The decline of Nokia is well documented, and many have offered their opinions on what Nokia needs to do to reclaim the number one spot in the mobile industry. For their part, Nokia decided to throw their hat into the ring with the Windows Phone operating system, and one of the first devices of that collaboration is the Nokia Lumia 800.
There is a lot of expectation on the Lumia 800; being the first smartphone, along with the Lumia 710 to be officially released running the Windows phone OS, many were wondering whether the device had enough about it to entice users back to Nokia, in the face of intense competition from the Apple iPhone, and a host of Android devices.
At first glance, the Nokia Lumia 800 presents as a sleek, well built device, using a style that was previously seen on the Nokia N9. The polycarbonate casing has a good feel to it, making the device comfortable to hold in the hand, and although the handset weighs in at 142g, it feels comfortable to hold, and not too cumbersome.
The handset utilises an AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, measuring 3.7 inches, and with a pixel resolution of 480 x 800. This may not measure up to some of the enormous displays seen on some recently released Android smartphones, but it is slightly larger than that seen on the iPhone 4S, and is good enough for web browsing, video playback, and so on.
Nokia use their ClearBlack technology with the AMOLED display, which helps produce some stunning results. Images present clear and sharp, which is a real boost when viewing photos on the phone. The phone includes a high quality 8.0 Megapixel camera, and sees Nokia continue their partnership with Carl Zeiss optics on the handset. The camera supports autofocus, geotagging, and has a dual LED Flash, and produces some pretty good images. Not yet in the class of something like the Nokia N8, but good enough to do the job it was designed for.
The camera is capable of recording 720p HD video at up to 30 frames per second, but disappointingly the device does not include a secondary front facing camera, meaning no support for face-to-ace video calling.
The Lumia 800 is powered by a single core, 1.4 GHz processor, and runs the latest version of the Windows Phone OS, version 7.5, also known by the codename Mango. There is enough about the OS to appeal to both the seasoned smartphone user and the smartphone newbie. The OS is fairly intuitive to use, and it doesn't take long before you are swiping your way through various features on the phone. Response to touch is good, and there are a growing number of applications available for the Windows Phone platform, which can be downloaded from the Windows Marketplace.
Supporting quad band GSM and HSDPA connectivity, the Lumia 800 includes support for HSDPA up to 14.4 Mbps, and HSUPA up to 5.76 Mbps. WiFi 802.11 b/g/n is available, and the handset also offers Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR, plus GPRS and EDGE.
A full media player is available on the phone, supporting multiple formats for audio and video, including MP3, MP4, WMA and WMV. There is also a stereo FM radio, and a 3.5mm audio jack, so you can plug in and listen to your music using your own headset. There is 16 GB of internal memory storage available for you to store all your music, videos and pictures, but that is all you get, as the Lumia 800 does not have a memory card expansion slot.
The Nokia Lumia 800 will be available in a range of colours, including Black, Cyan and Magenta. The handset supports Micro SIM cards, the same as those found in the Apple iPhone. Other features worth a mention on the device include GPS, with A-GPS support, along with a digital compass, video and photo editor, and support for active noise cancellation with dedicated mic.
All round, the Nokia Lumia 800 is a decent first step by Nokia into the world of Windows Phone, and early impressions about the Lumia 800 have been fairly positive. Initial feedback from some users has indicated there may be a battery issue on a few handsets, but Nokia have already stated that a software fix is on the way to resolve the issue for those affected.
For anyone who is tempted to give the Windows Phone OS a try, the Lumia 800 would be a great place to start. For the latest deals and offers on this phone, check out our Nokia Lumia 800 deals page.
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