Nokia Lumia 830 Review

As someone who is usually attached to her phone (#bloggerproblems), it’s easy to understand why I was excited when Microsoft approached me to trial one of their Windows phones for a couple of weeks.

Initial thoughts…

When the package arrived at my door I was super excited by the thought of trialing a new gadget, it felt like I was taking on a new non-Apple challenge that I welcomed with open arms. Unwrapping the box like a kid on Christmas Day, I was delighted to come across this chic sleek silver and white number. I’ve seen the bright orange and green Lumia devices but the white is much more up my street – I did breathe a sigh of relief when I revealed the phone from it’s packaging. My iPhone 5c fits in my hand like a glove so I was concerned with the size of the Lumia 830 as it is wider and significantly slimmer. I was so entranced by it’s dreamy exterior that I spent a good half an hour just admiring it and taking several photographs – but I soon realised you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover…or should I say phone by it’s case?

On closer inspection…

Owning a PC with Windows 8 made the interface familiar and pretty simple to use, with the ability to customise the tiled menu to make it as easy to navigate as possible. Whilst I like this idea I do prefer the simpler iPhone navigation screen, swiping across each page with the ability to drop apps into folders (I’m that person who finds joy in categorising and alphabetising). On the topic of apps, I was happy to discover that the Nokia 830 allowed me to download Instagram and the other social networks I use regularly, however the lack of popular apps such as Snapchat and the official YouTube application was much missed. The choice of photo editing software didn’t particularly impress me, perhaps I’m just spoilt with the vast number of options on my iPhone but as a blogger and generally someone who has a passion for photography this left me with concerns – could I swap my iPhone for another device with less apps to offer? There are a number of great games to download and play however,  including my favourite Super Mario, we go way back…

Now onto my favourite part – the camera! Boasting a 10MP camera with Carl Zeiss lenses (front facing and back) the quality is brilliant and even offers a ‘selfie’ mode. The colours are vivid and picks up your subject in picture perfect detail, whether it be landscape or an object, just take a look at a few snaps I took using the Nokia Lumia 830….

Texting and emailing gave me a slight headache at times, particularly when I tried to highlight text to copy/cut and paste and it just wouldn’t allow me to do so. Using the same method as I do with my iPhone and every other touch screen device I use I assumed it would be the same but it frustratingly kept doing everything but! The emojis also appear differently to how they do on the iPhone and the choice just isn’t there unfortunately (from what I could see, perhaps there is an app you can download). Emoji’s have become such an important tool during conversation over social media and messaging that I would struggle with the limited options given, I mean you need at least 12 crying faces to choose from right? 

Overall I liked the phone. With a few flaws that could be overlooked by many and with room for the popular apps to increase, I don’t doubt this would be a perfect phone companion for those who require customisation and style. As someone who has small hands and swaps between a variety of handbags, I found the size of the phone to be a pain. Trying to grip the phone in a safe and comfortable position was a struggle at times and fitting it into some of my smaller bags was a squeeze, but I still enjoyed using it out and about taking pictures and Instagrammin’. The large screen is fabulous though, especially when watching videos, being snap happy and flicking through your Spotify playlists. 

The verdict is in: While I wouldn’t rush out and replace my iPhone with this particular Nokia model, it was refreshing to use something similar on a handful of levels yet so different on many others. My contract ends at the beginning of next year so who knows, I may be persuaded to turn my back on the iPhone – New Year, new phone?  Watch this space…

Are you a Windows or iPhone addict? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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