Nokia Lumia 920: A Big Phone With a Killer Camera [REVIEW]

Before you even take the Nokia Lumia 920 out of the box you can tell it’s a standout device. The first Windows Phone 8 handset to hit the market, the smartphone has a distinctive look that extends past the characteristic design of the Windows Phone operating system.

The successor to the Lumia 900 released earlier this year, the 920 represents Nokia’s third stab at Windows Phone. With the 900 getting rave reviews but lukewarm sales earlier this year, both Microsoft and Nokia have a lot to lose with the Lumia 920, as well as a lot to gain.

Does Nokia have a winner on its hands, or should Windows Phone shoppers steer more towards HTC’s 8X or Samsung’s ATIV S? We spent a little over a week with the Lumia 920 to find out.

Different by Design

The Nokia 920 is a big phone, in more ways than one. One of the first things you’ll notice when you hold it is how heavy it is. It weighs 6.5 ounces (by comparison, the iPhone 5 is 3.95 ounces), so you’re not going to forget you’re carrying this bad boy around.

While the size was definitely a turn-off when I first started using the phone, it’s an issue that I got over as the days progressed. You can do some serious work with this phone, which makes up for its serious size.

Chunkier than the Lumia 900, the phone sports a similar, although slightly different design. Made out of polycarbonate, the handset has a 4.5-inch Gorilla Glass display sculpted inside shell, and has rounded corners that give the phone a distinctive look that makes it stand out against its competition.

Its relative obesity aside, the smartphone looks like a larger, more polished version of the Lumia 900, and it feels great to hold.

A Camera That Loves the Night Life

The Lumia 920 comes packing an 8.7-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens, and is hands-down one of the best smartphone cameras I’ve ever seen. In the week I’ve used the phone I’ve taken quite a few photos with the handset that rival what I'd be able to achieve using a digital SLR camera. The camera carries Nokia's "PureView" label, which the company reserves for phone cameras with standout features.

While not specifically impressive in brightly lit situations, the Lumia 920 performs well in low-light settings, where most phones’ built-in cameras fail miserably. Even photos taken at night look like they were taken with either a lighting kit or with some sort of lighting present. Excellent night photos are also easily captured on the fly from the built-in camera app, with no need to manually change any of the settings in order to do so -- a huge plus if you find yourself trying to snap photos quickly.

Check out some low-light and night shots in the gallery below. I had previously done a comparison of daytime shots taken with the Lumia 920, Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 4S.

(more after the gallery)

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The Lumia 920 has a dedicated shutter button for taking photos, making it feel more like a point-and-shoot camera when using it. Much like other smartphone cameras, tapping on the screen allows you to focus on a subject. Unlike other smartphone cameras, the 920 actually snaps the shot as soon as that focus is achieved –- a feature available on other Windows 8 handsets as well -- ensuring you capture your picture in focus.

With Windows Phone 8, Microsoft incorporates camera-specific apps as "lenses" (read: extras) within the camera app itself. Nokia has a few of those available, the most interesting of which is probably “Smart Shoot,” a feature that has you take 5 different versions of a group shot and then select the “best faces” from each to create the perfect picture. Panorama and Cinemagraph lenses are also available.

Nokia Extras

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The Lumia 920 comes running Windows Phone 8, which brings a number of new features to the operating system, most notably the ability to adjust the size of live tiles on your phone’s home screen.

Nokia has loaded the Lumia 920 with a number of Nokia-specific apps as well: Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens, and Nokia Music.

Nokia Drive offers turn-by-turn driving directions to your destination, while Nokia Maps provides driving, walking and, yes, public transit maps to help you get where you’re going. Maps can be downloaded to your phone for offline use and are easy to understand and navigate.

Nokia City Lens helps you discover things like restaurants, hotels, shopping, and food nearby, and offers a cool augmented-reality feature to help you get there. In addition to being a place to store and play your own tunes, Nokia Music has a "Mix Radio" feature that works as a Pandora replacement of sorts, allowing you to create and listen to ad-free radio stations based on your own personal musical preferences. A Gigs section to Nokia Music helps you find musical performances both large and small going on around you, and a Store option lets you purchase tracks.

Since Pandora isn’t currently available for Windows Phone 8 (it’s set to arrive early next year), I found the Nokia Music to be one of my favorite of the bunch.

Redefining Wireless

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Nokia gave me the Nokia Wireless Charging Plate to use along with the phone, which is available in a number of different colors, so you can buy one to match your handset. When placed on the plate, the Lumia 920 automatically starts charging just as if the phone itself was plugged in.

Truth be told, wireless charging really isn’t as exciting as it sounds. While not physically connecting the phone to a power source could save you a few seconds when it comes to answering a call or sending a text while charging, it’s really more of a novelty than a must-have feature.

The plate is something you’re going to leave in a single location, such as on your night stand, and isn’t practical to tote around with you for charging on the fly. Despite having the wireless charging option, I found myself charging the handset via a traditional outlet or using the USB port on my laptop more than I did charging it with the plate.

Worth the Cost

If you can get over the Lumia 920’s weight problem, the phone is a steal at just $99.99 with a new two-year agreement from AT&T. The handset runs like a dream, is exceptionally customizable thanks to Windows Phone 8, and has one of the best cameras you’re going to find on a smartphone.

Nokia’s exclusive built-in apps give the handset a distinctive advantage over other Windows 8 handsets and the phone’s unique looks will make it stand out from the crowd in a world where smartphones have all started to perhaps look a bit too similar.

But what if you're already an iPhone user? What would it be like to "switch to Lumia," like Nokia wants you to do? Senior Tech Analyst Christina Warren, a longtime Apple fan, will be looking specifically at that scenario in an upcoming series on Mashable, so stay tuned.

Are any of you considering purchasing a Lumia 920? What’s your favorite feature? Share your thoughts in the comments.