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Nokia Lumia 800

In Mobile - Posted on Thu 29th March 2012 7.56PM

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Nokia has been releasing a new range of smartphones based on the Windows Phone operating system. It is called the Lumia. I was very skeptical when Stephen Elop announced this partnership with Microsoft since the Windows mobile platform never succeeded grasping large market shares compared to its rivals. Thanks to folks at Nokia Connects, I was able to get my hands on the Lumia 800, Nokia’s currently top of the range Windows phone. Time to find out how it performs and how the alliance between Nokia and Microsoft worked out. 


The Unboxing



The Lumia 800 box contains the following:

  • Nokia Lumia 800 handset
  • Nokia Fast USB Charger AC-16
  • Nokia Charging and Data Cable CA-185CD
  • Nokia Stereo Headset WH-902
  • Soft cover, color match to phone
  • Quick Guide, User Guide and Product information leaflet


The Design


The design is nothing but a reincarnated Nokia N9. However there are some distinctive clues that separates itself from its old brother. For instance, the Lumia 800 comes with a camera button whilst the N9 does not. Another clue is the capacitive buttons found on the front.



At the top, the micro usb, the micro sim bay are housed behind their respective cover and on the left is the 3.5mm jack. 




I was totally amazed by the design. There is no doubt that its simplicity is its greatest beauty. Hats off to Nokia! The feel and build quality is absolutely exceptional. The polycarbonate body, the Gorilla glass and its curvature near the edges makes the phone feel more upmarket compared to its cheap plastic rivals.


The design is so good that I find it hard to study when it's next to me! My eyes can't stop peeking at the device! At 142g, it feels a bit heavy but I think the build quality is the reason for that.


CPU and GPU


In terms of hardware, the Lumia 800 is not the top notch on the market but it is decent enough to keep you going for everyday use. It is equipped with a 1.4 Ghz Scorpion CPU and the Andreno 205 GPU designed by Qualcomm. I never experienced a lag on the device. It was very smooth and it was even able to run a video without difficulty while a game was opened in the background. Speaking of which, I find gaming quite good on the device. I installed a couple of games such as Splinter Cell Conviction and Assassin’s Creed. The GPU did its job perfectly well.


Storage


Nokia was very kind hearted in terms of storage capacity. 16Gb is available to exploit. However what I find lacking is that there is no external SD card slot. Whilst many people will not complain about it since 16Gb would be more than sufficient, this is an issue for me since I usually travel with lots of music not to mention applications installed and my personal documents as well.


Display


The screen is 480x800 pixels with an AMOLED capacitive display. It is very responsive, clear and colours are vivid.


I wanted to know how it performs compared to the competition. Personally I think the leaders on the market are Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 and Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 devices due to their AMOLED and Super AMOLED technologies respectively.



From left to right: Nokia Lumia 800, Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 and Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100


The Lumia 800 performs surprisingly well compared to the two Galaxy devices. In terms of saturation of colours, the Galaxy S2 is a clear winner here, but the Nokia beats the first generation Galaxy S. In terms of the sharpness, again the S2 wins while the Lumia 800 performs as well as the Galaxy S.


From top to bottom: Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000, Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 and Nokia Lumia 800


GPS


Concerning the GPS, I made some tests on its locking capability and accuracy. Locking was fast, just a blink of an eye! I was located while moving on a bus back from work. To check the accuracy I had to download an app that uses Google Map as Nokia Maps is very poorly detailed for Mauritius. Such a good reception could be explained by the use of a polycarbonate body which avoids any interferences unlike metal cases.


Sound


The sound quality with the WH-902 headset was decent. It was good enough to handle high bass and no squeaking was detected even on  the highest volume. However, it is the speaker which is disappointing. Placed at the bottom, the device did not produce homogeneous sound output. Secondly if the device is rotated to landscape while holding it with my hands, for example for viewing a video, my palm blocks the sound coming out of the speaker. If I connect the headset it gets worse, I am unable to hold the device properly for gaming due to the headset plug.


Camera


The fact that the optics come from Carl Zeiss, I was certain that the camera would perform well. An 8 megapixel camera on the back, with autofocus functionality was a total bliss. Sadly the Lumia 800 is handicapped by the absence of a front facing camera. Today's smartphones are equipped with more and more gizmos and are required to perform several functionalities with them. I do not understand why Nokia has chosen not to spend a little more on the device? May be it has to do with the forthcoming Lumia 900?


8 MP camera by Carl Zeiss Optics with dual flash


Taking some few snaps here and there reveal the superb image quality. Below are some of my best photos taken with the camera. This is where Nokia excels compared to its rivals....photography!








