Nokia announced its first phablet, the Nokia Lumia 1520 at the Nokia World in Abu Dhabi in October and it was later released in November. In India, the official launch happened in January 2014. The phone comes with impressive specs for a flagship phone. It is the first Windows Phone 8 device to come with 6.0 inch 1080p full HD display as Microsoft had announced the support for FHD in GDR3.
Apart from this, the device also comes with 2.3Ghz Quad Core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB RAM and 32GB on-board storage. The phone also ships with a 20MP PureView camera with dual LED flash. It runs the Windows Phone 8 Lumia Black update. So today we will do a detailed review of the device with respect to design, display, performance, gaming, camera and also battery life.
Here is the video review of the device, for the text version read on.
Design, Build and Display:
Nokia has been known for great build quality and design and Lumia 1520 is no exception. The design of Lumia 1520 is very similar to other Lumia phones and comes with the same hardware buttons generally found on the Windows phone. You have the power button, volume keys, camera on the right side. At the top there is the 3.5mm jack and micro USB slot sits at the bottom. On the back you have the 20MP PureView camera along with dual LED flash and speakers. This is the first device after Lumia 920 which supports wireless charging out of the box. The build quality of the device is solid and the fit and finish is really excellent. The white and the red variants have glossy finish while the Yellow and black comes in matte finish.
The device is pretty huge with 6.0 inch display and if you do not like huge phone, probably this is not for you. But having said that, the phone fits perfectly into hands even though its huge.
The 1080p on the Lumia 1520 is a treat to use. The display looks stunning with excellent colors and screen brightness. The sunlight readability is again excellent with Nokia’s clear black technology and so are the viewing angles. You won’t really have any issues with the display on this device.
Performance:
As e said before, the device runs on a 2.3Ghz quad core Snapdragon chipset which is considered as the best one currently available on smartphones. While Windows Phone has been optimized to run on dual core processor, you won’t find any performance issues with the device. The gaming performance is also smooth with no lag even with graphics rich games like Asphalt 8 Airbone.
One of the changes with Windows Phone GDR3 update is the support for more tiles on the home screen because of bigger displays.
Camera:
The camera on Lumia 1520 is a Pureview camera with dual LED flash. Although the camera does not match up with the Lumia 1020 which we reviewed few months back, the camera on Lumia 1520 is pretty capable. The PureView technolgoy with Nokia Camera app does give some great photos and the dual LED flash comes handy for low light conditions. The photos taken using the camera are pretty good and the low light snaps also have great colors, but when there is excessive sunlight the colors looks washed out on the photos.
The flash also performs really well. The device is capable of 1080p Full HD recording and the video is pretty good. Here are some camera samples from the device.
Battery Life:
This is one area where the Lumia 1520 really rocks. The 3400mAh battery on the device is one of the biggest we have seen on smartphones. The battery last for almost 1.5 days with normal to high usage and if you do not have too much usage and is limited to calls and browsing you can even get 2 days of battery life with the phone.
Windows Phones have been been power hungry and with the massive battery this device really performs well.
Verdict:
If you are looking for a high end Windows Phone 8 device, then look no further this is the best phone you can pick. With awesome hardware, a brilliant display, camera and stunning battery, Lumia 1520 performs really well. The device now sells for around Rs 43000 and for that price you also get the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which is again having similar specs and also the S Pen which is really productive.
