The Nokia Lumia 900 is the Windows Phone I’ve been waiting
for. After months of rumors and speculation, Nokia President Stephen
Elop introduced the world to Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone at a press
conference yesterday at CES in Las Vegas. I had the chance to get my
hands on the Lumia 900, which is undoubtedly one of the hottest phones
at CES. And yes, I was impressed.
Ever since the debut of Windows Phone 7
two years ago, I’ve felt that Microsoft was a little behind in the
hardware department. That isn’t to say that the crop of initial Windows
Phones from HTC, Samsung, and LG weren’t good, but it was hard not to
feel like they were lesser versions of those manufacturer’s high-end
Android phone.
When Nokia announced it would be hopping on the Windows Phone train,
I was excited. As I’ve written many times before, I’ve always loved
Nokia hardware--particularly the Carl Zeiss cameras--but I didn’t like
the look and feel of Symbian.
Windows Phone seemed to have the opposite problem: great OS,
uninspiring hardware. Put the two together and they should make a pretty
darn good phone, right?
The first Lumia phones we saw sort of fulfilled my wishes. The Lumia
800, the flagship phone for Europe and Asia, had that signature high
quality yet durable Nokia build, but the display seemed a bit on the
small side. Plus, it's missing a front-facing camera (even though the
Mango update for Windows Phone adds support for dual cameras).
Enter the Lumia 900:
Nokia saw which phones were doing well in the United States, and
refined and added to the Lumia 800 so it could be competitive. The 900’s
display got bumped up to 4.30 inches (from 3.7 inches), added a
front-facing camera, and--possibly the best addition--added support for
AT&T’s growing LTE network.
The
Lumia 900 beautifully showcases the Windows Phone OS. The body is made
from a single injectable polyurethane matte plastic build, as is the Lumia 800,
which gives it a sturdy feel. The material is soft to touch, but
resistant to scratches (although not necessarily fingerprints). And it
doesn't feel like it will completely shatter if you drop it.
The bold bright and bright colors of Windows Phone look smashing on the
ClearBlack Super AMOLED display. The display is slightly curved, too,
providing good viewing angles and reduced glare.
For me, the most exciting feature is the 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens
with F2.2 aperture. The Lumia 900 has a dual wide-mode function allowing
you to take wide-angle shots. I wasn’t able to test the Lumia 900's
camera on the showfloor, but when I tested the Lumia 800's camera a few months ago, I was impressed with the snappy shutter speed and high quality photos.
There are some worrisome issues, however. It's hard to say how tough
using AT&T's LTE network will be on the Lumia’s battery. Nokia
claims up to 7 hours of talk time and all-day battery life--but does
that include on LTE? Additionally, in a world of dual-core and soon to be quad-core phones
how will the Lumia perform in comparison? Windows Phone is a very
light-feeling OS and during my quick hands-on, I didn’t notice any lag
or sluggishness. Still, further testing needs to be done.
Despite these issues, the Lumia 900 is an exciting addition to the world
of Windows phones, and might just be the phone to win over consumers
who might be hesitant of the OS. I just wish the Lumia 900 came in hot
pink like the 800 does, but I guess you can’t get everything you wish
for.
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