Lumia 920 Review - clear bias

[1jaxstate1]

I disagree. It's not that simple. I like how they separate certain factors. I see battery life is a 8. Battery life is important to me. Ecosystem is at a 5, well I don't really give a crap about that, so that's a trade off. Reception is a 7, seems kinda low, I thought Nokia phones were know for having great reception, I may be thinking about RIM phones. For me, I could remove the ecosystem score, or whatever scores I'm not interested or care for,and get a solid number off that.

Saying to should someone buy the phone in a simple Yes or No, mean you really have to know what the person wants or interested in.

The way I look at it, the review was good. Sure there were a 'unfair' jabs at the 920, but on the whole it was quite positive. I still think review sites should just do away with numbering systems. Stick to what Engadget, Joystiq, and Kotaku do. Write a review and then in the wrap-up write the pros and cons.

If it was just 'the words' and no arbitrary numbering system it would've been great.




I still love the Kotaku format - Should I buy this or not? Yes or no?

 

[ncxcstud]

But, that's why I read the review and not the score. You read the review and see that when he talks about reception he mentioned that others didn't have the issues he mentioned then states that he is on 'prerelease' software and that the reception in Seattle is not very good for AT&T.

So, is the reception a score for the network as a whole where he did the review or is it reflective of the 920?

If you just read the review and didn't have the score system I think you'd walk away with, "Hmm... I've always known Nokia phones to have good reception. This guy had problems and it seemed to be more with the area than anything else. But, it still something I need to look into"

Instead of the (VAST MAJORITY) of folks who just skim down, see that reception is a '7' and then start spouting off about that the 920 is a crappy phone with horrible reception.

 

[1jaxstate1]

I looked at the score first, then read the review. But for me, I take what "neutral" sites like The Verge, "fan" sites like WPC and WMPU , into account and try to get a total view of the phone. Then I ignore them all and get the phone that I like.

Instead of the (VAST MAJORITY) of folks who just skim down, see that reception is a '7' and then start spouting off about that the 920 is a crappy phone with horrible reception.

As someone stated earlier, 90% of the people haven't even heard of The Verge. They'll get advice from a friend or, *shutters*, a store rep.

 

[crystal_planet]

For me, I could remove the ecosystem score, or whatever scores I'm not interested or care for,and get a solid number off that.

I agree with that - to an extent. The device, any device, should be rated on it's own merits - not anything that lies out of its control.

Screen? legit
Battery life? legit
Size/weight? legit

Lack of apps? stupid.

 

[Winterfang]

Me also, I trust Engadget's/Verge/Phonedog reviews way better than sites like WPcentral and Pocketnow and even lower the opinions of us forum members that haven't tried the phone yet.

I always take good the advise of actual people, that's why everytime I see a customer with a new phone I always ask them. "So, had you have your phone for long" if they say yes then I ask for their opinion.

There was a guy yesterday asking for a cover for the original Samsung Focus, he told me he will renewing his contract and wants the same phone again. He said his whole family had Focuses and the only one that will be changing it is his older son.

(BTW I still think the original samsung focus as one of the best looking WPdevices)

 

[cgk]

I looked at the score first, then read the review. But for me, I take what "neutral" sites like The Verge, "fan" sites like WPC and WMPU , into account and try to get a total view of the phone. Then I ignore them all and get the phone that I like.

As someone stated earlier, 90% of the people haven't even heard of The Verge. They'll get advice from a friend or, *shutters*, a store rep.

It is pretty much the same for all consumer products - and the answer is 1) Marketing/advertising, 2) Someone they trust within their reference group (basically their friends) and then finally 3) what the store staff have to say within the carrier they want.

HTC said when they looked into the issue, that 70% of consumers already had decided what they wanted before they entered a store (which is partly why they struggled against Samsung who's advertising budget is four times their). If the Carrier they want doesn't have the phone, then it is dead to a lot of people.

Me also, I trust Engadget's/Verge/Phonedog reviews way better than sites like WPcentral and Pocketnow and even lower the opinions of us forum members that haven't tried the phone yet.

Oh I'd never trust the reviews on sites like this, same as I'd never trust a blackberry review on Crackberry or a WebOS review on WebOSNation - this are good sites but they are partisan advocacy sites preaching to the converted and they tell people what they want to hear.

 

[ncxcstud]

I love my Focus. My only complaint with it right now is the battery is tiny and runs out of juice pretty quickly (but still not as quickly as my wife's Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket ).

I had a double battery that added some welcome 'heft' to the phone, but the new case backing was garbage and literally fell apart on me and I wasn't able to get a new one without buying the battery again.

So, I'm back to the single small battery again. I love my Samsung Focus and get so many compliments on it.

Though, I really really really wanted the US to get the Omnia W, that phone was awesome looking.

 

[aubreyq]

There was a guy yesterday asking for a cover for the original Samsung Focus, he told me he will renewing his contract and wants the same phone again. He said his whole family had Focuses and the only one that will be changing it is his older son.

(BTW I still think the original samsung focus as one of the best looking WPdevices)

The Focus has been great to me. Too bad AT&T stopped supporting it after 12 months or so. They could've done the entire 18 months, if you ask me.

As far as that Focus owner you met, well I hope he can get a refurbished Focus or a Focus 2 before there aren't any left.

 

[Calot]

wait.. someone was such a crybaby they wrote a review of a review?

:lol:

Leaving that aside - after watching the video I don't see what the problem is.

