Nokia Lumia 1020 review

Reviewing Nokia phones hasn’t been easy over the past two years. It’s not that the company’s phones were bad or overly complex in some way, it’s just that we have been hoping for so much more than Nokia has been able to deliver. The Nokia Lumia 800 was a great start. The Lumia 900 was a solid follow-up and the Lumia 920 and Lumia 928 were better still. But the real problem with Nokia’s Lumia smartphone lineup has always been that while Nokia and Windows Phone in general offer plenty of nice features, they don’t really offer any compelling differentiation compared to Android and iOS, which rule the global smartphone market with an iron fist. With the Nokia Lumia 1020, that finally changes — but will it be enough?

Nokia’s struggles have been widely reported over the past few years. While things have certainly improved since Nokia posted four consecutive billion-dollar quarterly losses, Nokia swung to the red yet again in the second quarter this year as revenue and handset shipment volumes tumbled.

In North America, the Nokia picture is particularly bleak. Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T have combined to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to market Lumia smartphones since the Lumia 900′s debut in the second quarter last year. In that quarter, Nokia sold 600,000 Lumia phones into channels and shipments fell to just 300,000 units the following quarter. In the holiday quarter last year when the Lumia 920 debuted alongside an even bigger marketing push, North American Lumia shipments climbed to 700,000 units and then fell again to 400,000 units in Q1 2013. In the most recent quarter, Nokia shipped 500,000 Lumia smartphones in the U.S. and Canada.

North American shipments totaling 2.5 million phones over the past five quarters is respectable performance, though that figure becomes fairly less impressive when you consider how much money was spent on marketing and advertising. Then it becomes even less impressive when you consider that more money still was spent to push the pricing on Nokia’s flagship phones down to just $99 while competing phones from other vendors cost $199 or more.

It all comes back to compelling differentiation.

Nokia’s Lumia phones look nothing like the iPhone or Android phones. In fact, Apple even pointed to the Lumia 900 as an example of a unique smartphone while it was suing Samsung for allegedly copying the iPhone’s design. Windows Phone also looks nothing like Android or iOS. The interface is unique and attractive, the workflow deviates from the norm with its emphasis on side-scrolling, and its live home screen offers a terrific way to get zero-touch access to real-time information. Nokia’s software additions like HERE Maps and Nokia Music have been great as well.

But it’s not enough.

Brightly colored smartphone cases and a slick new user interface will never draw the masses away from Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems. To be fair, Nokia learned this painful truth relatively quickly and tried to use the growing popularity of mobile photography to set itself apart. So far, however, it hasn’t worked at all.

Sure Nokia’s Lumia cameras have been impressive to date, but they were nothing like the Lumia 1020′s camera. The Lumia 920, for example, offered low light photo capture capabilities that were definitely an improvement over the iPhone and leading Android phones. But the prospect of taking slightly better photos of one’s friends in a dark bar apparently wasn’t enough to send consumers rushing to their local electronics retailers.

With the Lumia 1020, Nokia went all in on the camera and the difference is no longer slight — it’s astounding.

On paper, Nokia’s Lumia 1020 features a 41-megapixel PureView camera with six-lens Carl Zeiss Tessar optics, a mechanical shutter, a backside-illuminated image sensor and optical image stabilization. It also captures 1080p HD video at 30 fps.

In practice, the Lumia 1020 camera is a mobile photographer’s dream.

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 sensor is indeed 41 megapixels but the photos captured and shared will be 5-megapixel images. In a nutshell, the device captures either 34- or 38-megapixel images depending on the aspect ratio setting, but it then uses oversampling to combine data from multiple pixels into “superpixels.” The end result is a 5-megapixel image with clarity unlike anything you have ever seen from any rival smartphone.

Handsets like the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4 and others might churn out photos with higher megapixel counts than the Lumia 1020, but Nokia’s new smartphone camera is a different breed entirely. In fact, I have yet to find a scenario where images captured by the Lumia 1020 aren’t substantially better than photos taken with Apple’s 8-megapixel iPhone 5 camera or Samsung’s 13-megapixel Galaxy S4 camera.

