Nokia Lumia 925 Review

[mightyzero]

BACKGROUND

I was an early adopter to the Windows Phone platform. My first phone smartphone was the HTC HD7 as I initially resisted the smartphones on the market but loved the build quality of HTC and was genuinely interested in what MS was doing. I purchased my wife an HTC Radar approximately 6-9 months later. After enjoying my HD7 for 2 years I decided to try a Nokia and all the extra software goodies that come along with it; plus, I really wanted to be on Windows Phone 8. Being a T-Mobile customer, my only options for WP8 were the Nokia Lumia 810 or HTC 8X. The 8X seemed like the better option at first but lack of SD slot coupled with the dark purple color kept me from pre-ordering. I wasn?t nearly as interested in the phone after playing around with it in the store and ultimately went with the less flashy but equally capable Lumia 810.

While I was enjoying my new Nokia and WP8, my wife was busy breaking her HTC Radar. Knowing that Nokia was working on a 92x variant for T-Mobile, I decided to buy my wife a Lumia 521 to hold her over while I waited for the launch of the 925 (and ultimately, moving my wife onto the 810).

 

 

My point of reference for comparisons is based mainly on my experience with these earlier Windows Phone devices.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I picked up the Nokia Lumia 925 on launch day and was instantly pleased with the aesthetics and general feel of the device. It's light and comfortable to hold in the hand. The uni-body design is sleek and instantly feels premium. Granted, I have rather large hands, so while an iPhone 5 feels really light and a little small in my hands, the Lumia 925 has that just right feeling... not too heavy but not too light. The 4.5" screen also feels like a sweet spot for screen sizes. I know that's probably just my taste, but I've had a couple friends specifically mention that they really like the screen size.

My first reaction upon starting the phone was: "Wow... that screen looks nice!" Easily the best looking screen of any Windows Phone device I've used or had a chance to play around with.  Another welcome change from other devices I've used is the micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack are both located on the top of the device. Considering I use my device as a MP3 player, it was very awkward to have both plugged into a device (one on top the other on the bottom) and sit neatly in my car console. This is one of those small changes that feels natural.

 

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS

Screen: 4.5" AMOLED (768x1280) w/ super-sensitive touch

Processor: Snapdragon S4 Dual-Core 1.5GHz

Camera: 8.7MP PureView with dual LED flash (includes front facing camera)

Dimensions / Weight: 5.08 x 2.75 x 0.33 inches / 4.9 ounces

Additional: 16GB storage, NO SD-card expansion.

CAMERA

Aside from using my phone to make calls and browse the interwebs, the camera is the most important function for me. None of my previous Windows Phone devices really satisfied my desire for a good point-in-shoot inside a smartphone (my wife's 521 was especially disappointing). Right out of the box, the 925 smokes anything I've had before. It simply takes very clean, detailed, and accurate photos right from the get-go without any adjustments from the user. This was really important for me because while I love to take photos, I'm not really one to make finite adjustments when I just want to snap a quick group picture or catch something happening in action.

I've had the chance to play with the iPhone 5 and really it's the only phone I've used where the camera experience was exceptional (although the HTC One seems to have a very nice camera as well).

 

 

For all the hand wringing about the WP app selection, the camera app selection is surprisingly excellent. There are a number of great filters available (Pictures Lab, Photosynth, SophieLens, Camera360, LazyLens, and Fhotoroom) and a bunch of great editing apps as well (Blink, Creative Studio, Fotor, Nokia Cinegraph, PhotoBeamer, Panorama). There's also a new Nokia developed app called Smart Cam that's exclusive to Nokia devices that support PureView technology and while I haven't had much time to really dive into the app, it looks like something that can help novice camera folk get great action shots or even remove an unwanted moving object form a photo. I could probably write an entire review just on the camera apps available, but frankly I just want the camera to take good pictures. I can safely say that the 925 has exceeded my expectations in this department.

STORAGE

If there's one thing that frustrates me about this device, it's the lack of an SD expansion slot. 16GB is a fine base storage amount for a phone, but it forces a user to be judicious with how many apps they load or how much music they store locally. I don't really have a problem with storage in terms of taking a ton of photos because everything gets stored to SkyDrive so that I can easily mass delete photos and I know there is still a copy already saved to SkyDrive. Still, I like to keep a good amount of music on my device and this really puts a damper on that practice (I had over 20GB on an SD card for my Lumia 810).

