Honest thoughts on the 920?

[jomarr]

Okay guys, I'm new here and I've been reading this section for the past few days.

I need all of your honest opinions on the 920.

First of all, let me tell all of you that I am a NOOB. The only smart phone I had was the BB Curve 8900. I gave up on it since the trackball is very unresponsive and it is very slow so I switched to the Nokia E52 which I got for 60 bucks and I am very much contented with it but now I need data everywhere so I'm kind of getting a smartphone this December.

Here's my thoughts on the 920:

Overall it's an amazing device. But the daytime shots of its camera weren't really amazing though the night shots were really miles above its competitors. But since a lot of you are saying that it's a minor bug or something about the software so it may be fixed. (I really wont be using the camera that much but I want a great camera with me when I suddenly need to shoot something)

How does it compete with the Galaxy S3? Another smart phone that I am eyeing. Apps are not a selling point in my case plus 120,000 is more than enough for me. So it doesn't bother me unlike other people.

What about the battery life? Will it last me at least a day? A few emails, social networking, music and text messaging? Note that I wont be using it all the time since at work I am busy plus if I have any free time I wont be using the phone for internet but the computer I have.

Thank you guys in advance.

 

[VagrantWade]

Battery is about the same as every other flagship phone.

And how is the Optical Image Stabilization with the floating lens in the GS3? Oh wait, it doesn't have Optical Image Stabilization.

So the 920 takes better video AND photos.

 

[JSern]

Just asking, how can an update improves camera quality?
From what I heard, engadget contacted Nokia and they're going to release a firmware update.

 

[txaggies07]

Just asking, how can an update improves camera quality?
From what I heard, engadget contacted Nokia and they're going to release a firmware update.

The problem with the daylight shots very clearly appears to be software related. Thus, it can be updated.

 

[fwaits]

Just asking, how can an update improves camera quality?
From what I heard, engadget contacted Nokia and they're going to release a firmware update.

Also read the Engadget review where they said using manual settings improved the daytime quality of the images so that tells you that the software can be tuned better for improved images. Honestly if you don't have specific app hangups that may or may not be addressed on WP, then a WP is perfect for you to do all the things you mentioned above and provide a great user experience that most would agree is better than other platforms.

 

[VagrantWade]

Just asking, how can an update improves camera quality?
From what I heard, engadget contacted Nokia and they're going to release a firmware update.

After you snap a photo, the software then created an image file of the image. It uses algorithms for compression to retain as much image integrity as possible.

 

[Duvi]

My honest opinion is... you'd be happy with either device.

If you're looking for battery life, the 920 will have better battery life. My 900 has better battery life and maybe it's because with Sandy downing a lot of towers, my GS3 hasn't even been lasting a day w/o any usage.

Now the other side to that is... you can get a mophie juice pack for the GS3 and the battery is also replaceable.

IMO, the camera on the iPhone 5 trumps the GS3 and from what I can gather, the 920 will be better than the GS3 as well.

I like having app options, but honestly, like you, I don't even use many enough to make my decisions based off app selection. However, the chase banking app was one of the apps that I needed to allow WP to be my daily driver.

I love emails on WP more than iOS and Android... In fact, I can't stand using non-Gmail on Android. In fact, it's disgusting.

 

[jomarr]

Thank you.

I was very firm with my decision when the 920 was announced but after a few weeks the S3 has been beautiful in my eyes. I hated it at first but the more I play with it, the more I'm liking the S3. I think I need to play with the 920 first hand first before making my decision but no release date has been announced in my country so I guess I still have to be patient.

Thanks guys.

 

[Xsever]

Check my real life reviews here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/showthread.php?t=200158

 

[tissotti]

I love emails on WP more than iOS and Android... In fact, I can't stand using non-Gmail on Android. In fact, it's disgusting.

Yeah for me emails has became one of those things that make it hard for me to switch back to iOS. I just love how WP handles emails.

 

[jomarr]

Check my real life reviews here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/showthread.php?t=200158

I saw that already. I saw your videos as well. Thanks. It was helpful for me.

 

[vlad0]

On the camera.. I just wanted to add that there are physical limitation to how good the daytime images are going to look. Right now it seems that they are not extracting 100% from the hardware when it comes to that.

I very much doubt that the lens, or the sensor are the real issue.. so with a software update they can improve the quality, which to me is already at "on par" levels with other high end smart phones.

Also, Nokia are very, very good at imaging.. there are at least 4-5 Nokia devices that prove that point. I think that the problem here is that they either don't have enough knowledge/know-how on how to manipulate the Win NT camera drivers, Win NT is limiting their abilities, or they have to completely rely on Microsoft for deeper accesses to those things.

I can't logically explain the situation otherwise, they have phones that are 2-3 years old that would take better or equally good photographs, and they also have a 2012 model that pushes the envelope even further.. so whatever they are doing with their high end lumia line is rather strange.

The problem is that they set up their marketing around the "pureview" name, which was based on the 808, so now everyone expects amazing image quality.. they forgot to explain to everyone that they have different "phases" of PureView for different things...

I can't help but wonder if the OIS system would've provided better results on a Symbian based smartphone instead of a WP based one.. but we will never know.

I am strictly talking about the daytime performance, obviously they've done some incredible work on the low light ..

Also, if anyone has any specific question about Nokia's camera phones.. Damian Dinning is responsible for most of their projects, and he is always very kind to respond over twitter. Here is his twitter page:

http://twitter.com/PhoneDaz