"Poof" all your pictures are gone April 8, 2013

Reviewer:  W. Morgan  (Seattle, WA USA) -

Warning! The Lumia 900 with Windows 7 does not sync internal memory or retain internal memory during a reset. Don't know why, but my phone reset itself to factory settings last night while sitting on a desk recharging. I had taken tons of pictures at a memorial service for a dear family member and all are gone. I usually back up my pictures to my computer often but just flew back in last night and had not done it yet. Poof! All gone with the reset.

In this age of smartphones, you still have to get their Zune software to transfer pictures via hardwire to your computer. Really? Are you kidding me! And the memory card does not retain data even after a reset? Really? Are you kidding me!!!! And you can't even add your own memory card so that the device shortcomings don't affect you. Really!!!!!

So on top of the inconvenience of having to reset all of my email and social settings, I now lose all of the photos I had taken this weekend because I couldn't get to my computer quick enough.

So I call AT&T and they give me the canned but oh so snarky, "We're so sorry you've had this inconvenience, but that's how Windows 7 works." Thanks. Inconvenience is hardly what I call it. I want a phone that actually does what a smartphone should do in 2013, but no, AT&T says I'm stuck with it even though I received it only 1 month ago (March 6, it's now April 8). I now hate this phone with a passion and AT&T has one very dismayed customer who will not recommend them to anyone.

I was only lukewarm to the phone to begin with. The picture quality has not been great even though I've worked with multiple settings. The least little bit of back or side light messes it up. The phone is so big that you have to use two hands to type--my thumb will not reach that far. On the plus side, screen is beautiful and call quality is good. Battery life is decent. I'm just so dismayed at the fact that this phone reset itself for no apparent reason and wiped out everything that I can't even give it credit for the good things.

Stark contrast from the Samsung Focus S May 10, 2012

Reviewer:  simbadogg "simbadogg"  (Corona, CA) -

I wish i could get the phone itself 4.5 out of 5, but I still don't think the phone is worthy of 5/5 so 4 it is. But i moved to this phone from the Samsung Focus S, and i always hated how cheap the phones felt. This has a lot more heft to it, so it was a little jarring at first, but now after having it for an extended period of time (placed my order on April 20th), i'm really liking the weight of the device.
I really love the construction of the phone, it doesn't feel cheap at all, and even though it's plastic (polycarbonate) it still feels like a premium device. I've taken some pictures, and though i wish the sensor was as good as the Focus S (i don't think it's as good) and more importantly back-lit, i think it's good enough that it wont be a big issue for me.
LTE is great, if you can get it, and the Nokia apps that are available are hands down the best out of all OEMs (HTC, Samsung, etc). You'd honestly be crazy to get anything other than a nokia right now, regardless or carrier or price range.

Best Phone in 2012, Still in the run May 20, 2013

Reviewer:  rpv  (California) -

Windows 8 apps are a welcome change from iOS. Among the three ecosystems, I prefer Android, Windows 8, and iOS in that order. Blackberry, what ?! For ease of use, Windows phone is really easy to use. Lumia 900 has been succeeded by Nokia Lumia 920. For someone interested in a first smartphone which doesn't break the purse, Lumia 900 is an excellent choice. User interface in Windows 8 is very pleasing and this is one of best phones with awesome user experience. If you prefer great user experience over infinite hackability, aka Android, then Windows 8 phones are great choice.

Lumia 900 has 4.3" (109 mm) 800x480 resolution 217 ppi 16m compared to the Lumia 920 which has a 4.5" IPS LCD, 1280x768 resolution, 332 ppi display. This phone has up to 16 GB storage and 512 MB RAM compared to Lumia 920 which has 32 GB storage and 1 GB RAM. Lumia 900 has 8 MP camera and 720 p video compared to Lumia 920 which has a 8.7 MP camera and a 1080p HD Video. 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor compared to Lumia 920 which has a 1.5 GHz dual core processor. I have extensively used in the past HTC Titan I and II which is pre Windows 8 (7.5) and I was surprised it has become more buttery smooth now. This phone has Gorilla Glass compared to Lumia 920 which has Gorilla Glass 2. Glass 3 is in the making and supposed to be even better. Stating following because this is highly underrated in reviews. From Corning's Gorilla Glass specs; WHAT MAKES GORILLA GLASS SO DAMAGE RESISTANT? The unique composition of Gorilla Glass allows for a deep layer of high compressive stress (created through an ion-exchange process). This compression acts as a sort of "armor," making the glass exceptionally tough and damage resistant. Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are "stuffed" into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior.

