--By Sanjeev Sharma
After years of lackluster performance, Nokia (which is now owned by US tech giant Microsoft) is all set for a comeback into the global smartphone arena- dominated by Google's Android and Apple's IOS- with its Lumia Windows phone series. The latest Lumia 1520 is an excellent example of Nokia's endeavor which shows that the once no. 1 mobile manufacturer is again moving towards the right direction.
The 6-inch Nano-SIM 1520 marks Nokia’s first entry into the increasingly popular "phablet" category. Powered by a Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 processor which uses Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset, the phablet runs on Microsoft Windows Phone 8 Black operating system. The powerful processor coupled with Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB RAM can handle any power-hungry application or video game very easily. The processing speed is blazing fast and users can also experience smooth multitasking.
The handset's IPS LCD capacitive touch screen (with 16:9 aspect ratio) features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and 368 ppi pixel density. Images and videos come out vibrantly sharp and pleasantly bright as Lumia 1520 sports Nokia's ClearBlack multi-touch display. Due to this the screen's black levels are amazingly deep resulting in vibrant vivid colors, exceptional contrast and high brightness mode that gives above par outdoor visibility. Users need not to worry much about display's protection as the phablet's screen is well-covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2 alkali-aluminosilicate sheet. The unibody polycarbonate shell of Lumia 1520 offers high grade protection to the device.
However, the big dimensions (162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 mm, 120.3 cc) make it uncomfortable to use the phablet with single hand. Similarly, on a less positive note, the weight of Lumia 1520 (209 grams) feels heavy to carry. Nevertheless, 1520 can be counted among the best in the business if it is considered as "bigger the better."
On the camera front the phablet scores the highest. It is among the best in camera phone category with its 20 megapixel PureView snapper. Its camera is certainly incomparable to Nokia Lumia 1020 which sports an award-winning 40 MP camera. However, the dual-LED flash Carl Zeiss autofocus camera of Lumia 1520 captures amazingly high-quality images that come into life with superb colour combinations. When compared to other phones with high-end cameras, low-light images also look remarkable. The camera is operated through the “Nokia Camera” application. The app is quite notable as it has automatic mode which provides a simple interface for quick capturing of high-quality images. Accordingly, a "Pro" mode (for manually tuning basic camera-features such as ISO, white balance and shutter speed) and “Smart” mode (for snapping a series of 10 images in less than 3 seconds) are also present.
Likewise, there is another camera app called the “Nokia Refocus” which uses a technology to create photos that mimic a Lytro camera (a light-field camera that uses a microlens array to capture 4D light field information about a scene). Lastly, the phablet has another new app called “Nokia Storyteller” which reads GPS location data from the photos and videos users have taken and puts them on Nokia’s HERE maps in a interactive interface. The rear camera can capture 1080p HD videos at 30 frames-per-second. The front-facing 1.2 MP snapper is also good for taking 720p videos @30fps.
The sound quality of the phablet is amazing as it offers Dolby Headphone Sound Enhancement system. Be it for listening songs, FM radio or watching videos, the earbuds let users hear refined quality sounds along with active noise cancellation for the microphone. On the power backup front, the phablet is pretty strong with its 3,400 mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery. In terms of storage capacity, Lumia 1520 comes in two variants- 16 GB and 32 GB. There is a microSD card slot which can be used to further expand its storage up to 64 GB.
Loaded with high-end internet and other latest connectivity options, Lumia 1520 is a premium handset which is the most impressive Windows Phone till date. Neoteric Nepal, the authorised distributor of Nokia mobiles for Nepal has priced the phablet at Rs 77,400. Lumia 1520 is available in yellow, black, white and red colours.
