[Real Users] My Lumia 1520 Review
- Thread starter Dave Blake
- Start date
Just got my 1520 att version in the mail today. I'm coming from a sprint note 2 and had been using android for the last 5 years or so. I love my 1520 it is just amazing to look at but coming from Android it's taking a little to get use to windows 8. I have no regrets and hope that windows 8 takes off. My next goal is to convince my wife to drop her s4 and try the Lumia 1020
Let me throw my hat into the bin. I have been an android only homer until I bought my 1520 yesterday. I love it.
The hardware is top notch. Hard for anyone to say otherwise. The speaker for music and movies is shockingly loud. Like, on 50% it beats out the various tablets I own.
Anyway, WP still needs a little more development, but its pretty close. And its very slick and stylized.
Given how much cheaper the 1520 is on contract and how little it gives up, hard to make a case against it.
I love mine.
The hardware is top notch. Hard for anyone to say otherwise. The speaker for music and movies is shockingly loud. Like, on 50% it beats out the various tablets I own.
Anyway, WP still needs a little more development, but its pretty close. And its very slick and stylized.
Given how much cheaper the 1520 is on contract and how little it gives up, hard to make a case against it.
I love mine.
rajamass
New member
My Review Lumia 1520, comments are welcome
Rajamass: Mighty Lumia 1520 Review
Kindly share if you like it
Rajamass: Mighty Lumia 1520 Review
Kindly share if you like it
Phrozty
New member
I greatly enjoyed your review... except the beginning which was more your opinion on the politics of MS/Nokia and had little to do with the device itself. Started it off with a bad taste in your mouth, as you mentioned.
rajamass
New member
Thanks for your feedback
Actually I am Nokia ******, didn't like MS acquiring Nokia at all but I like Windows Phone OS much, would have been nice if things are as such only :-/
Nokia's device division would be going belly up right now if ms hadn't bought them. This is a good move. Now ms can, and will, pump endless money into the device division as needed, for as long as needed until WP really takes off. So they can now operate at a loss while turning out great devices for as long as it takes.
Impressions after honeymoon period is over
So to preface this impression post, I'll say that when I first got my Lumia 1520, I was very excited with owning it. The UI was a fresh departure from Android that I had used for the previous few years and it felt very responsive which was a nice change. Unfortunately that's where the WP advantages ended. Now that nearly two months have passed with owning the 1520 and using WP, I want to list some pros and cons for potential owners that are thinking of making the move from Android like I did:
Pros
UI + Live Tiles
This is where WP's main strength lies IMO. Having a snappy UI that doesn't get bogged down after extended use like Android is a huge plus. The configurable live tiles are a treat to look at (I used to enjoy just staring at them updating) and when combined with the Group Tiles app, putting everything together the way you like is a piece of cake.
Glance + Double tap
I use double tap to wake the phone and absolutely love it! I know that if I were to go back to Android or IOS, that's one feature I'd miss quite a bit. I hardly ever use the power button because I just tap on the screen to wake the phone instead and the best part is the battery life is barely touched.
Skydrive integration
MS did a good job with integrating Skydrive with WP. Snapping photos and then having them automatically upload to my skydrive account so I can access them from anywhere has been a nice timesaver and I've used it multiple times to access pictures remotely and/or share them on the fly.
Default Keyboard
The default keyboard blows away the default Android keyboard. However, Android also has Swype and to me that is by far the best keyboard solution ever made and I miss it sorely. But for those that enjoy regular typing, this one is fantastic and rivals the iOS keyboard. Prediction is pretty decent and it adapts to you but it could be better. I also wish the keyboard had a customization option to have it memorize custom words that it could later recall like the Swype keyboard does for Android.
Lumia 1520 build quality + camera
This doesn't have to do with WP but the 1520 is definitely a very well built phone. The 21 MP camera produces very crisp pictures and the plethora of options available via Nokia camera will satisfy any enthusiast. While a 60 fps video recording option at 1080p would have been nice, the 30 fps is more than enough.
Lumia 1520 display
The display is easily one of the best I've ever used and matches any top end Android or iPhone. Viewing angles are great, colors at default are spot on and the adjustable options in WP are enough to satisfy just about anyone. Since it is an IPS display, it does have poorer blacks vs AMOLED found in the Galaxy Note 3.
Cons
I don't have a lot of them but the ones I do have are make or break for me so here we go:
Lack of developer support
Lets face it, even with WP getting major applications, a lot of them lack the same features their iOS/Android counterparts have and some are downright atrocious (e.g. Tapatalk). Here are some examples:
Poor multitasking
Lets face it, WP does a pretty poor job with multitasking. Often when I hit the start button and jump to another application, the one I left behind has no memory of what I was doing and I have to go back and get back to that point. With Android, multitasking between apps is nearly flawless and Note 3 takes that a step further by allowing multiple windows at the same time.