Daylight, low light, no light, direct light, indirect light, indoors, outdoors… You name the scene and the Lumia 1020 outshines its rivals. Images are far more crisp, color reproduction is more accurate and slight motion blur that would occur on other phones is almost always eliminated thanks to Nokia’s patented optical image stabilization system.

As a quick example of just how impressive the Lumia 1020′s camera performance is compared to rivals, I put together a simple comparison photo with the 1020 and Apple’s iPhone 5, since its camera is widely regarded as being among the best smartphone cameras on the market.

The image below has three columns. The first is a photo taken in a dark room with the iPhone 5′s camera and no flash. This photo is included simply to illustrate how dark the lighting conditions in the room were. The second photo was captured with the iPhone 5 using the flash and the third was captured using the Lumia 1020′s camera and flash.

The difference is not just noticeable, it’s remarkable. Beyond illumination, the colors in the Lumia 1020′s photo are far more accurate than they are in the iPhone 5 sample photo and the difference in clarity is tremendous.

Nokia also included its new Nokia Pro Camera software on the Lumia 1020 and it seriously enhances the camera experience while offering the perfect balance of simplicity and control.

The Pro Camera app gives users complete control over things like exposure, shutter speed, white balance, ISO and more, and it presents the settings in a beautiful and simple interface. The Lumia 1020 can also be configured to open the Pro Camera app instead of the standard Windows Phone camera app when using the dedicated camera button as a shortcut, which is a nice touch.

For those interested in learning more about the camera on the Lumia 1020 and the technology behind it, Nokia published a great 22-page white paper on its new camera technology.

Oh, and underneath the Lumia 1020′s camera lies a pretty nice little smartphone.

In terms of design, the Lumia 1020 is just like the Lumia 920. Which was just like the Lumia 900. Which was just like the Lumia 800. Which was just like the Nokia N9. Needless to say, Nokia has gotten its money’s worth with this design.

Each new model features a few various tweaks and in the 1020′s case, the design has been flattened a bit and widened ever so slightly. The result is the thinnest flagship Lumia phone Nokia has built thus far if you ignore the giant hump where the camera lens and dual flashes sit. And yes, this phone includes two flashes — a xenon flash for still photos and an LED flash for video.

All of the Nokia smartphones mentioned above use Nokia’s familiar flattened barrel design, but the Lumia 1020 is more like the Lumia 900 than the newer 920. It’s roughly the same size and the top and bottom taper a bit as they reach the flat edges, whereas the Lumia 920 did away with that tapered design.

On the front of the Lumia 1020 sits a gorgeous ClearBlack AMOLED display that measures 4.5 inches diagonally and features better-than-720p HD resolution with 1,280 x 768 pixels. The panel is protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass 3 glass and it features all of the bells and whistles from Nokia’s earlier high-end displays including PureMotion HD+, a 60 Hz refresh rate, TrueColor and “sunlight readability enhancements” — and yes, the Lumia 1020′s screen is far more visible than any comparable display in direct sunlight.

The 1020 is also the lightest flagship Lumia phone to date. Nokia’s previous-generation Lumia 920 weighed a hefty 185 grams but despite the 2,000 mAh battery and all of the camera technology Nokia managed to stuff into the Lumia 1020, it weighs 158 grams. This makes for a very comfortable feel, though the phone is still heavier than the iPhone 5 (112 grams) Galaxy S4 (130 grams) and HTC One (143 grams).

In terms of software, a Lumia is a Lumia is a Lumia.

I don’t need to dive into Windows Phone 8 on a Nokia handset for the umpteenth time — the experience is effectively the same on the Lumia 1020 as it is on the Lumia 920 and Lumia 928 with a few exceptions, such as the aforementioned Pro Camera app.

All three devices are powered by 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processors and all three devices are remarkably smooth. The main difference I have noticed in my time with the Lumia 1020 is that where the 920 or 928 might have gotten tripped up for a quick beat during stress tests, I have yet to bring about any hiccups on the 1020 regardless of how hard I’ve tried — upping the RAM from 1GB in the 920 and 928 to 2GB in the Lumia 1020 appears to have been a smart move.

