Finally, a high quality smartphone May 12, 2012

Reviewer:  R. L. Lewis  (Tacoma, WA United States) -

I have a 10 year old unlocked Nokia cell phone that I have taken with me around the world. It just works everywhere, finding signal where others can't and producing crisp, loud sounds at my end and transmitting the same quality to my fellow caller. It is also sturdy and holds a charge for what seems to be weeks. My experience with this little Nokia is why I was so happy to hear they were returning to the US market with the Windows Phone OS. I purchased a Samsung Focus when Windows Phone was released and have really come to admire the OS. Based on my previous experience, I was prepared to ditch the Focus when the Lumia 900 was available, but I wanted to hold it for myself first and see if that legendary build quality and design was still something Nokia could pull off.

Before I go further, I like the Windows Phone OS. It is clever, intuitive, and fun to use. I think this OS is second to none. As much as I like Windows Phone, lots of other people have written lots of other words about the OS. This review is about the Lumia 900, the phone.

After using the Lumia 900 since it launched, I can safely say that Nokia still knows how to build phones. This is an outstanding device. I live in an area where AT&T has yet to provide LTE service, but I have no complaints at all about the pseudo 4G service I do receive. I've used the phone throughout the local AT&T coverage area and I routinely have great signal strength. I've had two dropped calls with this phone, but in each case, both me and the other party were in moving vehicles when that happened. I can't tell which of us may have been responsible for losing the call. Receiving volume on the phone is very good. I've heard no echo or delay effects and had none reported to me. The volume on the ringer is easily heard even in noisy settings. It is also a pleasure to listen to calls on the speakerphone. Again, there is ample volume and nothing raspy or harsh about the sounds the speaker produces. I've read criticism of the vibration generator in the Lumia 900. Some people say it feels harsh, even mechanical. What I've noticed about it is that this is a vibration you will notice when you have to have the ringer turned off. In a shirt pocket, even a jacket pocket, you will notice the vibrator. And that is the whole point isn't it?

The unibody design of the phone creates a feel that is a real pleasure. It is not slick or slippery at all. It is certainly heavier than the Focus S or other Samsung models, but I've discovered this added weight, combined with the matte finish, assists with gripping ability. The phone feels solid and real. There is nothing ephemeral about it. The great sound quality I mentioned above and the robust volume fit perfectly with the heft and feel of the device.

Years ago, Nokia was known for putting the power button of its phones on the top of the device, while most other devices used a long press of the call end button to power down the phone. Nokia has evolved away from that standard, but has come up with a new approach that appears all its own. All of the buttons on the Lumia 900 are on the right side. This is certainly different than the approach taken by many manufacturers. You may not like this but I think this approach works very well. Just grabbing the phone out of a pocket, you can easily tell its orientation without looking because all of the buttons should be on the right. The dedicated camera button requires a much firmer push than either the power or volume rocker. This helps prevent accidental shots inside your pocket or purse.

Nokia provides an ample collection of nice apps with the phone. Nokia Drive is an outstanding on and off line turn by turn navigator. This program is head and shoulders above anything available on Apple or Android devices. Other Windows Phone device makers customize their devices with apps as well, but compare Nokia's offerings with say, the HTC Hub or Samsung's NOW. There is no contest. If you aren't interested in a navigation program, there is a transit app, a photo studio app, and lots more.

I am very glad that Nokia figured out what it does best is design and market phones and has left the OS work to someone else. In the pre-smartphone era, they were my manufacturer of choice of my cell phones. There are good products out there from other manufacturers, but having Nokia back in the game in the US means good looking, well built, solid, and high performance devices are finally available to smart phone buyers.

Love this phone! May 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Joe 

Finally a company that undertands that a smartphone is still a phone. The speaker on this phone is loud, so loud at high I can hear people talking without having the phone next to my ear! Didn't take too long to get used to the OS over my iPhone, love the look of the OS, makes iphone look like something out of the 80's. Windows Phone is not like the old OS, I hated that so buggy, this Windows Phone 7 has yet to crash on me! Super fast and stable. There are still things that I think need work in the OS, features I think are missing but overall the extra things it does over other smart phones is awesome.

My favorite feature is when I have the Lumia 900 paired to my car and driving I hear

Phone: Text message from Name do you want to read it or ignore it
Me; read it
Phone: Blah blah blah
Phone: Do you want to reply or ignore
Me: Reply
Phone: Say your message
Me; Blah blah blah
Phone: Blah blah blah, do you want to retry or send
me: Send

All without every putting a hand on my phone! Just one thing, like most smartphones, I don't think you would enjoy this phone without a data plan, it is very active to online, syncs contacts, facebook, linked in and provides real time updates which is awesome but you need a dataplan. Speaking of data OMG the phone is fast!

