Hands-On: Nokia Lumia 900
Jan 10, 2012, 3:17 AM by Eric M. Zeman
Nokia's Lumia 900 is a seminal smartphone in many ways. Here are our hands-on impressions.
Nokia's Lumia 900 is an impressive phones, though it's hard to say at this point just what sort of impression it really leaves. The Lumia 900 is a new smartphone specifically for the U.S. market and it comes with LTE 4G support for AT&T's network. It runs Windows Phone 7.5 Mango with a few Nokia-added apps.
There's no delicate way to put this: The Lumia 900 is absolutely huge. It is long, wide, and thick. It is not a dainty smartphone at all, and the blocky design — which pushes the full thickness all the way out to the edges — makes the device feel enormous in the hand. I can't wrap my hand around it at all. The materials — a polycarbonate — are smooth, though, and have a pleasing texture. It is a lightweight device and doesn't feel heavy despite it's overall bulk.
The left side of the phone is completely devoid of buttons and controls. Most of the buttons are on the right edge of the phone. The include the dedicated camera button, the screen lock/power key, and the volume toggle. The keys are all raised a bit from the surface and have a pretty good feel to them, though I am not in love with them. The travel and feedback is all right.
The Lumia 900 has the standard three Windows Phone controls on the front, and there are capacitive in form. They were responsive to the touch and performed their job well.
As for the user interface, it's a Windows Phone. The UI is indiscernibly different from other WP7 devices. The only real evidence of Nokia's touch is the presence of Nokia-branded applications. We were warned, however, that the software and applications are all really early builds. While we didn't see any bugginess or performance issues, the software did feel unfinished in some places.
The Lumia 900 is an important for not only for Nokia, but for Microsoft. It is a flagship WP7 smartphone that has 4G and other important specs. Since this is a really early rendition of the phone, we're reserving final judgement until the device actually hits store shelves.
About the author, Eric M. Zeman:Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.
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