The rumors were true. Nokia's revealed its biggest phone to date, with a screen measuring in at 4.7 inches. It's the Lumia 625, and it joins a series that has grown a fair bit since the Lumia 620 launched earlier this year. Compared to that earlier phone, the 625 keeps the same resolution (a slightly pixelated 800 x 480), but bumps the processing power up to a dual-core Snapdragon S4. Despite that hulking LCD screen, however, it's still thinner than the Lumia 920 at 9.15mm (0.36 inches). It's a Nokia smartphone, so there are plenty of HSPA radio gadgetry to keep the global fanbase happy. What's more -- and this is rare for an entry-level Lumia -- it also has LTE. Specifically, we're looking at the British EE-friendly Band 3 option here, alongside Bands 7 and 10.
If there's anything to remind us that this is no flagship device, it's the camera. Don't expect any 41-megapixel sensors. In fact, get ready to be a little underwhelmed by a 5-megapixel camera module, although you'll still get the likes of the animated gif-making Cinemagraph and the same Smart Camera app seen on the Lumia 925. You'll have 8GB of internal memory to fill with your best photo moments, and there's also a microSD slot behind the removable back. Meanwhile, c ustomization options include orange, green, yellow, white and black cases , although there's no turquoise shade like we saw on the Lumia 620. It's headed to EE, Vodafone, O2, Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse in early September, priced at £200 or 220 euros for continental Europeans. Find our hands-on impressions (and a video!) right after the break.
If you thought the notion of Nokia's biggest-screened phone would result in an unwieldy tablet-bordering size, don't worry. The thinner profile makes it as easy to handle as the Lumia 925, while the matte plastic finish means fingers can keep a handle on it. Those brighter color options look great in real life, reflecting lots of light, something that might not be obvious in all of our hands-on shots. The screen is pretty disappointing, with off-angle views suffering substantially. With that WVGA display now spread across 4.7 inches, the pixel density now comes in below 200 ppi, making icons and text a shade more jagged than we'd liked. (For reference, the Lumia 620 was around 246 ppi.)
That mid- to high-end Snapdragon S4 processor means the smartphone didn't stall during our short playtime. We didn't get a chance to test out the camera, although our samples shots from 5-megapixel sensors found in other Lumia handsets should offer a decent estimate of how pictures will turn out, with some extra functionality from the aforementioned Smart Camera app . Barring concerns with screens and the camera, its low off- contract price -- with LTE-capability -- could make the 625 a very enticing package for first-time smartphone buyers.
news by July 23, 2013 at 03:07PM
{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }
Post a Comment