This morning at Nokia World in Abu Dhabi, our favourite Finnish firm freed its first phablet: the Lumia 1520. After our initial examination of all three announcements earlier this morning, we’ll now take a closer look at this extraordinary phone.
Design
The Lumia 1520 is significantly larger than the Lumia 1020, Nokia’s most recent flagship. The phone is dominated by a six-inch 1080p screen, with familiar polycarbonate unibody trappings surrounding it. Like past Lumia phones, the 1520 will be available in some eye-catching colour options: yellow, black, white and black. On the back, you’ll see a camera that’s noticeably smaller than the 41 megapixel monster of the Lumia 1020, although the PureView branding remains.
Specification
This is the most powerful Windows Phone ever. The 1080p display is a good place to back up that claim, with the superior size allowing a third column of tiles on the start screen. It also has the fastest processor ever included on a Windows Phone – a Snapdragon 800 quad-core unit, running at 2.2 GHz. Paired with 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, microSD support and a 3,400 mAh battery, and you’ve got a veritable titan on your hands. For the first time, the best of Windows Phone is on par with the most advanced Android flagships.
Software
The Lumia 1520 runs the latest version of Windows Phone, so-called GDR3. The update noticeably adds support for the quad-core processor and 1080p screen of the phone, but also includes improvements to multi-tasking, driving mode and hundreds of other minor tweaks and improvements.
Accessories
The Lumia 1520’s unique accessory is the CP-623 Protective Cover. In a nod to the phablet’s role as a media consumption device, the official Lumia 1520 case is a flip cover that can either protect the screen, or be flipped back and folded into a stand for landscape viewing. Of course, we should also see a wide range of Lumia 1520 accessories of other kinds as well.
Conclusion
The Lumia 1520 closes a big gap in the Windows Phone lineup, and should serve as the platform’s flagship phone for the next couple of months, at least. If you’ve been waiting for a powerful Windows Phone, this is the one to get. The 1520 will ship in the UK by the holidays, at a price of around $749 sim-free.