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[Q] Q: Upgrade time, Which to go for?

My upgrade is coming up soon and am thinking of either the Samsung ATIVs, Nokia Lumia 820 or HTC 8x, These are the only viable options O2 have on offer at present, Looks as though they will not be stocking the Lumia 920.
I am currently using a Lumia 900 running 7.8 and have used a Lumia 820 before it had to be replaced, Wife now has my 820 and from my experience with Nokia and HTC I have not had much luck with reliability.
I have had a HTC Titan & Titan2 and love the large screens.
Question is do I take a gamble on the Samsung? Can anyone share their experiences and or preferences to help me make a decision?
Thanks in advance.

Hmm, tough one.
For me, Lumia920 is the WP8 uberphone just 4 now.
Samsungs Ativ? IMHO it has only 2 pros and much more contras.
Pros: Big screen (But AMOLED, not IPS), and good front facing camera (1.9 if I remember correctly)
Cons: cheap plastic, although looks good (at start), ugly (at least to me, and reminds a lot to S3 which I despise).
It has a SD card slot, but WP8 has no good management of SD cards, so I consider it a con
Also, Nokia has its premium services like City Lens, and Maps...
This is only my opinnion, possibly some1 else has another...
Good luck with the choice

Lumia all the way, I have an 822 and besides a few personal issues that I have with it; its a great phone. No more Bing Maps.:good:

I have an 8X and an Ativ S. I use the Ativ S as my daily. I much prefer it to the 8X.
The reasons?
1. Feels much nicer in the hand than the 8X.
2. Expandable storage means I don't have to mess around with cloud solutions.
3. Much better battery life.
4. Bigger screen.
5. Physical 'Home' button to wake the device rather than hunt for the on/off button.
6. Better FF camera.
7. Additional benefits such as ability to block callers etc.

Thanks for your input peeps, I imagined the Samsung would have had better build quality and I don't like the plastic feel mentioned, Also the raised home button is not so good for me so I guess that's out of the window, Shame as that large screen is tempting.
I really love the style of the Lumias (800-900) and the 820 seems to have gone away from the traditional Lumia image, Also battery life on the wifes 820 is not too great,
The 920 is the only thing that is on that path and it has a larger screen than the 820 and 8x.
As for the HTC8x I have no idea and never used one but expandable storage of the 820 and Samsung would be handy,
I think my only hope is that rather than upgrading through O2 I try maybe Carphone Warehouse or Phones4U in the hope they will be stocking the 920 on the O2 network early in March, I think 32gb is enough for songs and stuff at least for now,
Failing that I am still a bit stuck, Cheers. :fingers-crossed:

Just had a chat with an O2 advisor for all that it's worth and they said O2 will be stocking the Lumia 920 for my upgrade in March and to keep checking the coming soon link etc, Great news if it's true, If not I guess it will be a sim free handset and a re-mortgage :crying:

AndyFZ1S said:
My upgrade is coming up soon and am thinking of either the Samsung ATIVs, Nokia Lumia 820 or HTC 8x, These are the only viable options O2 have on offer at present, Looks as though they will not be stocking the Lumia 920.
I am currently using a Lumia 900 running 7.8 and have used a Lumia 820 before it had to be replaced, Wife now has my 820 and from my experience with Nokia and HTC I have not had much luck with reliability.
I have had a HTC Titan & Titan2 and love the large screens.
Question is do I take a gamble on the Samsung? Can anyone share their experiences and or preferences to help me make a decision?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a suggestion...if you can wait, that is....
If I myself would be upgrading to WP8, I would most definitely wait for Mobile World Congress due to other phones being announced then. There are rumors that Nokia is developing 920 successors and if my hunches are correct, they will be announced next month. -However, realistically they would only be announcing the phones...I'm sure there are a few/several months off from release time.
Soooo, that is just my 2 cents. If you don't really care for that then maybe Samsung is the route to go. However again, this could be entitled as my own opinion...Samsung/HTC seem to focus more on the droid side than what they do with WP7/(8?)...From experience with owning previous WP7 Samsung/HTC devices, don't expect too much in terms of "extra" WP8 satisfaction from these OEM's -compared to Nokia, that is.
Anyway...I wish you luck on your quest to finding a WP for you!

Thanks for all the input, I am going to see if O2 keep to their word for a Lumia 920 in March, Think sticking with Nokia would be the best deal seeing as they are 100% committed to WP, It would also be interesting to see what is around the corner too so for now my options are still open, Things hopefully can only get better now wp8 has had its teething problems and fixes are being made. :good:

[Q] Swapping S3 for Lumia 820 or 920???

