after 15 minutes of game play. This seems to be more of hereditary problem than anything else. ( Heating issues because it’s a polycarbonate body. It can’t act as a proper heatsink and the chipset is working really hard on all those game render details.)
Gaming Video:
Speaker Loud Enough to Party (Audio & Music Performance) :
This is one phone with everything big including the speakers. I have used most of the Windows Phone launched till date and 1520 has the loudest and clear of all speakers to my experience. Surprising part was that even though 1520 has its rear almost flat, the audio from the speakers wasn’t blocked any time. I did play a variety of songs right from classic to hip hop and sound was perfect on speakers. If you are having a house party, you can use them as speakers for quick plays, musical contest and so on.
While on Earphones you will have better experience with the boxed earphones which are of pretty good quality. It’s the same set seen on all high end Nokia phones. The good part of using the earphones is option to use the equalizer on Windows Phone.
20 MP of Pure View Camera (Camera)
A 20 MP camera which has the same technology and fundamentals of camera in 1020 takes some amazing shots, specially when it comes to Macros. The Daylight pictures are incredibly good but the same doesn’t happen over low light, if you aren’t using the flash. When using it over flash, the dual LED does it job well but you have too much of light that kills the natural looks of the subject in focus.
The macros in proper light are killer on 1520. You would just love the details and the color that shows up in the picture. Also notice that the 1520 screen is pretty bright which makes the picture look 10X times better than what you would have experienced on a computer.
Camera Samples:
How does it compared to 1020?
When I got to know the pricing of Lumia 1520, I was pretty much tempted to buy it but then I already had the 1020 which has the best camera with 41MP and loss less zoom. While Lumia 1520 is also being promoted as a good camera phone it doesn’t come closer to 1020 for zoom and details ability.
The Bliss of Document Editing on Big Screen : Office
I use Office documents and SkyDrive all the time. Most of the docs I have authored stay online and I use Windows Room to collaborate with my friends. My Friends who are using office document on Windows Phone are just going to love it because of more screen space, less scrolling and big keyboard which pops up when typing.
I have used Office on 1020 and I know how clumsy it becomes if the document is too big. The best experience comes to Excel Sheets which most of the business users get to interact every day. You can Pan, Zoom, select columns, edit them right away on this big screen. In case you have to share the screen with a college sitting beside you, the wide angle view makes sure get also gets to see the same way you do it.
Expanding the Storage Space :
Lumia 1520 is also the first high end Windows Phone to support SD card to let users store more videos, music and pictures. This is much required as Lumia 1520 supports the DNG format which stores high resolution pics. Now users can move all their entertainment stuff to SD card and have enough space on the phone storage for games and apps like Nokia Music which cannot store files into SD card.
Value for Money & If you should buy it ?
Keeping in mind that 1520 falls into a Phablet category and not into regular phone segment, it directly competes with other Phablets like Samsung Note 2 and Note 3 because of the hardware. Combined with Clear Black Display, Office for Life, and a wide angled view, it gets straight into top of the list of Business & Pro Consumers.
Business Consumers will love it because off Big Display, Easy Office File viewing, Skype Calls, Lync Support and so on. Pro Consumers are those who are hooked to big screen phones. For them it’s a perfect entertainment & gaming device. Loud Music, Wide Angle view for movies, HD display, Pureview Camera with OIS is more than enough for them to make their day.
So if you can handle the big phone and enjoy all the goodness, go ahead and buy the Nokia Lumia 1520.
Current Pricing and Where to Buy :
The Online pricing right now is 45,999 on Flipkart and I am sure the Nokia Priority Stores will have it even for less.
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