Replacing Lumia 920 - what next?

[KaraK]

Somehow managed to crack the screen on my trusty Lumia 920 at some point over the weekend The phone still works fine but as someone who likes his phones to be pristine (the 920 is 20 months old and until this crack there wasn't a mark on it) it's driving me nuts! As a result of changing to a 4G contract a the start of last year I'm now 19 months into a 24 month contract so I reckon I'll probably be able to get away with an early upgrade (I don't really "do" paying for phones )

The problem is I don't know what to go for - I was planning on waiting for the new "flagship" Nokia phone that is rumoured for the end of the year but I'm not sure I can put up with the crack for that long. I'm definitely wanting to stay Lumia and I think I've got it narrowed down to two, the new 930 seems a logical successor to the 920 although I'm not 100% convinced for some reason - from seeing pictures of it I'm not sure if the new casing design will be as comfortable to hold as the 920 and the reviews I've read while not bad aren't exactly getting me reaching for my wallet. The leftfield choice would be to go for the 1520, reviews say it's excellent and the larger screen would be great for browsing etc and by all accounts the battery life is superb which is a big plus. The obvious downside of course being that it's fecking huge and can I cope with carrying around a phone with a 6" screen day in day out? So anyway I thought I'd open it up to the PH masses and see if anyone has lived with either of those and has any recommendations?

[_Deano]

Just this weekend i bought the 930 off contract, and i'm very happy with the phone so far.
I could be looking at it with rose tinted glasses, as i've been waiting for the Windows 8.1 phone for sometime now; but i'm very happy with it so far.
I also have a recent LG G2, which i believe uses the same processor and the same amount of RAM, but the 930 flies in comparison. Everything seems to be that much slicker and i'm quite that i've made the choice to move over to Windows.
Of course there is the 'lack' of apps in the Appstore, compared to Android, but i've found everything that i've needed so far.

Although the phone has a plastic back, instead of a metal one, it's probably due to the fact that you can charge the phone without a wire. I can only assume that a metal back would prevent the phone from charging in that manner, but in no way does it make the phone feel cheap or tacky. It's a solid case and there is a metal/alloy strip around the edge of the phone (think iPhone4).

I'm still getting used to the options, but i love the live tiles and how quick the applications open up. I've yet to test a game, but i'm sure that i won't be disappointed. Oh and 32GB of storage and 7GB of MS One Drive storage, more than enough to drop music on too. Well better that the LG G2 16GB.

I will probably post a review a bit later, once i've fully gotten to grips with the phone, but i definitely recommend it at the moment.

[Polariz]

I have the 1520 and the size is...amazing and really crap. Unfortunately the laws of physics cannot give me a great, large 6" screen which I love, and yet all in a 4" phone size. Bloody phone manufacturers just don't innovate these days...

Frankly I do love it, but I would consider a smaller phone (Such as the 930). Unfortunately the 930 has no SD card slot, so is a non-starter for me.

[LeftmostAardvark]

What about a 1020? Still an excellent phone and the 41mega pixel camera is superb.

[AmitG]

FWIW I just got the Lumia 930. Carphone Warehouse had it for 419 GBP unlocked including a wireless charging plate, it was too good to pass up. The 1520 is pretty cheap these days but it was too big for me.

So far I am very impressed.

Good things:

• Build quality appears to be very good. Feels very solid.
• It's much faster than the 1020 that I had before. Presumably a combination of new OS and new hardware. A real joy to use. I can now type and see the word suggestions immediately rather than having to pause.
• You now get the signal/battery etc. on the screen all the time rather than having to swipe down, a small change but nice to have.
• Apps have been improved quite a lot, for example the weather app now looks really nice and has a proper live tile, there is a proper battery monitoring app etc.
• Pull-down notification bar is a blatant Android rip off but really handy. It's nice to be able to toggle wifi etc. quickly.
• The date/time now auto updates when you cross time zones, so presumably it is connecting to the Windows time servers. The 1020 didn't which really used to annoy me (I travel a lot).
• The Microsoft account now gives you 15GB of storage in OneDrive, if you get Office 365 as well you get 1TB
• Voice quality on calls is...wow. It's like having the person standing next to you, easily the best I have ever had. Nokia seem to be the only ones who care about this.

Bad things:

• It gets quite hot under heavy use (charging + wifi on + doing loads of updates). In normal use it seems fine.
• I can't work out how to turn off 4g. I normally do that to save battery and 3g is fine for me. It was possible on the 1020.
• There appear to be 3 different maps applications, Nokia HERE maps, Nokia HERE drive and Microsoft maps. WTF? I'm going to try Microsoft maps.
• Calendar seems to have lost the Agenda view. I used it all the time. Maybe it's hidden somewhere, am I being thick?

[_Deano]

AmitG said:

FWIW I just got the Lumia 930. Carphone Warehouse had it for 419 GBP unlocked including a wireless charging plate, it was too good to pass up. The 1520 is pretty cheap these days but it was too big for me.

So far I am very impressed.