Hi,
I am through with S3 and Android.
I had Lumia 710 and I was quite happy with it.
I would like WP8 phone and I do like both Nokias.
820 I could get almost without need to pay-up - to get 920 I would have to pay extra about $200.
Questions are - are the differences between the two big enough in everyday use/functionality to justify those extra cash that I will have to spend?

Lumia 920 has better camera functions. That is pretty much the only big difference between it and the 820. But the 820 is pretty impressive on its own too.

Done some reading and I am worried about battery life on L820... should I be?
From normal use on S3 in the evening I stoill got about 30% left for unexpected...

I've been lucky enough to own both the 820 and 920.
Basically, the performance of the phones is very similar. So there's no real winner there. If you want to expand the memory with you have to buy the 820, the 920 is not expandable.
If you like to take photos, the 920 wins by a mile. The low-light performance is exceptional, something not touched on by many reviews around the web and the optical image stabilization really helps taking good clear shots. If you are interested in browsing the web, both do a good job but the 920 wins again. The higher resolution and marginally bigger screen size make browsing much more pleasing with the 920.
I have found performance issues with the GPS whilst tracking my daily runs, but it does not seem to have affected the navigation services (maybe I should change my sport software, Endomondo does crash a bit). All the WP8 Lumia's do need a soft reset occasionally, the lock up maybe once a week. It's not hardware, it is a software issue (or one of a few perhaps). Simply press and hold the volume key and power key when it happens and carry on as normal.
Finally, forgetting all the above features & issues, if you have the extra money to spend, the 920 has a much superior build quality. It simply feels great to hold and IMHO feels more solid than even the iPhone.
I hope this helps, if you have any other queries, just ask.
---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 PM ----------
galtom said:
Done some reading and I am worried about battery life on L820... should I be?
From normal use on S3 in the evening I stoill got about 30% left for unexpected...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both will get you through the day but will be gasping for juice before bedtime. A charge overnight is quite normal for typical users. Heavier usage may require more charging.

steviesteve78 said:
I've been lucky enough to own both the 820 and 920.
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Thanks a lot Mate - very helpful insights!
I'll try to go for 920, but if price gap will be to great I'll settle for 820.

[Q] Should I get a Lumia 520?

hey guys
ive been using a nexus s for the past few years, and i've enjoyed android, but ive realized to get a fast android you need to spend money. nexus s is good, but ive found it really slow and painful. also its broken now.
so what i now want to know is should i get a windows phone? ive heard they are fast and dont have to be very expensive. ive been looking at the lumia 520 and it looks pretty damn good for its price. if theres something better for about $200 australian please let me know here

The 520 is well worth it's money. Sure, you have to sacrifice a couple of things, but it's still miles ahead of similarly priced Android devices.
My sister bought one recently, she switched from Galaxy Mini, so obviously she's impressed with the phone's performance. Hell, I have an 820 for about a year now, and I was impressed with the 520. It really is a solid device all around, it even got the "Best low-cost smartphone award" at the MWC, so that tells you something.
520 is definitely a good starting point for trying out WP. On the other hand, you could go for the 620, it's similarly priced, but has some advantages. Have a look online and compare them and you'll see what suits you best...

Yeah.... not sure what the price of something like the 620 is in Aus, but it's worth looking around a bit. There aren't that many WP8 devices anyhow; you could basically compare them all on one page if you ignore minor variations.
The 520 is one of the lowest-end WP8 devices out there. It lacks quite a few things that are otherwise standard, like a camera flash LED, and has the minimum RAM that Microsoft allows (which means some games will not run on it). On the other hand, it performs all the core features of the OS, and runs most apps, quite well.

DaviUnic said:
The 520 is well worth it's money. Sure, you have to sacrifice a couple of things, but it's still miles ahead of similarly priced Android devices.
My sister bought one recently, she switched from Galaxy Mini, so obviously she's impressed with the phone's performance. Hell, I have an 820 for about a year now, and I was impressed with the 520. It really is a solid device all around, it even got the "Best low-cost smartphone award" at the MWC, so that tells you something.
520 is definitely a good starting point for trying out WP. On the other hand, you could go for the 620, it's similarly priced, but has some advantages. Have a look online and compare them and you'll see what suits you best...
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thats good to hear, thanks. ive done a bit more googling and just found out nokia has released the lumia 525, which has 1gb of ram compared to the 520's 512mb. the most annoying thing is it hasnt been released in australia yet. do you know if a windows phone like this bought online (unlocked) would work here... ive had problems with flashing the wrong radios on my nexus before, is there something similar that could occur in the windows os? ive always been cautious with buying online and there always seems to be a bigger risk with support and returning products

