Up Close and Personal with the Biggest Windows Phone Ever

“Phablets” have become so mainstream that even Nokia decided to offer one with the newly released Nokia Lumia 1520! Measuring 6.0-inches, the Lumia 1520 is officially the biggest Windows Phone device in the market to date. It’s kinda like the Godzilla or “Kaiju” of Windows Phones, lol. Seriously though more than the size of the display though the device also packs the most advanced set of internals we’ve seen on a Windows Phone handset including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 graphics, and 2GB of RAM. It also continues the PureView standard of cameras with a 20.0-megapixel shooter on board using Carl Zeiss optics with a 1/2.5 sensor.

We were finally able to get our hands on a unit and we’d like to share with you guys our unboxing followed by a full review later this month/For starters let’s check out the full specifications of the Nokia Lumia 1520.

Nokia Lumia 1520 Spec Sheet

• 2.2GHz Quad-core Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
• Adreno 330 Graphics
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB Internal Storage, Expandable via MicroSD Card
• 6.0-inches IPS LCD ClearBlack Display, 1920 x 1080 Resolution (367 pixels per inch)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 2
• 20.0-megapixels primary camera, Carl Zeiss Optics (1/2.5 sensor size), OIS, Auto Focus, dual-LED Flash
• 1.2-megapixels secondary camera
• 3G, HSPA+, LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Dual Band, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, FM Radio
• Windows Phone Black OS
• 3400mAH battery

As you can see it’s quite impressive and can easily go toe-to-toe with the specs of Android flagships. Nokia is definitely stepping up their game with regards to their hardware and software!

Unboxing and Packaging

The Nokia Lumia 1520 came in the usual color blue hard carton box of Nokia. Product hero shot up front with a few details about the specifications at the back. While the box looked big, we were still surprised to see the actual device when we popped open the lid. The Lumia 1520 is just HUGE. It closely borders on the tablet territory more than the smartphone side of things.

To get a better idea of how big the phone is, check this pick out, hehe.

We set aside the “phone” first and dug deeper into the box. We found yellow colored earphones (it matches the color of the device), Nano SIM card tray pin key, the micro USB to USB cable, a wall charger, and several manuals and guides. Unfortunately there were no notable freebies in the box. Would have been nice if they threw in a case or cover.

We’re happy to report though that the earphones actually sounded good for freebie earphones. Most of the time the earphones that come bundled with smartphones are crap. The one Nokia has with the Lumia 1520 delivers decent sound quality so that’s definitely laudable.

Massive Windows Phone Experience

So what’s it like using a gigantic Nokia Lumia Windows Phone? On the hardware side it’s quite a treat! The huge 6.0-inch Full HD ClearBlack IPS display is mesmerizing! The moment we first woke up the phone and got greeted by the lock screen we were stunned at the quality of the colors, images, and text. Nokia definitely did a superb job with the display. Makes for a fantastic media player especially since it has 32GB internal storage and expandable by an additional 64GB via microSD card.

The design of the chassis is still similar to the previous Nokia Lumia devices but we did notice that the Lumia 1520 was quite slim despite having the huge 6.0-inch screen. The thin profile helps a lot in over-all usability. We’re also happy that they opted to go with a matte finish over the glossy plastic type. It gives the phone a more refined and classic look and also helps with the grip.

In terms of performance, the Nokia Lumia 1520 was a screamer! Everything felt so fast, zippy, and buttery smooth to the point that it can rival the experience offered by iOS on the iPhone 5S. We haven’t felt any notable lag spikes, delays, or slow-downs yet and that’s a testament to the powerful quad-core processor and 2GB RAM combined with the efficiencies of Windows Phone software.

Full Review Coming Soon!

We’re definitely going to spend more time playing around and using the Nokia Lumia 1520. We’re keen on testing the 20.0 MP shooter and see if it does justice to the PureView brand. We also want to find out if the battery life is respectable since that was an issue we had with the Lumia 920 and to some extent even the Lumia 1020 (especially with LTE on). Lastly we want to try all the various apps on the Windows Phone store.

Watch this space for more updates!