Best Smartphone Ever May 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Sonny Chiba  (Malibu, CA United States) -

Gave up my Iphone 3gs. My wife has the Iphone 4. This phone intrigued me because of all the positive reviews from total Apple/Android fanboys. If THEY could love it...geez, okay, let's give it a try.
I get it. It's an amazing phone with fantastic build quality. The price is silly compared to everything else. MS/Nokia NEED this phone to succeed, so grab it while they're giving 'em away. The only other phone that caught my eye was the Galaxy Note, but that was $230 more up front. My phone was essentially free. And the Note is huge. Just this side of parody huge. Yes, the note has a larger screen and more powerful processor but... Keep in mind that phones with faster processors, bigger screens, etc. Suck more power and thus run down sooner. Besides, processor power is all relative to the OS. There is no lag or issues with this phone. Using the Zune software to load everything you need was soooo much easier than using Itunes. Nokia has a bluetooth contact migration app (free) that moved all 300 of my contacts from my Iphone to my Lumia 900 in about five minutes. Painless. If you're looking for a new phone and have an early adopters love of the unknown? Try it, you'll like it.

Just a beautiful experience May 5, 2012

Reviewer:  Parker  (Indiana USA) -

I bought the black one at first, and loved it. Feels solid, balanced, and of course has the elegant windows phone UI. But then the white one came along...the "StormTrooper" as they call it, and I couldn't resist and traded in for it. Then went and bought my son one as well. You won't be disappointed...not one bit.

Great Phone!! April 23, 2012

Reviewer:  Furious "fioreb"  (Philly, PA) -

This is my second Windows Phone. Prior phones were Samsung Focus, HTC EVO, Iphone 4, 3GS, and 3G. So far, no complaints. I really the WP7 User interface. The software is extremely fast and response is fluid. There are still a few apps that I wish were there, but it definitely isn't a deal breaker. Office and SkyDrive integration plus Local Scout is amazing. I wish there was a way to do a screen capture. Apparently. that feature was not a priority :(. I do wish this had a removable battery, because I used to keep a spare with my Focus. The battery life seems to be pretty good so far. The voice quality is the best I've ever had on any phone. Calls that would constantly drop on my Focus, or Iphone(s) maintain a strong signal without any drops in the usual suspect areas.

Puts other phones to shame April 15, 2012

Reviewer:  Dillon 

Coming from using iPhones (3GS, 4S) and Droids (HTC Inspire), I can't gush enough about how superior this phone is. I've owned this phone for close to a week now, and I have to admit that initially it took a little getting used to, the good news is that like an iPhone it's pretty intuitive to learn the features. For me the real power of the phone is in its ability to aggregate data from multiple places and present it all in the one place with the minimal number of touches to access it.

I have a number of accounts with various services; facebook, linked in, hotmail, gmail, outlook exchange for work etc. Adding each of these accounts to my phone was incredibly simple. Once added the OS does an amazing job of organizing things in a intuitive way. Want to find a photo? Just go to 'pictures' and voila, I get a list of photo albums with sample photos from all of my different accounts in one place. It doesn't matter where the photos reside...on my phone, from facebook etc. You can do the same with notifications, someone commented on a facebook post, I have a new text, I only need to look at my phone even when its locked to know what's going on.

A week later and I feel like it's features like this that put me in control of my information and make life so much easier. I'm not stuck in my phone digging around open and closing applications, a quick glance and I'm up to date.

I feel like this is a game changer from Microsoft, Nokia and AT&T. Here are my top reasons for loving this phone:

1. The windows phone 7.5 OS is really well designed, for instance when you go to photos, it aggregates your photos from the phone, facebook, gmail, hotmail, linked-in and any other accounts you might have all in to one easy to navigate list of albums. All features on the phone just make stuff super easy, I feel like I'm finally in control.

2. Setting up accounts is a snap

3. Live tiles show you updates without having to launch apps

4. The battery lasts about 36 hours under heavy use (my droid lasted less than 8)

5. The photos, video and screen are higher quality than an iPhone 4S

6. It's effectively free until April 21st!
[...]

7. It's blazingly fast(4G LTE) and incredibly smooth.

I will admit that the phone is a little bulky (especially with a case) and that there aren't as many apps as iPhones or Droids (there's more than I expected all the same). Netflix rocks, the only app I really miss is Mint (finances), but I'm sure that's in the works.

Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Outstanding Phone April 13, 2012

Reviewer:  Lorie Ayasse  (Lees Summit, MO USA) -

Solid phone. Very fast and customizable. Easy to use. Great operating system. No complaints what so ever. Best phone I have ever had.

Simply Amazing April 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Wilfredo 

I have owned Androids (EVO, Captivate, original Droid) and iPhones (3G, 3GS, etc) and I will never go back to either of those platforms after using Windows Phones 7. I have WP7 Samsung Focus, Samsung Focus Flash, HTC Trophy, and now the NOKIA Lumia 900. In my opinion Windows Phone OS is the best! It is buttery smooth with no lag or "force close" of apps and super fast. The OS is optimized so well that it out performs phones with dual cores and yet it has superior battery life. Microsoft redesigned this OS from scratch and every aspect was thought out so well (love the integration of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Messenger baked right into the OS...simply brilliant). The craftsmanship of the Lumia 900 is second to none right now in the smartphone world. I own a cyan one and the color just pops!

Amazing Phone April 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Mick  (Boston, MA) -

Initially I thought no one can beat iPhone but change is static and this fone is amazing. Atleast you go to AT& T and see what it means to you. Truly Amazing 5 of us going to buy this 2 of us already did. I love you Nokia Lumia 900

Easy choice and glad I did April 18, 2012

Reviewer:  M. Martin 

Bought this phone for my wife and sure glad I did. It took her less than a day and she was all about it, it was better in this way and better in that way... It's been extremely easy for her to up to speed and she hasn't missed a beat (moving from her iPhone to this Windows phone).

The Zune software has been so much easier to deal with than itunes ever had been - so much so she's already putting stuff on her phone by herself whereas I was still having to help her from time to time when dealing with itunes.

From start to finish this is by far an impressive phone.

Best phone so far April 18, 2012

Reviewer:  Markus 

Have the Nokia Lumia 900 (black) now since 10 days and I have to say that I am loving it. I am coming from the iPhone 4S and and Samsung Galaxy SII, but think that the Nokia Lumia 900, which came free to me since I started a new contract with AT&T, is by far the best phone of those three and the best phone I had so far.

The construction of the phone is very solid and I am not afraid to break it. The unibody is great and does not seem to get scratched. The screen is great, maybe not a retina resolution but that is not necessary. So far, I never had problems with reading the screen even in bright daylight, the sun directly shining onto the screen. The back camera is good as well, at least in daylight and the front facing camera is awesome, the best I have had so far. Skype and Tango work great with it and my video chat partners say that the quality improved significantly.

Windows Phone 7.5 is so far also a great operating system. I don't mind that I only have 5 flashlight apps instead of 30. One good one would be enough for me. Furthermore, Nokia and Microsoft seem to be extremely fast with fixes. While Samsung left me in the dark with reception problems for over 3 months and Apple's antenna-gate was never solved, Lumia's was fixed within one week and we got $100 for the inconvenience. That is customer support and commitment.

Overall, I am recommending the Nokia Lumia to all my friends and family and they are fascinated about the refreshing, responsive UI.

Best phone I've ever had April 16, 2012

Reviewer:  Jed Brown  (Seattle, WA USA) -

Picked this up about 8 days ago and my socks are knocked off.
This phone is WAAAAY better than the iPhone 4 and 4s I had.

Do I miss a few apps, yes but only one or to. I've found everything I've wanted from the 90k+ apps that are available in the market place.

Here are the things I think make this phone amazing;
1) The Phone's design - Holding it in your hand it's a perfect phone. If feels sturdy, not to heavy and looks amazing
2) Screen quality - The blacks are blacker than what I saw on my iPhone retina display. The screen is bigger and brighter. It's the best screen I've seen to-date on a phone.
3) Battery Life - With aggressive use, always connected to Facebook Chat, Messenger Chat and with a ton of apps using push and live tiles my battery lasts longer than any other phone I've had
4) The Camera - In day light it matches my previous iPhone. At night (night-clubs, etc) it kicks the pants off of it and androids. This weekend in a club in NY I took a bunch of pictures and am now sharing them with my friends that had iPhones as they had blurry photos.

I can't say enough about this phone!

The cyan version, sold out in Seattle area April 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Lucius 

My wife's contract had expired so, this was a great opportunity to replace her phone (iPhone 3GS). I bought my Lumia 900 at an AT&T store in Seattle. My preferred color was Cyan, but unfortunately it was sold out. Since Nokia credits $100, the phone is effectively free. An absolute steal. I am not a gamer, and the apps I care about are all available (in my case some aviation, and NOAA and FAA related apps). Strange, the excellent Nokia apps are not preinstalled. Instead some mediocre AT&T apps are pre-installed. I deleted all of them.

