Looking at Lumia 822

[anon(123856)]

Hello all,
I'm about a month out from my upgrade at Verizon and I went to a Verizon store to check out my options. I played with a Lumia 822 and much to my surprise really liked it. So much so that it is the front runner in my upgrade search. I'm also considering a couple of Android phones as I am currently an Android user. I don't have any beef with Android but was intrigued by WP 8 and the Lumia. It's the right size and shape for me and it suits my usage patterns (pretty much phone calls, email, texting, light web browsing. What is everyone's opinion of the phone? I wanted to get opinions from actual users of the phone. I'm staying at Verizon (because they suck less and their coverage around here is good) and as far as WP8 phones go it will either be the Lumia or the Samsung. The HTC is a bit large and with a non-replaceable battery and no micro sd slot it is out of contention. Thanks!

 

[dakranii]

I love mine. I've been very satisfied with it. No issues. I am curious to see what is going to be announced at the end of February, however, so maybe you'll want to wait. There's rumor of a high-end phone coming to Verizon and it'll likely be announced then.

But if you're going for a phone now, the 822 has been a great device for me and would service you well, I'd say.

 

[Steephill]

Love mine, me and my mom have had no real problems with them. We got them a week or two after they were released. I'd also wait to see if they might be releasing a highend phone for Verizon.

 

[anon(123856)]

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I have to wait until March 11th to upgrade anyway so I'll be able to see what happens but the Lumia seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. I don't need/want a big, high end phone as I won't really use all of it's power. It seems to be plenty quick and fairly easy to use. Glad to hear you are both happy with them. Two things I've seen mentioned in reviews is battery life and call quality. No issues on those fronts either? Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Blkacesvf41]

I'll add to the 822 love. Yes I do love mine also. The camera is a bit slower than what I was expecting but still real good. I also recently bought a Windows 8 desktop and love how SkyDrive syncs with the Lumia.

 

[willied]

I love mine as well. I've really had no problems with it. As far as call quality and battery life, both have been perfectly good for me.

 

[juststart]

I'm really enjoying the 822. Plus, its free so you can't go wrong. The camera is great and the battery life is pretty good too.

 

[stephen_az]

This is a classic example where marketing disclaimers about individual mileage varying do apply. Excluding my old HTC Touch Pro as being in a unique class of terrible, I have found the Lumia 822 to be the worst phone I have ever owned. In fact, since I would never buy an Android device and do not like the form factor of the 8X, if I had it to do over again, I would break down and buy an iPhone. I also will never even consider Nokia device after this bad joke of a phone and will probably replace it at my expense this summer. Here is a short list of personal issues:

Quality control is middling at best. It has lots of plastic and feels pretty cheap. My first phone also died in a few days due to a Bluetooth failure.
Call quality is at times abysmal - worst I have ever experienced.
People tell me that they cannot hear me if I move the phone slightly in one direction or the other.
Network drops are common even when standing in the same place (my old HTC Trophy does not have the same problem). One second there are full bars and the next none.
The Bluetooth implementation is at best primitive and struggles to connect and then stay connected to the hands free system in my 2011 Toyota Corolla (aka the best selling vehicle on the planet). No other phones have trouble with it. This is also not unique to just my Corolla.
If the Bluetooth does connect, there is the fun problem that the phone will freeze about half the time if I try to switch to music while driving or try to do something silly like use the hands free controls in the car. The returned phone had the same problem.
Not that this is unique to the Lumia 822, but Nokia Drive will not use the hands free Bluetooth system to give spoken directions. The choices are to either look at the screen while driving or disconnect it from the car so the phone will use its internal speaker (which then means you need to make calls hands on). Verizon Navigator will sometimes give directions through the car and sometimes will not.
Again not unique to this phone, Nokia Drive (which is more of an alpha than beta) will not allow you to scroll ahead in directions, which would at least let you check directions while stopped at a traffic light when connected to the hands free system.
Probably not unique to just this phone, but when I restart it (far too common) it resets the volume to what it wants rather than where I had it set. I have a slight hearing loss and it is quite annoying that it lowers the volume when restarted.
Again probably not unique to this phone, but I am obliged to turn it off when in certain meetings or at Mass on Sunday since silent does not really mean silent. It will still give an audible notification for missed calls.
The camera's autofocus capabilities are very poor if trying to do something like photograph a receipt to transmit to my employer's accounting department.
The camera button offers almost nothing in the way of tactile response.

Once again, individual experience may certainly vary. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure you are aware that some of us view this as a truly terrible phone.