Battery life seems to be marginally worse on the Lumia 1020 compared to earlier Lumia phones though, so the performance improvements and killer camera come at a price.

Microsoft’s mobile app problem continues to be the biggest strike against phones powered by its mobile platform, and this holds true for the Lumia 1020.

Apple’s iOS created a world where app selection is one of the most important parts of the mobile experience. Android’s quick rise in popularity drew developers’ attention and helped the platform catch up quickly. Fast forward to 2013 and developers remain focused on Android and iOS for the most part, despite the best efforts of contenders like Microsoft. This is a huge, huge problem — many users who are drawn in by Windows Phone devices like Nokia’s Lumia phones have to come to terms with losing many of their favorite apps when deciding whether or not to actually purchase one.

How serious is the problem? It depends on which apps you use.

Native apps like Microsoft’s email program are outstanding and of course Windows Phone offers the best mobile Office experience money can buy. In terms of third-party apps, some big developers have come around and brought their top apps over to the Windows Phone platform, though they often fail to offer experiences that match iOS and Android. Microsoft and Nokia have also taken matters into their own hands and built several popular apps such as Facebook, YouTube and Groupon themselves.

But the problem is still very real — at the time of this writing, the No.3 entry on the Windows Phone store’s overall top free apps list was “Unit Converter.” The No.1 paid app was a QR code scanner.

Windows Phone just can’t compete when it comes to apps. But on the bright side, at least you can uninstall all of the carrier bloatware apps on the Lumia 1020, which can’t easily be done on most rival phones.

Interestingly, another area where Nokia’s Lumia 1020 really doesn’t compete with rival devices is pricing, which is odd considering how aggressively Nokia and AT&T have priced earlier flagship Lumia phones. Whereas the Lumia 900 and Lumia 928 both launched at $99.99 on contract as AT&T exclusives, the Lumia 1020 costs $299.99 on contract.

Is the phone worth $300? Perhaps. Especially for those who value mobile photography above all other smartphone features.

Will it sell well at $299.99? Almost certainly not.

Apple’s iPhone starts at $199. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 starts at $199.99. HTC’s One starts at $199.99 (with 32GB of storage). These are the phones Nokia’s Lumia 1020 must compete with at $299.99 . Then, in a few months once the phone’s price drops to $199.99 or even $99.99, it will have to compete with the iPhone 5S, Motorola Moto X, Galaxy Note III, LG G2 and other new phones that will launch this fall.

The $300 price tag was a bad move.

With that, we’re left with two burning questions that will decide the fate of Nokia’s latest smartphone.

First, is mobile photography so important to consumers at large that a healthy portion of them will overlook Windows Phone’s app situation and take the leap? Many top apps are available on Windows Phone but many are not, and the user experience among those that are available is sometimes less than stellar.

Second, are the people who do consider switching to Windows Phone in order to get their hands on the Lumia 1020′s amazing camera willing to pay $299.99? Yes, the 1020′s price will drop eventually but by then it will be too late. The simple fact is that when it launches as an AT&T exclusive this Friday, July 26th, the Lumia 1020 is going to be a $300 phone competing against insanely popular flagship smartphones that all start at $200 or less.

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Nokia: your favorite apps are coming to Windows Phone 8, it's simply a matter of when

Bryan Biniak, VP and General Manager of Global Partner and App Development at Nokia, was in London today for the UK launch of JobLens, so we took the opportunity to sit down with him and talk Windows Phone 8, the basket in which Nokia has entrusted all its eggs. Being Microsoft's brother-in-arms, Nokia's heavily involved in building out the platform and, despite an increasing number of high-profile apps making the jump, the general health of the WP8 store was the main topic of discussion. Unsurprisingly, Biniak was keen to report the app catalogue and with it, competitiveness, is growing fast. There are still gaps to be filled, however, and if Biniak's claims are to be trusted, all the apps most common to iOS and Android home screens are headed to WP8 in the near future:

We're not having a single conversation with anybody, of any material application that's out there, that isn't going to be coming to the platform. It's not a matter of if -- I had those conversations, the "if" conversations, before -- all of our conversations now are "when."

