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Since Microsoft acquired Nokia smartphone hardware enterprise there is been some confusion about where things go from right here. Take the Nokia Lumia 930, the top specification Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone that we have been reviewing for the last few days: Microsoft has left the “Nokia” name absent from all its press materials, but the Nokia name sits proudly on the phone rear.
The Nokia Lumia 930 would not go away many wanting when it comes to raw specifications, but it surely might leave the more design-focused buyer a tad underwhelmed. It is a pretty inconspicuous marriage of Gorilla Glass 3, polycarbonate and aluminum, with the latter including a dash of Lumia colour to brighten up the proceedings. If you are not a fan of Nokia’s more playful, plastic clad models, then the Nokia Lumia 930 utilitarian look may be right up your alley. The metallic band spanning the perimeter of the smartphone is a nice reminder you are dealing with a top end device that deserves a dose of premium materials. A slight support of the back panel makes the Nokia Lumia 930 comfortable to carry, and with a 5 inch display screen, it has far more agreeable dimensions than the 6-inch Lumia 1520. The smaller machine is still relatively heavy at 167g, however nicely inside most individuals’s tolerances.
Nokia Lumia 930: Design
Nokia Lumia 930: Display
That sense of allure is only heightened by the Nokia Lumia 930 5 inch Full HD OLED display screen. OLED panels typically have a lot better color accuracy, contrast and black levels than IPS displays as each individual pixel has its own backlight, and the Lumia 930 isn’t any exception.
Our color calibrator showed it was displaying a perfect 100% of the sRGB color gamut and black levels were a close to perfect 0.05cd/m2. This meant colors looked incredibly rich and vivid and text was pitch black. Whites were maybe a little pinkish in comparison with different OLED displays such as the Motorola Moto X, however we would rather the display screen appeared warm than overly cool.
Contrast was a little bit low at 4,854:1, however we were still able to see a high level of detail in our darker test images. Likewise, the smartphone wide viewing angles meant we could see the display clearly regardless of whether we were it face on or had it lying down on the desk beside us. Peak brightness was also a modest 271.10cd/m2, however we found this was still more than sufficient to use the Nokia Lumia 930 outside with out forcing us to strain our eyes to see the display clearly.
Nokia Lumia 930: Camera
On the back is a 20 MP camera. Nokia has a powerful record pairing nice cameras with its smartphones — the Nokia Lumia 920 and 925 cameras have been good and the Lumia 1020 is arguably more camera than it’s phone. I therefore had high hopes for the Nokia Lumia 930 and I was not disappointed.
And it is a pretty decent camera in operation too. There is all the full manual options to simply choose through on display screen if you want them, otherwise full auto mode does a decent job of knowing what is what. Exposures are not all the time that accurate and we have seen color balance off too, but when that is a probelm then the advanced snapper can access raw (DNG) files to do a little bit of additional processing. No other phone camera system can provide that.
Nokia Lumia 930: Software
The Nokia Lumia 930 arrives with the absolute newest version of Windows Phone 8.1. Visually, Windows Phone 8.1 is similar to earlier versions of the software. The home screen is still made up of resizable, colourful tiles showing live info and any applications you don’t need there are held in an alphabetical list off to the right.
There are a few recent tweaks to take note of. Most importantly, Windows Phone 8.1 has finally been given a pull down notifications panel, letting you see incoming emails, texts and so forth, as well as providing fast access to critical settings such as brightness or Wi-Fi. You are additionally now able to set your individual images as backgrounds on the homescreen. The image is not actually on the background, however rather makes some applications look clear, with the image behind. It is an unusual look, however I quite like it I do want extra apps were compatible with the effect though.
Nokia Lumia 930: Battery
Fortunately, this amount of power does not take its toll on the Nokia Lumia 930 battery life, as its 2,420 mAh battery lasted ten hours and twenty four minutes in our continuous video playback test with the display screen set to half brightness. It is not quite as spectacular as the Lumia 1020’s 12 hour battery life, however you should still be capable of get a whole day’s use out of the Nokia Lumia 930 with out having to return it to the mains mid-afternoon. The Nokia Lumia 930 includes wi-fi charging, too, so with a compatible charging plate you may top up with out having to reach for a cable first.
Nokia Lumia 930: Specification
- OS: Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1
- Body: 137 x 71 x 9.8 mm
- Weight: 167 g
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels , 5.0 inch
- Memory: 32 GB internal, no expandable, 2 GB RAM
- Processor: Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800
- Camera: 20 MP, 1.2 MP secondary
- Battery: 2,420 mAh
Nokia Lumia 930: Verdict