I was also wondering how it performs compared to the old king, the N8. The four photos below reveal the result in full daylight and poor lighting conditions.


Nokia N8 - Daylight condition


Nokia Lumia 800 - Daylight condition


Nokia N8 - Low light condition


Nokia Lumia 800 - Low light condition


Under bright daylight, the Lumia 800 performs better than the N8, colours are more saturated and the image is sharper. In low light I notice the result is almost similar. Both produce a comparable amount of noise and the images are blurred due to a decrease in shutter speed.


Videos are recorded in HD (720p). The two videos below reveal the quality of the image. The second one shows its adaptability in fast changing light conditions.






Battery


I think the biggest flaw of the device is the 1450 mAh Li-Ion battery as it could not sustain me for more than a day. The maximum I could get was about 10 hours. Consequently the Lumia 800 had to be chained to my desktop or the charger once I get back from work. Thankfully Nokia has acknowledged the issue and is currently rolling out a firmware fix. Battery life should triple after the update.


Windows Phone 7.5 OS


The first time I switched on the phone I was amazed by the graphical interface. The Metro UI is without doubt unique and pleasing to the eye but it takes some getting used to, especially if you are an Android or iOS user. Indeed, to navigate through the settings requires a different approach. When you switch on the phone, you are greeted by Start, this is where the Windows Tiles are. You can customise Start to your needs; add an application tile, reposition it or finally remove it. The colours can also be changed in the phone settings.



Start


Sliding to the left will give you a list of the applications installed which you will have to vertically scroll.



There are some extra applications that you will not find on any other WP device. Nokia Music app is an example. You could stream unlimited music for free and even download them for a few bucks. I really liked this feature, I was streaming for hours of music and at the same time discovering new artists.


Personally, I find the OS beautiful, but sometimes frustrating to use. You have probably noticed by now that I have not uploaded any screenshots of the UI. This is mainly because Windows Phone does not have an built in app to do so. I was completely baffled by this unfortunate discovery as all other major smartphone OS has one.


Another drawback of the WP7.5 is that there is no notification bar at the top. This is a main concern for me since while browsing through the menus and the phone suddenly beeps, I had to return back to Start, go through the tiles to check if it is an email or any other social app notification. If nothing is found, then you have to go through the notification center in the Profile tile. It was very annoying since there were too many steps to get achieve simple things. Navigation on WP7.5’s UI is not really well thought out to my liking. Similarly no shortcuts for Wifi, 3G, bluetooth and airplane mode were built in the OS as well. I had to search for an app which could add tiles to Start for each functionality (Connectivity Shortcuts).


Last big inconvenience with WP7.5 with the Lumia 800 is that there is no support for plug and play or USB mass storage and therefore transferring your spreadsheet documents is a pain. I had to mail them to myself then download on the phone in order to read them on my the phone. You could also upload to Microsoft’s cloud storage, Skydrive....but honestly I don't use it.


Zune


So how to transfer your media content to the device? Only via Microsoft Zune! One will be required to rely solely on Zune to transfer their music and videos. 




Zune will initially scan your media folders and list the contents. You only have to drag and drop them to the device's icon et voila; the transfer is done. Synchronisation is particular useful when backing up your recorded videos and photos.



Additionally, Zune can act as a media player on Windows. It can also be used to buy music on the Zune marketplace, listen to podcasts and even download apps for your Windows Phone 7 device.


The Wrap Up


The Nokia Lumia 800 has a lot of potential to seduce first time smartphone buyers. According to latest statistics, Windows Phone 7.5 is turning heads and it has started to grow in the smartphone segment with Nokia leading sales in this ecosystem.


WP is not as complete as Android or iOS since it is a relatively young ecosystem. With time it will become mature, up to a point where it will be able to be a serious contender to its rivals. In terms of hardware, Nokia has done a good job despite the issues I mentioned but knowing that the manufacturer has a good reputation for after sales service, the Lumia 800 will only get better with firmware updates over time to fix the issues.


Pros:

  • Beautiful design
  • Impressive build quality
  • Great camera
  • WP7.5 UI’s originality
  • CPU and GPU performance
  • GPS lock and accuracy


Cons:


  • Battery life
  • Speaker’s position
  • No front facing camera
  • No USB mass storage mode
  • No external SD card slot
  • WP7.5 UI’s navigation not intuitive enough



Written by Nitish.


No comment posted.

