Introduction, design, screen and interface
The number of high-end flagship smartphones is quickly increasing and with the Nokia Lumia 930 the latest offering from the Finnish firm the total for 2014 now stands at four.
Replacing the Lumia 925, the Lumia 930 is looking to take on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8 this year and it’s got some new software to aid it.
Nokia has equipped the Lumia 930 with Windows Phone 8.1, the latest version of the software to come from Microsoft and it’ll be one of the very first handsets to ship with the refreshed OS.
In terms of actually getting you hands on the Nokia Lumia 930, well that’s not quite as black and white, as it’s been given a rather woolly release date of the end of June/the start of July.
There is a price, with Nokia confirming $599 (around £360, AU$650) which actually isn’t too bad for a flagship handset and that could make it a tempting proposition for those on a restricted budget looking for a top-end phone.
The quoted price is before the inevitable “taxes and subsidies”, but even after those additions the Lumia 930 should still undercut its direct competition.
A word of warning though, Nokia says the Lumia 930 will begin to roll out “in Europe, Asia, India, Middle East and Latin America – and will continue to rollout throughout the world (except the US) throughout the summer.”
I expect the US won’t be left completely in the cold though, with a specific variation likely to arrive for the American market – but I’ll have to wait and see.
Back to the handset itself and the Nokia Lumia 930 has been crafted from a single piece of aluminium (like the One M8), although you won’t necessarily know it.
That’s because Nokia has stuck a sheet of polycarbonate on the rear of the Lumia 930 and while it does allow the handset to stand out from the crowd a little with black, white, orange and green finishes, it does detract slightly from the overall build quality.
Put it up against the HTC One M8 and the Lumia 930 just doesn’t look or feel quite so premium. I’m not saying it’s poorly constructed, far from it fact, as it’s still a robust and rather attractive device.
Compared to the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 the Lumia 930 easily stands it ground and the sturdy build I’ve come to expect from Nokia ensures it feels like it’s capable of taking a few knocks without smashing into a million pieces.
At 137 x 71 x 9.8mm the Nokia Lumia 930 is a little chunkier than its rivals, but to its credit it’s not as tall thanks to some relatively slender bezels.
This means it still fits in the hand reasonably well and I didn’t fear dropping the handset during my hands on time. I would have liked the edges to be a little more rounded as the blocky design isn’t as comfortable as the gently sloping M8.
The compact body does means you can’t remove the rear cover of the Lumia 930, so there’s no option to swap out the battery.
Nokia has also passed on microSD support instead relying on 32GB of internal storage and 7GB of free Microsoft OneDrive cloud space. That should be more than enough for most users, but there’s still a strong contingent who like the microSD option, myself included.
Another space saving tactic on the Lumia 930 is nanoSIM support, with the port located on the top of the handset. Instead of having to fumble around for a SIM tool or paperclip, Nokia has made access to the SIM port a lot easier with a little tab you just pull up.
It’s a nice little feature, secure enough to give you peace of mind the SIM card tray won’t just fall out of the handset, while also making it really easy for you to access it. I wish more smartphones were like this.
Nokia’s other new arrivals, the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635, have also seen the navigation controls moved on screen, but for some reason the Lumia 930 still has them below the display.
It’s a slightly odd move as I much prefer the on-screen offerings on the lower end devices as it makes a better package. That aside, they are still responsive to the touch and allow you to make the most of every last pixel on the 5-inch full HD display.
Down the right side of the Lumia 930 you’ll find the now customary trio of physical buttons; volume, power/lock and camera shutter.
The volume and power/lock keys are easy to hit with one handed use, while the camera key is really only used when you’re holding the Lumia 930 in landscape.
Fire up the Nokia Lumia 930 and you’ll be greeted by the impressive 1920 x 1080 OLED display which is suitably bright with a high level of colour reproduction.
Your first sign that Windows Phone 8.1 is onboard the Lumia 930 is the additional column of live tiles on the homescreen – up from two on Windows Phone 8 to three here.
You can now have three columns of tiles on any Windows Phone 8.1 device, but all bar the 930 allow you to switch between two or three.
