Nokia Lumia 920 Day 1 - First impressions count

Thanks to the people @nokia_connects, I have the opportunity to trial a Nokia Lumia 920 for two weeks. Having been an iPhone user for 3 years and more recently a Lumia 800 user, I am looking forward to understanding what Windows Phone 8 has to offer in comparison and what the 'top of the range' Nokia 920 has to offer too. I am also interested to see how much integration there is between Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 itself, I haven't seen much mentioned about this so that makes me think it might not be there. Over the next two weeks I am planning to post on a number of different areas. As this is Day 1 then I will start with my 'First Impressions'

Packaging - Similar to the Nokia Lumia 800, it comes in a blue rectangle box that reminds me a little of the iPhone box. The quality of this packaging is much better than 'Windows Phones of old' but falls slightly short of the 'shiny shiny' experience of Apple. There is something satisfying about the sounds the packaging makes when unpacking an iPhone but to be honest it’s something I notice rather than actually require. Once opened, you are presented with the phone (this one is White), a SIM card slot tool, headphones, USB cable and a plug. Again, all of these are in white and look very similar to those you get with an iPhone. Impersonation is the highest form of flattery so they say.

Size - Having seen Microsoft employees with a Nokia 920, the first thing that strikes me is that this look smaller than I was expecting, perhaps down to the colour. Holding the phone in landscape, it’s a nice width and I can fit both my thumbs on the screen very nicely, it's a bit of a squeeze on the Lumia 800 which is probably why I tend to use it in portrait mode all of the time (I am also of the 'candy bar' smartphone age). In portrait mode I have already noticed I tend to use both thumbs to operate the device, not sure if that's good or bad thing yet, time will tell. Last but not least it passes the pocket test for me. It's slightly more noticeable in the pocket when sitting down than the Lumia 800 but by no means is a problem. My concern is that I might need a separate 'man bag' to carry it but that's far from the case, my pockets will suffice!

Shape - One of the things I found with the iPhone becoming thinner and less rounded is that it started to feel 'less safe' in the hand. The rounded casing, material and size of the Lumia 920 actually feels more secure in my hand which I like. Not much else to be said on this really.

Sockets and buttons and other stuff like that - I needed to charge the device and so grabbed the USB cable I use for my Lumia 800, what a novel idea ;). Having used the Lumia 800 for a while, I tried to open the flap at the top to reveal the USB port, only to realise it’s actually the SIM card slot now. The USB port is on the bottom now (sure there is a good reason for moving it?), this is by no means a problem and perhaps makes it easier to build third party charging docks, worth being aware of though if you are planning on buying a Lumia 920 and don't want to make the same silly mistake I did. The headphone socket is at the top in the middle (top left on Lumia 800). There are two speaker 'areas' at the bottom of the Lumia 920, with that new home for the USB port in between, all that makes for a symmetrical arrangement at the bottom which soothes my slight 'OCD'. The physical buttons are in the same place as the Lumia 800 which makes it familiar if you have used an earlier Lumia model. Top marks for not trying to change things when they are not broke in the first place!

Screen - Putting the Lumia 800 and 920 next to each other, the screens blends into the rest of the device on both and there isn't much to say about the screen comparison (except for the size). However on closer inspection, I can certainly see that the text for the icons are far crisper on the Lumia 920. Very similar to retina and non-retina displays on iPhones, it's something you don't notice until you put them next to each other so for most people it’s not something they would mention, I will test this theory out later.

Last few things - Last thing I noticed was the front facing camera. My iPhone has had one of these for a while but the Lumia 800 doesn't. This bothered me far less than I thought it would as I don't tend to use my mobile for Skype. What I did use the iPhone front facing camera for is to take photos of myself with friends (arm stretched out as far as possible). This works fine when its daylight but not in the dark or a night club, will have to see how well the Lumia 920 cameras cope under these conditions. It's great they have a front facing camera on the Lumia 920 and I hope one day manufacturers will include a front facing flash by default to improve those ‘we are all out having fun and here is a picture’ group shots. Last of all, I noticed that the three buttons at the bottom of the screen (Back, Home and Search) light up. Having seen people ignore these buttons in the past on the Lumia 800, it’s a nice edition to draw attention to their existence, perhaps I need to adjust the brightness on my Lumia 800?

First impressions are it’s a lovely device in the hands and doesn't feel like it’s going to fall out or my hands or my pocket, the same cannot be said for my iPhone 5. The Lumia 920 in white looks smaller than some of the other colours I have seen (that could just be my eyes) and the 'box opening' experience is a vast improvement on 'Windows Phones of old' but falls just short of the iPhone 'box opening' experience, some will care about that, some will not, I am the latter. They say “first impressions count” and the Lumia 920 has not disappointed.

Looking forward to using the Lumia 920 over the next week or so and seeing if any of my first impressions were wrong.