WP8 on Lumia 1520 is a fail.

[Azurus]

I love all Lumia phones with no exceptions. When the Lumia 1520 first came out, I was delighted. But when I finally got my hands on it, I felt like it didn't get its proper chance
The good thing about it is that its huge, the design is very clean and simple. But WP8. I feel like I'm using an oversized 920. Its all about bigger buttons on the screen with no extra features on the biggest Lumia in the market(except 3 rows on the start screen).
I mean if I was to design such a big phone, I might as well add an exclusive landscape mode to the whole UI , or maybe even allow running 2 applications simultaneously on the screen like in windows 8
Another Idea I had in mind is that since 1520 is considered a phablet. Why didn't they pack Windows 8 instead of windows phone 8 or maybe even both? I think that would be pretty cool to have a 6 inch sized phone running windows 8
because ITS TRUE. when the rumors said a phablet is coming. That's the first thing that came into my mind. "A phone running a tablet OS/windows 8"
What are your thoughts ?

 

[Rasahi]

I'm happy with windows phone 8 and waiting for WP 8.1. Never thought of Windows 8 on my phone till you mentioned.

Sent from my RM-937_im_mea3_1019 using Tapatalk

 

[Kebero]

I think you misunderstand what a phablet is.

 

[N_LaRUE]

The problem with the WP phablets is as you say. No new features. That's not Nokia's fault, that's the limitation of the OS. Nokia has been pushing the boundaries while MS hasn't done much to help the situation.

Expectations of WP8.1 would be that phablets will get additional features but we don't know at this stage. As for why they went with WP instead of W8, simple, it's a phone! They brought out a 10" tablet already running RT. If they were to bring out W8 tablet, pointless at this stage as they've been bought out by MS, then it too would be 10", not 6".

As for being a failure, well, last year WP did OK but releasing nothing but niche phones and no new flagship didn't help. The OS has been relatively stagnate since release. So people are not really interested. Failure can only be judged on take up of a device. I don't know the numbers off hand.

 

[Shouvik Mazumdar]

I don't think it is a big fail et all. 1520 is simply awesome and great feel in hand. Love the way it is designed , streamlined.

About new features you mentioned - it is always good to have them but they are not deal breakers for me.

About pushing windows 8 on phone - we are at least 2-3 years away from it as it involves solving battery issues , overall dimensions of a phone etc.

for record - Lumia 1520 is not just an awesome phone - it is mind blowing

 

[EuroKnuter]

It's funny - this sounds so much like the 'Metro / Desktop' (WP / W8) discussion when it comes to hybrid PCs. Not enough desktop on this one, not enough Metro on that one. Too much tablet-centric here, too much clamshell there. *shrug*

I hear what you're saying about what could be, but I doubt you thought you'd find a forked WP8 OS on this phone when you bought it. There was nothing in any review that would suggest that. And since you love Lumias you got exactly what you knew you'd get.

For me, the phone is excellent. But then, I look at it as a phone (since that's why I bought it) and not a tablet. Perhaps you should look at some of the W8 8" tablets and carry a smaller phone?

 

[Nisse Tuta]

I wanted a bigger screen to get a bigger picture, bigger videos, bigger letters in text on the webb and so on.
I did not want a bigger screen just so they could squeeze more stuff into it, because then I don't se the point in making it bigger since you still need to hold it close to your face or zoom in to read.
"A oversized 920" is exactly hat I wanted.

 

[Sam_oslo]

There is some valid points here, but 1520 is a kind of "pioneer" and driving the development of Operative System and Apps, in many aspects.

WP has just added 1920 x 1200 support, but they didn't do much else to take advantage of this huge real state. The WP development team seams to have been taken by surprise, but the real evolution will come when App-developers start taking advantage of this new big and high-resolution screens. It's just a matter of time, soon both WP and Apps will be adjusted/redesigned for high-res screens, and of course the future holds 2k and even 4k screens.

The same is true about the new powerful Snapdragon 800 SoC. It has enough juice to run a full blown Windows 8.1, but the WP development team seams to be hanging behind, again. The WP 9.0 will probably use one unified Operative System for Phone, Tablet and Desktop. But In case, it couldn't be relisted without these kind of powerful SoCs.

The hardware specification of 1520 is too good for it's time actually, but it's driving the development of Operative System and Apps to catch up. All technology pioneers face similar challenges for a period of times..

 

[mozman68]

Wait...I see what you did there...you put "BIG" in all caps and quotation marks because the phone is big....wow....:eck:

It's a phone...the fastest phone out there with one of the nicest/largest screens and longest battery life.

 

[lancorp]

There is some valid points here, but 1520 is a kind of "pioneer" and driving the development of Operative System and Apps, in many aspects.

WP has just added 1920 x 1200 support, but they didn't do much else to take advantage of this huge real state. The WP development team seams to have been taken by surprise, but the real evolution will come when App-developers start taking advantage of this new big and high-resolution screens. It's just a matter of time, soon both WP and Apps will be adjusted/redesigned for high-res screens, and of course the future holds 2k and even 4k screens.