As you can see Lumia 920 has, what I would say incremental upgrades over 900 but nothing earth shattering. Lumia 900 as well as 920 does not support microSD expansion. I always feel this is a bummer. But with 32GB it is plenty with current app ecosystem. These phones seem to be copying iPhone philosophy. Battery 1830 mAh Lithium polymer battery (Compared to a high end Android Galaxy Note II, which has a battery of 3100 mAh Battery.) Unlike the Nokia Lumia 820, the Lumia 900 as well as 920 doesn't have a removable battery cover, which means you can't access or replace your battery. __Not having a storage expansion slot is a bummer for lot of people! Not being able to remove battery is a double bummer.__ For me, storage expansion and removal of battery is very important, so I was disappointed. This is the downside the unibody design.

Phone quality was excellent and speakerphone was awesome. Nice to see built in active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic. Lumia 900 has Bluetooth 2.1, whereas Lumia 920 has Bluetooth 4.0. I was able to get excellent reception with Bluetooth headset, [[ASIN:B003TO52A2 Jaybird Sportsband Stereo Bluetooth Headphone - Bulk Packaging - Midnight Black]] and [[ASIN:B00AIRUOI8 JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones - Midnight Black]] All the usual smartphone stuff, facebook, twitter, music, emails etc are all excellent. It is only the third party apps that are lacking in some arenas. If you are Microsoft heavy like Office suites, Lumia phone are awesome!

Lumia 900 has the diagnostic tool. It can be obtained by pressing ##634# on the dial keypad, which should initiate the download after the last # is pressed. The diagnostic tool should appear on the app list under Diagnostics.On this diagnostic tool one can run tests on the following: Accelerometer, ALS, audio loopback, camera, battery status, DTMF, gyroscope, hardware buttons, headset detection, LCD white, lights, life timer, magnetometer, power source, proximity, speaker, touch and vibration. It's also possible to perform all the tests in one run. This is really cool to have this power at the user's hand!

Apps are limited in Windows 8 marketplace. Yes, we have heard this a gazillion times. Lumia has GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support. I tried with Garmin Navigon app which turned out to be great in giving voice directions. App ecosystem is a chicken and egg situation. Unless more phones are sold, developers don't have incentives to write apps. Apps are less now, because people are not buying in big droves. Windows Phone is now (early-mid 2013) the third-leading mobile phone platform, more than tripling its market share year-over-year. One recent report I read Android and iOS are ahead in games with 162.1 and 37.4 million shipments in 1Q13 and Windows phone came in 7 million. This is more than double from previous year. I really hope for Windows 8 platform to surge ahead because having a 3 way competition with iOS and Android is good for the ecosystem.

ONE LINE SUMMARY: The Nokia Lumia 900 is certainly the best and cheapest Windows Phone 8 smartphone on the market, it was really the best in 2012, but if you don't mind the budget get the 920 or 820 (for microSD card slot).

Love Nokia BUT... July 31, 2012

Reviewer:  Alicia Abel "lylleed"  (Cleveland, MS USA) -

I have had Nokia in the past and loved the phone. They are known to be very durable and to withstand almost anything. My old Nokia has been dropped in a lake, off the top of a helicopter, and many other physical issues with NO HARM! They were amazing.

This Nokia was recently in my purse, after only two weeks, and the glass screen busted. As in spider web with little glass shards breaking off into my fingers or ear. It has not been dropped. It was in the pocket on my purse, during work when maybe something bumped it or something. I've never had this happen! I had the Samsung Focus before for 18 months and never had this issue. I should have stuck with a phone that has Gorilla glass as they seem to be the most durable.

The operating system is awesome. I loved my Samsung Windows phone and this was defiantly an upgrade for Windows. Loved it and is easy to use. Too bad that the phone isn't what I would expect from Nokia.

Advise... Make sure you intend to be easy with this phone. It doesn't seem as though it can take what other phones can and have in the past.