lukazar said:
thats good to hear, thanks. ive done a bit more googling and just found out nokia has released the lumia 525, which has 1gb of ram compared to the 520's 512mb. the most annoying thing is it hasnt been released in australia yet. do you know if a windows phone like this bought online (unlocked) would work here... ive had problems with flashing the wrong radios on my nexus before, is there something similar that could occur in the windows os? ive always been cautious with buying online and there always seems to be a bigger risk with support and returning products
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According to my research, Australia uses GSM-900 and 1800 bands, as does all of Europe, Africa, middle east and most of Asia. So if you're planning on buying the phone online, make sure it supports these two bands and that it's carrier unlocked and unbranded. As for 3G, Australia uses bands 1, 5 and 8. Other than that, you should be fine.
I forgot to mention the 525, so if you can, get that instead of the 520. Although RAM is the only difference, at least you'll be able to play all games, and it costs mostly the same.

DaviUnic said:
According to my research, Australia uses GSM-900 and 1800 bands, as does all of Europe, Africa, middle east and most of Asia. So if you're planning on buying the phone online, make sure it supports these two bands and that it's carrier unlocked and unbranded. Other than that, you should be fine.
I forgot to mention the 525, so if you can, get that instead of the 520. Although RAM is the only difference, at least you'll be able to play all games, and it costs mostly the same.
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thanks a bunch, but one more question, have you shopped for phones online before? and if so, where do you recommend i should shop?

Not really, someone else would probably be of more help than me...

I've had my 521 for few months now and have been very happy with it. Its the sister phone of the 520.
Sent from my RM-917_nam_usa_100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

I got mine (ATIV S, which is one of the more hackable WP8 models) off Amazon, but there are plenty of options.

I have the Lumia 520.. definitely worth the money. Camera is extremely good despite lack of flash, and it feels faster than my Nexus 4 more often than not.

lukazar said:
hey guys
ive been using a nexus s for the past few years, and i've enjoyed android, but ive realized to get a fast android you need to spend money. nexus s is good, but ive found it really slow and painful. also its broken now.
so what i now want to know is should i get a windows phone? ive heard they are fast and dont have to be very expensive. ive been looking at the lumia 520 and it looks pretty damn good for its price. if theres something better for about $200 australian please let me know here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I recommend you very much, I have a Lumia 520 and it's pretty cool.
200$ is very much, you can get it for 60$ (for AT&T, with unlock code $90): http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-520-GoPhone-AT/dp/B00E45043A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393866160&sr=8-1&keywords=lumia+520

I would recommend Lumia 525. It is running Black (GDR3+Nokia features) and have 1GB RAM but has no LED flash. You may also look to 820 that has a better display and cam and priced about 280$ US in Russia (or 10000ք (Russian roubles)) also it`s no longer produced so you`ll probably need to find it

I like my Lumia 520 but the lack of a file manager, flash, and a better selection of apps were a bit disappointing. Also every time I turn on my phone I get an SD card warning even though my SD card is perfectly healthy and fine and works in both my computer and my secondary android phone. I reallllly am hoping 8.1 dramatically improves the phone.

slyr114 said:
Also every time I turn on my phone I get an SD card warning even though my SD card is perfectly healthy and fine and works in both my computer and my secondary android phone. I reallllly am hoping 8.1 dramatically improves the phone.
Click to expand...
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That could be a defective unit, doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with the entire line of phones or even the OS itself...

DaviUnic said:
That could be a defective unit, doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with the entire line of phones or even the OS itself...
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Click to collapse
Yes I realize my phone is most likely defective in that regard but I was not saying its a problem in the entire line of Lumias or even this specific model, just my personal experience. As for the last part about 8.1 improving the phone, that was just an in general thought, I really hope the new update improves everything I love about the phone and fixes what I do not. Also can anyone recommend a good music player with good playlist building support? The default music app is kind of convoluted in creating playlists right now.