The same is true about the new powerful Snapdragon 800 SoC. It has enough juice to run a full blown Windows 8.1, but the WP development team seams to be hanging behind, again. The WP 9.0 will probably use one unified Operative System for Phone, Tablet and Desktop. But In case, it couldn't be relisted without these kind of powerful SoCs.

The hardware specification of 1520 is too good for it's time actually, but it's driving the development of Operative System and Apps to catch up. All technology pioneers face similar challenges for a period of times..

I think you hit the nail on the head. It's a phone that was made before the OS and apps could properly support it.

I originally was attracted to it when shopping for a phone my wife could take with her on an upcoming trip. I got her a Surface tablet and very recently a Lumia 520 (very nice, btw, for $49 out the door, no contract!). Wanting a better camera for her, I sourced a red 1520 brand new from a CL'er. She immediately said "Too BIG", so I thought I would give it a try. Being an IT person, I'm trying hard to embrace the new Windows (8.1, RT and WP) as I know one day, my clients will be asking me to help them.

So I'm two days in now with my new 1520, coming from an iPhone 5 (and the iPhone ecosystem for many years), and I think I'm going to put my SIM back into my iPhone 5.
The best analogy I can think of is that having the 1520 is like having an affair with the most beautiful woman you know. So beautiful, you can't say no. You can't take your eyes off it. But not practical because you don't want to be seen in public with it, and you know (in the long term) it just won't work out. Too many compromises.

I can't figure out where to KEEP the 1520 day-to-day. My iPhone lives in a belt holster. The 1520 won't fit in my jeans pockets (comfortably), and where do I put it when I exercise or hike, etc?

Google app support is lacking. No Chrome browser (where I use Chrome sync to keep all my bookmarks and passwords synced). No Google Music (tried CloudMuzik, but not thrilled with it). No official Dropbox app (should I trust no-name authors with my Dropbox password?). The list grows...

Most importantly, I'm really turned off by the BIG TEXT everywhere. It seems like a phone made for the visually impaired. Music apps look lousy. My album/artist/song lists only show 6-7 songs per screen, with giant text. I know it's an OS thing, and maybe 8.1 will fix it, but then apps need to be rewritten for the higher 1080p screen devices. It just looks bad and isn't something I want to show off.

One day (post 8.1) this 1520 will really shine. It's CPU can be fully utilized, the fonts will scale accordingly and allow the larger screen to display more (as a higher res screen should), etc. For now, I think it's time to move my SIM back to the iPhone 5. For now, affair is over. (but who knows...)

 

[lancorp]

I wanted a bigger screen to get a bigger picture, bigger videos, bigger letters in text on the webb and so on.
I did not want a bigger screen just so they could squeeze more stuff into it, because then I don't se the point in making it bigger since you still need to hold it close to your face or zoom in to read.
"A oversized 920" is exactly hat I wanted.

Unless you have vision problems, you really don't need to hold the phone close to your face to see it. Bigger screens and higher res screens are two different things. Bigger screens make things bigger. Higher res screens make things smaller, but allow more content on the same screen. Bigger screen AND higher res, together, is the perfect combo, but in the case of WP8 and the 1520, you only get gargantuan text on a giant display. No benefit for those with normal vision.

 

[Citizen X]

It's funny - this sounds so much like the 'Metro / Desktop' (WP / W8) discussion when it comes to hybrid PCs. Not enough desktop on this one, not enough Metro on that one. Too much tablet-centric here, too much clamshell there. *shrug*

Lol. Exactly.

The 1520 won't fit in my jeans pockets (comfortably), and where do I put it when I exercise or hike, etc?

I ski with my 1520 in my thigh pocket. I'm pretty sure hiking with it is possible. And really it is time to dump the hipster jeans. My 1520 fits in the pocket of my jeans and khakis and the breast pocket of my suit.

Most importantly, I'm really turned off by the BIG TEXT everywhere.

One man's "big text" is another man's normal size. I am just glad I can rest this phone in my lap and read web pages easily vs having a tiny 4" screen press up agains my nose.

It seems like a phone made for the visually impaired.

My parent's love this phone. No more squinting at tiny text!

One day (post 8.1) this 1520 will really shine. It's CPU can be fully utilized, the fonts will scale accordingly and allow the larger screen to display more (as a higher res screen should), etc.

No one can argue with giving the consumer choice. Scaling text would be a nice feature. Having said that the current size of the text is not the horror show people are making it out to be.

For now, I think it's time to move my SIM back to the iPhone 5. For now, affair is over. (but who knows...)

iphone screen specs... 4" 1136x640

Enjoy your "Retina" display.

 

[Kebero]

I'd just like to point out that other than the Galaxy Note series, there really aren't any phablets with functionality that differs from related phones.

 

[megamsp]

Its funny. I have the Note 2 and maybe im going to buy the 1520. Love big screen and be able to read without having to wear glasses. I look sometimes to my wife S3 and struggle a bit to read...When you get used to big screens over 5'' its dificult to go back.

