Impressions/Reviews

[aewatsonsr77]

Sorry Lumia 900 but I had to go back!

I just sold my Nokia Lumia 900 after owning it for 2 weeks and switched back to Android and my Galaxy Note. While the Lumia 900 is a beautifully designed piece of hardware with an intriguing operating system, I could not help but miss the large 5.3" screen of the Note and the app selection of Android. I must admit that some of the apps that are on Windows Phone looked more refined than their Android equivalents, but they are just missing too many key ones. I really tried hard to convince myself to stick with the Lumia and Windows Phone 7.5 but the more I thought about it the more I missed the Android ecosystem. I have tons of music in Google Music and although there was an off-brand app on WP that allowed me access to the music it just wasn't the same. There was no Pandora app, Instagram, Chase bank, and many others. At first I thought this wouldn't be a problem but as the days passed it was hard to ignore. The camera on the Lumia was horrible also. This was a highly touted feature of the phone and it just wasn't up to par. There is alot to like about the WP platform though. The live tiles are nice and the social network integration is the best I've seen thus far. I also loved the Zune software on the phone. For $9.99 per month you can stream millions of songs and even download entire albums to your device for offline listening. The album art and background images while the music is playing are beautiful. Microsoft has a bright future with the platform is they can just get more people to notice it. In the end though, I'm happy to be back home where I feel most comfortable. I love Android but I'm in no way a ******. I love all things tech and will be closely watching what Apple has to say about the IPhone 5. Until then, it's just me and my Note

 

[mase123987]

Basically you went back because of the screen size and apps that WP7 doesn't yet have...Didn't you already know those before purchase? I guess some prefer more of the same (comfortable) than really branching out...oh well. Enjoy the Note.

 

[eastbayrae]

It must have been a pretty bad experience if you went through the effort of making a post about it.

 

[ogeneo]

iPhone 4s to Lumia 900 and back again

Unfortunately, I've switched back to iPhone 4s

I absolutely love the Lumia hardware and design, the whole UI is very slick and it is easy to "just get things done".

My biggest issues:

Poor Camera - Went to my niece's birthday party and came home so disappointed with my pictures. Fortunately, my wife used her iPhone 4 and her pics turned out great.

Skype - In my business, we have a hundred users on Skype. Primarily for the IM piece, and it let me down huge on Friday afternoon. I just realized that my Skype was offline (I use IM+) since Friday!!! Why can't MS just integrate Skype to the OS?

Battery - I heard the battery was "good" but in my real life experience it is horrible.

Backup - It's hard to imagine that there is no "backup" app to save my apps and settings. (see Apple's iCloud on how to do that)

I do appreciate the integration of apps and the merging of contacts across different social networks. The Bluetooth integration to my BMW worked well, lack of a decent podcast app is a negative.

Where's the "deleted messages" in visual voice mail? Where is the battery %? No Wi-Fi while off? No global search?

All in all, I'll watch as the platform matures. It certainly has promise and I'm rooting for MS on this one. I'll be back if it moves forward.

Returning it to AT&T this afternoon.

 

[KingCrimson]

If you were uncertain about things like global search, why didn't you ask about it in the store first?

 

[CJ Thunder]

I agree with your point on Skype. It is funny how bad it is. Can't wait to link my contacts though with Skype accounts.

Camera is a sticking point to...but if you knew you were going to a bday party, why wouldn't you take a camera?

Backup...again I agree...though I don't need to ***** more about that here.

Battery seems fine, don't get your wifi point...and your deleted messaged...get deleted...?

 

[ogeneo]

If you were uncertain about things like global search, why didn't you ask about it in the store first?

It's pretty tough to vet these things in the store. Live with it a week and you get a much clearer picture.

$35 restocking but I keep the $100 credit (per the store manager) i see it as about break even for my time.

 

[ogeneo]

I agree with your point on Skype. It is funny how bad it is. Can't wait to link my contacts though with Skype accounts.

Camera is a sticking point to...but if you knew you were going to a bday party, why wouldn't you take a camera?

Backup...again I agree...though I don't need to ***** more about that here.

Battery seems fine, don't get your wifi point...and your deleted messaged...get deleted...?

We did take a camera.. the iPhone 4

On the iPhone, the visual voice mail allows you to retrieve deleted messages. Not a big deal, but when you need it that one time I did, it's kind of important

 

[Dave Blake]

Come back and see us when Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 comes out.

 

[tekhna]

We did take a camera.. the iPhone 4

Yep, the iPhone and many Android phones have killed point and shoot cameras for me. There's still a use for them for plenty of people, but in most situations now I carry my phone, where before I would have still carried a point and shoot. For everything else it's DSLR.

The clincher for me was when my iPhone took enormously better pictures at the aquarium than my point'n'shoot (which was a pretty high-end PNS in its day)

Crappy cameras are a dealbreaker.

 

[CJ Thunder]

On the iPhone, the visual voice mail allows you to retrieve deleted messages. Not a big deal, but when you need it that one time I did, it's kind of important

Do you mean it is like putting something in the "Recycle Bin", then emptying that? That is what you miss?

Yep, the iPhone and many Android phones have killed point and shoot cameras for me. There's still a use for them for plenty of people, but in most situations now I carry my phone, where before I would have still carried a point and shoot. For everything else it's DSLR.

The clincher for me was when my iPhone took enormously better pictures at the aquarium than my point'n'shoot (which was a pretty high-end PNS in its day)

Crappy cameras are a dealbreaker.