Hi there, and good to see another potential convert!
I'm Kenneth, and I've been using a Nokia Lumia 620 for almost a year now, and I have been a Nokia user from the womb 'til the tomb. I've used the Lumia 710 as well for about half a year prior to my 620, so almost 1.5 years using Windows Phone. I have used both Android and iOS and have settled for Windows Phone because it just felt natural to me.
Anyway, enough of romanticizing my relationship with my Lumia 620. However, the Lumia 620 has the same internals as the Lumia 520, i.e. CPU, RAM, storage. Even though the specs are absolute bare minimums on the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 620, I've noticed that those phones are extremely snappy. They run majority of apps from the Store, however, not all that require 1GB+ RAM, which is a small minority. Furthermore, usually Windows Phone apps that require 1GB of RAM will get optimized to run on low-mem devices.
If you disregard what the specifications look like on paper, however, my phone has barely lagged with Windows Phone even though it uses the bare-minimum specs. Using Windows Phone is a very rewarding experience with constant updates that are quite uniform between all Windows Phone devices, with a few pretty quirks from Nokia if you have the Lumia series devices. Also, along with a fast and snappy OS, it looks beautiful and simple. Everything works and is quite logical. It is a difference to Android and iOS, a fresh face, which gives it a somewhat unorthodox approach to a smartphone UI. The apps bundled are also good value-adds.
Currently at **** Smith the Lumia 520 is on sale for $99 locked to Telstra in Australia. However, I am not sure if the offer has expired yet. Typically it's $149 outright. The only alternative I can think of is the HTC 8S which only has 4GB internal memory which is a suicide mission on Windows Phone, whereas the Lumia 520 has 8GB. So nothing is better there. However, it is a more rewarding experience using Nokia for WP because Nokia puts a lot of effort into the Lumia series compared to HTC and Samsung.
That's all I have to say, but hope it's all logical. Would definitely recommend a Lumia 520 mate, for that price range. However, a Lumia 620 might be a better bet with the front facing camera and the LED flash - if that matters to you because I chose 620 > 520 because of that factor. However, Lumia 620 is a bit fatter, and the screen is smaller, hence making it look a tad chubby.
Good luck with your phone choice, and I hope you enjoy being a Lumian/Windows Phone user when you do purchase one.
Oh, I almost forgot - if you need 1GB RAM, I would recommend checking out the Lumia 525 from http://www.kogan.com.au/ which is about $20 more than the 520 on the same site. It comes unlocked, runs more apps than the Lumia 520/620. Choose that phone if camera flash and front facing camera isn't important from the 620.
Kind regards,
kunafpls

slyr114 said:
I like my Lumia 520 but the lack of a file manager, flash, and a better selection of apps were a bit disappointing. Also every time I turn on my phone I get an SD card warning even though my SD card is perfectly healthy and fine and works in both my computer and my secondary android phone. I reallllly am hoping 8.1 dramatically improves the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bit of a necro but I just noticed this thread in my secondary email, and I'd like to say I have this SD card problem as well on the 525 I did end up buying. The issue could have arisen when the card actually physically got jammed in the slot, and I had to remove it with tweezers. I'd test it with other SD cards but my only other ones are formatted to my PSP. It does get really annoying sometimes.

Is the Nokia 8 a good phone a non-tech savy 70 year old woman?

I need a new phone for my mum. I'm looking for something with a decent camera, performance and battery life with no known issues for around £300. The Nokia 8 seems to check these boxes but I'd love to hear from some Nokia 8 users to confirm/deny this? What's low light camera performance like with the latest update? Thanks

Why not the Nokia 6 2018 and still get a decent phone and save a considerable chunk of money.
Low light shots with the stock app is crap on the 8.

Agree, Nokia 8 has been out for more than 8 months now? There's a little hardware refresh recently - Nokia 8 Sirocco, the camera lens specs is of older design, they're having problem updating the camera app at the moment, furthermore it is not an Android One/Project Treble, which means update of the device will be very limited in the future?
Sent from my gemini using XDA Labs

It doesn't have a decent camera.

FlexiPack said:
I need a new phone for my mum. I'm looking for something with a decent camera, performance and battery life with no known issues for around £300. The Nokia 8 seems to check these boxes but I'd love to hear from some Nokia 8 users to confirm/deny this? What's low light camera performance like with the latest update? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently helped my mum upgrade to a Nokia 5 (model choice was made based on price and availability). She has said she is finding quite easy to use and enjoys that her solitaire game looks alot clearer on the new screen (haven't quite managed to get her into Marvel Strike Force just yet).
My point being that in general any android phone running near stock android will be fine for a non-techy person.
So if your budget extends to include the Nokia 8, go for it.
But at the same time, if she isn't going to leverage all the features that contribute to the cost of a Nokia 8 you might as well pick her up of the cheaper ones and use the difference to grab things like extended warranties and some cases/screen protectors etc.