I'll admitt, I'm rough on the things I buy, but I also expect them to take and live up to the name they have. I expected more out of Nokia on this phone than to only maybe take a small bump or lay wrong in the purse or maybe get some too warm... who knows?!

no headset? April 12, 2012

Reviewer:  pitpit 

It doesn't come with headset, silly...
I'm not heavy user for smartphone. Had experience with Atrix and Iphone4 before. Now I own Nokia Lumia 900.
would rate them:
Atrix with 3 stars
Iphone4 with 4 stars
Nokia Lumia 900 with 4 stars
With 4 stars, both Nokia and MS have lots of room to grow in terms of software and phone design.
recommend for everyone to have it.

2nd Nokia Lumia 900 that is still defective June 27, 2012

Reviewer:  Jerry Tech  (San Jose, CA, USA) -

I bought my 1st Nokia Lumia 900 in mid-April from Amazon Wireless soon after it came out. I've read the specs, knew what I'll be getting (good and bad) and was excited about the phone. It worked fine for about a month before problems showed up.

I took a trip to Canada and turned ON airplane mode - 1st time doing this. After landing, I turned OFF airplane mode and that's where the problem started. Supposedly, there's a bug where if you did this, your battery will drain much faster because all the apps have been turned ON - doesn't matter if you actually used them or not. So, battery drained down to zero in a few hours. Of course, I thought that's odd but I'll just re-charge it. This is where the defect surfaced - it won't charge. It continuously cycles through the Nokia logo screen, then the ATT "Rethink Possible" screen, then a low battery graphic screen and shuts off - only to restart the cycle. It never charges and just cycles through this series of screens when it's plugged in to charge. Soft boot, hard boot, special camera boot (per Nokia's suggestion) - nothing worked.

Check it up on the Internet - other folks have had the same problem - you might want to see if you have a defective phone by letting it drain all the way to zero and try charging it. If it charges, good for you. If not, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Anyway... by then, Amazon's guarantee doesn't apply anymore. After 2 weeks of trying to fix a non-working phone, I was asked by Nokia to return the phone to them. When the phone reached their repair center, they immediately send out a replacement - NOT a new phone, but someone's refurbished phone that they probably fixed up. I didn't mind as much since the Lumia 900 just came out and it can't be much older than my phone. So, after 3 weeks of having a non-working phone with no compensation from Nokia for an AT&T phone/data service that was not used for 3 weeks, I have (hopefully) a working phone.

Excited to have a phone again and not depend on using Skype for phone calls via Wi-fi... I attended a few business meetings on my phone. Yes... the next defect then reared its ugly head - the phone will hang up on you without your knowledge. No... this is NOT an AT&T coverage issue as I didn't have this problem with my 1st Nokia phone and I had spend hours talking on the 1st phone with no issues. The 1st time it happened (try not to laugh), I was talking away for about 15-20 minutes reviewing some document before realizing the line had gone dead. By the time, I reconnected, my colleagues had left the meeting - thinking I hung up on them - how embarassing was that? Next day... had another meeting... this time I was a little more alert to make sure the line remained opened. It happened again 10 minutes into the call. But this time, I caught it and was able to dial back in immediately to continue the meeting.

Now imagine having a phone that just hangs up on you in the middle of a meeting without any notice or indication. If I loss a call due to a bad connection or coverage, you'll hear a warning alert that your call has been dropped. This phone just drops the call silently and your phone screen is blank. I had to constantly check with my colleagues and look at the phone to check that I was still on the call.

So... before you brand me as a MS or Nokia hater, I actually had high hopes for the phone. I do like the phone and the OS. BUT what's most important is a functional phone. Twice now - it wasn't. I shudder to think what defects my 3rd Nokia phone will have.

I guess that's the price you pay for wanting the latest and (not so) greatest i.e. you may get a lemon - twice!

AMAZING Phone, but there's no point in buying it... August 14, 2012

Reviewer:  JKSonic 

So I gave it three 3/5 because I'm a little conflicted here. This is the best all-around smartPHONE out there, I've used Androids and iPhones and anybody who says this doesn't have the best interface is delusional. However, the app selection is still relatively small and the biggest downsides is that as of now you won't be able to upgrade this phone to the WinPhone8 platform later this year! So unless MS changes their mind you'll be stuck with an un-upgradable phone in a few months.

