Next 830 Owner?

[Maccabeus]

Hi all-

I'm from Random Town, USA and have been running iPhones (a 4 and now a 5s) for the last few years after finally retiring a flip phone and entering the modern phone world.

I'm a regular user of MS/Windows products at work and for email, so the idea of better integration got me thinking about WP. (I'm still not sure if there actually IS any better integration, but the idea of it began my research). I have added about 25 apps to my iPhone and only use about 5 of them, so I'm not too worried about the app gap issue. I mostly use email, web, calendar, OneNote, weather, and, surprisingly, my phone.

I've considered the HTC, an unlocked 930, and the 830. I like the extra storage of the 830, the slightly better camera (?) over the M8, and the idea of buying the last of the Nokia branded phones. I'm not thrilled about the price point or the lack of Hey, Cortana, but I'm still leaning toward the "affordable flagship".

Thanks to everyone who added helpful comments to the various news posts and discussion threads. It has been a help to me in learning more as a WP neophyte.

 

[gedzum]

Hello and welcome to the community. The Lumia 830 is also a device I have been considering. Hope this site proves to be useful in helping you decide. Enjoy your stay and see you around

 

[Jan Sochor]

Hey,
As an owner of a 830, I can definitely recommend it. Coming off Android, its a whole new game, the tile based UI is just so much better than just icons - if you use the phone main for office stuff, news hub and such, you cant go wrong there.
I chose the 830 over 930 bc the heating and other common problems of 930, the storage expansion + glance and also bc of the 830's better battery life and bc it is much more comfortable to hold (slimmer, lighter) than the 930. If you don't play any hardcore games - no need for the unnecesarily good hardware of 930. For the everyday stuff like email, news, messaging, web, 2d games - the 830 still breezes through it.

 

[Maccabeus]

Hey,
As an owner of a 830, I can definitely recommend it.
...
If you don't play any hardcore games - no need for the unnecesarily good hardware of 930. For the everyday stuff like email, news, messaging, web, 2d games - the 830 still breezes through it.

Thanks for the comments - it confirms what I've been reading and thinking. Yes, everyday stuff is my typical use. I don't do any gaming, serious or fluff. My kids will miss playing Baby Monkey, but I'll be glad to have them off my phone.

 

[Likwidz]

I've been a consistent WP user coming from a 920 and 925 to now my 830, so I'm bit of a homer. But my gf also switched over from a 5s to 830 and has not looked back. The one thing that held her back before was the form factor, but she tried using her old 5s the other day and said she had no idea how she ever got things done with such a smaller screen. For both of us the added expandable memory, replaceable battery and qi back covers, and camera were upgrades for us. Quite please (atm) with the 830's.

 

[Pivotgeeks]

830 seems weaker when you do benchmark and such, i played one in a store and i can say its smooth, and really feels nice in hand..
I could be wrong, but i think its battery is better than 930.. i don't know..
I was soo close to buying that phone, but my 8x still is as good as new without any scratch.. so i thought i would wait for win10
hope you find what you looking for and also welcome to the community

 

[Blkacesvf41]

I went from a Lumia 822 to the 830 and I can certainly recommend it too. Smooth, great battery life and it's so light and thin that you tend to be so gentle with it. But the reality is that you don't have to, it's well built. WP8.1 is sweet! And I haven't even started using Cortana!

 

[Maccabeus]

Thanks, all, for your comments. While I haven't pulled the trigger yet due to busyness, I believe you've sold me on the 830.

 

[freestaterocker]

Hopefully they'll find a way to make "Hey Cortana" work on the Snapdragon 400, but apart from that one feature my one week old 830 is the best phone I've ever owned, hands down. I do not regret the purchase at all. The screen is fantastic, everything I do is fast and fluid, the loudspeaker is *actually* loud, and the battery life is borderline miraculous! I managed to get it down to 36% once, but that was after almost 20.5 hours of moderate to heavy usage last Sunday.

 

[Muessig]

Hey Maccabeus, let us know if you do pull the trigger and welcome to the forums!

 

[Blkacesvf41]

Dudes! This phone is like a tank! I dropped it so badly this morning that I thought it was broken for sure! But no, not a scratch on it!

