Looking into purchasing lumia phone, need advice.

[Todd Robinson]

Hey all,

I am a recent convert to all things Microsoft. I am really excited about there One Microsoft vision and "cloud and mobile first" philosophy. In fact I convinced my wife to get a Lumia 1020. Now it is my turn and I love the build quality of the Lumia phones so I would like to stay with that brand. I have been waiting for a flagship device to come to AT&T that is not a lumia 1520 (too big for me) since November of last year. I am worried that I will have to "settle" with the recently announced Lumia 830. My question is do you guys think there is a better flagship offering in the works that will be out for the holidays or should I just get the Lumia 830 when it comes out? I worry that there is nothing that will be available for awhile and I can only wait so long (preferably this year). Thanks in advance.

Todd

 

[Pete]

There's been rumours and there's been discounted rumours. The truth is that we don't know about any impending flagship devices.

Personally speaking, the 1520 is a good fit and I wouldn't consider it "too big". About a week after buying one, I rather rapidly judged everything else as "too small".

The problem is in anticipating better models is that it's a never-ending wish. As soon as something gets released, rumours of something better and newer rise up.

 

[askerrep]

I think I would get a 1020 off contract as a placeholder phone (you can have them really cheap by now), since the next flagship is probably coming around the release of the next iteration of WP (rumored to be spring 2015). There was rumored a flagship for release around this time, but reportedly it got cancelled.

 

[Tech King]

well i would say go get it .... i own a L925 (nov will be 1 yr) and i am awaiting an upgrade for that model. granted the L830 is a great phone, and the mid range flagship phone right now and the L930 is great too(but it lacks glance screen, a feature i love on my L925) so i am waiting to see what they have in store for the holidays

 

[Legoboyii]

I'm just gonna get Lumia 1520.3, its guaranteed good till at least 2016-7 so that's some good future proofing for a phone. ^^ 519$ on newegg 489$ on b&h (black and red only, white at regular price of 619$ and backordered)

 

[RumoredNow]

830 puts a check mark to a lot of items on the must have list...

Here are the missing features from the Nokia Lumia 730 and Lumia 830 that you may care about | Windows Phone Central - the only advance coming in Denim that 830 seems to miss out on is active listening for "Hey, Cortana" hands free activation of your assistant. All the other future advancements most care about are coming to the device.

However, overall spec leads some to question if 830 is truly a Flagship Device.

What's coming and will it come to AT&T? The only sure thing (already announced) is the HTC One (M8) for Windows Phone.

Many of the advances coming in Denim are Firmware. It's not clear yet what HTC will do to leverage the new API's and if they will follow suit to keep up.

Here is side by side spec 830 vs 1520: Nokia Lumia 830 vs. Nokia Lumia 1520 - GSMArena.com
or 830 vs One (M8) Nokia Lumia 830 vs. HTC One (M8) for Windows - GSMArena.com

1520 and One (M8) are the powerhouse phones in the US for Windows Phone this fall. I discount 930 as it really doesn't apply in the US unless you are on Verizon (which you state you are not) with the Icon (930 variant). You'll see from the spec that 830 sacrifices screen resolution and more tellingly RAM, CPU/GPU chipset and battery to make the pricepoint Microsoft wanted.

If you want true Flagship level and have one purchase satisfy your phone needs through at least this time next year (if not well beyond), I'd say wait for One (M8) or go with a 1520.3.

Personally, having just moved to a 1520.3 from a 925 - it is not too big unless you just HAVE TO use your phone one handed. It's a beautiful beast of a device. Unless you HAVE TO have some AT&T branded app, 1520.3 is better than the AT&T branded 1520 due to automatic 32GB internal storage and Qi wireless charging without a special case. Add in the factory unlocked factor for fast track on getting Denim and it is a big win.

Obviously, I'm biased, but get the 1520.3 yesterday. Don't wait to see what other mediocre thing tomorrow will bring.

 

[jagdeep chohan]

Anybody here please help me!! Battery saver on 1020 does not dims screen brightness anymore, neither does it puts capacative buttons light off. What to do??

 

[Todd Robinson]

rumorednow, this maybe a noobish question, but what does one have to do with an unlocked phone? Is it as easy as switching out the SIM card? Does this effect unlimited text and talk plans with AT&T or just their apps? Also, would a lumia 930 option work or is it never coming Stateside?

 

[RumoredNow]

rumorednow, this maybe a noobish question, but what does one have to do with an unlocked phone? Is it as easy as switching out the SIM card? Does this effect unlimited text and talk plans with AT&T or just their apps? Also, would a lumia 930 option work or is it never coming Stateside?

1520.3 takes a nanoSIM. If you already have a nono activated just put it in the 1520.3. If you don't have a nanoSIM, go to any AT&T store and they will switch your service to the new SIM and within moments (they advise up to 2 hours, but in my experience only mvno's take that long) your new SIM runs your new phone on your old plan. A Factory Unlocked phone is designed to accept any properly sized SIM from any carrier at any time. Plug and play.

1520.3 has the correct bands to get LTE on AT&T or T-Mo. Unlocked 930 does not have the right LTE radio/firmware. The only 930 that works for LTE in the US is locked down Icon on Vzw.

 

[Todd Robinson]

Does the Microsoft store have unlocked devices? I would like to trade in my iPhone 4S for store credit if I can.

 

[Srikanth Shenoy]

Anybody here please help me!! Battery saver on 1020 does not dims screen brightness anymore, neither does it puts capacative buttons light off. What to do??

First what u should do is check if automatic brightness is selected or not and if that still does not help restart the phone or visit the nearest Nokia service Center

 

[RumoredNow]

Does the Microsoft store have unlocked devices? I would like to trade in my iPhone 4S for store credit if I can.

The 1520.3 is considered "out of region" even though it works here. It is supposed to be a Latin America release and does come default Spanish Language (easy to change during set up).

For that reason MSFT Store won't have a 1520.3 for US shipping.

​I'm sure you can find a buyer for an iPhone 4S... They hold their value pretty well. Try Swappa or the Marketplace forum on iMore.