The NUMBER dude, THE NUMBER! (7.9)

 

[Winterfang]

The Focus is superior to the Omnia you where not missing much. The phone is like a mullet, business in the front, complete mess on the back.

Anyway the Focus user was actually on pre-Nodo he didn't had copy/paste. BTW my Optimus problems started as soon as I got the Mango update, all my praised turned into frustration as lots of bugs and battery drain appeared.

 

[aubreyq]

The NUMBER dude, THE NUMBER! (7.9)

Stop the presses! Windows Phone is going down because of this!!

LMAO!

The Focus is superior to the Omnia you where not missing much. The phone is like a mullet, business in the front, complete mess on the back.

Anyway the Focus user was actually on pre-Nodo he didn't had copy/paste. BTW my Optimus problems started as soon as I got the Mango update, all my praised turned into frustration as lots of bugs and battery drain appeared.

I know Mango jacked some stuff up, but have you tried a new battery, maybe with a higher mah? I got a new battery for my Focus and the difference is day and night. Makes me worry about switching to phones with non-replaceable batteries. I'll have to take that chance, though.

 

[pjrupert]

theverge...

...does everything they can to promote apple because that's what they like. i'm exceedingly frustrated with their reviews, with the exception of their video reviews. Normally the videos are much better. i'm getting sick of their attempts to turn a review into an editorial.

 

[1jaxstate1]

Do you think they are promoting apple because they have some grudge against other companies, or are they promoting apple products because they feel apple have superior products? If it's the latter, it seems that they are doing nothing more than their jobs.

...does everything they can to promote apple because that's what they like. i'm exceedingly frustrated with their reviews, with the exception of their video reviews. Normally the videos are much better. i'm getting sick of their attempts to turn a review into an editorial.

 

[MaulerX]

They promote Apple and Android because they have a strong hate towards Microsoft. Simple as that. It is clear as day. They don't even hide it. The Verge were the ones to publicly and blatantly say that Windows was a Cancer that needed to be eradicated.

They gave the iPad Mini an Ecosystem score of 10 and less for Windows 8 on PC. Really?? How ironic because the first thing people will do is connect and sync their iOS devices to a computer.

 

[jmerrey]

If you really think it's biased, look at their recent Nexus 4 review. Josh LOVES nexus devices. The review states it's clearly the best android phone on the market. Score? 8.3. The latest Lumia got a 7.9. Very comparable scores.

 

[aubreyq]

The Verge were the ones to publicly and blatantly say that Windows was a Cancer that needed to be eradicated.

I know at least Topolsky doesn't care for Windows at all.

How ironic because the first thing people will do is connect and sync their iOS devices to a computer.

You don't need to sync iOS devices to PCs anymore. Maybe to transfer a video, but that's about it.

 

[Coreldan]

If you really think it's biased, look at their recent Nexus 4 review. Josh LOVES nexus devices. The review states it's clearly the best android phone on the market. Score? 8.3. The latest Lumia got a 7.9. Very comparable scores.

Maybe it's not that they are biased for Android or WP, but that they are biased towards Apple.

As has been said, and it's not Verge only, it seems that Apple products start at 10 for no reason and few points are redacted if appropriate, whereas others will start basically at 0 and have to earn their points from there.

Or then just the amount of apps directly correlates to final score

 

[freestaterocker]

Well guys the thing is, until Microsoft has a great Ecosystem and lots of quality apps, is hard to give it the same score as the iphone or top notch android device.

Let's say the ATIV ends up exactly if not a bit better than the Galaxy 3. It's still going to get a lower score and it deserves a lower score.

In Windows Phone 7.5 we suffered from underpowered phones and unbaked OS. Now we have great phones (back before Nokia rubbed me the wrong way I only had one complain, where's the cool phones? I didn't stop that until I saw the ATIV and the 8X just immediately won me over) and a good OS but we still lack the tight integration Android has and the thousands of quality apps Iphone has.

I will personally be weary of recommending the ATIV over the GS3 to anyone, because Windows Phone still lacks things people want, is not a complete OS and the phones suffered because of that.

Problem is apps quantity/quality != ecosystem. Apps are only PART of an ecosystem. Can you order Hulu programming from your iPhone and watch it on your TV through your gaming system/computer? No. (at least not until the SmartGlass app reaches iTunes...) Can you proofread that excel document from the bar on ladies night before your boss looks at it Friday morning while waiting for your drink order on your Droid? No. (1 I'm not a lady, but it's the only reason I can think of to be at a bar on Thursday night-working hung-over SUCKS- and 2 As these reviewers are so quick to point out, substitute apps don't count, so GoogleDocs is disqualified here. You can't have it both ways) Microsoft's 3 screens is the most comprehensive and complete smartphone experience available, period. App count is a SMALL piece of an ecoSYSTEM.

 

[Winterfang]

Apps are what separated a smartphone form a feature phone.

 

[Coreldan]

Apps are what separated a smartphone form a feature phone.

In a way I beg to differ. Early smartphones didn't really have apps as we know them now, they just did a lot directly out of the box that featurephones didn't.

Naturally if you see the iPhones as first smartphones, maybe then, but that's only the first mainstream smartphone if even that. Nokia for one had smartphones before Apple had even thought about making phones

I have like basically one 3rd party app on my N8, does that mean it's very close to a featurephone? Naturally the word "app" is a very generic word so I guess the features on N8 can be seen as built-in apps, but they sort of arnt.. they are just built into the OS. At the same time I can also assure that none of your feature phones would do as much as my N8 did even without a single app installed