820 now or wait

[Par_T]

I am looking at buying Lumia 820 off contract. Are you happy with your 820? I am coming from a Samsung Focus.
I have a Surface RT and like the Windows 8 interface and would like WP8.
Things that are important to me:
Phone works as a phone (i.e. can call people and talk with them)
Decent camera (I have kids and don't always have camera readily available)
Good navigation maps (I get lost easily, so good GPS is a must for me)

Should I buy from AT&T or from the Microsoft store (there is one close to me)?

I looked at the 920, but it is just too big for me.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[rimlover]

the 820 is more limited in terms of ram so im not sure how that would affect the phone. plus the screen is 800 by 480 so do you really want to settle for such a screen when you can get a lumia 920 off of ebay for like 400 brand new? by the way that's what i did haha. i also bough a 1 year warranty with accidental damage for another 80 or so just to have my back covered haha.

 

[phantomf]

I have the 820 and love it.
It has 1gb of ram and 8gb of memory. Also you can add a micro SD card to it or take the memory card out unlike the focus . Camera. Seems great photos look great. Phone calls are nice and crisp sounding. GPS seems fast we have good coverage here. As for where to buy I got mine at Target so get it where ever gives you the best deal.

 

[Par_T]

Thanks for the input.
Although the specs on the 920 look great, I still think the phone is too big for me.
I was considering Microsoft store because of their device protection service. Do you think it's worth getting?

 

[rimlover]

I have the 820 and love it.
It has 1gb of ram and 8gb of memory. Also you can add a micro SD card to it or take the memory card out unlike the focus . Camera. Seems great photos look great. Phone calls are nice and crisp sounding. GPS seems fast we have good coverage here. As for where to buy I got mine at Target so get it where ever gives you the best deal.

oh wow. i guess my info is off then haha. i thought it had 512 mb RAM. thats pretty good then. i just returned my 920 to nokia because of a screen gap .

 

[rimlover]

Thanks for the input.
Although the specs on the 920 look great, I still think the phone is too big for me.
I was considering Microsoft store because of their device protection service. Do you think it's worth getting?

as far as device protection you can get it from other places. the services (which albeit is a 3rd party insurance plan) is called squaretrade (squaretrade.com) it was 80 for a $350-$400 phone. apparently its pretty good company. i'm currently returning my 920 because of a gap in the screen but all paid for by nokia i'm not even using my 3rd party insurance. as far as size goes, trust me i know. my hands are a little on the small side for a guy and i came from using the bold 9900 (blackberry) for the last 2 years. that phone is pretty small in size but you honestly adapt pretty quickly. honestly i would say go to a store and check it out but even then it wont be a fair trial because they have all those wires on the back. it's not heavy, its not thick (just as thick as my 9900 which is 10.5cm).

 

[Par_T]

I have a few more questions.
How much internal storage is available to use?
How much memory would downloaded map (one state) take up if you want to download to use offline?
I wish I could get 822, but I'm still locked into my AT&T contract for 7 more months and prefer month-to-month after it is up. Wanting a new phone, but not sure if I should wait until contract is up.
Thanks in advance.

 

[phantomf]

On my 820 with no apps I have about 3.4 GB of free memory
With all of the apps loaded including the state of MN. Map
And music and pictures I have about 890 Mb left of internal memory waiting for payday to get a micro memory card to free up more memory
Side note that Amazon has the 820 for a penny with a 2 year agreement

 

[Par_T]

I like the Nokia 820, but really wish it came with 16 GB internal memory instead of 8 GB. Anyone hear any rumors that Nokia may make a similar version coming out with more internal memory? I don't like how big the 920 feels in my hand. The specs of the 920, size of 820 with removable cover would be my ideal.

 

[phonohead]

I am actually in the midst of switching over (or down, if you will) to 820, myself, and that is from a 920. Reason? Well, first of all an 'happy accident'. My fianc?e knocked the phone, by accident (I assume), out of my hands and straight down on the cold, hard asphalt. That resulted in a pretty crushed screen. It looks like a spider-web gone horribly wrong. Its size and shape is a bit too grand and square for my taste. The camera bug - being fixed or not - is also annoying, same with the overheating as soon as the phone is put to use (games, surfing, movies).

Sure, 820, may have its bugs and issues, but not the same level of annoyance as the 920, from what I can tell.

The possibility to add a memory card, up to 64GB, removable (chargeable) shells, the size and shape is a deal breaker to me compared to the 920.

Will be following this post.

 

[Coolknight1968]

The Samsung Ativ S and HTC 8X have less issues than all the Nokia. My own Lumia 920 is a constant pain, with blurry pictures, freezes. Even after numerous updates. While my 8X and Ativ S are pretty trouble free, just don't install 'Battery level for WP8'. I craved for the 920, now I curse it. Especially the Ativ S is a good value and also has a nice 4.8 inch screen.

