Nokia Lumia 900 Review - Windows Phone with LTE
by Brian Klug on April 3, 2012 9:00 PM ESTSumming up the Lumia 900 as a device is pretty easy, it's superficially a beefed up, larger Lumia 800. Spelled out explicitly, the changes are a larger 4.3" SAMOLED+ display with a full RGB stripe, a front facing 720p camera, and LTE connectivity for AT&T. When it launches later in Europe, instead of LTE, the Lumia 900 will bring DC-HSPA+ and all around improved cellular connectivity courtesy MDM9200. The Lumia 900 is thinner, but obviously larger in x and y to accommodate the larger display, but in the hand and pocket the difference isn't all that huge. The end result is a device I can find only positive things to talk about with, and it's the Lumia that finally rounds out Nokia's complete entrant Windows Phone lineup.
For the first time in a while, I'm genuinely excited by a new Windows Phone. With the Lumia 900, it seems as though some of Nokia's rhetoric about being the first OEM to put its best hardware and design forward with the platform is starting to ring true. Similar to our take on the first members of the Lumia family, the 900 is easily the best Windows Phone on the market today.
The $99 launch price is absolutely crazy and very welcome for a flagship phone, particularly one with such high build quality and camera standards. Not only does this obviate other Windows Phones, but it increases competitive pressure on Apple as well as Android smartphone providers. I don't know that there's still a lot of iPhone/Windows Phone cross shopping, but a trend towards even cheaper on-contract prices for high-end smartphones is absolutely welcome.
What we really need to see from Nokia is faster hardware and more power efficient LTE, both of these things are technically possible today (28nm LTE basebands are still not quite available in volume yet) however it's up to Microsoft to actually enforce the platform change. It's amazing what Nokia has been able to do hardware-wise with only a year in the Microsoft camp, particularly when you remember that most smartphone development cycles are in the 12 - 24 month range. While the Lumia 900 is a great Windows Phone today, what will really be interesting is what Nokia will be able to pull off with a full design cycle under its belt.
The Lumia 900 launch in the US is, like I stated before, obviously a big deal for Nokia, and putting its best devices on the table with the 900 makes sense, even if the initial Lumia 710 introduction was something of a puzzling first step. While it's a big deal for Nokia to be launching a flagship phone in the US once more, it really isn't as much of a make or break thing for the Windows Phone 7 platform in general, and that brings me to my next point.
Ultimately the Lumia 900 doesn't really change the balance of power in the smartphone OS competition as it stands right now. Although the version number has advanced on the Lumia 900 (because of changes that needed to accommodate LTE), it's really the same Windows Phone 7.5 Mango we've seen and talked about before. If you're looking for a make or break launch that might upset the balance, wait for the Apollo update.
As it enables dual-core SoCs, the Apollo update leads to our continued plea to Microsoft: please throw better hardware at the Windows Phone platform. No company ever won by being the slowest. Windows Phone may be an extremely efficient platform (it is), but there are only good things to come from combining software efficiency with bleeding edge hardware. Microsoft has learned tremendously from Apple in this regard, but in order for Windows Phone to be more than a third runner up it needs to push the envelope just as much as Apple has been. Microsoft will eventually adopt Krait, and 28nm LTE is equally inevitable, but it would just be nice to see those things sooner rather than later on Windows Phone. At some point for a platform to be a winner, it must actually be industry leading. I suspect all of this will come as a part of Microsoft's Windows 8 strategy. Waiting is never easy.
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sonicmerlin - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
Also even on the S4 Android isn't smooth. Look at how much of a delay occurs between when you swipe your finger and the screen finally responds with movement. There's really just no comparison to a proper OS that prioritizes the UI thread.crispbp04 - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link
I have the HTC titan and I use it all day every day. It's always fast, always smooth, always fun to use, and if I forget to plug it in at night I can still use it the entire next day. Android made me want to punch myself in the face after it turned to junk after 2 weeks. I was flashing a new rom on it every other day and spending hours customizing it.... now I get to spend that time actually ENJOYING my phone.I have never once said "I wish my phone was faster". I've never felt like my phone needed a dual core because WP7 has an awesome staff of engineers making sure the user experience is the #1 focus.
I am getting the Lumia 900 because it has LTE and is one sexy ass phone. I'm waiting for the white one to launch though because it is absolutely gorgeous. I am going to whore out my Titan to my friends who have been dying to try out the WP ever since I got it.
Beerfloat - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link
The experiences you claim seem highly exaggerated at best. Is this a genuine post or more astroturf?http://www.moneylife.in/article/nokia-lumia-800-wh...
crispbp04 - Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - link
I can demo my phone to you if it'll make you feel better. Want me to make a youtube video for you? I have the following devices:1) HTC HD2 running windows phone mango
2) Samsung focus
3) HTC Titan
4) Blackberry Bold (work phone)
I went to the AT&T store and did NOT purchase the lumia only because the Ttitan II was so much better than I expected. Now I am waiting until the white lumia comes out to see if it sways me back to the lumia, otherwise I'm getting the Titan II
bplewis24 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link
@ visionYou either don't know what you're doing or have no idea what you're talking about. You should probably stop posting FUD and flat out lies.
Iketh - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link
I have both an Android (wife uses it) and WP device, and Android absolutely sucks. It's getting replaced as soon as AT&T allows it.Vision is 100% accurate.
jmcb - Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - link
The problem with vision's post is he said every Android phone he's used. Well...... every Android phone he's used does not equal all Android phones.I can tell you that Android doesnt absolutely suck...thats just your opinion. WP7 might be smoother, has less lag than most Android phones....but that doesnt make up the entire user experience.
Kids mother has a Nexus S and an iPhone 4. She likes her iPhone 4 more cuz she says the Nexus S sticks, gets stuck too much. I assume she means lag. After using both....I would go with the Nexus S. Based on my wants n needs.
One thing we gotta remember is everybody doesnt have the same wants n needs. If that was the case...we would all have iPhones now. I'm talking about before Android even came out.... we would all have iPhones.
sprockkets - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link
"Well, in general if Android doesn't suck so much none of us really need a quad-core phone. Clearly WP is much more efficient platform than Android today so a single-core phone can be this solid and for most people this translates to feeling faster than most Android phones that lags when apps are running and sans performance."It's called the GUI is GPU accelerated. Already solved in ICS. It was sorely needed, yes. But I'm willing to bet people will still harp about this even with the HTC One series and new Samsungs come out.
"Nearly every Android device I've used today needs manual management in order to run smoothly. Letting a single widget or app sitting background too long, battery life and performance suffers. Android's entire ecosystem is to blame for faulty app coding to OS builds rigged with bloatware."
Sorry to hear that one widget is killing your phone. I have 3 of them and I'm on to day 3 of my battery life with 3G and Wifi on with sync.
"Bloatware" is also no longer an issue either with ICS.
Hey, whatever floats your boat, go with it. I personally cannot tolerate the GUI on WP7 past 2 minutes.
eddman - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link
"It's called the GUI is GPU accelerated. Already solved in ICS."Actually it was/is not just that. It's an underlying OS issue.
http://www.inspiredgeek.com/2011/12/07/why-android...
For a fair comparison, flash ICS on a 1 GHz single-core (preferably snapdragon) android phone with 512 MB memory and then compare to a 1 GHz WP.
Exodite - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link
You don't need ICS for Android to compare well in such a situation, you just need a device that has had at least moderate optimizations towards the actual hardware.Ie. probably not a LG device, or one mangled too much by the carrier.