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Nokia Lumia 800 review roundup

OTOH: Curated reviews of new Knock-yuh

Published 14:54, 27 October 11

By Richi Jennings (@richi ).

Seeking a Nokia Lumia 800 review? I've got five of them. As expected, Nokia (HEL:NOK1V) (NYSE:NOK) announced its new Windows Phone 7.5 smartphones yesterday, although there were only two of them, not three as some fools predicted.

• On the one hand, It looks like the best Windows Phone yet seen.
• On The Other Hand, CEO Stephen Elop still can't pronounce the name of the company.

Plus, today's skateboarding duck: A Polish Photoshop Disaster...


Jeremy Kirk reports:

Nokia...launched the Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800, premium devices intended to compete with Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google’s Android. ... The Lumia 800, which will retail for €420...will be available in some European countries next month. ... The Lumia 710 will cost €270.
...
Nokia has included its Nokia Maps, which provides free offline navigation on both devices and high quality imaging. ... Nokia will offer In addition...access to its music catalogue in 38 countries and provide free access to a radio streaming service.

Matt Warman adds:

Although the seamless polycarbonate shell and the solidity of the device are impressive, in fact it’s the Windows Phone software that really shines. Teamed with Nokia’s excellent design and camera heritage, there’s a lot to like. ... [T]he phone’s tactile, matte finish means the Lumia is not like the bar of soap that many other phones often seem to be modelled on. It’s also pleasingly weighted.
...
There’s no front camera...which will be a pity when Microsoft roles out Skype, but it does mean the all-screen design...looks lovely. There’s a single-core 1.4GHz processor inside...16GB of internal storage, and an 8mp camera on the back. With 512MB of RAM, the phone performs perfectly well enough.

And Stephen Ebert gives two thumbs up:

The first thing that sticks out is just how gorgeous the handset is. The Nokia Lumia 800 doesn’t have any of the joins in construction you’ll see on most rival smartphones. ... [It] oozes class, and such deliberate design feels as friendly to the hand as it does to the eye.
...
The Windows Phone operating system...makes even...iOS and Android look dated. ... Nokia has always been one for good hardware design, so to marry it with...Windows Phone looks like a fantastic move if Nokia is to once again plough its way towards the top of the smartphone food chain. 

But Andrew Orlowski is no Nokia fanboi:

[Who] would seriously choose to carry around a phone that is Shocking Blue, Shocking Yellow, or Screaming Pink? These are clown colours - they don't convey "edgy" or hip, but Ronald McDonald. ... [If] Nokia is going to invest in materials and finish...they have to broaden that palette. Nokia used to have great designers.
...
I would at this point start listing all the trainspotter details of each Lumia. But they’re not so different from other Mango devices as to merit it. ... They’re Mango phones with Nokia SatNav and Office built in. That’s the bottom line.
...
The Lumias come bundled with a music service...[that's not] terribly exciting. There are roughly 18 zillion streaming music services that offer rather more. 

Meanwhile, Kristy Korcz has five reasons to love it:

It's beautiful...the cyan and magenta tones of this device are pretty stunning.
...
It's a Windows Phone — The Nokia 800 fits the style and feel of Mango like a glove.
...
[It's got] an 8MP camera with f/2.2 lens, which stands up to the iPhone 4S, but comes with extra features.
...
Nokia is stocking the Lumia 800 with a free voice-powered turn-by-turn navigation system.
...
The live tiles, colors, threads, and fonts all make for a unique device. 

Today's Skateboarding Duck...

• A Polish Photoshop Disaster. From Poland...

Don't miss out on OTOH:

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. His writing has previously won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Tags: microsoft, mobile & wireless, msft, nok, nok1v, nokia, operating systems, windows, windows phone

Subscribe to this blog

By Richi Jennings (@richi ).

• On the one hand, It looks like the best Windows Phone yet seen.
• On The Other Hand, CEO Stephen Elop still can't pronounce the name of the company.

Nokia...launched the Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800, premium devices intended to compete with Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google’s Android. ... The Lumia 800, which will retail for €420...will be available in some European countries next month. ... The Lumia 710 will cost €270.
...
Nokia has included its Nokia Maps, which provides free offline navigation on both devices and high quality imaging. ... Nokia will offer In addition...access to its music catalogue in 38 countries and provide free access to a radio streaming service.

Although the seamless polycarbonate shell and the solidity of the device are impressive, in fact it’s the Windows Phone software that really shines. Teamed with Nokia’s excellent design and camera heritage, there’s a lot to like. ... [T]he phone’s tactile, matte finish means the Lumia is not like the bar of soap that many other phones often seem to be modelled on. It’s also pleasingly weighted.
...
There’s no front camera...which will be a pity when Microsoft roles out Skype, but it does mean the all-screen design...looks lovely. There’s a single-core 1.4GHz processor inside...16GB of internal storage, and an 8mp camera on the back. With 512MB of RAM, the phone performs perfectly well enough.

The first thing that sticks out is just how gorgeous the handset is. The Nokia Lumia 800 doesn’t have any of the joins in construction you’ll see on most rival smartphones. ... [It] oozes class, and such deliberate design feels as friendly to the hand as it does to the eye.
...
The Windows Phone operating system...makes even...iOS and Android look dated. ... Nokia has always been one for good hardware design, so to marry it with...Windows Phone looks like a fantastic move if Nokia is to once again plough its way towards the top of the smartphone food chain. 

[Who] would seriously choose to carry around a phone that is Shocking Blue, Shocking Yellow, or Screaming Pink? These are clown colours - they don't convey "edgy" or hip, but Ronald McDonald. ... [If] Nokia is going to invest in materials and finish...they have to broaden that palette. Nokia used to have great designers.
...
I would at this point start listing all the trainspotter details of each Lumia. But they’re not so different from other Mango devices as to merit it. ... They’re Mango phones with Nokia SatNav and Office built in. That’s the bottom line.
...
The Lumias come bundled with a music service...[that's not] terribly exciting. There are roughly 18 zillion streaming music services that offer rather more. 

It's beautiful...the cyan and magenta tones of this device are pretty stunning.
...
It's a Windows Phone — The Nokia 800 fits the style and feel of Mango like a glove.
...
[It's got] an 8MP camera with f/2.2 lens, which stands up to the iPhone 4S, but comes with extra features.
...
Nokia is stocking the Lumia 800 with a free voice-powered turn-by-turn navigation system.
...
The live tiles, colors, threads, and fonts all make for a unique device. 

• A Polish Photoshop Disaster. From Poland...

• Follow @richi on Twitter
• Pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook
• Catch up with posts from the previous few days