Capitulating to AT&T's stupidity and greed
AT&T has its defenders on this forum, however few they may be, but I think most of us agree AT&T has been a negative influence for WP overall. Nokia built one hell of a phone with the 1520 by including Qi Wireless, variety of colors, SD expansion and up to 32 GB of memory. What did AT&T do? Well we all know that too well, cut the internal storage in half to 16 GB for a long time, remove Qi in favor of their crappy PMA standard and then when they finally got around to offering 32 GB, it's only in black and online. Those like me would have LOVED to buy a phone stateside with full warranty support, the color we want and all the features intact. I would have gone directly to the MS Store and paid full price for that option while AT&T could do whatever it wants to its phones. But MS/Nokia chickened out and didn't even give us that much. And then they wonder why their marketshare in the US is so pitiful.
Lack of notification center
Yes I know WP 8.1 will usher in these changes and more in April but until then, it is lacking and sorely missed. Hell I just miss the ability to be able to quickly pull down and toggle certain features which I can't do with WP.
Copy/Paste feature
It works well enough most of the time but I haven't seen a "select all" function which I think is badly needed.
I'm sure there are more cons that I can think up but right now I have a headache so I'll edit this post later or let others add their own pros/cons.
Bottomline: I really really like the 1520 but given the lack of support by third party developers, the beta state of many apps and Microsoft supporting other platforms, I see less and less reasons to stick with this phone or WP. While I appreciate live tiles and the UI, I can live without them. So at this point I'm strongly considering selling my phone on swappa and moving back to Android with Note 3. I might just wait till April to see what WP 8.1 brings and I'm also curious what the new Microsoft CEO will do with WP.
So to preface this impression post, I'll say that when I first got my Lumia 1520, I was very excited with owning it. The UI was a fresh departure from Android that I had used for the previous few years and it felt very responsive which was a nice change. Unfortunately that's where the WP advantages ended. Now that nearly two months have passed with owning the 1520 and using WP, I want to list some pros and cons for potential owners that are thinking of making the move from Android like I did:
Pros
UI + Live Tiles
This is where WP's main strength lies IMO. Having a snappy UI that doesn't get bogged down after extended use like Android is a huge plus. The configurable live tiles are a treat to look at (I used to enjoy just staring at them updating) and when combined with the Group Tiles app, putting everything together the way you like is a piece of cake.
Glance + Double tap
I use double tap to wake the phone and absolutely love it! I know that if I were to go back to Android or IOS, that's one feature I'd miss quite a bit. I hardly ever use the power button because I just tap on the screen to wake the phone instead and the best part is the battery life is barely touched.
Skydrive integration
MS did a good job with integrating Skydrive with WP. Snapping photos and then having them automatically upload to my skydrive account so I can access them from anywhere has been a nice timesaver and I've used it multiple times to access pictures remotely and/or share them on the fly.
Default Keyboard
The default keyboard blows away the default Android keyboard. However, Android also has Swype and to me that is by far the best keyboard solution ever made and I miss it sorely. But for those that enjoy regular typing, this one is fantastic and rivals the iOS keyboard. Prediction is pretty decent and it adapts to you but it could be better. I also wish the keyboard had a customization option to have it memorize custom words that it could later recall like the Swype keyboard does for Android.
Lumia 1520 build quality + camera
This doesn't have to do with WP but the 1520 is definitely a very well built phone. The 21 MP camera produces very crisp pictures and the plethora of options available via Nokia camera will satisfy any enthusiast. While a 60 fps video recording option at 1080p would have been nice, the 30 fps is more than enough.
Lumia 1520 display
The display is easily one of the best I've ever used and matches any top end Android or iPhone. Viewing angles are great, colors at default are spot on and the adjustable options in WP are enough to satisfy just about anyone. Since it is an IPS display, it does have poorer blacks vs AMOLED found in the Galaxy Note 3.
Cons
I don't have a lot of them but the ones I do have are make or break for me so here we go:
Lack of developer support
Lets face it, even with WP getting major applications, a lot of them lack the same features their iOS/Android counterparts have and some are downright atrocious (e.g. Tapatalk). Here are some examples:
- Kindle: Lacks the highlight function found in Android/IOS, less compatiblity with Kindle books vs Android/IOS, crashes often
- Tapatalk: No moderator/admin functions or very few to be found (I run a forum), crashes often, graphical/UI glitches during scrolling. Very slow updates that were blamed on MS by the developer.
