If not for anything, Nokia deserves a round of applause for its commitment towards the Windows Phone 8 platform. When we were introduced to the first Windows Phone 8 devices, namely the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC 8X and Samsung Ativ S, only the Lumia 920 stood out because of differentiating features such as unique camera technology, wireless charging and a wide range of colour options.
With the latest flagship too, Nokia has ensured that no other competitor, irrespective of platform, can even come close to the Lumia 1020’s USP – the PureView camera with a whopping 41-megapixel resolution. We did try the Lumia 1020 when it was first shown to the media and the world, but now we have an in-depth review after using the device more thoroughly.
The structure
The Lumia 1020 follows the same design and build philosophy as its predecessors, with a polycarbonate unibody design. But instead of gloss finish, the 1020 has a matte body, which, to be frank, looks classier. That said, the matte body does pick up key and coin scratches. So if you’re buying the yellow or white versions, you’ll have to be a bit careful around that. However, with a brushed metal finish, the Lumia 925 continues to be the best looking Lumia (and Windows Phone) so far.
Covering the 4.5-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen is Corning Gorilla Glass 3, with curved edges, which gives a very buttery smooth touch experience. The screen itself is quite brilliant and with ClearBlack technology, the contrast levels are just stellar. The bright screen complements the camera by being spot-on with colour reproduction while taking photos and also while reviewing them.
The body is thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920, and we’re really glad about that. But just as the Nokia PureView 808, the original pixel-monster, the Lumia 1020’s camera also juts out at the back. Not so much as the 808, but enough to be worried about lens. But with the camera tech onboard, the lens’ position seems to be unavoidable.
The Camera
Before we proceed, the Lumia 1020’s camera tech needs to be explained a bit. Because, well, 41-megapixels! The camera uses a 41-megapixel (MP) sensor that utilises 1.1-micron back-side-illuminated pixels. That simply translates into more area available to capture light, and graininess being corrected by means of oversampling. The result is more pixels packed in the same area, giving more detailed pictures.
Now that Nokia promises ‘professional’ imaging quality, it has also packed in a neat app, the Pro Cam. What it actually does is give the users all the controls that one may wish to tweak manually, in order to get creative pictures. You swipe the camera icon on the Pro Cam app to the right, and it reveals options that include shutter speed, white balance, flash, ISO, focus etc. And all these controls are laid out neatly on the screen, with ample space between the controls – those with fumbly fingers will also be able to control the cam easily.
The stock cam too, is quite adept at capturing brilliant photographs, albeit at 5 megapixels. The shots taken by the stock cam app in the auto mode have good clarity, are rich in colours, but tend to get grainy if you decide not to use the xenon flash in darker areas. While using the Pro Cam app, you get the option to store both 38MP and 5MP images, the latter being scaled down to share easily. While using slow shutter speeds, you can see that the Optical Image Stabilisation system delivers as promised.
Video quality too, is good, except for the sound part – while checking out the recorded videos on the PC, we found out that the sound quality isn’t quite satisfactory. The microphone’s reach isn’t quite good, and trebles get a little shrill after a while.
The Phone
Powered by a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait chip, the Lumia 1020 has all the processing power it needs and more, to handle the Windows Phone 8 OS. It has a decent 2GB RAM that manages switching between the apps quite smooth. That said, we did feel that the camera processing needs a bit more power, as the lag between processing images and getting ready for the next shot is a noticeable one. The internal storage memory of 32 GB is just about enough, considering that one would want to use space for storing videos and music as well.
While the 4.5-inch AMOLED screen is bright and colourful enough, we really missed a full-HD (1080p) resolution. At this price, with such imaging technology, the screen could’ve been full HD. The loudspeaker quality is just about average, but when you plug in earphones, the Dolby enhancements kick in and make up for it. The Lumia 1020 managed to give us a battery life of one full working day, including being used as a portable hotspot, clicking images (lot of them) and well, everything else that we do with a smartphone.
Verdict
The Lumia 1020 is an absolutely wonderful gadget. The camera, undoubtedly the best feature and we’ve never had so much fun with any mobile device so far. It does have a few software glitches, such as slow startup for Pro Cam app, and the usual Windows 8 bugs. But, it also has HERE Maps, which are also available offline. The phone has a good build and comes loaded with features. Yes, the price tag is a bit too steep, even after taking into consideration the technology behind the camera, but then again, you really don’t need to buy a camera if you own the Lumia 1020.
Rs 49,999
Love – Best camera in category, fully functional camera apps
Hate – Screen is not 1080p, sound quality is just average