Eighteen months ago, I purchased a Nokia Lumia 920. It has been my loyal companion for the biggest part of that time, until it recently got stolen. I needed to replace the phone. Luckily it was insured under the circumstances it was stolen, so I had ample budget to look around for a new phone.
A new phone
Of course, it needed to be a Windows Phone. It didn’t need to be a Windows Phone 8.1 phone, because I could upgrade it through the Preview for Developers app and the soft buttons aren’t on my wish list.
My shortlist came down to three phones:
- Nokia Lumia 1520
- Nokia Lumia 1020
- Nokia Lumia 930
I’m not someone that needs to zoom in on pictures that much. Also, I carry my phones in my pockets. The Lumia 1020 was out pretty fast. With the recent price drops of the Nokia Lumia 1520, and the merely incremental upgrade to the 920 in the form of the 930, the choice between these two phones was pretty simple: I bought a black Nokia Lumia 1520 and I upgraded it to the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview, straight away.
Pros
This phones 6" screen is awesome. It’s 1920×1080 display allows me to have all my tiles on my Windows Phone home screen without pinching (my eyes) or scrolling. Its 3400mAh battery makes this phone last two days between charges and its 20 megapixel camera with PureView technology makes splendid pictures. It’s way faster than a Lumia 920, too, and as a bonus rocks a micro-SD card slot.
Luckily, it fits my pockets.
Cons
After using it for a week, there’s also some things that work less than I expected them. Although most of the screen estate is used efficiently when you compare it to smaller Windows Phone screens (like the 920), some features don’t. For instance, unlocking the lock screen with a numerical password feels like you’re punching a cell phone for seniors. It’s scaled. The same applies to most 3rd party apps.
Of course, a device like this is destined to be used as a media player. I’ve added some H.264-encoded movies to a micro-SD card, added the card to the phone and then played it. Although the sound is great, the movie playback is very edgy (no smoothing) and the interface of the built-in Video app is very basic, even lacking the ability to fast forward.
Concluding
The Lumia 1520 is an awesome phone.
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