The Raspberry Pi

In Technology - Posted on Sat 3rd March 2012 5.42PM

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Meet the Raspberry Pi! What's that? A fruit? No, it's a revolutionary credit card size computer. The idea comes volunteers in UK who intend to produce this small device on a large scale  for schools in UK. The aim is to reverse the lack of programming skills in UK as this device will be affordable. It is expected to cost around $35 dollars! Being small, students will be able to carry it with them anywhere. 


Hardware wise don't expect high end stuffs. It has been primarily designed to perform basic stuffs, from web browsing to watching a 1080p video. The approach was to use mobile technologies to run like an ordinary pc. It consists of an SoC board to which is attached an ARM processor which is clocked at 700Mhz with a Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU which is capable of decoding h.264/MPEG-4 AVC, 256mb ram shared with the GPU, 2 usb ports, RCA out, SD card slot, an ethernet port and an audio jack. On top of that a linux operating system. All you need to do is to connect it to a screen through HDMI and plug in the usb mouse and keyboard and finally plug in the charger for power.




Although it is still in pre production phase, orders can be placed on  Premier Farnell/Element 14 and RS Components for those interested to get their hands on one. Shipping is worldwide but limited to one per person. I am waiting for the final production version to order one. What do you think? Is it worth buying?



Written by Nitish.


No comment posted.

Easter Egg in Android 2.3.3?

In Mobile - Posted on Thu 10th November 2011 11.47PM

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Just a small discovery I made lately which I'm sure many people who owns an android phone is unaware off. While fiddling with my Samsung Galaxy S, which by the way runs Android 2.3.3, I recently discovered a hidden image as displayed above. If you try to go to settings and enter about phone menu, try to tap the Firmware version section three to four consecutive times....et voila! You get this image! I don't know about other Android versions if they are the same. Perhaps you can let me know after you give it a try? ;-)



Written by Nitish.


No comment posted.

20 Ways to Reduce Computer Power Consumption

In Tips - Posted on Fri 21st October 2011 8.28PM

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Today’s article is about some tips about minimising your power consumption of your computer. I noticed that many parents moan about their monthly electricity bill and they will consequently find the main culprit that is their children (that could be you)...who might be spending hours on their desktop or notebook. These devices really consume quiet a lot of energy. But there are certain things that you can do to significantly decrease your power dependency. Remember that every single action counts as it will have a cumulative effect by the end of the month. Now consider for a whole year, you will save much more. This is also an effort from ..... read more



Written by Nitish.


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New to Photography

In Photography - Posted on Sat 8th October 2011 3.27PM

No picture posted.


Finally I'm back. I know I have been neglecting the blog for quite some time. Hopefully it won't happen again. There has been so much going on lately in my life. Being a fresh graduate I'm  starting to look for a job. The reason for being away for such a long time was that I was not in the country.


Anyway, before leaving Mauritius, I started to investigate how to use my dad's Nikon D3000. Since my dad is not tech-oriented, I had to learn how to use it on his behalf then transfer the knowledge to him.  So initially I was shooting on automatic m ..... read more



Written by Nitish.


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Orange's late letter

In Misc - Posted on Thu 23rd June 2011 5.36PM

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Orange really deserve to be renamed to ZOrange...adding a 'Z' sounds more like a Zero. Today 23rd of June, happen to be the day where I received two letters from Orange. The postman delivered them to my dad at 11.00 am, who knocked at my door of my room (PS: I was still asleep at that time). Dad dropped the two letters on my desk! I examined them....a big Orange logo on each envelope. After I opened both of them, I found that each contain the exact and same letter addressed to me. This is shown below.




Orange has had been organising an Open Day on the 22nd of June and  final year students who have just finished their studies (just like me) are invited and can bring some friends along. The funny thing is that I received the invitation letter one day after the event. I could only sarcastically smile at Orange because as you know, Orange is now being qualified as a slow ISP and don't you find it normal that any message that they want to convey to you will arrive late? :)



Written by Nitish.


(1) Comments posted.

Cloud Computing

In Educational - Posted on Fri 17th June 2011 12.00AM

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Recently the biggest buzz on the Internet is about cloud computing or the cloud. Just a week ago, Apple released its cloud know as the iCloud. Other big companies such as Microsoft and Amazon had already implemented their clouds years before. It might surprise you, but the trend on the Internet is now moving towards the cloud. I am sure many among you are confused by the term cloud or cloud computing. People may use it in casual conversations but they may not fully understand what it really is. I have previously worked on specific part of Google's cloud which is the Google App Engine. With the knowledge I have gathered, I'll try to explain ..... read more



Written by Nitish.


(2) Comments posted.


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