Yet another 920 to 830 (up/side)grade discussion... Plus the One M8

[idokamaroq]

I'm stuck on AT&T (under my parents' contract) and have somehow managed to mostly kill my beloved Lumia 920 (as they apparently aren't immortal). So, it's time to get a new phone, and I'm deciding between the Lumia 830 and the One M8 for Windows. (I've used the 1520. Way too big for me. And I don't want to get a carrier-unlocked phone because I'd have to pay that full price instead of just $1-200.)

First, let me just state what I DON'T care about: Sealed vs. user-replaceable battery; screen color reproduction (colorblind); Glance/dot-view (I have a Band); speaker quality (I only ever use headphones); internal storage (both have microSD slots); Fitbit Flex (I have one, use my Band instead); on-contract price. However, if you feel the need to discuss these for other readers, please do.

Ok, so I've seen enough spec sheets, so I don't want to talk about specs a whole lot anymore. Just real life performance and potential future-proofing, at least for a couple years.

Have any of you noticed a significant improvement in performance over the 920 in either phone (particularly concerned about the 830 with it's lower... specs...)? How about between the 830 and M8? I'm mainly concerned with day to day tasks; I'm not a heavy gamer, but I love having a super fluid experience with simple things such as opening the music player, for example (which is why I chose and love WP). This is my main question for you guys. Would I be missing a totally fluid experience if I went with the 830?

OK, deviating from no-specs a little bit again. As for future proofing (OS-wise), my main concern with the Lumia is the RAM (at 1GB vs. the M8's 2). My main concern with the HTC is... Well, it's an HTC and we all know their reputation for supporting WP. I know there's DP, but that won't take care of any required firmware updates from HTC to run Win10, if any. And of course this is all assuming that the new OS is coming to current WP8.1 devices, which has not officially been confirmed as of yet (AFAIK). What are your thoughts/speculations on this?

And there's always the option of waiting until a true MSMobile flagship arrives on AT&T, but I don't know if I want to deal with the issues my 920 has for that long.

INB4 Lumia 830's camera. I know. That's why I'm not just automatically going for the HTC with that guaranteed perfectly fluid experience.

 

[HelloLudger]

Can you have the 930? What's the price tag for all of these choices?

W10 was confirmed for all Lumia devices, so the M8 has this weak point of uncertainty...

 

[anon(8532178)]

Feel like getting the Lumia 830 as well I have the Lumia 925 but I'm getting tired of having a small screen 5 inches is perfect for me. Also performance wise I read its pretty good for using a SD 400 but not perfect. But future proof I think it's a little better. Overall they're both good devices I've my friends M8 Android version pretty good device performance wise and build.

 

[poken1151]

I recently swallowed my pride and decided to sidegrade to the 830 from my Lumia 920. I almost stopped reading at your second paragraph because it seemed like you already made the decision. But I read on! Here's my input.

I got the 830 from the 920 mainly because I was itching for an upgrade (got the 920 when it very first came out). And I, personally:
- Wanted a replaceable battery
- Microsd expansion slot

Now, to your question, I'll say these comparatives hold true for me:
- I ran the benchmarks and while they say GPU should be better on the 830, the actual games I notice have a noticeable "hitch" in some games when they're loading. Subway surfers was the biggest notice to me, but same can be said for others, the CPU load times cause initial lag, and at any load points in game. You don't need the phones side by side to feel this, just switch from your 920 and you';ll notice.
- I've not noticed any new quickness or smoothness. Places where my 920 had a "resuming" still had this on the 830 now and then, but not really better or worse.
- Apps, aside from games, generally felt about the same, nothing like facebook loading 5x faster, or Chronos being any quicker. Except...
- The camera is a lot quicker to start. Press that button and the 830's camera is on in a second or less. However...
- The capture to capture speed is not that much improved IMO from the 920. Isd it noticably quicker? Yes, because I'm looking for it, it still feels too slow to me. (Side note, snapping pictures on the M8 is extremely quick. Although...
- Some will lament the camera qualiuty of the M8. If the comparison is to the 830, as far as I can tell, the 830 is just at times a little less bluired. Most of the camera features of the lumia phones seem (to me) to have only gone down... especially compared)
- I have found the screen size to be preferable to me coming from the 920. I almost bit on the 1520, but the screen size was too much of a deal breaker.
- Bluetooth is noticeably better than on my 920. Somehow... I don't think the receiving device should affect headsets, but my bbluetooth headsets (HBS-730) have lasted longer on the 830.... Noticeably so... Seems weird to me, but not complaining.
- Battery is larger, and I can now go about an extra 2 or so hours on a heavy day, and an extra 6-8 on light use. I've taken this off the charger at 6AM, gone to work, came home, plugged it in to deploy an app for 10 mins, and gone to bed wiuth it un plugged and woke with still around 20%. Make of that what you will.
- I like the feel of the phone, if that matters to you. Noticeable corners, but not a bad weight or feel. But it is SLIPPERY.
- Despite this, I'm aware I'm buying into not much future proofing. The way the phone feels on some tasks, and the fact that the processor is already out dated for features like ":Hey Cortana" Makes me wonder what else it will miss. As such, I wholly expect this to be a one year device for me.
- Audio is good generally, can't complain.