Best phone, not so good network. June 26, 2012

Reviewer:  Hongze Wang  (Edison, NJ United States) -

As a long time Nokia user that is about to dump Nokia, I jump from Verizon to AT&T the moment this phone is available. It's a great product and Nokia for the first time delivered something good on the US market. Nokia phones in US before lumia 900 have a single impression - Don't buy from us! Lumia 900 changed all that.

All that said, going to AT&T is totally a bad move for me. I am not a heavy data user but 300M is not that useful so I signed up $30 3G plan. I use less than 1G per month for having WiFi access most of the time. However, I need tethering when I am on the move because I have some application in my laptop to access remote system. Today, I tried to turn on the feature "Internet Sharing" and was routed to "Call 611". The representitive on the line ask for $20 more a month before I can use the Internet connection outside the phone in any ways.

Therefore, if you need to use tethering but don't watch your movie on the phone, you should not buy this phone for AT&T is the only provider now.

A disappointing experience June 25, 2012

Reviewer:  Max Power 

After reading all the good reviews on Amazon, I decided to get myself a Lumia 900. The 900 is an excellent phone for its price. However, in my opinion it is not worth signing a two year contract for. Especially now that Windows Phone 8 is just around the corner and has tons of new features that will not be on this phone.

Hardware review:

It is a clean, good feeling phone. It is a big sluggish initializing apps but the specs are pretty low. The lack of removable storage is disappointing as is the battery life. The camera is much better than many other smartphone cameras that I have used. It takes decent photos, however if I was going on a vacation I would still pack my canon point-and-shoot. The three buttons are conveniently located on the bottom but do not illuminate so you might have to poke around if using the phone in the dark. Without the OS, I give the phone itself 3-stars.

Software review:

Windows Phone 7 (WP7)looks beautiful and I was eagerly anticipating getting a WP7 device. However, after using it for two months I am disappointed. First, many of the apps that I grew to love and use on my Android device are not in the MS marketplace. Although MS boasts about a continuously growing number of apps, they are most likely games or calculator apps. Some of the apps that they do have from major companies such as Yelp or Google are really crappy. The eBay one is pretty good but has a few issues such as not providing notifications for when a seller receives a question. I understand that this is not MS' fault, but for some reason companies are putting all of their best app developers on iOS and Android.

WP7 lacks basic features that should be mandatory for smartphone devices. For example, you cannot load your own custom alarm or notifications. Just recently MS released an update that now allows the adding of custom ringtones. Another annoyance is the volume control. You cannot set the volume individually for calls and ringers. They have a one volume fits all approach. So if you are in a quiet place and want a low ringer, than you will have a really low call volume. Which means you have to increase the volume during your call and then decrease it after. The navigation is almost useless since there are no filters and it tends to take you the longer way (assuming it gets it right). There are other little annoyances but I am going to summarize this part by giving my recommendation of not buying a WP7 device and waiting for WP8. I give the software 0 stars.

Bottom Line

Wait for WP8 or get yourself an Android or iOS device.

NOW A NOKIA OWNER after iPhone 3Gs (some complaints about iTunes) April 20, 2012

Reviewer:  J. Harston  (San Antonio, TX) -

I just moved back into my iPhone 3Gs after 2 days with the Lumina. First off, I was attracted to the Lumia 900 for its gorgeous screen, the LTE speed, the speed of the phone processor and the fact that I could get it for about $18 (after the promotional $100 credit from Nokia). I really wasn't shopping for phones and have been pretty happy with my iPhone, but I couldn't pass up the cost/features of the Nokia (at least that was my thought process).

Positives-iPhone vs. Nokia 900:
Speed of the Nokia kicks Apple's rear end into next week. Waiting several seconds to pull up an iPhone app that does not even access the network is getting a bit old. This was true on WiFi and especially on AT&T's rocking LTE/4G network. The screen is gorgeous and responsive. There are some real flashes of brilliance in the Windows OS, among these: Office (Excel, PowerPoint and Word) mini applications that actually work and were intuitive. The Music app worked great and looks amazing. After spending the last several years in the Apple-verse, I was blown away by the general feel and artist-specific graphics that floated behind the song playing on Zune. The Nokia was superior in handling my gmail account and especially integrating my google calendar. While iPhone works, it is not good if I have to invite people to a meeting or add reminders. AT&T's code reader comes standard so you can scan all the UPC, bar and QR codes right out of the box. The maps/GPS works great and are a lot more accurate than the iPhone positioning. After just a couple of days it was apparent that the phone / radio was superior on the Nokia (not too surprising) I was able to make calls in parts of my house that are certified iPhone dead zones.