 

[Old_Cus]

Any one phone can't be all things to all people. There are plenty of us that loves this phone and there are bound to be people that it just doesn't work for. Good luck in your search for that phone that works for you.

 

[Nisse Tuta]

Unless you have vision problems, you really don't need to hold the phone close to your face to see it. Bigger screens and higher res screens are two different things. Bigger screens make things bigger. Higher res screens make things smaller, but allow more content on the same screen. Bigger screen AND higher res, together, is the perfect combo, but in the case of WP8 and the 1520, you only get gargantuan text on a giant display. No benefit for those with normal vision.

There is nothing wrong with my vision.
I bought the L1520 for the bigger screen and In glad I did. Its nice to be able to view it from a more comfortable distance.
If you take a L920 and a L1520 side by side and still don't see that its easier to read the same text from waist level Im afraid your vision might be a bit of

I hope they release a phone with more stuff in it for you but Im happy as it is and hope they don't change a thing on the L1520.
Accept for that stupid clock that isn't showing while browsing the web.

 

[lancorp]

One man's "big text" is another man's normal size. I am just glad I can rest this phone in my lap and read web pages easily vs having a tiny 4" screen press up agains my nose.

Not sure why people think you have to have a 4" phone pressed up against your nose to see it? I comfortably use my iPhone an arms length away. Do I read books on it? Of course not, but as a phone and app device, I've no complaints. I was showing off the 1520 to a friend yesterday and fired up IE and went to Amazon.com to show off the sharp display. Everything on the screen was so darn large that it was unusable. Product pictures so big they didn't fit on the screen, etc. Mucking about with the IE settings, I set it to desktop mode, and it looked great (sharp, full screen) but everything is too small to be touchable.

My parent's love this phone. No more squinting at tiny text!

My point exactly! :wink:

No one can argue with giving the consumer choice. Scaling text would be a nice feature. Having said that the current size of the text is not the horror show people are making it out to be.

To me, it's the equivalent of running one of the new 27" QHD+ PC monitors (2560x1440) at 1440x900. You're not really utilizing the resolution.

iphone screen specs... 4" 1136x640. Enjoy your "Retina" display.

I'll take usability over eye-candy any day. The 1520 display is beautiful, no doubt. I didn't say the "Retina" display was better, but for a 4" phone, it's just fine.

I'll hold onto my 1520 and see what WP8.1 brings. Heck, I may even add it as another line on my AT&T plan to keep playing with. This new Mobile Share Value Plan for only $15 per line to share my 10GB, no activation fee and no contract makes it really easy to add/remove phones willy-nilly. (not to mention the $100 bill credit if I keep the line active for 45 days. That credit equals about 7 months of service for free!)

 

[Dave Blake]

Here is what I think... IT'S A PHONE... Anybody that thinks it would be cool to have 2 apps running on the screen at the same time should try a Not 3 to see just how useless something like that is. These gimmick apps like two apps running on a small screen are cool looking but useless in real work applications. A 3 inch screen is why nobody uses a blackberry anymore. Its just not user friendly. The app switching features in WP8 more than makes up for this. At least by app switching you get to use the full screen when copying and pasting information. The big screen on this phone is great for all things a phone should be used for. Things like taking and viewing video or pictures. If you need If you need 2 apps running on the screen at the same time get out your Surface that IS what its made for.

WP8 is a phone OS to be used on phones. With the introduction of WP8.1 or WP 8.1=PRT we will see a bunch of the things that people are craving added. In the end it will still be Phone RT not the desktop Windows 8 because these processors just can't run that OS. They were never made to. At some point in the future when the hardware catches up with the OS I would bet that the plan is to put full Windows on a phone. We are just not there hardware wise yet. I don't like that other phone OS because they are trying to do to much with the OS and the hardware won't handle it. This cripples the device at times makes the phone a useless brick trying to catch up. When I need my phone to make a call I expect it to make the call not lag for 30 seconds while the hardware catches up with what the OS is doing. I just hope by adding the upcoming features to WP 8.1 Microsoft isn't crippling the OS just to quiet the critics.


I think if we take a step back from the "look what the other guys doing table" and take a serious look at what this phone can do we will all see that WP8 on the Lumia 1520 does exactly what it should do. Work well on the hardware available. How important is a gimmick feature if it renders your phone useless or kills you battery.

 

[HaibaneReki]

Accept for that stupid clock that isn't showing while browsing the web.

hehe, I LOLed at that remark in Your 1520 video when I want to check time during browsing I just touch the three dots to have a peek at the status bar. Barely any effort

 

[Phrozty]

This thread is a fail. You bought a phone and expected a tablet. Next you'll be buying a 2520 and wondering why it isn't a phone.

As for "nothing new other than an oversized 920," it has
- Extra column of buttons
- 1080p for the first time
- Some apps taking advantage of extra space, but obviously not all
- Nokia Black which brought in a lot of it's own new features:
-- Glance screen
-- individual app shutdown (big red x)
-- Grouping (you know, like on windows 8)
-- Beamer