24 Hrs with Lumia 800

I was presented with the opportunity of trialling a Nokia Lumia 800 for 24 hours at very short notice during the recent Nokia World 2011. This article represents the impression I got from my very brief encounter with the phone. What little time I had with the phone was further shortened by the busy schedule at Nokia World and also all the time the phone spent being charged. It seemed like I was always looking for a charger.

Initial inspection of the label showed that this is the Nokia World 2011 version and is probably a pre final release. On opening the box I was presented with a sight that will be familiar to anyone that has had the opportunity of owning an N9. The chassis of the Lumia is identical to the N9 apart from 3 minor differences and they are:

1. An additional camera button on the right side of the phone below the power button.
2. 3 buttons at the base of the display.
3. The LED flash is in a different location in line with the camera rather than to the side.

This aside, the 2 phones would be pretty much identical physically.

Digging through the box revealed the same items as you would find in the N9 retail box. The Lumia also comes with a USB charger, cable, case and headset.

On turning on the phone, I was presented with the familiar blue tiles. A root through the menu revealed the familiar array of settings, utilities and applications. The tiles are live and can be drilled down. Apps and shortcuts can also be pinned  as a tile to the homescreen.

The Lumia uses a microsim just like the N9. I had problems getting the phone connected to the network for data. The O2 PAYG sim we were given required the APN settings to be entered manually on the phone. Not sure if this is a fault of the phone or sim. However, the settings were quickly made available and entered into the phone. First impressions were very positive. The phone was easy to setup, easy to use and the UI worked very smoothly, even though the software was probably pre-release.

The first few opportunities I had to spend time with the phone were spent playing around with the settings, display. The options and choices available are typical and should keep most happy. My attempt at downloading applications from the marketplace was thwarted by very poor wifi and 3g signal at the venue. I remembered wanting to leave the venue so I could get a proper signal but Nokia kept us all busy until very late that night.

I never got to check out the Marketplace but I did manage to try out the GPS functionality. The Lumia has 2 separate GPS apps and they are Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive. Unfortunately for the moment, they are totally separate applications with no integration whatsoever. They don't even share the same map data nor landmarks but I am reliably told that the Nokia Maps team are working on it and integration is on the cards for future updates. For the moment, Nokia Maps is a mapping application with pre-downloadable map data but unfortunately, you can only search online for now and Nokia Drive is a turn by turn navigation app which requires a separate set of map data to be downloaded as you drive. Apart from these foibles, it did work quite well when online. I do hope the Nokia Maps team stand by their commitment to resolve all the above issues in future updates.

The camera performed quite well in daylight but photos taken in poorer lighting were much inferior to photos taken in similar conditions with my N8. Unfortunately, I lost all the photos I took on the Lumia when I forgot to upload the photos to the Skydrive before resetting the phone prior to handing it back to Nokia. The dedicated camera button is just what you need for getting to the camera quick and taking photos in as little time as possible. This is a must for any phone with any serious intentions of being a good camera as well.

I should mention that every Lumia comes with 25gb of storage on Skydrive.live.com. It also comes with free music mixes that are available to download for free.While this might appeal to some, I prefer to choose when and how I listen to my music.

Battery life did not seem the best during this trial. I had to charge the phone 3 times in 24 hours but I was fiddling with it almost all the time. My usage during this trial cannot be compared to normal use and I am not able to even hazard a guess as to what battery life can be expected with normal usage.

The second morning was fully scheduled with Q&A sessions with Lumia designers and we had to hand the phones back after lunch, so that was the end of my very brief but highly enjoyable encounter with the Lumia 800.

This brief encounter has left me wanting for more. I hated having to give it back and was at one stage contemplating absconding with it. Do I think it is a good phone? It was pre final release version and had  it's faults but it promises so much and it also promises to be different from other Windows phones. For that reason alone, I am willing to have another go. So Nokia, is there any way I can have it back, please?