Software
If you have not got familiar with Windows
Phone 8, we encourage you to read our full review on it in where we made
researches about the benefits and drawbacks of the newest operating system of
Microsoft for cellphones. A typical nuisance is the application system, because
the developers have not rallied behind Windows Phone at the similar level as
Android and iOS. Some official applications that you will not be able to find
are Flipboard, Instagram, Meetup, MOG, Pandora, Pinterest, Redbox, Sonos,
Spotify, Stitcher, TiVo and TuneIn. We hope to see this change in a near future,
but at this time, you will have to suffer the increasing pains with Windows
Phone 8. Unless you especially demand for expandable storage, HTX 8X is surely
a better Windows Phone on T-Mobile in terms of hardware. However, it is to
remind you that we have suggested at the beginning of this review that Nokia
has loaded the Lumia with many useful applications, which are enough to put you
into a hard-to-decide situation in which you might be in favor of Nokia. We
discussed some of those applications in the camera part of this review, but you
can also find many others based on navigation and Nokia Music.
Lumia
810’s software
First of all is City Lens, which is the
Local Scout version only for Nokia, but with a greater number of categories and
an added augmented reality component. The app is interesting and brings certain
impression, but it is quite useful when you are trying to familiarize yourself
the new neighborhood. It is quite strange that City Lens require the users to
adjust the compass whenever loading the app, which sometimes discourage them
and seems to be undesirable. Moreover, once you choose an interesting place,
you will be automatically switched to the Nokia Maps, which takes some seconds
to load. Do this few times and you will recognize that the waiting time starts
to increase. Another frustrating point is that Nokia Maps is lack of photos and
comments, which means it is sure that you need to be back to Foursquare or Yelp
to exactly know the location. City Lens is really promising, but it should be polished
a lot before turning out to be a formidable competitor for other location-based
discovery apps.
Applications
on Lumia 810
While City Lens brings a certain
experimental feel, the Lumia 810 starts to shine with Nokia’s navigation
applications. Without mincing word, travelers and commuters should seriously consider
one Windows Phone from Nokia, because Drive and Transit are two very useful
apps that are really worth their price.
Nokia Drive provides detailed, free,
voice-guided direction, but is such an exceptional change. It can save the
local map on the phone, which is nothing short of a surprised gift for times
that you desire to navigate outside the mobile data coverage. It not only
provides the maps for 50 states, but also expands to almost all counties over 6
continents. Nokia Drive also warns the users whenever they are accelerating and
assists avoiding potential nuisances like toll roads, ferries, tunnels and
unpaved roads. We used this app for a quick test drive and finished with the
same impression of the full review: fast, competitive and potentially replacing
a dedicated GPS navigation unit.
Nokia Transit just does only one thing, but
it does it perfectly well. The app is for guiding users through their commuters
and journeys with public transportation, and it fills the necessary gap on
Windows Phone. The app is very easy to use, and thanks to the map and detailed
direction, the transfers are so fast. Another nice perk: you can pin your
favorite destination one the main screen
Another fantastic application is Nokia
Music, which is the combination of a store, a service called Mix Radio and
concert listings. It’s worth pointing out that you will also see Xbox Music
store on Lumia 810, which is a part of Windows Phone Store. In Nokia Music, you
will usually find songs which are sold at the price from $0.99 to $1.29. Mix
Radio surely is an outstanding feature, similar to Pandora, but it avoids
advertising and allows users to download songs for offline listening. Concert
listing is also a nice bonus, and you will find links for ticket purchasing
from your phone.
Other applications of Nokia include ESPN
and Transfer My Data. The latter may be suitable for new users, who try to
import data from other devices via Bluetooth. If you are not a fan of any
specific Nokia’s application, you will be pleased to know that you can remove
the any undesirable installation at any time. The similar things are applied to
apps that T-Mobile loaded on the Lumia 810, which includes 411 & More,
CallerTunes, Slacker Radio and T-Mobile TV. You will also find an application
entry for Zynga games, which just serves as a shortcut to download
non-advertising version of Draw Something and Words with Friends.
Conclusion
Obviously, Nokia Lumia 810 is a stable
smartphone, but the only that might turn it into a failure is Lumia 920, a
better but cheaper device. If not willing to change the ship from T-Mobile, the
Nokia’s optional software also affect the equation because you need to choose
between an elite hardware but does less (HTC 8X) or an inferior smartphone but
does more (Lumia 810), or you can wait for the 6-month exclusive status of
Lumia 920 on AT&T to be expired, or you can import the Canadian version,
which seems to support only the HSPA+ bandwidth of T-Mobile. As long as you are
aware of other solutions, we are not hesitant to recommend you the Lumia 810.
However, if you wish to use the phone immediately, you should be ready to
swallow a bitter pill because we do not think the price $150 would fall during
the holiday.
Obviously,
Nokia Lumia 810 is a stable smartphone, but the only that might turn it into a
failure is Lumia 920, a better but cheaper device.
Advantages
·
Fast performance
·
Exclusive Nokia’s applications
·
Impressive camera
·
Excellent quality phone calls
Disadvantages
·
High price and low value
·
Text in the browser seems quite jagged
Verdict
·
Lumia 810 is a great smartphone, but it cannot
compete with the lower-cost Lumia 920.