- Here+ Maps: Initially I loved them until I started seeing the shortcomings. I was driving back from California to Arizona and the stupid thing had me exit off the highway twice only to merge back on to it again. It often lacks updated routes here in Scottsdale and leads me to places that don't exist. Plus the lack of voice integration is problematic for me because I hate typing out addresses. In general, it is less reliable and more cumbersome than Google Maps.
- E-mail client: While there are third party clients out there, I don't trust any enough to store my information on their servers, even if it is encrypted. I am heavily invested in Google mail and the default client is absolutely horrible when it comes to handling Google mail, specifically you can't easily view subfolders on the fly and push updates are slow and unreliable.
- IE: IE lacks a forward button! I mean come on MS, really? Yes I know I can view recent tabs but that's hardly the same thing. I don't know what MS was thinking when they did this. Also, the lack of voice input for the browser keyboard (swype has it) is a feature I miss.
- No official Youtube, Google Maps or anything else from Google.
- Game updates come slowly: Look at Asphalt 8, its behind in features and updates vs Android/IOS. GTA came a month late as well.
- No medical applicaitons! This one just kills it for me and it will for you as well if you are a medical student or resident. Enjoy using Epocrates? Well tough luck because they won't support WP. Same thing for Medscape. Want to do some UWorld questions on the nice 6" screen? Tough because they don't support WP either.
- Microsoft doesn't care about WP either: Well I'm sure they care but apparently they don't prioritize it. They put all their popular apps on competing platforms and in case of Bing rewards, they haven't even bothered putting it on WP yet while its already available for IOS/Android, talk about a slap in the face! Some may argue that its due to OS integration and carriers have to approve it first but there are those like me using unbranded WP phones that should have gotten an update the same time Android/IOS did or even earlier.
- XBOX Live: Yeah the idea behind it is great, you can track your achievements and have a friends list across all your games. Unfortunately some of the most popular games like GTA and Asphalt 8 aren't part of Xbox Live and that trend seems to be growing. So much that users here had to start tweeting MS and plead with them to make Xbox Live integration a priority for WP!
Poor multitasking
Lets face it, WP does a pretty poor job with multitasking. Often when I hit the start button and jump to another application, the one I left behind has no memory of what I was doing and I have to go back and get back to that point. With Android, multitasking between apps is nearly flawless and Note 3 takes that a step further by allowing multiple windows at the same time.
Capitulating to AT&T's stupidity and greed
AT&T has its defenders on this forum, however few they may be, but I think most of us agree AT&T has been a negative influence for WP overall. Nokia built one hell of a phone with the 1520 by including Qi Wireless, variety of colors, SD expansion and up to 32 GB of memory. What did AT&T do? Well we all know that too well, cut the internal storage in half to 16 GB for a long time, remove Qi in favor of their crappy PMA standard and then when they finally got around to offering 32 GB, it's only in black and online. Those like me would have LOVED to buy a phone stateside with full warranty support, the color we want and all the features intact. I would have gone directly to the MS Store and paid full price for that option while AT&T could do whatever it wants to its phones. But MS/Nokia chickened out and didn't even give us that much. And then they wonder why their marketshare in the US is so pitiful.
Lack of notification center
Yes I know WP 8.1 will usher in these changes and more in April but until then, it is lacking and sorely missed. Hell I just miss the ability to be able to quickly pull down and toggle certain features which I can't do with WP.
Copy/Paste feature
It works well enough most of the time but I haven't seen a "select all" function which I think is badly needed.
I'm sure there are more cons that I can think up but right now I have a headache so I'll edit this post later or let others add their own pros/cons.
Bottomline: I really really like the 1520 but given the lack of support by third party developers, the beta state of many apps and Microsoft supporting other platforms, I see less and less reasons to stick with this phone or WP. While I appreciate live tiles and the UI, I can live without them. So at this point I'm strongly considering selling my phone on swappa and moving back to Android with Note 3. I might just wait till April to see what WP 8.1 brings and I'm also curious what the new Microsoft CEO will do with WP.
Last edited:
jmerrey
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Good luck! Before I purchased my international 1520, I listed my AT&T 1520 on swappa and it sold in two days for a very good price. The really nice thing was no low ball offers, no haggling, no questions from uninterested parties, and very quick payment. Maybe it's not always that way, but I had a good experience, and will list there from now on. I wish I could say the same when I've sold devices on this board. Every device I've sold, and it's at least 5, has been met with a pm offering half the asking price within a day of listing.
It's a great time we live in. Many device/os choices. Enough to make anyone happy.