WINDOWS PHONE

As you can see, I've been on the Windows Phone platform from the get-go and I'm somewhat of an evangelist for the operating system. I try not to overdo my WP trumpeting because the OS still has a little ways to go until its feature set is on-par with that of Android; and thus, some people might be very disappointed when their favorite app isn't available (yet...) or something as fundamental as VPN is missing. With that said, I'm very happy on WP8 and more specifically how it performs on the Lumia 925. The OS is buttery smooth and the SkyDrive integration makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. I?m also not tied down to any one particular app, so there isn?t any deal breakers for me in that department.

APPLICATIONS I USE

It?s especially hard for me to believe tech journalist who insist that the only reason Windows Phone is so far behind iOS and Android is solely because of apps. I constantly find new and interesting apps to tryout (really looking forward to Halo: Spartan Assault) so that while I understand there are still a few major apps missing (ahem? Instagram), it doesn?t seem to me to be quite as dire as people claim. Here?s my little collection:

 

Reading apps

AP Mobile

ABC News

Drudge Report

MLive.com

NBC News

Kindle

WP Central (need an official Neowin app!)

theChive (only the best website ever)

USA Today

Wikipedia

Music apps

Nokia Music (free streaming, Nokia exclusive)

Pandora

iHeartRadio

MuisxMatch

Slacker Radio

Audio/Video apps

Netflix

Audible

Metro Tube

Sports apps

ESPN Hub

ESPN ScoreCenter

Baseball Pro '13

Football Pro '13

Games apps

Angry Birds Star Wars

Enigmo

Conte Jour

Fragger

Galatic Reign

geoDefense

geoDefense Swarm

Gravity Guy

Jetpack Joyride

Fruit Ninja

Wordament

Camera/Photo apps

Creative Studio

Pictures Lab

Blink

Nokia Cinemagraph

Nokia Smart Cam

Fotor

Panorama

PhotoSynth

PhotoBeamer

Financial Apps

Chase Bank

Fidelity Investments

My Stocks Portfolio

SigFig Portfolio

Everything else

Fresh Paint

Data Sense

Gas Buddy (for finding cheap gas)

Guitar Suite

IMDb

Flixster

HERE City Lens

HERE Drive+

HERE Maps

HERE Transit

MusiXmatch Lyrics Player

Meme Generator

Metro Compass

Newegg

Network Sped Test

OneNote

Office

SkyDrive

SkyMap

Splashtop Personal (Remote Desktop)

Urbanspoon

The Weather Channel

WhatsApp

Xfinity TV Remote

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Those who want a great camera experience with their smartphone would be wise to follow what Nokia is doing with Windows Phone. The Lumia 925 truly embodies these efforts. First, the phone has a great design; it's pleasing to look at and a joy to use. Second, Nokia has put considerable effort into delivering a great camera experience with quality imaging and excellent applications.

PROS

Best camera in a smartphone not named iPhone (or apparently the Lumia 1020 as well).

Nokia developed apps really round out the WP app ecosystem nicely

Best WP8 available from TMobile

CONS

No SD-card expansion slot

Aluminum body is very easy to scuff

[Osiris]

Welcome to the boards Mighty Zero and thanks for the review.  I like that you put in your app list too.  Enjoyed reading the review and agree that those interested in having a camera experience on your phone can't really ignore the work Nokia is doing in that space with EP

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Great review. The lack of a microSD slot sucks. The Lumia 920 launched with 32 GB of storage. From what I remember of the Nokia Lumia 925's launch event, a carrier in Europe (Vodafone?) has a timed exclusive deal with Nokia for the 32 GB version.

 

Anyway, thanks for adding an app list. I didn't know about the Amazon Kindle app.

[REM2000]

Great review. The lack of a microSD slot sucks. The Lumia 920 launched with 32 GB of storage. From what I remember of the Nokia Lumia 925's launch event, a carrier in Europe (Vodafone?) has a timed exclusive deal with Nokia for the 32 GB version.

 

Anyway, thanks for adding an app list. I didn't know about the Amazon Kindle app.

 

 

I don't know about the rest of europe but in the UK i think it's vodafone that have the exclusive 32GB.