Thank you for all your input. I decided to go ahead and get mum the Nokia 8 and I'm happy to say she's delighted with it!

Nokia 8 vs nokia 7 plus

Hi guys.i am in a dilemma.i want to buy a nokia phone wich one do you prefer for buying?7 plus or 8?actually price of both of them are the same in our country but 7 plus is a little more expensive. Android pie is enough for me and as i searched a little,android q doesnt have lots differences versus of pie.

If you really have to choose a Nokia device, go for 8. It has a much better chipset and screen, and those two will be defining your experience. Camera in 7 Plus is a bit better, overall it's a bigger phone, with bigger screen. Stock camera app is really poor, so you'd be better with GCam mod. Nokia 7 Plus is a bit more popular device, so if you like modding, you'll find more there. Battery life looks similar.
But in full honesty, avoid Nokia. Their phones look nice and are priced decently, but software support is garbage. Nokia 8 was updated to Pie in December, but major compass bug was fixed this month. Maybe HMD will understand one day, that releasing 20 phones a year for such a new and small brand means sacrifices in software department.

Pabliell said:
If you really have to choose a Nokia device, go for 8. It has a much better chipset and screen, and those two will be defining your experience. Camera in 7 Plus is a bit better, overall it's a bigger phone, with bigger screen. Stock camera app is really poor, so you'd be better with GCam mod. Nokia 7 Plus is a bit more popular device, so if you like modding, you'll find more there. Battery life looks similar.
But in full honesty, avoid Nokia. Their phones look nice and are priced decently, but software support is garbage. Nokia 8 was updated to Pie in December, but major compass bug was fixed this month. Maybe HMD will understand one day, that releasing 20 phones a year for such a new and small brand means sacrifices in software department.
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Ty sir for your opinion.what do yo think about Samsung galaxy A x0 series?i like nokia 8 because its very fast and powerful and its enough for next 3 or 4 years.

Nokia 8 is a solid device, don't get me wrong. But if you care for fast and reliable software updates, well it's not here. Also, the camera is closer to a mid-range, than a flagship.
If you can sacrifice those 2 things, take Nokia 8 and you'll be happy with it. I'm definitely sticking to mine, even if I find those 2 things a little annoying, overall experience is really great.
I'm trying to stay away from mid-range devices personally. I'd rather take an older flagship, than a modern mid-ranger, cause manufacturers usually treat flagships better, they also perform better and the community always finds a way to fix some annoyances. Well, usually that's the case, Nokia 8 seems to be an exception.

Pabliell said:
Nokia 8 is a solid device, don't get me wrong. But if you care for fast and reliable software updates, well it's not here. Also, the camera is closer to a mid-range, than a flagship.
If you can sacrifice those 2 things, take Nokia 8 and you'll be happy with it. I'm definitely sticking to mine, even if I find those 2 things a little annoying, overall experience is really great.
I'm trying to stay away from mid-range devices personally. I'd rather take an older flagship, than a modern mid-ranger, cause manufacturers usually treat flagships better, they also perform better and the community always finds a way to fix some annoyances. Well, usually that's the case, Nokia 8 seems to be an exception.
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Ty again.yes i know.older flagship is better than a modern mid ranger.in my country if you want to sell your phonw,if you have a samsung device you can sell it easily.but if you have nokia or sony or Huawei,it will be very difficult to sell it.i have sony xperia z3plus and I put a fair price on it but nobody like it. Because of that i am in a dilemma. If i buy nokia 8 i dont know how i can sell it in the future but samsung galaxy a30 (the mid ranger which i want to buy it) it can easily sell in the future,what is your idea about this.
Bro ihave another question,does nokia8 have any problem about red hollow and color on its display?

Well, you have to decide on your own, if you can live with a mid-range device. I know I don't like the idea, so my choice always goes with flagships.
The only "problem" with the screen I've found is that it has a blue-ish tint. But it's easily fixable with blue light filters/night mode slider.

amirhunter666 said:
Hi guys.i am in a dilemma.i want to buy a nokia phone wich one do you prefer for buying?7 plus or 8?actually price of both of them are the same in our country but 7 plus is a little more expensive. Android pie is enough for me and as i searched a little,android q doesnt have lots differences versus of pie.
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Click to collapse
That depends on you.
Nokia 8 = Snapdragon 835
Nokia 7 plus = Snapdragon 660
Nokia 8. Has flagship processes. So gaming on the phone will be very good with high frame rate