 

[Par_T]

I am actually in the midst of switching over (or down, if you will) to 820, myself, and that is from a 920. Reason? Well, first of all an 'happy accident'. My fianc?e knocked the phone, by accident (I assume), out of my hands and straight down on the cold, hard asphalt. That resulted in a pretty crushed screen. It looks like a spider-web gone horribly wrong. Its size and shape is a bit too grand and square for my taste. The camera bug - being fixed or not - is also annoying, same with the overheating as soon as the phone is put to use (games, surfing, movies).

Did you really dislike your 920 that much? I stopped at MS store today and it looked really nice. Let me know what you think of the 820. I want to use it with offline maps, but think that there is not enough onboard storage for the maps,"other," and maybe a few apps.

Sure, 820, may have its bugs and issues, but not the same level of annoyance as the 920, from what I can tell.

The possibility to add a memory card, up to 64GB, removable (chargeable) shells, the size and shape is a deal breaker to me compared to the 920.

Will be following this post.

 

[Par_T]

The Samsung Ativ S and HTC 8X have less issues than all the Nokia. My own Lumia 920 is a constant pain, with blurry pictures, freezes. Even after numerous updates. While my 8X and Ativ S are pretty trouble free, just don't install 'Battery level for WP8'. I craved for the 920, now I curse it. Especially the Ativ S is a good value and also has a nice 4.8 inch screen.

I did look at HTC 8x. But, having had a HTC Titan with issues and HTC never releasing an update to at least try to fix the issue has made me shy away from HTC products. It's great if you don't have any issues (like my husband does). It's horrible if you do because there is no support from HTC. I at least see Nokia trying to fix issues with their updates (although it seems the updates aren't being very helpful). These issues with Windows Phone have made me consider jumping to iPhone, although I prefer the WP8 OS to iOS.

 

[phonohead]

Did you really dislike your 920 that much?

Yeah, I actually did. At first I was quite happy with the device, but as time passed by the annoyances started groing on me. There seems to be an ongoing, constant flow of complaints towards this device. Anything from random freezes, uncalled reboots, blurry camera, poor battery life, overheating, etc. etc.

I tried to look ahead of these issues thinking that it'll be fixed with the next update, and so on, but I guess I just had enough and the broken screen, caused by my fiancee, just came as a sign; time to switch. And, as I said, expandable storage, removable covers and a less grand size is really what attracts me and perhaps what I should've looked for in the first place.

 

[Par_T]

Yeah, I actually did. At first I was quite happy with the device, but as time passed by the annoyances started groing on me. There seems to be an ongoing, constant flow of complaints towards this device. Anything from random freezes, uncalled reboots, blurry camera, poor battery life, overheating, etc. etc.

I tried to look ahead of these issues thinking that it'll be fixed with the next update, and so on, but I guess I just had enough and the broken screen, caused by my fiancee, just came as a sign; time to switch. And, as I said, expandable storage, removable covers and a less grand size is really what attracts me and perhaps what I should've looked for in the first place.

Let me know how you like the 820 when it get it.
Having checked for used sales, I notice a lot of 920's being sold, very rarely an 820. That might be a good sign.

 

[phonohead]

Got my 820 a couple of days ago. Compared to my previous phone, the 920, I am pleased with how this screen seems to fit more to the resolution of most games and apps. On the 920 a lot of the games and apps seemed to be blown up to fit the screen, this caused them to look "pixelated". The 820 size is more comfortable, and the expandable memory is pleasing. The phone seems faster (might be psychological). Not run into any obvious problems, yet. I had issues with the 920 from day one. Only thing I am missing from the 920 is the camera/stabilization.

 

[boxa72]

Yeah I'd go with tha 820, I have n 820 & 620 n tha 820 rocks! I don't hear many complaints from other Aussies so maybe we get looked after better, who knows. Its a shame tha 720 doesn't have more RAM coz that phone looks sick n will probly b a prototype of things 2 come

 

[phonohead]

Yeah I'd go with tha 820, I have n 820 & 620 n tha 820 rocks! I don't hear many complaints from other Aussies so maybe we get looked after better, who knows. Its a shame tha 720 doesn't have more RAM coz that phone looks sick n will probly b a prototype of things 2 come

I know we're in the wrong church for this topic, but what's so great about the 620? Not saying it is not great, I just haven't caught up with the hype (yet!).

 

[farukdgn]

The Samsung Ativ S and HTC 8X have less issues than all the Nokia. My own Lumia 920 is a constant pain, with blurry pictures, freezes. Even after numerous updates. While my 8X and Ativ S are pretty trouble free, just don't install 'Battery level for WP8'. I craved for the 920, now I curse it. Especially the Ativ S is a good value and also has a nice 4.8 inch screen.

Every Lumia 920 doesn't have freeze and camera issues.

 

[Par_T]

Thinking of waiting for the next round. Not available for full upgrade yet, so I would plan to buy off contract. The only thing that holds me back from the 820 is the 8GB of internal storage.
Thanks for all the great feedback though. I like how the 820 feels in my hand though.