 

A relative brought this after being an iPhone and Android (Galaxy Note2) user and they absolutely love it, they don't have the best eyes and the tiles, layout and excellent screen make it very easy to use.

 

Ive played with it myself and it makes me seriously think of getting one, it feels just right in your hand and the maps and everything work incredibly well, the OS is just so smooth. 

[Steven P. Administrators]

My HTC 8X got stolen while I was in Barcelona and luckily I have insurance, so I'll be getting a voucher for a new phone. I'm thinking of buying a 520 (if it's available here) and wait until September when the 925 becomes available here (yeah I know, months after it is available almost everywhere else in Europe). I love the 8X but I like the reviews of the 925 more :P

[Osiris]

Not to detract from the review but why would one go for the 525 over the 1020 (at the later point in time)?

[Steven P. Administrators]

If you mean me, I need a cheap phone until September when the 925 becomes available on my provider. The 1020 has the 41Mpx camera right? I don't really need that. I want the 925 because it's that much smaller than the 920 (which is already available).

[jakem1]

I didn't think much of these when I saw the press images but I saw someone using one on the train the other day and it looked really nice in person.  It's s shame the 32GB version isn't available more widely just like it's a shame that the camera on the 1020 protrudes from the back.

[georgevella]

Awesome review, my local provider has the 925 available and since my contract ended a couple of months back I'm considering getting it. 

 

Can you clarify this:

 

Best camera in a smartphone not named iPhone (or apparently the Lumia 1020)

How is the 925's camera better than the 1020 (can you point me to an article or something)?

[Steven P. Administrators]

Awesome review, my local provider has the 925 available and since my contract ended a couple of months back I'm considering getting it. 

 

Can you clarify this:

How is the 925's camera better than the 1020 (can you point me to an article or something)?

He means it's the best camera in a smartphone that isn't named the 1020 (apparently). 

[BajiRav]

My HTC 8X got stolen while I was in Barcelona and luckily I have insurance, so I'll be getting a voucher for a new phone. I'm thinking of buying a 520 (if it's available here) and wait until September when the 925 becomes available here (yeah I know, months after it is available almost everywhere else in Europe). I love the 8X but I like the reviews of the 925 more :p

I have seen photos from 8X (a friend has one) and while they are good I don't think they match to my 920. We already know that the camera in 925 is even better than 920.

[Nilus]

Good points in the review but I disagree about the screen being good quality.

 

They've used a PenTile screen which has ruined the whole experience. Text is fuzzy, although the vibrance of colours and deepness of blacks is very good.  The screen has a very high PPI but you'd never be able to tell because the PenTile screen is so fuzzy it looks pixellated and overall looks like a very cheap screen.

For this reason alone i'd return it if I could. I have actually boxed it back up ready to sell and have now gone back to my HTC 8X - hold the two phones up together and the difference in screen quality is like night and day, although the blacks aren't as deep on the 8X as it is standard LCD.

My HTC 8X got stolen while I was in Barcelona and luckily I have insurance, so I'll be getting a voucher for a new phone. I'm thinking of buying a 520 (if it's available here) and wait until September when the 925 becomes available here (yeah I know, months after it is available almost everywhere else in Europe). I love the 8X but I like the reviews of the 925 more :p

 

Don't do it, you have been spoiled by the screen on the 8X! 

[Joni_78]

Nice review. I was also going to get 925 but decided to get Yellow 920 instead. What I didn't like about 925, was the lack of wireless charging. Also I didn't like the colour options, except aluminium. It was nice but scratches too easily.

[incendy]

Nice review, thank you! If you enjoy editing apps make sure to try Fantasia Painter, my favorite editing app on wp by a large margin

[mightyzero]

Great review. The lack of a microSD slot sucks. The Lumia 920 launched with 32 GB of storage. From what I remember of the Nokia Lumia 925's launch event, a carrier in Europe (Vodafone?) has a timed exclusive deal with Nokia for the 32 GB version.

 

You're absolutely correct... I was disappointed that T-Mobile chose the 16GB model because I probably wouldn't have complained about the storage if I had a baseline of 32GB + my SkyDrive account.

Awesome review, my local provider has the 925 available and since my contract ended a couple of months back I'm considering getting it. 

 

Can you clarify this:

How is the 925's camera better than the 1020 (can you point me to an article or something)?