 

[scottcraft]

I'm using an 8X after having issues with two 822's, but I think the 822 is a solid phone. The only complaints I had about it were slow camera speed and the phone was slippery. Now that I've used the 8X a few days I can tell the screen is better, but the 822 screen is pretty nice looking for the resolution. I would get the 822 over the Samsung. If you do happen to have problems I've found Verizon to be extremely helpful in resolving your issues.

 

[pmhgeneral]

Love the 822 it is a great device, size,feel,quality everything works well for me. No drop calls or problems with the 822 never did and I'm not looking back.

 

[cpyne]

To me its really the best phone I've ever owned. I have had zero problems. Get one!

My wife is an Android user and says she has phone-envy for it. I think she may switch too when her contract is up.

 

[scottcraft]

The Verizon rep I bought mine from and another rep I've talked to have the 822 and both really like it. Both say they haven't had a single problem with theirs. I'm the only customer they know that had a problem with one.

 

[boovish]

I just got mine a couple days ago. Its very nice

 

[aximtreo]

This is a classic example where marketing disclaimers about individual mileage varying do apply. Excluding my old HTC Touch Pro as being in a unique class of terrible, I have found the Lumia 822 to be the worst phone I have ever owned. In fact, since I would never buy an Android device and do not like the form factor of the 8X, if I had it to do over again, I would break down and buy an iPhone. I also will never even consider Nokia device after this bad joke of a phone and will probably replace it at my expense this summer. Here is a short list of personal issues:

Quality control is middling at best. It has lots of plastic and feels pretty cheap. My first phone also died in a few days due to a Bluetooth failure.
Call quality is at times abysmal - worst I have ever experienced.
People tell me that they cannot hear me if I move the phone slightly in one direction or the other.
Network drops are common even when standing in the same place (my old HTC Trophy does not have the same problem). One second there are full bars and the next none.
The Bluetooth implementation is at best primitive and struggles to connect and then stay connected to the hands free system in my 2011 Toyota Corolla (aka the best selling vehicle on the planet). No other phones have trouble with it. This is also not unique to just my Corolla.
If the Bluetooth does connect, there is the fun problem that the phone will freeze about half the time if I try to switch to music while driving or try to do something silly like use the hands free controls in the car. The returned phone had the same problem.
Not that this is unique to the Lumia 822, but Nokia Drive will not use the hands free Bluetooth system to give spoken directions. The choices are to either look at the screen while driving or disconnect it from the car so the phone will use its internal speaker (which then means you need to make calls hands on). Verizon Navigator will sometimes give directions through the car and sometimes will not.
Again not unique to this phone, Nokia Drive (which is more of an alpha than beta) will not allow you to scroll ahead in directions, which would at least let you check directions while stopped at a traffic light when connected to the hands free system.
Probably not unique to just this phone, but when I restart it (far too common) it resets the volume to what it wants rather than where I had it set. I have a slight hearing loss and it is quite annoying that it lowers the volume when restarted.
Again probably not unique to this phone, but I am obliged to turn it off when in certain meetings or at Mass on Sunday since silent does not really mean silent. It will still give an audible notification for missed calls.
The camera's autofocus capabilities are very poor if trying to do something like photograph a receipt to transmit to my employer's accounting department.
The camera button offers almost nothing in the way of tactile response.

Once again, individual experience may certainly vary. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure you are aware that some of us view this as a truly terrible phone.

I totally disagree with this poster. Everything he mentions as being a problem, I use and found no problems. The only thing I would trade my 822 for would be a Verizon version of the 920. I love the screen, the OS, the Verizon LTE signal strength were ever I go and the ability to add a SD card. You can't go wrong.

 

[anon(123856)]

Wow! So many replies!!! Thanks to all of you, even stephen_az. I appreciate the negative input as well. We all have our prejudices, like personally I would never, ever buy an iPhone. And I suppose some people are going to experience problems. No manufacturer will have 100% reliability. I'm going to play with the Lumia some more and I'll also take a look at the Incredible. I wish Verizon had more Win 8 phones. I like the HTC too, but as I said, non-removable battery and no expansion slot are deal breakers for me. Thanks again everyone!

 

[11B1P]

Wow! So many replies!!! Thanks to all of you, even stephen_az. I appreciate the negative input as well. And I suppose some people are going to experience problems. No manufacturer will have 100% reliability.

You hit the nail on the head. I think stephen received a defective phone. You also have to realize, some of the complaints he mentioned, are not "problems" but rather his opinion of the phone and the way it functions.