Good luck! Before I purchased my international 1520, I listed my AT&T 1520 on swappa and it sold in two days for a very good price. The really nice thing was no low ball offers, no haggling, no questions from uninterested parties, and very quick payment. Maybe it's not always that way, but I had a good experience, and will list there from now on. I wish I could say the same when I've sold devices on this board. Every device I've sold, and it's at least 5, has been met with a pm offering half the asking price within a day of listing.
It's a great time we live in. Many device/os choices. Enough to make anyone happy.
Mark Reed2
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Nokia 1520=Battlefield 4.....rushed, not tested, full of bugs, months on still not fixed.
Nokia 1520=Battlefield 4.....rushed, not tested, full of bugs, months on still not fixed.
irvin792
New member
mantonas
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Very nice and honest review. To be honest, I do agree with most of everything you said. I have swapped a Note 3 for the Lumia 1520 and sometimes, I do miss some apps I had while with Android. I know the WP will get better and as you also said, hopefully the next update will make it better.
I have phone not even a month yet and therefore, I wanna wait for some more time to decide if I will stay with a WP or go back to Android. At the moment, I can't have enough of this phone. As the screen size and the camera where the main reasons I got this phone, so far I cannot complaint, I am very happy with. Let's see what the future brings. Ta
Sent from my Lumia 1520 RM-937 using Tapatalk
Very nice and honest review. To be honest, I do agree with most of everything you said. I have swapped a Note 3 for the Lumia 1520 and sometimes, I do miss some apps I had while with Android. I know the WP will get better and as you also said, hopefully the next update will make it better.
I have phone not even a month yet and therefore, I wanna wait for some more time to decide if I will stay with a WP or go back to Android. At the moment, I can't have enough of this phone. As the screen size and the camera where the main reasons I got this phone, so far I cannot complaint, I am very happy with. Let's see what the future brings. Ta
Sent from my Lumia 1520 RM-937 using Tapatalk
Mark Reed2
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
The QC was bad, lots of people with build issues, software bugs, video camera is horrible in low light, told we would get a update to sort issues by end of JAN...........
Its a great phone, but the lack of support and coms from Nokia has been enough to make this the last Nokia I get......and I was lucky, mine I can live with, soooo many got a worse one, sent it back for exchange only to get one even worse lol.
The QC was bad, lots of people with build issues, software bugs, video camera is horrible in low light, told we would get a update to sort issues by end of JAN...........
Its a great phone, but the lack of support and coms from Nokia has been enough to make this the last Nokia I get......and I was lucky, mine I can live with, soooo many got a worse one, sent it back for exchange only to get one even worse lol.
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Fair review in my opinion. You touched on many of the pros and cons that I see with WP as well.
Thanks for sharing that.
Fair review in my opinion. You touched on many of the pros and cons that I see with WP as well.
Thanks for sharing that.
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
I wish someone high up in Microsoft would read the first post. I see where he's coming from and agree with him. I personally have no interest in selling my 1520, but without a doubt, many of his points will be deal breakers for some. The one point I didn't get, was the expectation of google apps. Its great that google has added their suite of apps on iOS, but that is an exception, not the norm, as I am having a hard time finding any first party iOS apps on Android. Because most American consumers swap out smartphones every year to 18 months, Microsoft has a few more chances to get things right.
I wish someone high up in Microsoft would read the first post. I see where he's coming from and agree with him. I personally have no interest in selling my 1520, but without a doubt, many of his points will be deal breakers for some. The one point I didn't get, was the expectation of google apps. Its great that google has added their suite of apps on iOS, but that is an exception, not the norm, as I am having a hard time finding any first party iOS apps on Android. Because most American consumers swap out smartphones every year to 18 months, Microsoft has a few more chances to get things right.
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Good point about Google apps not being available due to Google themselves but I still view it as a con since they are available for IOS. At the very least MS should have made their apps like the email client more interoperable with Gmail. Nokia should also focus on improving Here+ and mimicking some of googles strong points like voice integration for navigation.
Sent from my Yellow Nokia 1520 (RM-937)
Good point about Google apps not being available due to Google themselves but I still view it as a con since they are available for IOS. At the very least MS should have made their apps like the email client more interoperable with Gmail. Nokia should also focus on improving Here+ and mimicking some of googles strong points like voice integration for navigation.
Sent from my Yellow Nokia 1520 (RM-937)
irvin792
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
How do you come to the conclusion that "soooo many got a worse one, sent it back for exchange only to get one even worse"
Don't get me wrong I had a hell of a time with the 920 and getting a "perfect one" though I got really picky due to posts on this site pointing out crap I would have never noticed, lol.