 

Reading that, I could see why you're confused... What I was trying to get at was this is the nicest camera in a phone specifically available for T-Mobile customers (in the US) since the 1020 is currently an AT&T exclusive. Everything I've read so far points to Lumia 1020 as the best camera on the market, hands down.

Nice review, thank you! If you enjoy editing apps make sure to try Fantasia Painter, my favorite editing app on wp by a large margin

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Downloaded this morning and ready to give it a go.

[123456789A]

Nice review

[mightyzero]

Good points in the review but I disagree about the screen being good quality.

 

I'll have to do some more research to better understand the difference in LCD technology. My experience with 8X lasted all of 20 minutes while in a TMo shop. I couldn't get over the purple color, longish feeling body, and lack of storage (of course it has the same storage as my 925, so clearly I've changed my mind on how important that is to me). I appreciate the criticism.

[Nilus]

I'll have to do some more research to better understand the difference in LCD technology. My experience with 8X lasted all of 20 minutes while in a TMo shop. I couldn't get over the purple color, longish feeling body, and lack of storage (of course it has the same storage as my 925, so clearly I've changed my mind on how important that is to me). I appreciate the criticism.

 

It is most noticeable with text. Look at the text on a website for example and it looks kind of blurred/pixellated.  The Lumia 925 has a screen of 334 ppi, which is more than even the iPhone 5s 'Retina' display at 326ppi.

 

Unfortunately because of the PenTile screen and how the pixels don't line up, that ppi is pretty much wasted because things still look blurry :/

 

I am amazed that on a 'flagship' phone with a premium price tag they use such a poor screen :/  That's my only criticism though, it's a great device otherwise.

[Dashel]

I'm debating the 8X vs the 925 currently.  I prefer the blue over the white, and neither have an SD slot.

 

The biggest thing for me, coming from a Focus, is that I still prefer my phones to be 'one-handed'.  The small increase from 4.3" to 4.5" screen size in practice means you are now dealing with a two handed device. (And I have fairly large hands).  The 8X positions the screen in the usable 90 deg arc of the thumb.  With the 925 I must trade over to my left hand and use my index finger, unless I want to precariously shift positions one handed (which is somehow made harder because of the camera bump).  I also like how the curve and length of the 8x spreads the weight over all of your hand vs the boxy 925's two edge pressure points.  I find the material textures of both devices to be good, though the sharp edge and rougher surface of the 8X doesn't feel as premium as the curved aluminium (though it does transmit more heat) and backside of the 925.

 

As noted previously, I hate the white.  Why TMO didn't option one other color boggles me.  The saving grace is that it does look dead sexy when sitting on a table.  Thanks to a helpful link found here, I'll have it painted if I keep it.

 

The camera is fantastic and soundly better than the 8X, both for the hardware and apps.  Taking several low light ones in succession yields a consistently better focused image.  Unfortunately, there is an odd color shift with the 925 in video mode that I haven't had on the 8X.  The 8X also wins for front camera/skyping by a bit for me.

 

Haptic is pretty weak and dare say cheap (buzzy) on the 925 in comparison as well.

 

I was also surprised by how much more I enjoy the Dolby audio enhancements, Beats has nothing on it (though I think the amp in the 8X is a bit better).  I don't believe either comes with headphones, not that I'd use them.  Pretty basic kit (no stores around here even have the charging plates yet).

 

I agree with Nilus to an extent.  I've wanted another OLED display, but I was surprised that the 8X does generally seem sharper, even with the lower ppi.  I wouldn't go as far to say its night and day however.

[Ryster]

With regards to the lack of wireless charging on the 925, please keep in mind there's a whole range of Wireless charging shells available very in-expensively from Nokia, in a range of colours.

 

I'm getting a Black 32gb Lumia 925 on Thursday, and my red charging shell just arrived. Can't wait.

 

Shown below on the wireless charging stand.

 

[Mobius Enigma]

Good points in the review but I disagree about the screen being good quality.

 

They've used a PenTile screen which has ruined the whole experience. Text is fuzzy, although the vibrance of colours and deepness of blacks is very good.  The screen has a very high PPI but you'd never be able to tell because the PenTile screen is so fuzzy it looks pixellated and overall looks like a very cheap screen.

For this reason alone i'd return it if I could. I have actually boxed it back up ready to sell and have now gone back to my HTC 8X - hold the two phones up together and the difference in screen quality is like night and day, although the blacks aren't as deep on the 8X as it is standard LCD.