I had some minor issues about 24hrs into my 822. A hard reset fixed my issues and my phone works great. It has been the best phone I've ever used. I didn't care for the Lumia design when I first saw the pics, but after holding it in person, I changed my mind. I originally wanted the 8X, but I liked the bigger screen on the 822 better. I'm kinda like you, I don't consider myself a power user, but I would like to have some better specs.

We can all tell you how much we like the phone, but ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself whether or not you like this phone.

 

[anon(123856)]

You hit the nail on the head. I think stephen received a defective phone. You also have to realize, some of the complaints he mentioned, are not "problems" but rather his opinion of the phone and the way it functions.

I had some minor issues about 24hrs into my 822. A hard reset fixed my issues and my phone works great. It has been the best phone I've ever used. I didn't care for the Lumia design when I first saw the pics, but after holding it in person, I changed my mind. I originally wanted the 8X, but I liked the bigger screen on the 822 better. I'm kinda like you, I don't consider myself a power user, but I would like to have some better specs.

We can all tell you how much we like the phone, but ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself whether or not you like this phone.

What I'm trying to do is get a sense from the user community of how good or bad the phone is in general before I commit to one. No phone is perfect or will be free from issues. Every single phone that I've owned has had something about it I didn't particularly like, but wasn't a deal breaker. If I kept hearing the same complaint over and over I'd have to think about it. It seems that most people are happy with it. Overall I've been happy with the Android phones I've owned and I could see myself with a Droid Incredible. But the Lumia and WP 8 surprised me in a good way. I picked it prepared to be unimpressed and came away completely the opposite, very impressed. I don't even care that the phone is free really, I just liked it. It seems like a good fit for my usage. Thanks again to everyone that replied.

 

[gapost]

I hear about a Bluetooth problem and resetting, but it has not happened to me. Today I connect to my bt transmitter in my car. I played music,both streaming and from phone, took several phone calls on bt, got a text message and it offered to read it, used both Maps and Nokia maps and the Internet. Not one lost connection.

Overall, the 822 is a great phone!

 

[scottcraft]

What I'm trying to do is get a sense from the user community of how good or bad the phone is in general before I commit to one. No phone is perfect or will be free from issues. Every single phone that I've owned has had something about it I didn't particularly like, but wasn't a deal breaker. If I kept hearing the same complaint over and over I'd have to think about it. It seems that most people are happy with it. Overall I've been happy with the Android phones I've owned and I could see myself with a Droid Incredible. But the Lumia and WP 8 surprised me in a good way. I picked it prepared to be unimpressed and came away completely the opposite, very impressed. I don't even care that the phone is free really, I just liked it. It seems like a good fit for my usage. Thanks again to everyone that replied.

The issues I've seen on these forums and experienced on my 822 are locking up and rebooting. Not everyone has these issues but I did. If you do happen to get one that has issues Verizon is great to deal with. They are very willing to send a replacement phone. If you are happy with what you see from playing with the phone in the store get it. Other than the bugs my phone had the only things that really bothered me were the speed of the camera taking a picture and the slippery body, but those aren't dealbreakers by any means. I would recommend the 822, I think it's a good phone.

 

[fooliod]

I really wanted to love this phone, and got it the day it came out, paying $100, even when I knew it would drop to $0 in the coming weeks. And after spending countless hours and late nights trying to resolve 1 problem after the other, i've given up. I love the Nokia Lumia 822 phone/hardware, but the WP8 apps are a just dont have enough functionality in my opinion. Sleek interface, sure, but the apps just dont do what i want when I want them. Some of the problems i've encountered so far:

1. No good podcast management. XBox Music is awful for Podcast Management - wont automatically refresh feeds, has issues downloading. Metadata recognition is another issue but I've given up listening to music through XboX music and now just stream through the Spotify app.
2. Location services are awful - I live in the middle of a major US city (in the Bay Area no less) and I cannot find any local establishments easily through any of the apps - local scout, yelp, Nokia Maps. If I'm looking for the phone number of the extremely popular burger place across the street, and I type in "burger" depending on which app I'm in, I'll get a burger place 4 miles away, or 12 miles away on another app.
3. Apps - they all have limited functionality in respect to their corresponding iPhone/Android apps.

One thing to consider, is how vested you are in the Microsoft ecosystem. If you're already an Xbox user and get music, games, etc through the music store you might be Ok with the podcas t management if you can integrate the gaming.