Negatives-iPhone vs. Nokia 900:
I am pretty technical and logical and made a minimum list of things I would need to have in order to be happy with the new Windows 7 phone. And although I have a lot of iPhone apps, I really only use a few of them ... one of the big ones is a password keeper I use several times a day called "Splash ID" and it is not yet available for Windows 7. The Splash guys say it "should be out in the Fall of 2012." I considered using one of the other password keepers out there that work on Win 7 phones, but could not find one that synched and backed-up to my desktop like Splash ID does. Strike 1 against Lumina. This really is just a function of the early adoption phase of a brand new product--the details and bolt-ons are just going be less developed. In a few months I bet a lot of these issues will be solved by the market. Strike 2 was that it became a lot harder to access my daily Podcasts (that are exclusive to iTunes). In fairness, the guys at the AT&T store say it's possible to access iTunes from the Zune app and I would have figured this out eventually except for strike 3.

The kiss of death for me was I was not able to transfer MY 2,500 contacts from my iPhone to my Nokia--WTF?!! In fairness, this is really Apple's bottleneck. But in my case it was a deal breaker. Apple is, in essence, holding my own data for ransom. Good job!! It's my data, you only have it because I synched MY Outlook contacts with your stupid POS (iTunes, with your greyed-out configuration options) software years ago, but now you won't synch it back. I tried for 4 hours at home and the AT&T guys used their magic and failed. Again, this "early adopter" issue will probably be solved soon by the market, but in the meantime I need my stuff. So I am staying with iPhone for now but won't buy another one--even if I have to retype all 2,500 of my contacts. I like the iPhone but I freeking HATE iTunes software.

A few general observations, I kept getting the feeling that the Windows 7 options were about 85% of what I needed or was used to on iOS. Examples included no apparent way to view browser bookmarks, change browser settings (safe search, etc...), fewer controls on the Win 7 Netflix app and a rather clunky app search procedure.

You may say it's not fair to heap some of these (Apple) negatives on the Nokia Lumina 900, but I think you need to know what you are going to face in moving from iPhone to the Nokia. If I was getting my first phone, the Lumia 900 would get an easy 5-star rating from me. It's a great phone, but given my issues in transferring I can only award three at this early stage.

UPDATE (4/22/12): I initially rated the Lumina 900 Win 7 phone a 3 star because of some apparent shortcomings vs. what I was used to on iOS, but I tried again based on some advice and response to my initial post (thanks Nokia fans!) I can now say I am a happy Lumina user.

I can get my favorite podcasts through Marketplace. I was finally able to transfer my 2,500 contacts in about 8 minutes over Bluetooth using a sweet Nokia app called "Contacts Transfer" (released 11/28/11). I only wish I had known about this before doing about 8 hours of work to try to figure it out the hard way. I still think this review can help people and possibly save you some time. But I am changing my rating from a 3 to 5 stars. I really like this phone.

No Windows Phone 8 Support June 21, 2012

Reviewer:  Philip 

Do not purchase a Lumia 900 if you have any interest in the Windows Phone 8 release scheduled for this fall. Microsoft announced that neither the Nokia Lumia 710 or 900 will be able to be upgraded to their newest phone OS platform. Those of us that bought into the Microsoft/Nokia hype as early adopters of the Lumia have gotten screwed. Don't join our ranks. Either buy a hardware platform that will upgrade, (perhaps Samsung?), or go with another OS platform. I sincerely believe the Windows Phone OS platform is the best of the big 3, but this recent decision by Microsoft/Nokia just sucks.

Great Phone! Lousy Deal April 26, 2012

Reviewer:  M. G. Ch  (Panama City, Panama) -

*** EDIT *****

Due to popular outcry I have decided to ammend my review. Just so that we understand each other: I LOVE MY PHONE! This is why I feel all the most ticked off at the way it was presented to me when I bought it. I have a wonderful phone that I can use only part of the time. There is nothing wrong with exclusive contracts and I am a firm believer in free enterprise. However I was deceived and the only way around that is to give me an unlock code.

