Nokia Lumia 1520: The DNA Report

Name of specimen: Nokia Lumia 1520

Manufacturer: Nokia

Device species: Phonus Tabletus (slang: phablet)

Price: Rs 47,000 (approx)

Evaluation Report

Subject: Appearance

Grade: A

Comments:

Well, by and large, phablets (large screen phones or small screen tablets, call them what you will) are supposed to do many things, but turning heads is not one of them. The Lumia 1520 does that. Yes, it is massive. It is more than half a foot long, but at 8.7 mm is relatively thin for its size, and the colorful back panels do give it a very classy, yet funky look, even though they are made of plastic. The front is all about the 6.0-inch display which is a full HD affair. And there are three buttons on the right side (in black, so they often stand out in contrast to the back panel's colour) - the volume buttons, the display/power on/off button and praise be, a camera button. You don't see the last too often on large screen devices, even when they have good cameras - witness the Lenovo K900 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It looks stylish and feels solid. A good combination.

Areas that need work:

The size. The Lumia 1520 does look a lot more compact than it feels. This is very much a two hand device. I have relatively large hands, and I struggled to use it one-handed while standing in the Metro.

Subject: Hardware

Grade: A

Comments

This is the most powerful smartphone Nokia has ever made. Period. The display is a full HD one, 2.2 GHz quad core processor (the first Nokia phone with a quad core processor) from Qualcomm, RAM stands at 2 GB, and storage at 32 GB, which is expandable using a memory card. The camera on the back is a 20.0-megapixel affair with the same PureView technology that has been seen on the Lumia 1020, 925 and 920. There are four built-in microphones for great recording and call quality. Connectivity includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, and oh yes there is also support for wireless charging. This device lacketh not in terms of hardware.

Areas that need work:

In that size, we would have loved front-facing stereo speakers on the lines of the HTC One.

Subject: Software

Grade: B+

Comments:

The Lumia 1520 runs on Windows Phone 8 with what is being termed the Black Update. On the surface, it might not look too different from other versions of the OS, but there are subtle changes. There is a third live tile column on the home screen, which is a good idea, given how big the screen itself is. And there is the option to group apps in a single tile as well. There is support for new apps like Nokia Beamer that lets you share content from your phone with any device that is connected to the Internet and has a browser, and Nokia Refocus that lets you take pictures in which you can shift focus to any place. And of course, there is the usual bevy of Nokia goodies - free maps and navigation for life, free music downloads for a year, and free video downloads for three months. And while all Windows Phone devices come with MS Office bundled on them, we need to mention it especially here, as it is actually easy to use on the large display.

Areas that need work:

Not all of the apps are really optimized for the large display. The fonts don't look that great and we often found ourselves stretching our fingers across the display to execute commands. We also really think the keyboard should occupy lesser space on such a large device - it gobbles up more than half of the screen. And yes, we did not see any apps that really made the most of all that hardware at the disposal of the device.

Subject: Performance

Grade: A

Comments:

In terms of sheer versatility, this is perhaps as good as a phablet gets. It is great to watch videos on, browse the Web, and play games, serious as well as casual. It is big enough to use to edit spreadsheets and documents. Call quality is very good and that camera takes excellent pictures, while the four microphones ensure that sound quality on video recordings is excellent. The interface worked smoothly, in best Windows Phone 8 tradition. And battery lasted a good day and a half of hefty use.

Areas that need work:

This may sound repetitive, but the size of the device can make it inconvenient to use at times. It does not fit easily into trouser pockets, and our hands actually started to tire while holding the phone during long conversations.

Subject: Price: Rs 47,000

Grade: C

Remarks:

On paper the Lumia 1520 has some very good hardware and is perhaps the best designed phablet we have seen for a while. However, it does not at the moment seem to have the apps to really make the most of that hardware. Yes, the device works smoothly, but not significantly faster than the Lumia 925 or even the now ancient Lumia 920. Right now, the Lumia 1520 seems a bit like a Ferrari on a rural road - great machine, but unable to perform to its true potential because of the apps and software on it.

Areas that need work:

A price in the vicinity of Rs 35,000 would make more sense.

Final Grade: Passed, with distinction

Closing remarks:

The Lumia 1520 is Nokia's first attempt at a REALLY big phone, and it is a largely successful one. The device's size is ironically both its strength and its weakness. It is great for viewing content and even for working on but can be a bit of a pain -literally - to carry on one's person and to use one-handed. The price tag is definitely on the higher side, when you consider that you can get a stylus-endowed Galaxy Note 3 for about the same price tag with apps that make better use of the hardware onboard. That said, we really do think that the Lumia 1520 is perhaps the best phablet out there in terms of multimedia - the huge display makes it great for viewing and editing images and videos.

Certificate of Review

To Whomsoever It May Concern

This is to attest that the Nokia Lumia 1520 is an excellent, if expensive (at the time of writing), member of the species Phonus Tabletus. It is a very good option for those who want a device that "does it all" and have pockets deep enough to pay for it. Aye, and store it too.