Pros:
Beautiful phone.
Very fluid, intuitive and fast Windows Phone user interface.
Beautiful crisp screen with vibrant colors.

Cons:
Battery live just average.

Amazing Phone April 13, 2012

Reviewer:  A. massena  (Fort Lauderdale, florida United States) -

This is the best phone I have ever used. I had the Iphone when it first came out. When the Iphone battery died I got a samsung captivate. A few months later I got a Dell Venue Pro (Win7) and I would bounce back and forth between the Droid and Win7. After a few months I parked the Droid and used the Dell Win7 phone full time. It was just a better os. I purchased the Nokia lumia 900 on day one and I am blown away by this phone.

Pros

-Great screen with really rich colors
-Silky smooth. It just never glitches
-Nice Nokia apps
-Very high end looking. It's a good looking device
-Good camera. It is a hair below the Samsung camera but still very good with a good flash.
-Great sound and my callers hear me well
-More than enough apps on Win7 platform. It is not the number of apps it is the quality. I have what i need. How many weather apps can anyone actually use.
-Good battery life
-Ability to pin your destinations on your start page. My wife and I went on vacation and we just googled our destination, clicked get directions, hit the pin on the bottom and it pinned and named it and put it to the start page. When you click it on the start page it starts your directions. Just tap the screen and it tells you what to do next. Made driving around a strange town very easy.
-Voice activation works very well
-The screen is actually recessed just enough so that if you lay it face down it won't scratch the screen.
-Great Twitter and Facebook integration

Cons
-I don't like the power button on the side of the phone
-I had to wait this long to get one...

The BEST cell phone from an awesome company. April 12, 2012

Reviewer:  James J. Linehan "Jim"  (Watertown, Massachusetts United States) -

The Lumia 900 is the best little device I have ever owned and I have had everything from the iPhone to BlackBerry, Palm Pre/WebOS and multiple Android devices. WP7 is a clean and clear os that is fluid and smooth and fun to use. The GPS locks on instantly....no more waving my phone in the air in circles looking for a GPS lock(I'm looking at YOU Samsung and HTC)...Call quality is clear and I have yet to drop a call. The speaker is loud and clear enough for me to listen to music or old radio shows and hear everything clearly. The Lumia 900 is well built with a fantastic screen. I have never felt any kind of brand loyalty toward a cell phone.....until now. Nokia is my new favorite company that has created my all time favorite phone. I seriously don't want to put the thing down. Great work Nokia.

Love it! April 12, 2012

Reviewer:  John D. Merrey 

Nokia has always made the best mobile hardware, at least until Apple started making the iPhone. I would definetely say Nokia has lived up to their reputation with this device. Other than the iPhone, I don't think there is another phone out there even close to the 800/900 in regards to build quality. And visually, it stands alone in my opinion. Very beautiful. Windows Phone 7 has come along way in less then 2 years, I hope they can keep improving but, right now, I think this is the best phone on the market.

Loving my new Nokia April 11, 2012

Reviewer:  O. Adenouga  (DALLAS, TX United States) -

Just loving it. I wish I had gotten the cyan but they were unavailable. Best part is with the $100 credit, the phone will be free. Woot!

Just really satisfied April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  John Matthews  (Los Angeles, CA United States) -

As a bit of context, I have an iPad 2 which I happily use daily (so I'm familiar with iOS) and have tried various Android incarnations on numerous phones (including the latest Samsung flagships) but found myself underwhelmed by the user interface.

I'm a business user by day and so email functionality is important to me, but also wanted deep social networking integration and speedy web browsing; hence, I wouldn't settle for a 4g LTE-less iphone.

So with that background known, let it be known that I'm in love my Lumia 900. The Outlook notifications are as instantaneous as push emails were on my old work Blackberry. The social integration goes waaay beyond just having a facebook or a twitter app -- it's woven in right with your contacts in the "People" section. Not only is web browsing fast, I tethered my laptop to the phone, ran speakeast.net's speed test, and discovered its 4g LTE speed is quicker than my home wireless network!

It's all so seamless, smooth, fast, and beautiful.

Oh right, the apps (or lack thereof) issue. Aside from Pandora (of which there's already a Pandora-like app, not to mention Spotify which is best on WP7), I haven't run into any apps that weren't available. Heck, even gmaps, a program that uses Google Map data, is better than "Maps," the apple program that uses Google Map data for the primary mapping application on the iPhone. This is in addition to Bing Maps and Nokia's host of several programs aimed at helping you get around. What I expected to be a deficiency in terms of app coverage instead turned out to be way more than what's offered on any other platform.

