Nokia Lumia 930 Review: The Best Windows Phone to Date

Nokia Lumia 930 Review: The Best Windows Phone to Date

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We review the Lumia 930!

Before Nokia’s handset division was wholly gobbled up by Microsoft, the company created the Lumia Icon, which was sold exclusively to Verizon customers in the US. A few months later the company announced the Lumia 930, which is basically the Icon made for the international market. What makes the 930 different from other Windows Phones that came before it is that it finally feels like Windows Phone is ready for primetime, and can finally stand on its own against its iOS and Android rivals.

Lumia 930 specs

  • 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 processor
  • Adreno 330 CPU
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 5-inch AMOLED capacitive display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • 32GB of storage, non-expandable
  • 20-megapixel rear facing Carl Zeiss camera, 1/2.5” sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, PureView technology
  • 1.2-megapixel front facing camera
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
  • 3G, LTE
  • 2450mAh battery
  • Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 (Cyan)
  • 137 x 71 x 9.8 mm
  • Php 29,990 

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Chunky but stylish phone through and through

Even though you may not like where the company has gone with its OS, you just can’t say anything bad about how Nokia makes their phones. The company has consistently made beautiful, solidly designed smartphones, and the Lumia 930 is no exception. Build quality is phenomenal, and while the device is pretty chunky, coming in at 9.8mm thick, it’s one of the most solid smartphones we’ve held in our hands in recent memory.

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The sides of the Lumia 930 are aluminum while the back is matte polycarbonate, which is a good mix as far as material choices go. The back of the device bulges slightly outwards, which adds to the overall chunkiness of the phone. The right side holds all of the physical controls, including the volume rocker, power button and the camera key.

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Up top reside the 3.5mm jack and the nano-SIM slot that you can just pull out without the aid of a pin, while the USB port is located on the bottom of the device. There’s a palette of colors to choose from for the Lumia 930 – our review unit came in bright orange.

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The 5-inch full HD display uses an AMOLED panel, producing very crisp and clear images. The AMOLED display doesn’t suffer too much under direct sunlight and is still readable even under the bright noonday sun. The glass is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3, and actually curves down to the sides of the device, which adds another layer of polish to an already impressively built device.

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Windows Phone finally comes of age, but apps are still an issue

The Lumia 930 comes with the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 and Nokia Cyan, which has a lot of functionality that many users have been clamoring for. You’re now given a pull-down notifications panel, which allows you to see emails, texts and other notifications as well as quick access to some settings including WiFi and brightness. You’re also given a few nifty camera features which include Living Images, which buffers multiple photos before and after your shot, allowing you to utilize them to tell a unique story. The keyboard also has been improved, and now sport Swiftkey-like functionality that makes typing really quick.

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Unfortunately, the biggest problem of Windows Phone is the fact that there’s still fewer apps on tap compared to Android or iOS. Sure, the essentials are there – apps like Deezer, Skype, Whatsapp and Instagram – but if you’re an app junkie or have been spoiled by the amount of great (and free!) Android games and apps, you might be in for a disappointment as far as app selection is concerned. Google Integration is also still a big concern, though recently Google has officially released a couple of APIs for Windows Phone developers that may address that particular issue.

Solid OS + Solid Hardware = Buttery Smooth Experience

If there’s one thing we like about Windows Phone, it’s the fact that it’s extremely well optimized to utilize every bit of processing power in devices it’s integrated in. We’ve seen the OS run smoothly on devices that has less computing power than the Lumia 930, so it’s kind of obvious that the Lumia 930 would have better performance compared to those devices.

During our time with the Lumia 930, we never felt the device slow down at all, thanks to the Snapdragon 800 processor running under the hood, along with 2GB of RAM. Apps opened quickly, transitions were fast and fluid – in short, the Lumia 930 handled everything that we threw at it and came back looking for more.

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One of the best cameras that you’ll find in a smartphone

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Imaging is one of the things that Nokia’s known for, starting with their massive 41-megapixel 808 Pureview. While the sensor on the Lumia 930 is quite smaller, at just 20.1-megapixels, it’s still pretty substantial considering that the sensor (1/2.5-inches) is roughly the same size as a point-and-shoot camera.

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The results are impressive, as the camera produced extremely good images, even in low light. What’s even better is that you’re given the option of full manual control for your shots. Aside from the already beefy camera, Nokia’s also thrown in optical image stabilization as well as a maximum f/2.8 aperture to let in more light during low-light shooting. Almost all the photos taken below were shot in low light.

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 Almost all-day battery life

With such a power-packed smartphone, we worried about battery life on the Lumia 930. The short version is that the Lumia 930 managed to get us through a rather long 11-hour day with around 10% still left in the tank, and that’s with fairly moderate use with navigation thrown-in via HERE Drive+ while we were test driving the Sukuzi DZire in Baguio.

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The best Windows Phone to date

Nokia’s last smartphone is also its finest. A great camera, great display, excellent design and build quality make it one of the best Windows Phones to date. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of competition for that title, and for a good reason – Windows Phone still hasn’t managed to gain the necessary traction to pose a legitimate threat to both Android and iOS. Still, the Lumia 930 manages to deliver big on almost every front, and may just be the ticket for people who want to try Windows Phone.

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