Good things:

• Build quality appears to be very good. Feels very solid.
• It's much faster than the 1020 that I had before. Presumably a combination of new OS and new hardware. A real joy to use. I can now type and see the word suggestions immediately rather than having to pause.
• You now get the signal/battery etc. on the screen all the time rather than having to swipe down, a small change but nice to have.
• Apps have been improved quite a lot, for example the weather app now looks really nice and has a proper live tile, there is a proper battery monitoring app etc.
• Pull-down notification bar is a blatant Android rip off but really handy. It's nice to be able to toggle wifi etc. quickly.
• The date/time now auto updates when you cross time zones, so presumably it is connecting to the Windows time servers. The 1020 didn't which really used to annoy me (I travel a lot).
• The Microsoft account now gives you 15GB of storage in OneDrive, if you get Office 365 as well you get 1TB
• Voice quality on calls is...wow. It's like having the person standing next to you, easily the best I have ever had. Nokia seem to be the only ones who care about this.

Bad things:

• It gets quite hot under heavy use (charging + wifi on + doing loads of updates). In normal use it seems fine.
• I can't work out how to turn off 4g. I normally do that to save battery and 3g is fine for me. It was possible on the 1020.
• There appear to be 3 different maps applications, Nokia HERE maps, Nokia HERE drive and Microsoft maps. WTF? I'm going to try Microsoft maps.
• Calendar seems to have lost the Agenda view. I used it all the time. Maybe it's hidden somewhere, am I being thick?

Hi AmitG,

I've got one too , had it since Saturday and bought off contract from CPWH. I've played around with the phone and to answer:

• I can't work out how to turn off 4g.

You can do this by going to All settings, Mobile+SIM, SIM settings, and the change the Highest connection speed from 4G to 3G.
I would suggest you download the Nokia maps, and save it on the local storage. You can then download Googlemaps, which can use the built in maps, so you don't always need a connection. It's so much quicker than trying to pull the map info over a net connection.

Hope this helps.

[_Deano]

Oh I forgot to add, you know that package deal that they are also offering (free Bluetooth speaker, wireless charger and £20 entertainment voucher) till the 31st July?
Well you don't need to take out a contract, which some gibbon try to convince me was the only way at Phones4U. Obtain your IMEI number and go to the promotions page on the Nokia site. Enter in the details and you can register to have the kit and voucher to be delivered. T&Cs state that this only applies to any 'successful' purchase. But it is 'very' limited stock.
I completed the details and i'm going to have to wait up to 28 days for a hopeful delivery.

http://lumia930offer.co.uk/

Edited by _Deano on Wednesday 23 July 21:07

[AmitG]

Thanks _Deano, I have now turned off 4g

Whoever said these phones were idiot proof had clearly never met me

I'm going to play around with the different map applications, the Microsoft app also appears to let you download maps...

It's early days but I think that Nokia/MS have done quite well with this one.

[V8mate]

Get the Nokia Drive stuff. It's the best thing about these phones by far.

I hate my 920, but am only 15 months into the 24m contract. But the satnav is the best I've ever used, including standalone products. Have used it all oer Europe too; all maps built-in and very up-to-date.

Grab all the Nokia apps, in fact. They represent some serious value add!

[The_Burg]

LeftmostAardvark said:

What about a 1020? Still an excellent phone and the 41mega pixel camera is superb.

Camera is amazing, very quick too. Love mine.

Windows Phone has overtaken iPhone this month according to the Metro, about time too.
Cannot understand why corporates buy into the ridiculously over priced 'iDevices'

[XJSJohn]

As mentioned, nokia drive is your sat nav and works with local maps that you download (for free) and to back up the European quality, i have used mine for driving all over SE Asia and its fantastic!

I am on a Lumia 820 and wondering what to go for next too .... the only negative / show stopper for me on the 930 is no SD Card.

[HTP99]

Love my 920; currently running 8.1, I am 6m away from an upgrade and will definately be going Windows again and a Lumia of some sort, maybe a 1520 or whatever it's replacement is come February.

[_Deano]

_Deano said:

Oh I forgot to add, you know that package deal that they are also offering (free Bluetooth speaker, wireless charger and £20 entertainment voucher) till the 31st July?
Well you don't need to take out a contract, which some gibbon try to convince me was the only way at Phones4U. Obtain your IMEI number and go to the promotions page on the Nokia site. Enter in the details and you can register to have the kit and voucher to be delivered. T&Cs state that this only applies to any 'successful' purchase. But it is 'very' limited stock.
I completed the details and i'm going to have to wait up to 28 days for a hopeful delivery.

http://lumia930offer.co.uk/

Edited by _Deano on Wednesday 23 July 21:07

I received my bluetooth speaker, portable wireless charger and £20 voucher today; thank to Microsoft.

I'm very impressed with the speaker.
Although it does look like much, it's about as big as a computer mouse, it does carry some weight (normally a good sign for a speaker). Once it was paired with the phone and i started to play some tracks and i was impressed with the bass levels.
It's the type of speaker that uses the surface of whatever it is sitting on, to amplify the bass via vibrations. So on a work desk it's ok, but on a glass window (like the floor to ceiling ones in the office) it really does make a huge difference; I can't wait to try it out at home.

The wireless charger is another handy device that can sit in my bag (just in case situations), but i love the way that you can charge it.
Of course you could just plug it into a USB charger, but it's so much cooler to sit it upon the free wireless charger that came with the phone, and then also put the phone on top, to charge from that. No more need for 100 cables all around the office.

Oh and £20 voucher to spend in the MS store. Time to find some great games.

So far i've had the 930 for just over a week and the Android LG G2, hasn't really had much of a look in, as i'm just so happy with the Windows OS. Such happiness.