Other than the above, the rest of the phone is the rest of the phone. It doesn't feel all that better from the 920 except for the mentioned areas and they are just enough to not have me regret the side grade, especially siince I paid what I think the device is worth, 280USD for a brand new ATT 830.

I'll say this, if you're ok with your experience on the 920, it's more or less the same on the 830 in terms of fluidity, minus some games (I'm sure there's a drop, except Asphalt, that's the only thing that somehow seems better. AoE: Castle siege plays better, but has the same lag it has in the 920, just a little more noticeable at the start). I'd say if you get it for a good price, do the sidegrade.. But don't expect to call it an upgrade, maybe on the premium feel of the hardware of the device, but that's about it, you're apps will feel about the same (and that said, be a bit slower than the M8).

Camera again, quick to start, faster in general, still feels slow. I'm told a Denim update will fix this a fair bit (for example, the phone didn't come with that magical HDR app shown at the launch).

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Since you don't seem to need all the latest and greatest save your money to get the Lumia 830.

My little brother has it and it is amazing. Things are just as fluid and amazing to use. I own a 1520 and I honestly wouldn't mind rocking an 830 if I had to give up my 1520.

 

[idokamaroq]

Wow, thanks for all the input, guys! :smile:

W10 was confirmed for all Lumia devices, so the M8 has this weak point of uncertainty...

Could you show me where it was confirmed? Not challenging you, I'm just curious and wanting to see.

So, overall, it sounds like I wouldn't be disappointed with the 830. Fluid enough, hopefully, and the camera launching quicker would be a major plus. And I think I heard somewhere that the Lumia Camera app update (whenever it comes around) should improve shot-to-shot times.
I mean, sure it would be nice to have a true UPgrade in regards to speed (processor, RAM, and such), but I suppose I would be plenty happy with it being a 1-year phone, like you mentioned. I did originally intend to have my 920 longer than this, anyways.

I wholly expect this to be a one year device for me

Hopefully I can go play with one in a store soon, maybe even tomorrow (only one class ) and I'll post my thoughts.
I have felt both phones in my hand once before, and my initial reaction with how the M8 felt was "Wow, this really is as good a feeling phone as they say." And my initial reaction with the 830 was "&%$! why haven't I heard people raving about this!?!" So there's that... Lol

 

[HelloLudger]

Here you go: http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/13/...ia-windows-phone-8-device-will-get-windows-10

If it's available on AT&T, I would consider a 930, especially if you don't care about glance.

 

[idokamaroq]

Cool, thank you. That makes me feel good, especially with the DP program. (My Samsung Focus Flash never did get WP7.8... Lol)

I would like the 930, but it isn't available on AT&T. I'd have to get it unlocked, but I've seen people on here having connectivity issues with the 930 on AT&T LTE, and I can't afford it anyways. My parents pay the monthly bill, and I pay the down on the phone. So if I get an unlocked one, I have to pay the full price (even though their bill would be lower). More incentive to grow up and sign my own contract, I suppose. Haha

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Cool, thank you. That makes me feel good, especially with the DP program. (My Samsung Focus Flash never did get WP7.8... Lol)

I would like the 930, but it isn't available on AT&T. I'd have to get it unlocked, but I've seen people on here having connectivity issues with the 930 on AT&T LTE, and I can't afford it anyways. My parents pay the monthly bill, and I pay the down on the phone. So if I get an unlocked one, I have to pay the full price (even though their bill would be lower). More incentive to grow up and sign my own contract, I suppose. Haha

Get yourself an 830

Unlocked is cool but to me unless you plan to be switching carriers regularly then it seems pointless paying that kind of cash for an unlocked phone as most people I know generally have different Sims they pop in depending on their mood.

