This will be a bit long, but I need to let it out.
If you read all the major "pro" reviews, they seem to be harping on the same issues over and over: the weight and the ecosystem. Well, first, it not as heavy and large as they make it to be and second, the apps and the ecosystem will surely improve time.
I knew about these apparent issues even before I committed to adopt the Lumia 920. But I coveted the Lumia 920 because of all the embedded, straight from the box features that you can't duplicate with any other current smartphone. Yet, these reviewers tend to ignore all of these compelling reasons why the Lumia 920 deserves a good look. And it's annoying reading all these lopsided reviews, complaining about what it doesn't have.
Correct me if I'm wrong about or missing some things, but these are the top 10 main reasons I chose to switch to the Lumia 920 and I can't find anywhere else (some of these are acknowledged but most are completely ignored by certain reviewers):
1. True offline turn-by turn navigation. So basically, without a data connection, this will still be a usable stand-alone GPS unit. So years from now, if I decide to move on to another phone and take away the sim card, I could still use the Lumia 920 as my GPS device. Granted, Nokia Drive is a battery hog, but my current 7 inch GPS unit won't even turn on without being plugged in.
2. The HD+ ClearBlack screen with polarizing filters that react to daylight. I've seen this in action and the screen seems to saturate itself before my eyes under direct daylight, making it viewable. I don't know how it works, but it's actually amazing how the screen compensates. Couple that with the higher than "retina display" pixel density and the PureMotion ultra smooth 60 hz refresh rate, the screen quality alone could be a reason to get this device.
3. An option to toggle the capacitive touchscreen sensitivity to "High" and use gloves to operate it. I live in the desert so this is not a must-have feature for me but winters here could get cold too and I could see how this is useful.
4. The virtually indestructible polycarbonate body and Gorilla Glass 2. Yes, I've seen the drop tests and the torture runs and I totally believe this phone could withstand a beating. I feel comfortable not having a case on this beast. The color is also not painted on but is actually mixed in with material itself so superficial scratches, dings and chips won't reveal any "underlying" material.
5. Free Nokia Music. Now this is an awesome service from Nokia. I only use it occasionally because I use other paid streaming services but for a free service this is fantastic. It has no ads, it has offline listening, unlimited skips and genre selections including the Billboard Top 100s. This is a hundred times better than the free music services from Pandora or Slacker.
6. Wireless charging and NFC. I was surprised how convenient wireless charging really is. I have a charging plate at home and a charging stand at work and since charging it is effortless, my battery is almost always topped up. No more fussing about with plugs. Pick up and go is surprisingly liberating. NFC I haven't fully explored yet except with the charging stand.
7. System Wide Audio Equalizer and Dolby Sound. It's great that these sound enhancements works across any app unlike the iPhone EQ that's limited to the native iPod player. I mostly prefer using the signature sounds of various headphones to EQ my music but having an available EQ to play with is always welcome. Dolby adds some digital reverb and processing but it's a nice, fun extra since you could always turn it off. Volume is a bit lower than an iPhone 5 though.
8. Low light photo prowess. This is a stunning innovation and sadly, this is only feature that these "pro" reviewers talk about mostly as a plus. It's almost miraculous how this phone turns the darkest scene into a clear photo. Admittedly, the camera app needs more tweaking options and some daylight photos need sharpening but this could be fixed via software.
9. Optical Stabilization via Floating f/2.0 Lens. This is revolutionary in a phone camera and this is one of its kind. Yes, I've seen all those incredible demos and damn, it really does make a difference.
10. Windows Phone 8. I was actually wondering if the Nokia Lumia 920 was an Android based phone instead, would I still get it? With all the hardware innovations, I probably would have, with reservations, BUT Windows Phone 8 just makes it more compelling and fresh. Instant info with Live Tiles is amazing. WP8 has the most organized, prettiest and the most personal home screen right now in my opinion. People and the Me Hubs are great in merging all your social networks. The Music and Video Hub is a quick section for finding your media content. And the Xbox Live integration with the mobile games (complete with achievements) is perfect for gamers. Skydrive integration and the free Microsoft Office are certainly cool must-haves for me now. I have to agree, WP8 still has annoying faults and missteps, but hopefully, over time, it will be polished more and more.
So, I think, some of these reviewers may have not willingly explored everything the Lumia 920 has to offer. They seem to be trapped with their biased impression of the weight and the absence of their favorite apps. It's like they merely played around with their review units for a few hours and summarily dismissed it as "too heavy" (it's not) and "having no Instagram". There's a wealth of innovations this phone is offering but apparently, they can't explore and look beyond their initial judgements.
Oh , and yeah, I need to add this:
This device is simply beautiful. Gotta have it.
Correction: Apparently, Nokia Music still has the 6 skips per hour limit due to licensing. Still a great free service.