So I think it's a safe bet to say that no matter what you're looking for, chances are you're still covered otherwise (see: aforementioned streaming radio example). As for the marquee name apps that are still missing from Windows Phone (i.e. Instagram), I think it's an equally safe bet that with the phone being the simultaneous #1 and #2 sellers on Amazon.com -- not to mention all of the positive reviews you're reading on this very page -- app makers will be forced to develop programs for this platform, lest they lose out on a burgeoning pie slice of the mobile market.

Really, my only nitpick is that despite the well-deserved praise for its build quality (it's literally seamless and feels very solid... whereas if you pick up, say, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus it feels cheap and plastic-y) there's not really any grip to the polycarbonate case. It's not slippery, per se, but I'm worried I might drop this while, oh I dunno, drinking, considering there's only the smooth polycarb shell to grip on to. It would've been nice if some other, more friction inducing material were woven in at key grip points, but I suppose that would have detracted from the sleek minimalism of the phone. Minor gripe.

Also, I wish the power button was on top. ...That's it. Those are my only complaints. A completely new phone with a new (to me, and probably to you) operating system and new ecosystem and my only gripes are "oh, I'm worried about dropping this when drunk," and "I wish a button was there instead of here." That should tell you something. Well, actually the fact that I'm often waaay too lazy (I mean "busy"...) to write reviews should tell you something, and here I am gushing over this dumb thing.

I'm beyond pleased and wouldn't trade this phone for any competitor. I was hesitant about being an early adopter, but now and thrilled to have been one. Five stars all around.

Unimaginable. April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  pardeep79 

I have been a big apple phone and I had I phone4 and my wife has I Phone 4 s. This phone will beat both the i phones with it's superb design, fast speed, free maps. would never go back to Apple phone after using it.

The perfect phone for the platform April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  Emanuel "Manny"  (West Hempstead, NY, United States) -

I received my Lumia 900 on Friday afternoon after pre-ordering through AT&T. I can't believe how beautiful the device is. The screen is amazing (even with the lower resolution of 800*480). I've been getting at least 16 hours of frequent use and phone calls on a single charge. This includes 8 live tiles, push notifications for email, gaming, web surfing and playing music (stored locally). I've been able to read RSS feeds clearly in direct sunlight. All of the buttons on one side of the phone is just a brilliant design. The weight is perfectly balanced from top to bottom. The Nokia apps are beautiful as well as functional (although ESPN should load slightly faster). I do wish that the Nokia Drive app integrated with search and contacts instead of having to rely on Bing Maps but I have navigation built in the car so it really isn't a problem in my situation. The call quality is amazing on AT&T in lower NY (NYC and Long Island). I have not dropped a call. The camera is good with ample light and good enough in low light situations. The speaker sounds really good and the earpiece has the perfect amount of volume and sound quality. This phone never lags even when I'm playing games and talking on the phone. I've been using the platform for over a year so I already feel like a pro with this OS. My mother just got an iPhone 4S and can't believe the screen on the Lumia 900. Nokia designed a really really good phone. Some people complained about a weird metallic sound when the phone is vibrating but I haven't experienced anything of that nature at all. I do wish the micro USB port was on the bottom but since I only have to charge the phone at night before sleep and I sync with Zune wirelessly it hasn't approached annoying at all. This phone is an insane value as a result of the build quality. I highly recommend this phone to anyone thinking of trying Windows Phone.

This is my second Windows Phone. I've used iOS (iPhone 4 and the 4S), Android (Evo 4G, Evo 3D and the Samsung Moment), WebOS (Original Palm Pre), Windows Mobile (all the way up to 6.5) and even a Blackberry. The Windows Phone OS is the most fun OS I've used so far. It's modern, extremely stable and MS is very persistent with the development of the OS and the hardware. You won't find all of the trendy new apps in the marketplace but you really won't miss them after a couple of weeks with the OS. It does so many ordinary things with such a common sense approach as opposed to many other platforms. Integrating social networks into the OS is ingenius. Cloud storage is built into the phone itself for pictures and MS Office. Zune is gorgeous on the desktop (MAC only gets the desktop sync client while PC users get to enjoy the full application) and elegeant on the phone. The Live Tiles may be "too simple" for some but I honstly can't see myself not having them. Going from a locked phone to snapping a picture without any lag, the consistently smooth UI and the low cost of entry makes this OS a real value.