"It's maturing, and it's time to come in," he said, adding "by the end of the year, there'll be very few, if any key applications that aren't in the development pipeline... or published."

Google has been fairly open about its lack of interest in WP8 in the past, although it did eventually commit to building an official YouTube app with Microsoft's help. Apart from a Google Search app (take that, Bing), you won't find any other of the web giant's services available in app form from the WP8 store. Biniak commented that as Google's aim is to profit from advertising "they are doing themselves a disservice by not being on every screen." He also used the big G as an example of a company that prefers web-based apps, whereas Nokia is pushing for native apps. "That will get resolved over time, but as consumer demand builds, they're not going to have an option," Biniak said. For clarity, we asked whether Google is actively discussing WP8 apps, to which Biniak replied, "yeah, absolutely." Overall, he painted an optimistic picture of the WP8 store's upcoming stock, but unfortunately, we couldn't get him to spill news of impending apps or release dates. Alas, Instagram addicts, you may still have some time to wait for a first-party client, but in the meantime, at least you've got Oggl.

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Nokia Lumia 625 packs 4G and 4.7-inch screen

Nokia has unveiled the Lumia 625, the largest Lumia Windows Phone yet, with a 4.7-inch screen and 4G.

The 625 sports a larger screen than any previous Lumia, making it a rival to big-screen Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One on size -- but very definitely not on price.

Under the big screen is a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 2,000mAh battery. There's 8GB of memory for your music and movies, snaps, and apps, and you can add a microSD memory card for up to 64GB of extra leg room.

Like previous Lumias, the 625 is built of sturdy plastic that doesn't feel flimsy or cheap, with no flex or rattle when shaken up. It's encased in interchangeable covers, which are tough to pry off -- you need to dig your fingernail right right in -- which at least means it's not coming off in your pocket.

The curved back is similar to that of the Lumia 720, and the screen is rounded at the edge, like the high-end Lumia 920 -- a nice touch that we wouldn't expect on a budget phone. Overall it reminds us of the bargain-tastic Lumia 620, although our first impression is that the screen isn't as sharp and bright as the 620's impressive display. And at 201 pixels per inch, it shows off half the detail of more expensive but similarly sized phones, like the Galaxy S4.

Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software keeps the 625 ticking along, with big colored squares called live tiles on the home screen showing shortcuts to your apps. The tiles light up with notifications, like how many messages you have, or cycle through your photos and pictures of your contacts. The 625 is loaded up with the latest update to Windows Phone 8, codenamed Amber.

That cutting-edge software means that the 625 shares a selection of Amber features with the recently announced Lumia 1020, including the Nokia Smart Camera app. Like the Lumia 925, it fires a burst of photos, shooting 7 action shots to the 925's 10. The camera is a 5-megapixel job with LED flash, and it shoots 1080p video at 30fps.

Nokia teased us yesterday by promising "something big," alongside an image drenched in orange. The 625 comes in green, white, yellow, black, red -- and, yes, orange. The new phone goes on sale in the third quarter of this year in China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It's set to cost 220 euros ($290) in Europe.Also onboard are Nokia's Here maps apps. But it doesn't have NFC, and there's no compass so no augmented reality City Lens app.

The 625 hits shop shelves in early September in the U.K., when it'll cost a very affordable 200 pounds, depending on who you buy it from. You can choose from Vodafone or O2; 4G network EE; or at retailers Phones 4U and Carphone Warehouse.

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Yep, Nokia Lumia 1020 packs 41-megapixel whopper camera (hands-on)

You can sum up Nokia's just-unveiled Lumia 1020 in three words: 41, megapixel, camera.

Teased and leaked to death up to the very last minute before the big reveal, the Lumia 1020's 41-megapixel shooter is what makes Nokia's next marquee Windows phone, and what gives hardware jockeys a reason to salivate.

The Windows Phone 8 device will sell in the U.S. exclusively at AT&T for a hefty $299.99 with two-year contract. Preorders begin July 16, with the Lumia 1020 becoming available online and in stores July 26. (The Lumia 1020 will also sell globally.)

