Paul Thurott: Days Four and Five of Eight Days of Nokia Lumia 900 ...
>> Day 4: Lumia 900 LTE and Tethering
Paul Thurrott
Supersite for Windows
April 12, 2012
winsupersite.com 
When Windows Phone 7.5 debuted in late 2011, it was accompanied by a small lineup of new devices, including the Samsung Focus S and Focus Flash, the HTC Titan, and others. These devices all shared many similar or even identical components and capabilities, including 4G-compatible antennas. Windows Phone, it seemed, had finally caught up with its Android competitors. Well, not exactly. As it turns out, the first generation of Windows Phone 7.5 devices supported what I call “pseudo-4G” connections, or what the industry refers to as HSPA/HSPA+, or High-Speed Packet Access/Evolved HSPA type connections. These connections offer better performance than the 3G connections that characterized the previous generation of cellular data connectivity. But they fall far short of what call “true 4G,” or LTE (Long Term Evolution), connections in the real world. ... <Big Snip> ... Tethering debuted with Windows Phone 7.5 late last year., ... <Big Snip> ...This isn’t the first time I’ve used tethering, but it’s the first time in a long, long while I’ve used it as part of my data plan: Way back in late 2006/early 2007, I used tethering over Verizon’s EVDO network using the now-ridiculous seeming Motorola Q. But it’s nice to have the capability back, and with a very modern device using very modern and capable cellular networking capabilities. So far so good, and obviously a key reason to consider the Nokia Lumia 900. <Big Snips Above ... See Article at Link Above for Full Text>. ###
Day 5: Camera Quality
Paul Thurrott
Supersite for Windows
April 13, 2012
winsupersite.com
Windows Phone users have long wished for a handset with a camera that can rival that of the industry leading iPhone. Sadly, the Nokia Lumia 900 is not that phone. But it does set a new high water mark for Windows Phone devices, with some nice camera features like widescreen stills and scene choices. There are bogus complaints and then there are legitimate complaints. And while few aspects of even the first generation of Windows Phone handsets were truly disappointing, the one that always rankled was the low quality of the included cameras. There wasn’t a single decent camera among that first generation of devices, and I was hoping that we’d see some better alternatives with the second generation, Windows Phone 7.5-based handsets. And we did, though whatever improvements we saw were rightfully overshadowed by the absolutely incredible—by smart phone standards—camera that Apple included with the iPhone 4S. ... <Big Snip Including Photos>.
There are some aspects to the Lumia 900 camera that I appreciate. ... <Snip> ... The Windows Phone 7.5 camera experience is excellent, overall. Microsoft added the ability to save camera settings in that release, and there are indeed a stunning number of settings you can configure if you want to screw around with it. IPut simply, the camera isn’t a reason to choose the Lumia 900, unless you’re a fan of widescreen shots. It’s a great smart phone camera, but not up to the level of quality we see with the iPhone 4S. If camera quality is your big concern, you’ll want to pay attention to the HTC Titan II as well. That phone features a 16 megapixel camera, which could provide interesting competition if the quality is high enough. I hope to review that phone—which is otherwise unexceptional looking—soon. ... <Big Snip Above ... See Article at Link Above for Full Text>. ###
The Prequel and Days One to Three of Paul's Review are Below ...
• Day Zero Prequel: Tips for Moving to a New Windows Phone
• Day One: The Lumia 900 Buying Experience
• Day Two: Initial Set Up and Configuration of the Lumia 900
• Day Three: Build Quality
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I am fully cognizant of the fact that another board contributor has already linked Day 4 and Day 5 in a serial posting splurge here and on another SI board last evening. This is simply a follow through on what I stated that I intended to do in the post that leads off this thread (the 7200 grub). Days 6 through 8 will be posted tomorrow to complete the thread and links to Days Zero through Five will be recapped in that post.
- Eric - |