For some reason Nokia hasn’t deemed it necessary to allow the switch on the Lumia 930. That’s not really an issue though as the large screen makes it all manageable.
A useful addition in Windows Phone 8.1 which I’m very pleased to see is Action Center – aka the Notification Bar.
This lets you see all your latest notifications in one place as well as giving you four customisable quick settings at the top of the screen.
It’s a very similar setup to Android and iOS, so if you’re thinking of making the transition to Windows Phone the latest iteration is the most welcoming yet.
Under the hood you’re treated to a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, a decent offering but slightly behind the times as the new trio of Android flagships all sport the newer 801 chip.
That’s not a huge issue as Windows Phone is less power hungry, and with 2GB of RAM also inside I found the Lumia 930 was exceptionally fast and smooth.
I had no trouble moving around the live tiles and scrolling through the application list, and apps opened promptly.
Internet, camera, keyboard and battery life
The Lumia 930 is 4G enabled, although I was unable to put its browsing speeds to the test during my hands on time as no SIM card was inserted and there wasn’t any Wi-Fi available.
Microsoft is making a big deal of Internet Explorer 11, the default web browser on Windows Phone 8.1, which can sync all your favourites from your desktop or Windows 8 enabled tablet to your phone.
You can even browse a website on the Lumia 930, put it down and pick up where you left off on your computer. It’s clever integration and makes using the handset in a Windows environment even more enjoyable – no joy if you’re on an iPad or Mac though.
Nokia prides itself on its smartphone camera technology and the Lumia 930 continues that trend with a 20MP Pureview snapper on the rear with dual LED flash, OIS (optical image stabilisation) and Carl Zeiss lens.
You’ll also find the Nokia camera application which has a simple user interface for those who just want a point and shoot offering, but there are professional controls available too.
Just slide the on-screen shutter key to the left and a whole series of settings including ISO, white balance and exposure will appear allowing you to fine tune your image capturing.
I found the shutter speed was pretty quick, but the auto focus did take a fraction of a second to sort itself out and thus meant the Lumia 930 didn’t feel as quick as the HTC One M8 or Galaxy S5.
As well as recording full HD video the Lumia 930 also comes equipped with four microphones for what Nokia says provides an “immersive video experience and rich recording with surround sound.” I’ll be sure to put this to the test in the in-depth review.
There’s a front facing 2MP camera on the Nokia Lumia 930 for all those selfies and Skype calls you’ll be making on the handset too.
Fire up the messaging app, or any app which requires keyboard input, and you’ll be greeted by what looks like the stock Windows Phone QWERTY setup.
What you don’t see though is the new Text Flow system, which is pretty much identical to Swype and SwiftKey Flow that are already well known in Android.
Text Flow worked well for me and the keyboard offers up next word predictions as I skipped my finger between letters. The predictions are tailored to your writing style and the more you use it, the more intelligent it becomes.
There’s a non-removable 2420mAh battery housed inside the Lumia 930’s aluminium frame and Nokia claims it’s capable of 18 hours standby, nine hours of video playback or 75 hours of music playback.
I wasn’t able to put the claims to the test during the hands on review, but an interesting additional point was that the new battery saver mode could eek out 24 hours of juice from the last 20% of the battery.
That’s a bold claim, but if it rings true Nokia may well be onto a battery life winner.
To aid keeping your Nokia Lumia 930 topped up it’s equipped with wireless charging capabilities, and you’ll even get a wireless charging pad included in the box.
That means you won’t have to shell out for one separately, although you can still do so if you fancy having more than one in different locations.
Early verdict
The Nokia Lumia 930 is the most complete Windows Phone to date and it’s the first to properly challenge the flagship might in the Android and iOS camps.
I was impressed with the design, even though it does have a plastic back, the enhancements in Windows Phone 8.1 are very welcome and the fact the Lumia 930 actually sports a flagship worthy display and power completes the package.
If the Lumia 930 does undercut its Samsung, Sony and HTC rivals at point of sale then I think Nokia may well be onto something here. Watch this space.
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