It's all about the camera

Make no mistake about it: the Lumia 1020's stunningly enormous image resolution is this smartphone's single killer feature and sole reason for being. Yep, the 1020 puts the mega back in megapixels.

Camera geeks looking for the nitty-gritty will find six-lens Carl Zeiss optics (as in the recently unveiled Lumia 925), which also takes on wide angles.Here, Nokia pairs an ultralarge camera sensor with the company's PureView image-processing software, finally bringing us the smartphone we hoped the Lumia 920 and its many variants would be.

It has high-resolution 3x zoom, autofocus (you can manually focus, too), and a dual-flash system. A smaller LED flash complements the larger Xenon flash -- a design we saw in Verizon's Lumia 928 -- and the entire shooter captures 1080p HD video at a rate of 30 frames per second.

Ball bearings surrounding the lens promise image stabilization, which CEO Stephen Elop demonstrated onstage with photos he took on a wobbly boat. We suspect that ball bearings replaced the stabilizing springs found in the Lumia 920 to conserve space and keep the camera mount profile as low as possible.

Nokia has also made strides -- and had successes -- with its low-light photos. In fact, the Lumia 928's camera has the best low-light quality of any phone's that we've seen, with the iPhone 5 a close second in our photo tests. Nokia aims for even more improved low-light performance from its Lumia 1020.

Nokia's Pro Camera settings boast controls that let shutterbugs and serious photographers easily navigate their options on the 41-megapixel beast, including manual exposure settings and long exposure times. The camera app also includes a tutorial, which sounds helpful for newbies wanting to learn how to use their high-octane phone, though we'll have to wait and see what the phone can teach us.

Couple that with Windows Phone camera apps, called lenses, that layer on additional settings you won't find in the native camera app, and you have an interesting camera story that -- Nokia hopes -- will run Samsung's 16-megapixel Galaxy S4 Zoom smartphone camera into the ground.

A closer look at the Nokia Lumia 1020 camera app.

We got a chance to try out the Lumia 1020's camera app, which felt lively when fired up, taking photos quickly. Manipulating the Nokia's graphical camera settings was also intuitive once we got the hang of it. We did notice that the phone's fancy Map app took a while to launch and stuttered a bit when we tried the "Here" augmented-reality function.

Forty-one megapixels amounts to a lot of captured information, more than most people can and will really use, but -- as with the Symbian-birthed Nokia 808 PureView before it -- the Lumia 1020's higher megapixel count translates into a 5-megapixel image with lossless zooming for higher-quality cropped photos.

In the Lumia 1020, Nokia is extending this "oversampling" method to video as well, which could mean some really high-fidelity HD captures when you zoom in. It isn't just about images with Nokia. Audio technology that Nokia calls "rich recording" promises to capture clear, distortion-free sound even in loud surroundings.

Design and specs

Of course, the matte white, black, or yellow Lumia 1020 is more than just a camera. Toss the large, round shooter module aside and it looks a lot like the Lumia 920 phones, both in terms of the squared corners and rounded spines, and also its guts.

Close up, there are a few differences between the two handsets. When we got a chance to handle the new Lumia 1020 in the flesh, the phone certainly impressed with its build quality and premium feel. Like its predecessor's, the 1020's chassis is a unibody piece molded from high-quality polycarbonate. It also sports similar smoothly rounded edges and a slightly curved back, making it comfortable to hold.

Shutterbugs of all levels can dive into the Nokia Lumia 1020's 41-megapixel camera.

The Lumia 1020 is slightly thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920; that's no mean feat considering the enormous camera. The back of the 1020 also uses a soft-touch coating that feels less slippery than the 920's often-glossy back surface.

The screen on this 4G LTE smartphone has the same familiar 4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion HD+ display with a 1,280x768-pixel HD display and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Nokia's Clear Black filter lies on top for cutting down outdoor glare. As with the new guard of Lumia phones, this 1020 has an ultrasensitive touch screen that you can operate with your fingernail or gloved hand; the 1020 is new enough to get Gorilla Glass 3 as its topper.

