The
Nokia Lumia 900 could be one of the last chances for the Windows Phone
platform. Does it deliver or will Microsoft's mobile OS continue to get
trounced by the competition?
At
the time of this review, the Nokia Lumia 900 is available for $99 through
AT&T with a new two-year contract and data plan.
Overview
The
Nokia Lumia 900 has a lot riding on its shoulders. Given the relative lack of
success of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform due to stiff competition from
Android and iOS, Nokia is hoping to bring the Metro-based OS to the forefront
of the mobile world with this flagship handset. It’s big, it’s powerful, it’s
got LTE, and it’s even super affordable at $99 with a two-year contract. But is
it the Windows Phone savior?
Build
& Design
The
large footprint of the Lumia 900 belies its weight. Despite the fact that it’s
a whopping 5.03 x 2.7 x 0.45-inches, it only weighs 5.6 ounces, a mere
half-ounce heavier than my much smaller HTC Trophy. As impressive as that is
though, I don’t care much for phones that are so large that they’re borderline
small tablets; I think it defeats the purpose of a smartphone by limiting its
portability and making it generally uncomfortable to hold or operate one-handed.
At
least the Lumia 900 has a unique build going for it, what with its rounded
sides but sharp corners. When viewed from the top or bottom, it actually takes
on an oval shape which is a little unusual. I didn’t dislike the design, per
se, but it definitely took some getting used to. What I really took issue with,
however, was the lack of any sort of rubberized texture or surface on the
phone’s body. More than once during my time with it, the handset slipped right
out of my hand like a bar of soap thanks to its smooth polycarbonate casing
(don’t worry, Nokia, I caught it before it hit the ground).
Display
Though
the resolution of the Lumia 900’s screen is only 800 x 480, it still looks
fantastic. The AMOLED display produces vibrant colors and deep blacks, even if
images aren’t as sharp as those viewed on displays with higher resolutions or
pixel densities (like the one found on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus). And while I
may not be a fan of the phone’s gigantic form factor, I have to admit that the
4.3-inch size of the screen makes reading text and viewing videos and pictures
quite a pleasure. The Corning Gorilla Glass that’s used in the Lumia 900’s
display also gives it a nice quality look and feel while maintaining excellent
responsiveness with touch controls.
Perhaps
most importantly, though, the Lumia 900 features Nokia’s ClearBlack display
technology, which decreases the reflectance of the screen. Not only does this
feature help increase visibility in the outdoors and direct sunlight, it also
helps the screen look brighter and clearer when indoors. The phone’s display
always looked intensely bright and colors were deeply saturated even without
cranking the brightness up to the highest setting; I could leave it on
automatic and still consistently enjoy a beautiful-looking screen.
Keyboard
The
Lumia 900 does not feature a physical keyboard, so users will have to settle
for using a virtual one. But as much as I despise virtual keyboards, if I had
to pick one to be stuck with, it would probably be the stock Windows Phone
keyboard. Its autocorrect is surprisingly intuitive (and its word bank
expansive), so even if I’m cruising my way through a text and mistyping every
single word incorrectly, it still almost always manages to turn out the way I
wanted it to. That is, of course, unless I use particularly obscure words or
proper nouns, in which case things can get a little ugly when I inevitably
mistype them.
Other
Buttons and Controls
Given
that this is a Windows phone, Nokia kept things relatively simple, per
Microsoft’s specifications. The left side of the device is devoid of any
buttons, while the right side is host to a volume up/down rocker, the
power/standby switch, and a dedicated camera key. The bottom of the device is
where its primary speaker can be found, and the backside features a camera with
a Carl Zeiss f/2.2 lens and its dual LED flash.
The
top of the phone is where users can find the 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro USB
port (for charging), and, perhaps my least favorite part of the design, the SIM
card tray. Rather than just having a slot behind a little tab or door, users
have to insert an included pin-like key into a tiny hole on the top of the
Lumia 900 to eject a small tray that holds the phone’s SIM card. Those who need
to swap out their SIM cards on an even semi-regular basis are going to find it
inconvenient to have to carry around and use a little key in order to get
access to the phone’s SIM tray. Maybe it’s just me, but I would have preferred
if this phone was a No-Key-a. Sorry, that was terrible.
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