**** ORIGINAL POST *****

One of the things I love the most about the English language is how precise it is. There is absolutely nothing equivocal about the phrase "No Commitment."

When I pay this price, I expect to be able to do as I please with my phone.

I spend a lot of time in the US, where I am a loyal AT&T customer for many years, and have no plans to stop being one. I also spend a lot of time overseas where I have no intention of paying roaming charges. I promptly called AT&T to request an unlock code for my "No Commitment" phone and they refused me based on an alleged exclusive contract with Nokia.

This, however, is not explained before they sell you the phone.

I hope you don't fall into the same trap. Thus I take the time an effort to write this review.

I do not wish to get a refund. I parted with my money willingly and expect to reap the benefit of my purchase in the manner in which it was offered to me.

IPHONE FAB BOY August 12, 2012

Reviewer:  FELIX 

BROTHER HAS THIS PHONE AND I AM TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT.
PHONE IS A WANNA BE IPHONE

NO WHERE NEAR AS POLLISHED

Awful platform May 26, 2012

Reviewer:  Jeff Pruett "Jeff Pruett"  (Denver, CO) -

I went back to Android...I just cannot live in the canned world of Windows Phone, with no customization and being forced to use Microsoft products (Zune, Bing ect..). If you must buy a Windows phone though, this is by far the best one.

Ehh May 13, 2012

Reviewer:  Ajp384 

This would be a great phone if this was 2006.
In 2012 it's a decent phone. The color is fun but the app support is weak. Solid screen but it's a little too big for a phone. There's a ton was "wasted" space around the screen.

I rather have my iPhone3s.

Please read before buying Not as good as Iphone neither good as nexus April 29, 2012

Reviewer:  Nexustoday  (Minneapolis,USA) -

Ooooh That hurts... no more wp8 updates wow ..I happy to be back without nokia lumia

Nokia Lumia is 900 flagship phone for MS and Nokia but
-- > H/W it sucks.
--> Only looks doesn;t do any good if you are real smartphone user You will know value of H/W and Apps.

When u talk about a smartphone which is another PC in hand below are few things you expect.
I am talking in comparison to top android and Galaxy S2, Iphone , nexus kind of phones bec this is top end phone from nokia and MS.

Below are the things apart from good phone call quality (which nokia is good).

1. Lot of Apps (apple, android, Nokia/MS)
2. Easily manageable. (tiles how many will you keep and do you think that's a only thing in my life is to arrange the tiles with top 10 apps ha ha what a stupid idea. (android, apple, Nokia/MS)
3. Open to search engines not bing alone. (apple) (why nokia i have to marry your bing its boring)
4. Games. (apple, android)
5. Customization of my smartphone this is key. (android) ( had nokia given customization rather than 10s of tiles i would have liked i suppose)(after some time tiles becomes too same and boring unless it more like widget)
6. Great camera. (apple) ( Nokia lumia could have done better with 8 Meg camera but i think they have given a substandard hardware and s/w for camera)
7. good notification bars. ( android is best followed by apple)
8. Easy multi-task and not what OS can do for me.(android is best followed by apple and wp7)
9. Multi-language support (all are good)
10. It does what its suppose to do. (apple is best)
11. Upgrade to newer version. (WP8 for nokia lumia oops) (apple is best)
12. Display is critical. ( nokia munia might on higher black side but that doesn;t mean the pixel quality improves and only colors looks good but if you drill down to picture and real sense display then it sucks big time look at iphone and other android phones they have nailed it atleast iphone is the best)
Above 10 points lets score nokia lumia
well I will give 2 points.

Now its doesn't matter if the phone cost 100$ or 150$ or even free for me i am not buying a phone for another 2 years atleast and will pay 30$ (I am happy as i still have unlimited 30$ iphone data plan which ). So by end of the contract you are paying apart from phone cost 30X24 = 720 bucks in data-plan and that's the point .... do you still want this phone for next 2 years and shell out 720$ .... THINK ABOUT IT..... or you will rather go with iphone or higher end android...

Thanks