Above the display, a 1.2-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera sits at the ready to capture shots and HD video.

The 1020 runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, and has 32GB of internal memory, supplemented by 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage, courtesy of Microsoft. The phone is sealed in typical high-end Lumia fashion, so there's no expandable memory, though 32GB is a healthy helping.

Nokia has managed to keep the phone fairly thin, coming in at 0.4 inch like the rest of the Lumia line.

You can buy aftermarket Lumia 1020 accessories like a wireless charging cover or this camera grip.

Although the Lumia 1020 will not come with wireless charging built in, you can buy an aftermarket charging cover. You can also pick up a camera grip made for the phone for $79.

Turning up the heat

With its 41-megapixel camera, Nokia's Lumia 1020 absolutely brings the wow factor, proving that Nokia can innovate in its own way, that it is a mobile force to be reckoned with.

Nokia has certainly made good on its promise to produce Windows Phone devices at every price point. Yet with the Lumia 1020 being unveiled so soon after the Lumia 925 global flagshipand Verizon's 928 variant, Nokia is now out and out flooding the market.

Still, it's hard not to get excited about a modern smartphone powerful enough to replace your point-and-shoot, and possibly even your dSLR. The $300 asking price is a high one; we haven't seen costs like this for some years. However, Nokia is betting on folks seeing the value of a true two-in-one device and making an investment.

I'd bet on those prices certainly coming down as the months progress, particularly around the holiday season. But before then, we'll have plenty of time to see just how this PureView camera handles.

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Nokia Lumia 925 brings metal design to Lumia line

The Nokia Lumia 925 is the second flagship phone Nokia has added to its Lumia lineup in a week. While the Lumia 925 shares many key specs with the Lumia 928 -- screen size, processor, and camera resolution -- it sports a metal design and, crucially, will be available outside of the U.S.

It's due to go on sale in the U.K., Europe, and China starting in June, with an estimated price of 470 euros before taxes -- expect that number to vary wildly once local taxes are applied.

Following its global debut, the 925 will alight in the U.S. a few weeks later, closer to the July time frame, as a T-Mobile exclusive. Pricing has yet to be announced for the no-contract device.

I've gone hands-on with the phone ahead of its official unveiling so stay tuned for photos, videos, and more news as it happens.

Design

Rumors have been circling for months now that Nokia has been toying with the idea of using metal in its phones. Those rumors, it seems, were bang on the money as the 925 is built with metal at its core. The chassis on which all the crucial components are mounted is metal, with thick metal banding present around the edges of the handset.

Rather than opt for an all-metal design though, the 925 has a polycarbonate back plate. It's a shame not to see a single-piece metal construction. We've already seen this on the HTC Oneand iPhone 5, both of which are unquestionably stunning phones.

Some of Nokia's previous Lumias -- particularly the Lumia 920 -- boast single-piece bodies, albeit made from plastic, which do have a certain luxurious feel to them. If Nokia could have mimicked the slick, rounded body of the 920 in metal rather than plastic, I'd be extremely happy.

That's not to say the 925 doesn't look good though. Far from it. The metal edging feels firm and curves nicely to join the rounded edge of the screen. The back panel doesn't give much flex when you press on it, making it feel much more solid and secure than the plastic body of theSamsung Galaxy S4. In my brief hands on with the handsets, I found the 925 felt a lot nicer than the all plastic 928. Neither, however, offer the same luxury feel of the HTC One.

Nokia Lumia 925 shows off its metal jacket (pictures)

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The Lumia 928 has roughly the same dimensions as the 920, but at 8.5mm thick, it's slightly slimmer and quite a lot lighter. At 185 grams, the 920 was something of a beast to hold, but the 925 knocks off 46 grams which should help it be more comfortable to hold for long periods. The matte surface texture is also slightly easier to grip than the high-gloss coating on the 920.

Around the sides you'll find a volume rocker, power button, and dedicated camera shutter button -- all metal -- with both the headphone jack and micro USB port stuck on the top. There's 16GB of internal storage which is enough for the essentials, but it's sad not to see the same 32GB offered on the 920.