Even my 1st 1520 had an issue with a half dead screen (touch not responding)
My 2nd one though is flawless hardware wise.
You realize that most people with phones that have no issues (current software issues aside as those are not hardware) don't post about it?
Any forum for any gadget will have a host of threads with issues, its just how it goes.
Could quality control be better? Absolutely. But these kinds of things plague all electronics. Don't be naive.
How do you come to the conclusion that "soooo many got a worse one, sent it back for exchange only to get one even worse"
Don't get me wrong I had a hell of a time with the 920 and getting a "perfect one" though I got really picky due to posts on this site pointing out crap I would have never noticed, lol.
Even my 1st 1520 had an issue with a half dead screen (touch not responding)
My 2nd one though is flawless hardware wise.
You realize that most people with phones that have no issues (current software issues aside as those are not hardware) don't post about it?
Any forum for any gadget will have a host of threads with issues, its just how it goes.
Could quality control be better? Absolutely. But these kinds of things plague all electronics. Don't be naive.
irvin792
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
again have you heard of timely updates for android handsets.......lol
At least Nokia acknowledges the problems. Samsung? They just deny ****
again have you heard of timely updates for android handsets.......lol
At least Nokia acknowledges the problems. Samsung? They just deny ****
GrayW0lf
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
Otherwise, your review is well-thought out and your points are good for others to consider. No platform is perfect - this one has its place and purpose for some, but not all, folks.
No matter what, you have given the 1520 and WP a fair chance. That's something that I definitely respect. Best of luck with whatever decision you may make regarding keeping the 1520 or moving on.
Unless I'm mistaken (which I could be since I'm running from memory here) - Google chose to not renew their ActiveSync license and thereby broke the easy email integration WP once enjoyed. The lack of proper/good integration therefore lies with Google, if so, IMO.
Otherwise, your review is well-thought out and your points are good for others to consider. No platform is perfect - this one has its place and purpose for some, but not all, folks.
No matter what, you have given the 1520 and WP a fair chance. That's something that I definitely respect. Best of luck with whatever decision you may make regarding keeping the 1520 or moving on.
Citizen X
New member
Re: Impressions after honeymoon period is over
I think the people you are referring to as "defenders" of at&t are just defenders of reality. at&t is a business and they have had years of experience selling Lumia hardware in the US. They know when it comes to Windows Phone the public is fickle. I'm sure they had to make some business decisions to bring the device in at a particular price point... or maybe they are just jerks... or maybe a combination of the two. What I can definitively say is neither you nor anyone else has posted compelling evidence to reach any conclusion either pro or con.
Anyway enjoy your red Note III with 32 GB internal storage and built in Qi charging on Verizon... Oh, wait a minute that doesn't exist. So whether they catered to your little wish list or not you would have jumped ship anyway. Can't see why that makes a compelling argument for at&t to jump through hoops for you.
Personally I am not aware of any phone on any network that comes with 32 GB internal storage and built in Qi charging. Let's stop holding Windows Phone and at&t to some mythical standard that no one else lives up to. And before we start with the, "but... but... but... the international version" post for us which carrier other than at&t sold the 32 GB 1520 for $53 last week on contract anywhere on the planet.
I am irritated by the lack of built in Qi charging but I am not going to ignore the fact I got my phone for $125. I am disappointed in the lack of Qi but I am certainly not going to abandon windows phone and Nokia and buy an Andriod missing the very feature I want.
I think the people you are referring to as "defenders" of at&t are just defenders of reality. at&t is a business and they have had years of experience selling Lumia hardware in the US. They know when it comes to Windows Phone the public is fickle. I'm sure they had to make some business decisions to bring the device in at a particular price point... or maybe they are just jerks... or maybe a combination of the two. What I can definitively say is neither you nor anyone else has posted compelling evidence to reach any conclusion either pro or con.
Anyway enjoy your red Note III with 32 GB internal storage and built in Qi charging on Verizon... Oh, wait a minute that doesn't exist. So whether they catered to your little wish list or not you would have jumped ship anyway. Can't see why that makes a compelling argument for at&t to jump through hoops for you.
Personally I am not aware of any phone on any network that comes with 32 GB internal storage and built in Qi charging. Let's stop holding Windows Phone and at&t to some mythical standard that no one else lives up to. And before we start with the, "but... but... but... the international version" post for us which carrier other than at&t sold the 32 GB 1520 for $53 last week on contract anywhere on the planet.
I am irritated by the lack of built in Qi charging but I am not going to ignore the fact I got my phone for $125. I am disappointed in the lack of Qi but I am certainly not going to abandon windows phone and Nokia and buy an Andriod missing the very feature I want.
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