 

[idokamaroq]

OK, so I got to the store this morning before class. First the AT&T store. They had the 830 on display, next to the M8 for Windows, mixed in among the plethora of Android devices. But, the security thing on the back made it impossible to hold and blocked the camera, and the one on the front blocked part of the screen. Plus, something in the software just seemed... off. Maybe it just needed a restart or something.
(Also, this was the first time I can remember that I've been in an AT&T store and the rep didn't either complain about WP or try to convince me to switch to Android. Probably just because they were busy, though. No benefit of the doubt for them. Haha)
So I walked the extra 200ft to the Microsoft store (should have just gone there first) to check it out w/o the massive, heavy security device.

The 830 was exactly as poken1151 said. OS navigation, etc. felt just like a 920 (with the exception of the camera launching quicker). I was able to stand it. Not buttery smooth and lightning quick, like the M8, however. I say this, but...
While messing around with the M8, I thought at one point "It's like the phone is getting to things in the OS before I am." (And no, I'm not "slow..." Lol) For some reason, I'm not sure I liked this. This is extremely weird for me to say, but I would prefer it to be ever so slightly slower, except for launching apps (which it did nicely. 830 took its time on a couple.)
Also, I previously thought I liked the idea of on screen buttons because they can be hidden, making a cleaner looking phone. I kept hitting the hide button when I tried to hit the back button on the M8 unless I looked directly at it. Probably just takes some getting used to, but there's a small win for the 830.

I kinda thought about it for a second, and walked over to the 1520, for kicks. I suppose I could live with that size if I had to (it seemed smaller than I remember, yet still huge). But again, it didn't seem buttery smooth like the M8. Very similar to the 830 in terms of performance, from what I saw.

Well, I'm not completely enamored with any, but I think I'm leaning more toward the 830, primarily because of how it felt in-hand. I'm used to feeling something there (thanks to my Finnish tank), and I did feel like I was actually holding the 830. The M8's curved back/tapered edges actually made it slightly harder to hold for me. Plus, it felt a bit heavier (as it is by 10g or so).

So... What gives? Seems most of the M8's supposed high points are low points, IMO. If the 830 had slightly better performance (or if the 930 was available on AT&T... I messed with the Icon, too, and liked it) it would be a no brainer. Again, I think I'm leaning toward the 830 a bit, but I'll have to think about it some. I have a couple weeks, probably. If I do get that one, I'll post more detailed thoughts on the Lumia 830 forum here, maybe on one of the existing "I switched from the 920 to the 830" threads if any are still at least semi-active. Seems I might be waiting a second or two for the calendar or Xbox music to launch for another year or so.
Here's to hoping W10 brings performance improvements to current Lumias!

Edit: Forgot to mention this, but I realized that as this is the last Nokia branded phone, it'll always be the newest! Lol

 

[HelloLudger]

I wouldn't count on exceptional performance under Windows 10 on a Snapdragon 400.

But hey, specs aren't everything. If you like the 830 and don't like the M8, it's a no-brainer.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I wouldn't count on exceptional performance under Windows 10 on a Snapdragon 400.

But hey, specs aren't everything. If you like the 830 and don't like the M8, it's a no-brainer.

And you're speaking of what knowledge that s400 won't be exceptional on windows 10?

 

[HelloLudger]

And you're speaking of what knowledge that s400 won't be exceptional on windows 10?

My knowledge of the definition of the word exceptional.
And: W10, as unified platform, will probably have higher hardware demands than WP8. Because W10 is a unified approach and WP8 was tailored for phones.

I'm not saying that it won't work acceptable, but if the main goal is to have a future prove device, I cannot recommend a SD400.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

My knowledge of the definition of the word exceptional.
And: W10, as unified platform, will probably have higher hardware demands than WP8. Because W10 is a unified approach and WP8 was tailored for phones.

I'm not saying that it won't work acceptable, but if the main goal is to have a future prove device, I cannot recommend a SD400.

