Nokia Lumia 800 - hardware, navigation & software

Let's start with the tech spec so you know exactly what the Nokia Lumia 800 is all about. Please hang in there as its a bit long *grin*

3.7” ClearBlack AMOLED display with WVGA 800x480 resolution

16 million colours

Standby UI Windows keys integrated with display

Capacitive touch screen with pinch zoom

2.5D curved glass seamlessly integrated to unibody

Keys and input methods

Personalisation

Home screen tiles

Ring tones

Wallpaper

Changeable colour themes

Hardware

Power Management

BV-5JW Battery (embedded) 1450 mAh

Talk time (maximum):

GSM up to 13 h

WCDMA up to 9.5 h

Standby time (maximum):

GSM up to 265 h

WCDMA up to 335 h

Video playback time up to 6.5 h

Music playback time (maximum) up to 55 h

Browsing (WLAN, maximum) up to 6.5 h

Browsing (3G HSDPA, maximum) up to 4.5 h

Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.

Memory

512 MB program memory

16 GB internal user memory

25 GB Skydrive

Operating Frequency

GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900

WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 I/II/V

Data Network

WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n with 2.4 GHz

HSDPA CAT 10 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA CAT 6 5.76 Mbps

Requires data service. Data services may not be available in all networks. Data transmission speeds may be as high as HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, but may vary based upon network capabilities and other conditions. The establishment and continuation of a data connection depends on network availability, provider support and signal strength.

Connectivity

A-GPS

Accelerometer, proximity sensor, Magnetometer, ALS

WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n with 2.4GHz

USB 2.0 high-speed through micro USB connector

Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1

3.5 mm AHJ connector

The handset is gorgeous. It fits well in the hand and feels very solid and not flimsy like some of the new Android handsets. All the buttons are easy to reach and are very responsive. The screen is bright and clear and is also very responsive.

There are three things that will draw criticism on the Nokia Lumia 800:

1) the battery is sealed into the unit so there is no chance to replace it.

2) the USB port is hidden behind a cover (albeit with a nifty opening mechanism) but once it is opened it feels flimsy and I am sure that these will be snapping off once they start suffering the ardours of day to day battle use.  Aesthetically pleasing yes but not practical.

3) the camera is particularly substandard for a new £450 smartphone. For an 8 megapixel camera the quality was very poor and the results were no better than my current iPhone 3GS. At least it has a flash though.

Software wise we have Windows Phone 7.5 which is very simple to use. There are essentially two screens to use. Tiles on the home page which can be ordered as you see fit and then a list of apps and function on the second page. There is no default ability to group apps, or move them to different pages. This is fine as long as you don't have a lot of apps. Due to just having the two pages navigation is really easy. Button wise at the bottom of the screen you have a back button, Windows home and search

Nokia Drive is a satnav app that is part of the OS which is handy as well as Microsofts phone offering of Office. Local Scout is one of my favourite OS apps as it finds your location and then reports back on local places to eat & drink, places to go and also shops. Marketplace takes you to the Microsoftt app store and App Highlights gives a handy reference to highly rated and recommedned apps. Oddly there was duplication with some of the default apps. Why do we need Bing Maps as well as Nokia Maps? Similarly with Zune and Nokia Music?

The model that I received also had a number of apps pre-installed, British Airways, Ministry Of Sound Radio, eBay and Sky News to kick things off. Needless to say the Marketplace contains lots of free and paid for apps with the catalogue growing every day.

Although of no use to me I guess one of the really nice apps for users of the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live is the Games app. You can hook up your Xbox Live profile so that you can see your animated avatar and interact with Live and other users too not to mention the games that are also available. This would be a major bonus if I was looking for a new phone and had an Xbox 360.

Overall though it's a thumbs up for the hardware and software.