The Lumia 930 is the first flagship Nokia device to be unveiled since the company was absorbed by tech behemoth Microsoft. The typically colourful phone is a distinctive addition to the Nokia lineup and arrives running the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows Phone 8.1.
It goes on sale 17 July in the UK, and if you buy it within the first two weeks you will get a portable wireless charger, a portable wireless speaker and a £20 app voucher. As well as being available in black, neon green and bright orange, you will also able to get your hands on an exclusive white version if you buy the 930 from Phones4U.
Processor and features
For a Windows Phone device, the Lumia 930 has powerful innards that mean it can tackle pretty much any task you throw its way with aplomb. Under the bonnet you’ll find a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM, which will see you nipping through Six-Guns and use Microsoft’s new free video-editing app Video Tuner without a single hitch. With an AnTuTu benchmark score of 26,500, the phone outperforms many mid-range Android devices, which run more demanding software — although it’s not a patch on the flagship Android smartphones, most of which now score over 30,000 on the same test.
With all the benefits of Windows 8.1 the 930 really is a pleasure to use with its cool, if slightly dizzying floating backgrounds and extra row of tiles. The Word Flow keyboard works seamlessly, which is excellent news for typo-prone smartphone users out there. Microsoft’s voice assistant Cortana is lurking in the phone somewhere, but hasn’t landed in the UK just yet — we can’t wait to try it out and give it a go when it does.
Regrettably, the Windows Phone Store is still lacking. Even though it now has many more key apps than it has ever had before — and that is growing every day — we still found there were apps that we’d use everyday on an Android or iOS device, which were either missing important features or missing completely. Windows Phone has demonstrated remarkable growth, but now that the conversation surrounding wearables and home automation are heating up, it faces brand new challenges.
The 930 has a unibody chassis with no microSD slot, which means you’ll have to make do with the 32GB of in-built memory and 7GB free OneDrive cloud storage.
Despite having a 2,420mAh battery tucked inside it, we found that the Lumia 930 didn’t have the level of stamina we’d expect. Battery seemed to last fairly well for most of the day, but would suddenly drop off very quickly. Fortunately, having a wireless charging pad on the office desk all day meant that this did not take its toll on evening plans. It would be a shame to own this phone and not take advantage of the wireless charging capabilities. The battery saver feature also allows you to see which apps are draining the 930’s juice most quickly and stop them from running in the background.
Read the Full Review of the Nokia Lumia 930 here:
http://www.wired.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phones/2014-07/nokia-lumia-930
