So here is my review of my new phone, the Nokia 1520 (32gb) on ATT, in matte black only.
Its freaking awesome.
I kid you not, its big. Very big. So big that if you don’t have big pockets or big hands, this behemoth will be difficult for you. Its slick, and slippery, even in matte black, although not as glossy and slippery in your hands as the red version. Still, once you use if for a day, you will find it almost a downgrade to go to a smaller phone. I upgraded from the Nokia 900 with a 4.5 inch screen, and I can’t imagine working without it now.
OS. Its Windows Phone 8 with the Black update. Its not perfect, but neither is any other OS, and that’s find. It works well, its very fast, and is syncs effortlessly with my computer and my Surface tablet.
Screen. very clear, hd (1080p) that is obvious from the moment you look at pictures or video. super clear, easy to read in daylight. I thought I was looking at a blue ray video.
Apps. Ample. Not sure what the fuss is all about, I downloaded the core (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Vevo, Pandora, and a bunch of others) without having to search for gap apps. When I got the 900 there were issues, but now its not a problem, and anybody who complains about lack of apps needs to spend less time playing Candy Crush and more time doing work. WhatsApp, Snapchat, Viber and Vine is all there.
Sound. some have complained the speaker was not good, but I found it was terrific. Actually to loud, so I had to turn it down a few notches. Music, video playback, phone conversations driving on the 405 with the windows down, not a problem at all.
Sync. I added 4 separate email accounts, Facebook messenger, and maps (Here+ and a few others) pretty quickly and easily, so my emails stay separated. Not a problem, however I did find that Xbox music doesn’t really sync music all that well. I can download music from my computer to phone easily, but making playlists is difficult. That being said, switching back to the old standby (Windows Media) worked just find, and actually worked better than Xbox. I synced all my music from Xbox, Zune, ITunes, and Real Player in short session. No fancy software, just Drag & Drop. OneDrive sync was flawless, and I got an extra 3gb free, to go with the 32 GB free I got for some reason or other.
Cover/Case. Get one…Fast. the last thing you want to do is drop this bad boy unprotected. Believe me, unless your very careful, you will.
Unseen Gems. I like the night mode. Changing the glance screen to a softer red, greed or yellow color between hours you set was an unexpected bonus. Nokia has a bunch of apps for the amazing 20bg camera that you will have to see to believe. Refocus, Glam (finally somebody pays attention to the front camera and how did they get it to light up light that) and some terrific photo software. Nokia Music is amazing, and extra row of resizable live Tiles is pretty nice. Also redirecting phone calls and text (Drive mode) is something I haven’t seen in a cell phone before. Pretty cool.
Needs. I don’t need to have a notification center, because live Tiles and Glance tell me a lot of information, but a good notification center might be nice. How come this phone doesn’t come with a good headset? Lastly, I like the cover screen, but I would love for my photos to cycle through in a slideshow. I don’t need the phone to go into sleep mode after 5 minutes, I am a grown up, I can do it myself. A good slideshow app please, that integrates into the phone while in standby mode. My photos are rated PG (ok, mostly) so I would be cool with that.
My rating. Who cares, I bought it. Maybe you should too.