You can't say that because none of us no what to expect with windows phone 10 so telling him that
Is exactly what causes fud. Now had you actually experienced windows 10 on phones or had some inside knowledge to this, I can understand but you don't and you're speculating with little if anything to go on except what you think windows 10 may be.

OP, get yourself a Lumia 830. You'll be fine

 

[idokamaroq]

I have to agree with Superboy Micah (and no, not because it makes me feel good about my potential new phone), at least with the processor reasoning.
Newer OS versions tend to be more optimized for performance. W10 for phones is going to be tailored for phones, just like WP8. They aren't just gona slap the desktop OS on a phone... They can't do that, even with the top of the line Snapdragon 8xx processors. I would (hopefully reasonably) expect W10 to run fine on the quad-core Snapdragon 400 series processors. Maybe MS will shorten some of the transition animations like people have been asking for, and those hide processing time, so maybe it might seem slower in some parts. And yes, it might actually be slower in parts. We don't know.
But, for example, Windows 8 doesn't seem to struggle any more than 7 or Vista (shudder), or 7 more than Vista or XP, on low end processors. From my experience at least.

What worries me with the 830 and W10 is RAM. New operating systems seem to be better optimized for performance, but take more memory to run.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I doubt ram is going to be an issue for the 830.....it's 1gb.

If it were the 630 or 530 and below I'd be more concerned then.

 

[poken1151]

Glad to be of help. I wanted to add some additional items to my experience, and some opinion on your experience.

So right off the bat, I should mention one of the first things I did with the 830 was mess with the brightness setting. Denim didn't hit my 920 and so doing that I'm fairly certain is part of why myu battery performance was where it was. Not saying it wasn't generally longer, but so much longer, was aided by the screen.

I had a similar experience in the store with the 830. Wrote a post on it, but a few thought I was just whining, but indeed, it's disconcerning to look at what's to be a brand new device and see the security device obstructing almost all the features of the camera and screen. Then, I had a rep who definitely did not steer my from the device, but really didn't sell me on it either. Showed me another 830 with the back falling off due to the security device, and handed me the device. Still peeved about that.

That said, that same day I was also playing with the 1520, and I must agree, if you keep going back to it, you will probably keep saying, "this doesn't seem that big... maybe..." I definitely was there, and to be honest, if I didn't find an 830 for 280$ I was going to buy a 1520 for 200-250$ off ebay. I'd still say give the 830 a try if you get it for the right price, and wouldn't knock you for the 1520 or even the M8. Hope you enjoy whichever you pick.

My one note is, on the off chance that MS launches something completely worth it mid next year after showcasing Windows 10 on mobile (and it turns out to be exciting) then I'd want the option to move on without too much "ah, but I just spent 500$ on this 1520/M8" That's why I went for a cheap 830.

​That said.... Have you considered the 735?

 

[idokamaroq]

Speaking of battery life, that was like the one thing that wasn't wrong with my 920. Until last night when it dropped 50% in an hour, mostly sitting idle and some texting, and I've had to recharge it from dead (to full) at least three times today, plus it's been sitting on the charger whenever I'm not out of my dorm. I don't get why it came all of a sudden. Can't figure it out. Oh, well. Haha

My experience with the 830 in the Microsoft store was pretty good. Nothing bad really stuck out about it, I just wasn't amazed (except for the feel of it in my hand ). One thing that I noticed after I left was that I didn't notice the screen resolution. After reading a bunch of reviews, they all mentioned the lower screen resolution in some way or another and how text sometimes looked fuzzy. I meant to check that out when I went in, but forgot about it while using the phone. So I suppose that's a good thing, haha. I just would love to see apps launch faster on it, but that's really my only thing against it. Overall, a good experience.

I always hear people talking about how you get used to the size of the 1520 and you can't go back to a 5" phone because they'll feel too small, but I just don't know. I usually like small. (I picked my first smartphone because it was the smallest in the store; I picked my first WP because it was the smallest WP in the store...) I guess I'm kind of past that, though, since the 920 isn't small, and I like it's size. So maybe I could move on to the 1520, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be very hesitant. Plus, I didn't really notice a whole lot of performance improvements on that from the 830. It seemed almost as slow at launching apps, with the exception of the camera, which took longer.

