Hi folks, I was able to get a Lumia 920 from Rogers (on an early upgrade), and here are my first-day thoughts:
1. The service at the Rogers branch I went to was great, and the reps in charge backed the Lumia (and Windows Phone) pretty strongly! I asked for my reserved device and the reps started saying, "man I am so excited about this device..." and "the hardware on this thing looks amazing, especially the camera" and so on. These guys were really positive about it, and if someone were to enter the store looking for a Windows Phone, they'll definitely get one.
2. Early impressions of the device? Well it is hefty, but not in a bad way. Going from the 710 to the 920 it's going to take me a little time to get used to the larger screen, but the phone is definitely slick and fits well in the hand. I was worried that the 920 may be a "beast" in the sense of having great internal specs packed into a not-so-pleasing design, but I was wrong. The device (even in black) looks great and my colleagues at work are able to tell it's a different animal compared to iPhone and Android, and it is noticeable. My 710 was probably mistaken for an iPhone clone, and my Focus before it was confused as an Android, but the 920 has its own turf.
3. Windows Phone 8? Amazing. You can't take Windows Phone 7.x seriously after using Windows Phone 8, the latter is indeed an entirely different beast and the 920's hardware is in full use (e.g. the gorgeous screen). The pairing between OS and hardware here is just great. Now unfortunately I only got about 12 hours of battery on the first day, but you have to keep in mind that I used internet-sharing for an hour straight, kept NFC off and was playing around with the phone quite a bit. I remember my 710 peaking at 12-14 hours a charge for the first few days, but it eventually reaches 16-18 easily (if not more). I am beginning to think the 920 will be OK in this regard, but I'll need a week or so to check for sure, especially when its novelty starts wearing off and I stop playing with it so frequently.
4. Complaints? God I wish MS kept Wi-Fi syncing with the WP8 client, please bring it back! A few apps, such as Nokia Counters, should be made compatible with the 920's resolution, the app being fixed to 800x480 is preventing me from downloading it for the 920. We really need it if DataSense is only exclusive to Verizon. Otherwise, I hope to see some of the graphic intensive games come out soon! And Rogers, I hope you guys push a proper OneNumber app with the VoIP calling (you made available for iOS), you should deliver it the way MS delivered Skype (with background notifications and phone-like calling).
PS: Skype on WP8 is so totally worth it, can't wait to see other VoIP clients push to WP8 in this manner (e.g. Viber, Tango, Rogers OneNumber).
1. The service at the Rogers branch I went to was great, and the reps in charge backed the Lumia (and Windows Phone) pretty strongly! I asked for my reserved device and the reps started saying, "man I am so excited about this device..." and "the hardware on this thing looks amazing, especially the camera" and so on. These guys were really positive about it, and if someone were to enter the store looking for a Windows Phone, they'll definitely get one.
2. Early impressions of the device? Well it is hefty, but not in a bad way. Going from the 710 to the 920 it's going to take me a little time to get used to the larger screen, but the phone is definitely slick and fits well in the hand. I was worried that the 920 may be a "beast" in the sense of having great internal specs packed into a not-so-pleasing design, but I was wrong. The device (even in black) looks great and my colleagues at work are able to tell it's a different animal compared to iPhone and Android, and it is noticeable. My 710 was probably mistaken for an iPhone clone, and my Focus before it was confused as an Android, but the 920 has its own turf.
3. Windows Phone 8? Amazing. You can't take Windows Phone 7.x seriously after using Windows Phone 8, the latter is indeed an entirely different beast and the 920's hardware is in full use (e.g. the gorgeous screen). The pairing between OS and hardware here is just great. Now unfortunately I only got about 12 hours of battery on the first day, but you have to keep in mind that I used internet-sharing for an hour straight, kept NFC off and was playing around with the phone quite a bit. I remember my 710 peaking at 12-14 hours a charge for the first few days, but it eventually reaches 16-18 easily (if not more). I am beginning to think the 920 will be OK in this regard, but I'll need a week or so to check for sure, especially when its novelty starts wearing off and I stop playing with it so frequently.
4. Complaints? God I wish MS kept Wi-Fi syncing with the WP8 client, please bring it back! A few apps, such as Nokia Counters, should be made compatible with the 920's resolution, the app being fixed to 800x480 is preventing me from downloading it for the 920. We really need it if DataSense is only exclusive to Verizon. Otherwise, I hope to see some of the graphic intensive games come out soon! And Rogers, I hope you guys push a proper OneNumber app with the VoIP calling (you made available for iOS), you should deliver it the way MS delivered Skype (with background notifications and phone-like calling).
PS: Skype on WP8 is so totally worth it, can't wait to see other VoIP clients push to WP8 in this manner (e.g. Viber, Tango, Rogers OneNumber).
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