The GSM radio supports 850/900/1800/1900 bands. There's also WCDMA support for 850/900/1900/2100, and LTE support for 800/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz.

Display

The 925 packs a 4.5-inch display, which is physically the same size you'll get on both the 920 and 928. The 925 and 928 however use OLED screens, rather than standard LCD which promise richer colors and deeper black levels as they don't need to be backlit as do cheaper screens.

Nokia already has good form for squeezing vibrant screens into its phones though -- its "ClearBlack" technology on the 920 and other phones is excellent. In my demo with the 925, the screen certainly looked impressively bright and bold, but I was seeing it in a dimly lit office -- in those conditions, even a poor screen would shine like a supernova.

It has a resolution of 1,280x768-pixels, which again is the same as you'll find on the 920 and 928. It's a shame not to see a push for a few more pixels -- it would help the 925 stand out as a clear flagship against its brothers -- but it did make the Windows Phone 8 interface look extremely crisp, so it would be wrong to suggest it's lacking pixels.

Camera

Nokia has given the 925's camera a couple of small tweaks, too. It uses the same 8.7-megapixel sensor as its predecessor, but Nokia explained that it's improved the optics in front of the sensor. As well as the lightweight plastic lenses -- low weight is needed for the optical image stabilization -- the 925 uses a sixth glass lens which Nokia reckons gives better clarity, especially in daylight.

Nokia has also apparently improved its camera firmware to give better noise reduction in low-light situations. Until I can give the camera a thorough test, I can't comment on whether these tweaks are worthwhile. The Lumia 920 was already an excellent low-light performer, so let's hope Nokia hasn't messed around with that too much.

You will find some new camera software on board, chief among which is called SmartCam. This app (also integrated as a camera lens) takes a burst of 10 images that you can then edit into an action sequence, change the faces, or choose the best image from the bunch to save. We've seen these functions already on the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. Unlike the Galaxy S4 though, you choose how to edit the images after you've taken them, rather than choose a setting to shoot in beforehand.

I've played around with the action sequence modes on other phones and found them to be a lot of fun -- so long as you have a particularly exciting scene to capture. Nokia's effort seems to work in much the same way, but with what seems to be a more stripped down, easier to use interface.

You can set the camera to automatically load in SmartCam mode, or you can pin the icon to your home screen to get access to it quickly.

A guide to all the Nokia Lumia Windows phones (pictures)

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Windows Phone 8 software

As part of Nokia's Lumia range of phones, the 925 will be running on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software. Manufacturers can't skin the operating system like they can with Android, so if you've used Window Phone before, you'll find the same large, live tiles on the home screen with apps in a long list to the right.

Nokia does throw in quite a few of its own apps including its Here Maps service -- that provides a wealth of local business information -- the turn-by-turn GPS satellite navigation service Here Drive, and various other bits and pieces too. Some of them are genuinely handy additions, but you can find the whole suite on even the budget Lumia 620, so if you just want to use Nokia's services, you really don't need to splash your cash on the 925.

One thing you will need to bear in mind though is that the Windows Phone 8 app store is still very understocked. You can find the odd jewel -- Netflix, Spotify, and Skype are all available -- but many big titles are missing, and WP8 devices are generally at the end of the queue for receiving new apps.

The 925 is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor which -- surprise, surprise -- is the same engine that's inside the 920 and 928. It's easy to argue that Nokia needs to ramp up its processor if it wants to properly compete with the quad-core phones, but given that there's very little you can find in the Windows Phone store to tax a phone, it probably doesn't need to. I found swiping around the interface to be perfectly swift, but I'll reserve judgement for the final review.

Outlook

With its new metal parts, the Nokia Lumia 925 is a sleek and attractive addition to the Windows Phone 8 range. Does it excite, though? No. It shares most of its key specs with the older Lumia 920 which doesn't really stack up well against the elite competition such as the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.

We'll have to wait and see if the slight tweaks to the camera and the more sturdy build will make the 925 a serious smart phone contender.

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