 

Don't do it, you have been spoiled by the screen on the 8X! 

 

Be careful not to 'hate' or 'compare' the Pentile used on the 928/925/1020 to other displays you might have encountered.  Because they are only 1280x768 and use solid square sub-pixels it does not have the moire/mesh, pixel borders or the fuzzy color bleeding problems that you see on other Pentile displays.

 

If you look at older Pentile layouts, you are correct that they are sometimes fuzzy.  Also if you look at the newer 1080p Pentile displays, they are sacrificing display quality to get to the 1080p resolution on smaller screens.  A good example would be the Galaxy S4 that uses a Diamond Pentile layout that has less solid lighting per sub pixel and creates more dark space between pixels creating a visible 'LCD Mesh'.

 

Nokia has combined the right era of technology with the right set of filters to get one of the best quality displays you will find on any phone, even though it is a lower resolution screen.  The blacks are amazing, it is easy to read in sunlight, and colors are crisp and solid without the traditional 'LCD Mesh' between pixels.  

 

Right now in sub 5.5" screen technology, pushing to higher resolutions is a trade off in quality, as the sub pixel lighting is not as consistent or bright as a lower resolution screen, making the 1280x720/1280x768 the current sweet spot for maximizing clarity and quality.

 

Even if you go back to the older Nokia 920 display, it is a step backwards, with less solid colors and a visible between pixel mesh - even though, in theory the display on the 920 should be better.

 

On any phone, truly go to a store where you can compare them hand in hand looking at the same sample pictures/websites. 

 

I also had reservations about the AMOLED in the 928/925 knowing it would be pentile, and I was truly amazed with quality of the display on the first test 928 we received.

 

As for your specific encounter, I might suggest you either have a faulty phone, or have put a bad screen protector on the screen that often does diffuse the display.  I have an HTC 8X, HTC One, S4, Nokia 920, and Nokia 928 sitting on my desk.  The 928 is the best looking screen out of these units, especially if you are doing any work that is mapping pixel to pixel, like an RDP session to a 1280x786 desktop, the 928 has far crisper and more solid pixels than the HTC 8X, 920 or even the S4 when doing RDP at their respective native resolutions.

 

If you are just finding the 'text' fuzzy, you might just not like how WP8 does its monochromatic version of cleartype font rendering.

[mightyzero]

I'm debating the 8X vs the 925 currently.  I prefer the blue over the white, and neither have an SD slot.

 

Considering blue is my favorite color, I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I actually saw the 8X... it's purple... not blue. I'm not really a big fan of white phones either, so I immediately went out and purchased a rubberized snap on case that is black. You wouldn't even know the phone was white on the back :)

 

I've noticed on all the Nokia's I've looked at (or owned) that the haptic feedback is week. My HTC HD7 had a much better buzz both when touching the screen and when the ringer was turned off and vibrating.

 

I have noticed a little color shift when taking video... I'm headed to an outdoor concert next week so I'll have some more time to test this out.

 

I think either phone you decide to purchase you'll be happy with (I know I was pretty dang close to getting an 8X myself).

[mightyzero]

I'm getting a Black 32gb Lumia 925 on Thursday, and my red charging shell just arrived. Can't wait.

 

Shown below on the wireless charging stand.

 

That's almost identical to the non-wireless charging case I purchased. (you'll have to excuse the horrible picture taken by the 810 :/  )

 

[Ryster]

Actually mate, its substantially different. Your case clearly wraps around more, almost entirely covering the aluminium edges. You can tell by the buttons in your photo.

 

With the exception of the corners, the Nokia charging shell just covers the back, leaving the aluminium (the 925's most aesthetically pleasing feature if you ask me) on full view.

 

Add to that it's only around ?20-25, and gives you wireless charging (that's what the 3 contacts on the back of the 925 are for you know hehe), and protects the back from scratches, I think it's a no-brainer.

[Dashel]

Considering blue is my favorite color, I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I actually saw the 8X... it's purple... not blue. I'm not really a big fan of white phones either, so I immediately went out and purchased a rubberized snap on case that is black. You wouldn't even know the phone was white on the back :)

My wife's is definitely blue.  Maybe a production issue? (I was looking at the link again and noticed the one in the title video is purple.  Odd.)