If you read all the major "pro" reviews, they seem to be harping on the same issues over and over: the weight and the ecosystem. Well, first, it not as heavy and large as they make it to be and second, the apps and the ecosystem will surely improve time.
I knew about these apparent issues even before I committed to adopt the Lumia 920. But I coveted the Lumia 920 because of all the embedded, straight from the box features that you can't duplicate with any other current smartphone. Yet, these reviewers tend to ignore all of these compelling reasons why the Lumia 920 deserves a good look. And it's annoying reading all these lopsided reviews, complaining about what it doesn't have.
Correct me if I'm wrong about or missing some things, but these are the top 10 main reasons I chose to switch to the Lumia 920 and I can't find anywhere else (some of these are acknowledged but most are completely ignored by certain reviewers):
1. True offline turn-by turn navigation. So basically, without a data connection, this will still be a usable stand-alone GPS unit. So years from now, if I decide to move on to another phone and take away the sim card, I could still use the Lumia 920 as my GPS device. Granted, Nokia Drive is a battery hog, but my current 7 inch GPS unit won't even turn on without being plugged in.
2. The HD+ ClearBlack screen with polarizing filters that react to daylight. I've seen this in action and the screen seems to saturate itself before my eyes under direct daylight, making it viewable. I don't know how it works, but it's actually amazing how the screen compensates. Couple that with the higher than "retina display" pixel density and the PureMotion ultra smooth 60 hz refresh rate, the screen quality alone could be a reason to get this device.
3. An option to toggle the capacitive touchscreen sensitivity to "High" and use gloves to operate it. I live in the desert so this is not a must-have feature for me but winters here could get cold too and I could see how this is useful.
4. The virtually indestructible polycarbonate body and Gorilla Glass 2. Yes, I've seen the drop tests and the torture runs and I totally believe this phone could withstand a beating. I feel comfortable not having a case on this beast. The color is also not painted on but is actually mixed in with material itself so superficial scratches, dings and chips won't reveal any "underlying" material.
5. Free Nokia Music. Now this is an awesome service from Nokia. I only use it occasionally because I use other paid streaming services but for a free service this is fantastic. It has no ads, it has offline listening, unlimited skips and genre selections including the Billboard Top 100s. This is a hundred times better than the free music services from Pandora or Slacker.
6. Wireless charging and NFC. I was surprised how convenient wireless charging really is. I have a charging plate at home and a charging stand at work and since charging it is effortless, my battery is almost always topped up. No more fussing about with plugs. Pick up and go is surprisingly liberating. NFC I haven't fully explored yet except with the charging stand.
7. System Wide Audio Equalizer and Dolby Sound. It's great that these sound enhancements works across any app unlike the iPhone EQ that's limited to the native iPod player. I mostly prefer using the signature sounds of various headphones to EQ my music but having an available EQ to play with is always welcome. Dolby adds some digital reverb and processing but it's a nice, fun extra since you could always turn it off. Volume is a bit lower than an iPhone 5 though.
8. Low light photo prowess. This is a stunning innovation and sadly, this is only feature that these "pro" reviewers talk about mostly as a plus. It's almost miraculous how this phone turns the darkest scene into a clear photo. Admittedly, the camera app needs more tweaking options and some daylight photos need sharpening but this could be fixed via software.
9. Optical Stabilization via Floating f/2.0 Lens. This is revolutionary in a phone camera and this is one of its kind. Yes, I've seen all those incredible demos and damn, it really does make a difference.
10. Windows Phone 8. I was actually wondering if the Nokia Lumia 920 was an Android based phone instead, would I still get it? With all the hardware innovations, I probably would have, with reservations, BUT Windows Phone 8 just makes it more compelling and fresh. Instant info with Live Tiles is amazing. WP8 has the most organized, prettiest and the most personal home screen right now in my opinion. People and the Me Hubs are great in merging all your social networks. The Music and Video Hub is a quick section for finding your media content. And the Xbox Live integration with the mobile games (complete with achievements) is perfect for gamers. Skydrive integration and the free Microsoft Office are certainly cool must-haves for me now. I have to agree, WP8 still has annoying faults and missteps, but hopefully, over time, it will be polished more and more.
So, I think, some of these reviewers may have not willingly explored everything the Lumia 920 has to offer. They seem to be trapped with their biased impression of the weight and the absence of their favorite apps. It's like they merely played around with their review units for a few hours and summarily dismissed it as "too heavy" (it's not) and "having no Instagram". There's a wealth of innovations this phone is offering but apparently, they can't explore and look beyond their initial judgements.
Oh , and yeah, I need to add this:
This device is simply beautiful. Gotta have it.
Correction: Apparently, Nokia Music still has the 6 skips per hour limit due to licensing. Still a great free service.
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