sigh, I typed out a whole review to replace my whingy post, and it got trashed.
attempt no 2.
firstly, I got it at vodaworld. It came with the charging pad and R600 vouchers to boot.
You can check out the contracts here. I got the standard option. The phone was only available in black or red (I chose red, but would have liked the white)
Secondly, whilst I have used the I-phone 4s, I am coming from a daily phone of the BB torch 9800. so this is quite an adjustment and the "review" will likely reflect this.
Build Quality:
The phone is excellently built. It oozes quality and has a nice weight to it. I am not a fan of the size to be honest. Its a little too big for me at the moment (probably because the torch is much smaller), but its something I'm sure I will get used to. For the pictures, I compared it to my BB torch to give a size indication.
The phone takes a micro sim, so be prepared for a sim swap if you dont have one.
moving contacts however is very easy, just a bluetooth connection to your old phone and it does its business quite effortlessly
Screen:
The screen is supposed to be better than the S3, however, comparing with the galaxy at work, i struggled to tell a difference. In fact, I might even pick the S3 over it in terms of WOW factor. However, the touch on the lumia is superb. The screen responds instantly, and is both extremely sensitive, but not in an annoying way.
Moving around the OS:
I will admit, i struggled quite a bit here. The tiles take a bit of getting used to, and its not the most intuitive system. i found it frustrating to move around at first, looking for a more menu approach (which does exist if you flick past the tiles, but I think that defeats some of the purpose)
On the phone front screen are 3 "keys". A central windows key pretty much just takes you to the home screen. A "back" key, which takes you to a previous screen, quits applications and also saves your settings. Seems simple enough, but there are some frustrations. For example, after using your browser for a few minutes, you would like to close it. You would need to push the back key, which takes you to the previous web page, continue doing this, until the application hits the first page, and then closes. (another member has shown an easier way, but you get the point)
to see which apps are currently running, you hold the back key down. You then get a scrolling view of whats happening, but to close the app, you cant just click a X, you have to click on the app, which goes into it, then use the back key to close it. Maybe its a small thing, but i find it very annoying.
The "hub" is also something which is taking some getting used to. It centralizes all social media and contact info in one place. And is used to also get updates from all these applications. One click takes you to an address book, with your contacts linked together showing their latest update etc. Scroll right and you will get a live feed of the social media's etc.
It sounds good, but to be honest, i liked using the dedicated facebook app instead.
Built in Apps:
The nokia mapping is very good, and can be donwloaded for offline use. I used the Beta Gps navigation to get me home, and it was fantastic.
the nokia city lens works in SA, but seemed to have a few issues with finding the right direction of certain things. I havent used it much though, so it could just be me ?
It did give appropriate updates etc when clicking on an item on the screen, and when used with the browser can give some handy info on restaurants etc.
Battery:
So far so good, 4 .5 hours after main charge, its at 55% with fairly regular use.
Its non removable, so i hope it lasts.
Other issues:
There have been complaints about rebooting, so far i have yet to have a reboot.
I have had the screen turn on in my pocket, due to the lock button being overly sensitive. Other than that, no hardware issues so far.
Apps:
There is a distinct lack of apps. And some of the more "essential" ones are not there either (banking apps, whatsapp). If you want decent apps immediately, you are not going to get it.
I am sure this will be rectified quite quickly, but for now, there really isnt much.
So far I am undecided on the phone. I think it has some potential, i just need to knuckle down and get into it a little more.
The build quality and touch screen are amazing, the interface is the part I am not sure about. I suspect its because I am coming from the BB, but will reserve judgement until a week or so
attempt no 2.
firstly, I got it at vodaworld. It came with the charging pad and R600 vouchers to boot.
You can check out the contracts here. I got the standard option. The phone was only available in black or red (I chose red, but would have liked the white)
Secondly, whilst I have used the I-phone 4s, I am coming from a daily phone of the BB torch 9800. so this is quite an adjustment and the "review" will likely reflect this.
Build Quality:
The phone is excellently built. It oozes quality and has a nice weight to it. I am not a fan of the size to be honest. Its a little too big for me at the moment (probably because the torch is much smaller), but its something I'm sure I will get used to. For the pictures, I compared it to my BB torch to give a size indication.
The phone takes a micro sim, so be prepared for a sim swap if you dont have one.
moving contacts however is very easy, just a bluetooth connection to your old phone and it does its business quite effortlessly
Screen:
The screen is supposed to be better than the S3, however, comparing with the galaxy at work, i struggled to tell a difference. In fact, I might even pick the S3 over it in terms of WOW factor. However, the touch on the lumia is superb. The screen responds instantly, and is both extremely sensitive, but not in an annoying way.
Moving around the OS:
I will admit, i struggled quite a bit here. The tiles take a bit of getting used to, and its not the most intuitive system. i found it frustrating to move around at first, looking for a more menu approach (which does exist if you flick past the tiles, but I think that defeats some of the purpose)
On the phone front screen are 3 "keys". A central windows key pretty much just takes you to the home screen. A "back" key, which takes you to a previous screen, quits applications and also saves your settings. Seems simple enough, but there are some frustrations. For example, after using your browser for a few minutes, you would like to close it. You would need to push the back key, which takes you to the previous web page, continue doing this, until the application hits the first page, and then closes. (another member has shown an easier way, but you get the point)
to see which apps are currently running, you hold the back key down. You then get a scrolling view of whats happening, but to close the app, you cant just click a X, you have to click on the app, which goes into it, then use the back key to close it. Maybe its a small thing, but i find it very annoying.
The "hub" is also something which is taking some getting used to. It centralizes all social media and contact info in one place. And is used to also get updates from all these applications. One click takes you to an address book, with your contacts linked together showing their latest update etc. Scroll right and you will get a live feed of the social media's etc.
It sounds good, but to be honest, i liked using the dedicated facebook app instead.
Built in Apps:
The nokia mapping is very good, and can be donwloaded for offline use. I used the Beta Gps navigation to get me home, and it was fantastic.
the nokia city lens works in SA, but seemed to have a few issues with finding the right direction of certain things. I havent used it much though, so it could just be me ?
It did give appropriate updates etc when clicking on an item on the screen, and when used with the browser can give some handy info on restaurants etc.
Battery:
So far so good, 4 .5 hours after main charge, its at 55% with fairly regular use.
Its non removable, so i hope it lasts.
Other issues:
There have been complaints about rebooting, so far i have yet to have a reboot.
I have had the screen turn on in my pocket, due to the lock button being overly sensitive. Other than that, no hardware issues so far.
Apps:
There is a distinct lack of apps. And some of the more "essential" ones are not there either (banking apps, whatsapp). If you want decent apps immediately, you are not going to get it.
I am sure this will be rectified quite quickly, but for now, there really isnt much.
So far I am undecided on the phone. I think it has some potential, i just need to knuckle down and get into it a little more.
The build quality and touch screen are amazing, the interface is the part I am not sure about. I suspect its because I am coming from the BB, but will reserve judgement until a week or so
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