Oh, Lumia 1520, how I loved you.
Your SHEER SIZE. I could hold it up to someone with an iPhone 6S and they?d say, ?that?s a LARGE phone!? The camera was great. The SIZE. Win 10 with Insider Preview (fast ring, natch) works really well. Did I mention how BIG this freaking phone is?
And I was happy with it. Even though I realize that it?s old hardware ? no Continuum, not as fast as the new phones (albeit not that many), not going to be the flagship anymore. It did the job ? I?m a teacher and need the connection to my other devices, all Windows operated. Things were good.
Then it stopped BEING A PHONE.
Either the SIM card slot wasn?t working, or the antenna was not working.
Nothing I could do could fix it ? other than ?sending it in? and either a) fixing it (in which they?d completely reset the phone) or b) replace it with something NOT EVEN CLOSE.
So, it was time to look for another phone. Two choices ? the Lumia 950 XL or the HP Elite X3.
The HP was my drool-worthy choice. About the same size as the 1520! New hardware! Continuum! Those funky dots on the back (hook it up to a specialty case and create ? something cool, hopefully)! The new FLAGSHIP PHONE, one that will carry Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile into the Enterprise Zone ? the new standard for business!
So I went to HP?s website, and?
Wait. HOW MUCH IS THIS PHONE??? THE CAMERA IS JUNK??? IT HASN?T HAD THE ANNIVERSARY UPDATE YET??? HP HASN?T DONE FIRMWARE UPDATES???
Everything was not looking good.
So I looked to the ?old? 950 XL. I wasn?t really thrilled with what I saw at first, but?wait a minute?
It seemed like a lot of the stuff the HP has is also on the 950 XL (although the Snapdragon is peppier on the HP). The size? It?s not as big, but?The camera? Pure View? Zeiss? 20 MP? Not bad at all. Also dual-SIM, if you can find it.
And then there?s the price. Around half the price, depending on where you get it from (still expensive, but I'll own the damn thing, instead of 'leasing' it through AT&T).
I pulled the trigger for the XL, and it came quickly from Singapore. Dual SIM, 32 GB internal memory, black (it?s going in a case, anyway). Took it to an AT&T store and activated it.
Well, I?ve had it for over a week, and here?s my opinion:
I no longer miss the 1520. It was always a pain to find a place to put it on me; occasionally too big for jacket pockets, especially with a case. And it was too slippery to use without a case (I dropped it within two days). The XL just FITS. Even with the case, it easily slips into a pants pocket. It?s easy to hold onto, and very easy to text with. But it?s still a good size ? bigger than most, with a beautiful screen and Gorilla Glass 4 shining away. A bit bigger than my wife?s old Note 2, but comfortable.
Speed? This thing fair FLIES. I didn?t know the 1520 was that slow. It took the updates easily, and is very smooth. I only have one SIM card, but I can?t wait to use two (probably international). Connection with everything is quite good, especially LTE through AT&T.
Cortana has always been excellent, but just works better. And the XL supports Windows Hello with Iris Indentification ? iPhone users are still amazed that I not only have it, but that it WORKS (tip: keep refining it). It can identify me from around a foot away usually.
The cameras? EXCELLENT. The 1020 had the best camera, but this is DA BOMB. I had very nice pictures on the 1520, but the clarity on the XL is amazing.
There are apps that were legacied on the 1520 that I can?t get on the XL, which is a bit of a pain. But others are very robust and wouldn?t have worked on the 1520. It?s taken some time to properly prep it for my region (there are a LOT of hoops that need to line up correctly), but so far, it?s all good.
The 1520 sits on my nightstand, forlorn in its case. I?m thinking about sending it off to a phone doctor to see if it can be repaired. Of course it can ? for a price?and it would be a good replacement for my now favorite phone.
Your SHEER SIZE. I could hold it up to someone with an iPhone 6S and they?d say, ?that?s a LARGE phone!? The camera was great. The SIZE. Win 10 with Insider Preview (fast ring, natch) works really well. Did I mention how BIG this freaking phone is?
And I was happy with it. Even though I realize that it?s old hardware ? no Continuum, not as fast as the new phones (albeit not that many), not going to be the flagship anymore. It did the job ? I?m a teacher and need the connection to my other devices, all Windows operated. Things were good.
Then it stopped BEING A PHONE.
Either the SIM card slot wasn?t working, or the antenna was not working.
Nothing I could do could fix it ? other than ?sending it in? and either a) fixing it (in which they?d completely reset the phone) or b) replace it with something NOT EVEN CLOSE.
So, it was time to look for another phone. Two choices ? the Lumia 950 XL or the HP Elite X3.
The HP was my drool-worthy choice. About the same size as the 1520! New hardware! Continuum! Those funky dots on the back (hook it up to a specialty case and create ? something cool, hopefully)! The new FLAGSHIP PHONE, one that will carry Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile into the Enterprise Zone ? the new standard for business!
So I went to HP?s website, and?
Wait. HOW MUCH IS THIS PHONE??? THE CAMERA IS JUNK??? IT HASN?T HAD THE ANNIVERSARY UPDATE YET??? HP HASN?T DONE FIRMWARE UPDATES???
Everything was not looking good.
So I looked to the ?old? 950 XL. I wasn?t really thrilled with what I saw at first, but?wait a minute?
It seemed like a lot of the stuff the HP has is also on the 950 XL (although the Snapdragon is peppier on the HP). The size? It?s not as big, but?The camera? Pure View? Zeiss? 20 MP? Not bad at all. Also dual-SIM, if you can find it.
And then there?s the price. Around half the price, depending on where you get it from (still expensive, but I'll own the damn thing, instead of 'leasing' it through AT&T).
I pulled the trigger for the XL, and it came quickly from Singapore. Dual SIM, 32 GB internal memory, black (it?s going in a case, anyway). Took it to an AT&T store and activated it.
Well, I?ve had it for over a week, and here?s my opinion:
I no longer miss the 1520. It was always a pain to find a place to put it on me; occasionally too big for jacket pockets, especially with a case. And it was too slippery to use without a case (I dropped it within two days). The XL just FITS. Even with the case, it easily slips into a pants pocket. It?s easy to hold onto, and very easy to text with. But it?s still a good size ? bigger than most, with a beautiful screen and Gorilla Glass 4 shining away. A bit bigger than my wife?s old Note 2, but comfortable.
Speed? This thing fair FLIES. I didn?t know the 1520 was that slow. It took the updates easily, and is very smooth. I only have one SIM card, but I can?t wait to use two (probably international). Connection with everything is quite good, especially LTE through AT&T.
Cortana has always been excellent, but just works better. And the XL supports Windows Hello with Iris Indentification ? iPhone users are still amazed that I not only have it, but that it WORKS (tip: keep refining it). It can identify me from around a foot away usually.
The cameras? EXCELLENT. The 1020 had the best camera, but this is DA BOMB. I had very nice pictures on the 1520, but the clarity on the XL is amazing.
There are apps that were legacied on the 1520 that I can?t get on the XL, which is a bit of a pain. But others are very robust and wouldn?t have worked on the 1520. It?s taken some time to properly prep it for my region (there are a LOT of hoops that need to line up correctly), but so far, it?s all good.
The 1520 sits on my nightstand, forlorn in its case. I?m thinking about sending it off to a phone doctor to see if it can be repaired. Of course it can ? for a price?and it would be a good replacement for my now favorite phone.
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