Any camera without an OPTICAL zoom (forget all the other new tech) is worthless, as a camera. I will agree iPhone 4 does have a great camera but it has the sweet spot of a Kinect, as do all cell phones at this point.

 

[YingTK]

Unfortunately, I've switched back to iPhone 4s

I absolutely love the Lumia hardware and design, the whole UI is very slick and it is easy to "just get things done".

My biggest issues:

Poor Camera - Went to my niece's birthday party and came home so disappointed with my pictures. Fortunately, my wife used her iPhone 4 and her pics turned out great.

Skype - In my business, we have a hundred users on Skype. Primarily for the IM piece, and it let me down huge on Friday afternoon. I just realized that my Skype was offline (I use IM+) since Friday!!! Why can't MS just integrate Skype to the OS?

Battery - I heard the battery was "good" but in my real life experience it is horrible.

Backup - It's hard to imagine that there is no "backup" app to save my apps and settings. (see Apple's iCloud on how to do that)

I do appreciate the integration of apps and the merging of contacts across different social networks. The Bluetooth integration to my BMW worked well, lack of a decent podcast app is a negative.

Where's the "deleted messages" in visual voice mail? Where is the battery %? No Wi-Fi while off? No global search?

All in all, I'll watch as the platform matures. It certainly has promise and I'm rooting for MS on this one. I'll be back if it moves forward.

Returning it to AT&T this afternoon.

The BSI camera (which iphone4, and newer HTCs have) definitely kills Lumia 900 indoors... Such a pitty (and surprise, of course) Nokia didn't use that.

 

[tekhna]

Any camera without an OPTICAL zoom (forget all the other new tech) is worthless, as a camera. I will agree iPhone 4 does have a great camera but it has the sweet spot of a Kinect, as do all cell phones at this point.

That's the thing--I'm willing to sacrifice optical zoom for pocketability and not having to carry a second device. It won't work in every condition, but it's good enough for 90% of the situations I encounter. For the 10%, oh well. My experience has been that in those situations I probably would have wanted my DSLR anyway.

 

[JetLife87]

I do appreciate the integration of apps and the merging of contacts across different social networks. The Bluetooth integration to my BMW worked well, lack of a decent podcast app is a negative.

I love using Zune to manage my podcasts. I can subscribe to them and my phone downloads them every night while charging.

 

[eastbayrae]

You guys know Skype is in beta? As for the camera I doubt software is going to change the indoor/low light capability just for the fact it has no BSI. Then again it's a free phone so how can you complain?

 

[ogeneo]

You guys know Skype is in beta? As for the camera I doubt software is going to change the indoor/low light capability just for the fact it has no BSI. Then again it's a free phone so how can you complain?

No, Skype is no longer beta (but it should be)

Skype for Windows Phone 7 sheds Beta label

 

[TimothyCarroll]

From Samsung Focus to Nokia Lumia 900

After the unfortunate loss of my Samsung Focus, I decided to upgrade to the 900. I considered the iPhone 4S but I prefer the Windows interface at this point, particularly for email. I've been pleased with the phone relative to the Focus, but I have had simlar issues reported by others (ex: camera does not wake-up the phone, photo quality is just OK) which appear inherrent to the device. My biggest issues at this point are:

1) Very limited supply of accessories (ex: Otterbox Case - supposedly on the way). Nokia would have been smart to partner with someone pre-launch given the amount of $$$ they have poured into the product.

2) Internet sharing "locked" - This is more of an AT&T issue than a phone issue. It's crazy that you can only get this capability at the 5GB level. I'm paying for 2G and using less than 1G, and they want me to move up to 5GB. Hopefully somone will figure out how to "fix" this as with the Focus and share with the community.

 

[Jazmac]

...

 

[chrisz5z]

I've had my Lumia 900 for a week so i figured i'd give my take on it.

Design & Screen:

The way its designed i think makes you either love it or hate it. Which I think more manufactures should start doing in their design process. It really stands out, and i think most people look for that when choosing a phone. After using a SLCD the past 8 months the AMOLED screen looks much better. I've read in reviews that the colors are over saturated, and maybe they are, but do are you doing lots of photo editing or image manipulation on your phone? i doubt it....so having the correct colors really aren't that important. The colors on screen pop out at you and thats what makes it attractive to people

Camera:

To be honest i could care less about the camera on my phone. Its good for quick shots, but i don't see why a lot of people are complaining about a camera on a phone. If you really want good shots, go buy a real camera.

Battery Life:

Battery life is really subjective because theres too many variables that go into it but so far (for me) its been great. And I'm comparing it to my Inspire 4g (which is heavily tweaked). Both phones would have around 30% at the end of the day with heavy usage. The only times i've had bad battery life is if something was constantly running in the background but that can easily be turned off


OS:

Overall I'm happier with WP7. Things in this OS are straightforward and easy to access, and all the little animations between screens add to the experience. Only slowness i've experienced is with some 3rd party apps.

There are a few quirks that need to be worked out though:
-IE, while fast/smooth, seems to be stuck on an older WAP and usually displays older mobile websites

-Multitasking should be improved. Switching between apps sometimes causes the app to restart and not resume

-Marketplace...when you choose to install something why does it take you to your app list??...because i just choose to download it doesn't mean i was done looking for another app. This causes you to go through the marketplace again and find where you were before. This might not be so bad if the marketplace would resume instead of close itself

-Volumes...it really needs separate volumes for notifications, calls, and media

 

[stylishmobile]

Nokia Lumia 900 is an amazing cell phone by Nokia company.It has come with lots of modern features.