 

[worldspy99]

Welcome to Windows Central. Just played with the 830 last week at the ATT store. Really nice looking device! Enjoy.

 

[RumoredNow]

I think that 830 will probably be marked out as the best all-around Windows Phone of 2014.

Well played, you are a pretty sharp shopper. welcome to Windows Central.

 

[Muessig]

Dudes! This phone is like a tank! I dropped it so badly this morning that I thought it was broken for sure! But no, not a scratch on it!

I love hearing things like this - I've had the same experience with my 920 myself. I dropped it so many times but it's still basically in new condition!

 

[seventeenapg]

I have a black 830 fir over a month new and all the coloured charging black plates. This gives me many options to change colour of phone and tiles. I came from the 720 and the 800 before that. The 830 is simply a beautifully crafted design well built and very light. And I know all these bench marks say it isn't as fast as this and that but all I can say is get one in your hands and use it. Not alone is it an amazing phone in the hand but it is really fast and no one could be possibly disappointed with its speed. A truly gorgeous looking phone with 16 gb of internal storage, built in QI charging, replaceable battery and of course SD card support.

 

[Maccabeus]

An update to my original post: I pulled the trigger and have had my new 830 for 2 or 3 weeks now. Overall, I am really enjoying it and am glad to have moved over from iphone (if for no other reason than to never have to use iTunes again!).

I'm still adjusting to some aspects of the different UI and have a few questions (which may show up in other posts if I can't find answers with a search) and have a couple gripes (i.e., no basic flashlight app built-in, really? I know it's minor, but why make customers sort through the intrusive permissions lists of 3rd party apps? Just provide a basic light. Also, I really, really, REALLY miss the physical mute switch from the iphone. One flick through the pants pocket vs. 5 steps: phone in hand, wake phone, volume rocker, tap the triangle, slide down to 0. Terribly annoying and not user friendly!)

Still, on the whole, I love it and want to say thanks to all those who chimed in on my initial post to encourage me to buy!! Merry 2nd Day of Christmas to all!

 

[perfectthumb]

An update to my original post: I pulled the trigger and have had my new 830 for 2 or 3 weeks now. Overall, I am really enjoying it and am glad to have moved over from iphone (if for no other reason than to never have to use iTunes again!).

I'm still adjusting to some aspects of the different UI and have a few questions (which may show up in other posts if I can't find answers with a search) and have a couple gripes (i.e., no basic flashlight app built-in, really? I know it's minor, but why make customers sort through the intrusive permissions lists of 3rd party apps? Just provide a basic light. Also, I really, really, REALLY miss the physical mute switch from the iphone. One flick through the pants pocket vs. 5 steps: phone in hand, wake phone, volume rocker, tap the triangle, slide down to 0. Terribly annoying and not user friendly!)

Still, on the whole, I love it and want to say thanks to all those who chimed in on my initial post to encourage me to buy!! Merry 2nd Day of Christmas to all!

Hello Maccabeus, Welcome to WindowsCentral! I will make you change your views on the application of WindowsPhone

 

[Muessig]

Yeah I'd love to hear your experiences so far!

 

[freestaterocker]

830 seems weaker when you do benchmark and such, i played one in a store and i can say its smooth, and really feels nice in hand..
I could be wrong, but i think its battery is better than 930.. i don't know..
I was soo close to buying that phone, but my 8x still is as good as new without any scratch.. so i thought i would wait for win10
hope you find what you looking for and also welcome to the community

The battery in the Lumia 830 is slightly smaller than the one in the 930, but it powers a much less power-hungry SoC, and the screen has less than half the pixels consuming processor and battery resources. In addition, the 830 has the latest firmware, which likely helps make it more power efficient as well. My 830 lasts almost twice as long as my Ativ S, even though the Ativ has a larger battery. (I was always thrilled with the battery life of the Ativ)

 

[rain620]

Also, I really, really, REALLY miss the physical mute switch from the iphone. One flick through the pants pocket vs. 5 steps: phone in hand, wake phone, volume rocker, tap the triangle, slide down to 0. Terribly annoying and not user friendly!)

If you're muting when receiving a call, you can flip the phone facing down. I believe you can turn it on in the audio settings.