I've thought about that, too. If MS releases an amazing phone (930 or 1020 successor or something even better) this coming summer, I would more than likely want to get that one. Again, I couldn't stand to live with my 920's issues until then. So, it would be nice to have a cheaper phone now, as long as it's still a nice phone in case there isn't anything for a while.
Whatever phone I buy, it'll probably be on AT&T Next, mostly just because that's how my parents want to do it (they get a discount on their bill for some reason). There are 3 plans for this, and the monthly financing payment on the shortest (12 month) option for the 830 is about the same cost as the M8's 24 month plan. (Plus the 830 comes with a Fitbit, so maybe I could just sell that to help pay for the phone.)
With AT&T Next, you pay the full price of the phone, but it's basically financed over 18, 24, or 30 months and 6 months before the end of the deal, you can trade in the phone, which pays off the remaining payments. I also learned from a rep in an AT&T store that you can pay off the rest of the phone at once anytime you want to, so if/when a new phone does come out, I could sell the 830 and use that to pay it off and then just get the new phone.
So yes, the 830 would be better than the M8 in terms of being able to get a new phone sooner, and I'm taking that strongly into consideration. (Looks like I've decided... Haha. Hopefully I can get it soon before I'm stranded somewhere with a useless 920. Lol)

I did look at the 735 in the Microsoft store, but AT&T doesn't offer it on their website. They offer the 635, though. My roommate has that so I've seen it enough, and I'd be willing to pay more for the 830 or the M8 just because of the premium look and feel of those. Lol

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Speaking of battery life, that was like the one thing that wasn't wrong with my 920. Until last night when it dropped 50% in an hour, mostly sitting idle and some texting, and I've had to recharge it from dead (to full) at least three times today, plus it's been sitting on the charger whenever I'm not out of my dorm. I don't get why it came all of a sudden. Can't figure it out. Oh, well. Haha

My experience with the 830 in the Microsoft store was pretty good. Nothing bad really stuck out about it, I just wasn't amazed (except for the feel of it in my hand ). One thing that I noticed after I left was that I didn't notice the screen resolution. After reading a bunch of reviews, they all mentioned the lower screen resolution in some way or another and how text sometimes looked fuzzy. I meant to check that out when I went in, but forgot about it while using the phone. So I suppose that's a good thing, haha. I just would love to see apps launch faster on it, but that's really my only thing against it. Overall, a good experience.

I always hear people talking about how you get used to the size of the 1520 and you can't go back to a 5" phone because they'll feel too small, but I just don't know. I usually like small. (I picked my first smartphone because it was the smallest in the store; I picked my first WP because it was the smallest WP in the store...) I guess I'm kind of past that, though, since the 920 isn't small, and I like it's size. So maybe I could move on to the 1520, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be very hesitant. Plus, I didn't really notice a whole lot of performance improvements on that from the 830. It seemed almost as slow at launching apps, with the exception of the camera, which took longer.

I've thought about that, too. If MS releases an amazing phone (930 or 1020 successor or something even better) this coming summer, I would more than likely want to get that one. Again, I couldn't stand to live with my 920's issues until then. So, it would be nice to have a cheaper phone now, as long as it's still a nice phone in case there isn't anything for a while.
Whatever phone I buy, it'll probably be on AT&T Next, mostly just because that's how my parents want to do it (they get a discount on their bill for some reason). There are 3 plans for this, and the monthly financing payment on the shortest (12 month) option for the 830 is about the same cost as the M8's 24 month plan. (Plus the 830 comes with a Fitbit, so maybe I could just sell that to help pay for the phone.)
With AT&T Next, you pay the full price of the phone, but it's basically financed over 18, 24, or 30 months and 6 months before the end of the deal, you can trade in the phone, which pays off the remaining payments. I also learned from a rep in an AT&T store that you can pay off the rest of the phone at once anytime you want to, so if/when a new phone does come out, I could sell the 830 and use that to pay it off and then just get the new phone.
So yes, the 830 would be better than the M8 in terms of being able to get a new phone sooner, and I'm taking that strongly into consideration. (Looks like I've decided... Haha. Hopefully I can get it soon before I'm stranded somewhere with a useless 920. Lol)

I did look at the 735 in the Microsoft store, but AT&T doesn't offer it on their website. They offer the 635, though. My roommate has that so I've seen it enough, and I'd be willing to pay more for the 830 or the M8 just because of the premium look and feel of those. Lol

II'm on next and it is awesome to use in regards to screen size, anything I use now less than 6 inches is small to me haha. Love my 1520 and I love the 830<3