AT&T promises biggest launch ever for Lumia 900

Walt Mossberg of the Wall street Journal's review- expresses my feelings well


In the lucrative and competitive world of smartphones, Apple's iPhone is the most popular device and Google's Android—used by phone makers like Samsung and Motorola—is the most widely used operating system. With Palm gone, and the BlackBerry staggering, most smartphone buyers and app developers now think of it as a two-horse race.

However, Microsoft and Nokia, two former thoroughbreds of the smartphone market in the days before the iPhone changed the game, are determined to change that. They've teamed up in the hope of offering an appealing third choice. So far, Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system has struggled to attract either buyers or app developers. But on April 8, Nokia and AT&T will begin selling the first high-end, 4G LTE, Windows Phone model released in the U.S., the Lumia 900.

The Lumia 900 looks rather different from other smartphones. It's a solid, sturdy, single slab of rounded blue plastic—yes, blue—with a large, thin, bright screen that appears to lie on top, instead of being inset. (For the less adventurous, it also comes in black, and, in a few weeks, white.)


Microsoft and Nokia have teamed up for the latest entry in the lucrative and competitive world of smartphones. The Nokia Lumia 900 is the first high-end 4G phone to run on the WIndows operating system. WSJ's Walt Mossberg looks at how it stands up to the competition.

Plus, for an unspecified "limited time," it costs just $100, half the typical $200 price of most other top-of-the-line competitors. That price requires a two-year AT&T contract whose fees start at $80 a month for a very minimal amount of data and voice minutes, plus unlimited texting. (It's $60 without the texting plan.)

I've been testing the Lumia 900 and found that it provides the best home yet for the attractive Windows Phone software, but still doesn't measure up to rival smartphones.


Nokia
The Lumia 900's screen is much larger than the iPhone's, but the phone isn't as big and bulky as some recent Android models.

The screen is a roomy 4.3 inches—much larger than the iPhone's—but the phone itself, while larger than an iPhone, isn't as big and bulky as some recent Android models. I found it comfortable in the hand and the pocket.

When on an LTE network, the phone delivered download speeds of between 10 and 15 megabits per second in my tests, faster than most home Internet connections. Voice calls were clear and reliable, and the rear camera delivers 8 megapixel resolution.

Also, the Lumia 900 features the three biggest advantages of the Windows Phone platform—a handsome, distinctive, tile-based user interface; a mobile version of Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming network; and a mobile version of genuine Microsoft Office, which allows you to edit documents and share them with PCs and Macs, or store them in the cloud.

But, overall, I consider the Lumia 900 a mixed bag. Unless you are a big Windows Phone fan, or don't want to spend more than $100 upfront, I can't recommend the Lumia 900 over the iPhone 4S, or a first-rate Android phone like Samsung's Galaxy S II series.

I was underwhelmed by the battery life, the browser, and the quality of its photos.

Plus, the Windows Phone platform has only a fraction of the third-party apps available for its rivals—about 70,000, versus nearly 600,000 for the iPhone and more than 450,000 for Android.

It also has a weaker content ecosystem. For instance, there is no way to buy TV shows or movies directly from the phone, and far fewer magazine and newspaper apps are available.

And if LTE—which I consider the only true 4G network in the U.S.—matters to you, bear in mind that AT&T offers that service in just 31 markets, versus 203 for Verizon. In most places, the Lumia, like other AT&T phones, including the AT&T version of the iPhone, delivers a slower version of 4G, which is really just a souped-up version of 3G.

The Windows Phone software itself on this new phone hasn't changed. Instead of multiple pages of icons, as on iPhone and Android, it offers a scroll of tiles that show information. And it still has "hubs" that combine information like contacts and social-media updates for people you know.

Still, despite its flaws, including the likelihood of a lot of scrolling to get to apps, it remains a refreshing change from the dominant competitors.

My biggest problem was with the Web browser, a mobile version of Internet Explorer.

Back in January, when I tested the same browser on an entry-level Nokia Windows Phone, it worked fine on both the cellular network and on my Wi-Fi network. But the Lumia 900 stalled frequently when rendering websites on my fast, home Wi-Fi network, though the phone did fine on LTE.

To make sure my Wi-Fi wasn't faulty, I tried some of the same sites, in the same spot, on an iPhone, an Android phone and even an older Samsung Windows Phone. All worked perfectly. Nokia had no explanation for this problem.

I found that, in light use, the battery lasted through a typical day. But in heavier use, including lots of email usage and Web browsing, streaming a one-hour TV show via Netflix, and conducting an hour-long phone call, the battery drained more quickly and was almost gone by late in the afternoon. This was especially true if I was using LTE much of the time.

While the Lumia 900's processor is single-core, not the common dual-core found on other high-end phones, I found the phone worked smoothly and quickly, and played videos fine.

The screen resolution of 800 by 480 is lower than the iPhone's, and I found the display generally less sharp than the Apple's. The screen visibility was a bit better outdoors than most other phones I've tested, but not dramatically so.

The camera, despite having the same resolution as the new iPhone, took notably worse pictures of the same scenes in my tests. To my eye, colors were oversaturated, and details were less sharp.

There were a few other issues. The Mac version of Microsoft's Windows Phone syncing software wouldn't recognize the Lumia 900, though the PC version did. The on-off button isn't labeled, or easily distinguishable, from the dedicated camera button.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a $100, high-end smartphone, or are a Windows Phone fan who has been waiting for better hardware, the Lumia 900 is worth considering. But the phone had just too many drawbacks in my tests to best its chief competitors.



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Yes you are mostly correct. And that is the precise reason why I didn't buy the first iPhone in 2007!

I'm just saying that this is 2012 not 2007. And I'm not using the iPhone as a yardstick, but android phones too.

Like I said. 'In today's market, meh, there is not much on paper' for me. I'm sure the lumina 900 will take off to some degree. There are lots of early phones out there that did. It is just getting harder in todays market. Personally 'Tiles' does nothing for me.

One has got to have a strong reason(in 2012) to jump ship from something that already offers the features that you like (great camera, existing apps or good battery life) for Nokia to expect you to jump ship. I jumped from Nokia to the iphone 3G because they Apple gave me all the world bands I wanted + 3G in one phone something Nokia could do but their marketing jerks refused to do. Plus the iphone was so releasing edge in 2008 that was the other strong pull.

So Nokia does make phones with great battery life and good cameras. If they failed here, that is a negative..

And for the average non techie user they don't care about LTE. I justly consider myself a techie and I don't care about LTE either. At least not the way I felt about GSM and 3G when I joined WA Forums.

So what is funny? Hearing iPhone haters tell me that even tho the Lumia has lacking features, they would buy it anyways. Shall I go through the old posts how many times I heard that from about my early iPhone? Remember when iOS did not have MMS? Difference is the critics were holding non smartphones not an Android that had equivalent smart features and apps.

So i'm responding to your statements but why are you viewing this as some kind of class war or battle of IOS vs WP vs Android? It's just a phone to chose IMO. And hey, I personally know Noble Prize holding scientists that love their iPhones. We are not all average and non techies. Just love good engineering.

 

Yes you did!

Gosh, you are making remember the reasons? Well, first off you live in Europe and I in America. I use to travel to Paris a lot back then and would drool over the Nokia phones that were not available in the USA.

According to wikipedia, the N97 was not released in the US (by carriers and subsided) until June 2009, a full year after I purchased my iPhone 3G in July 2008.

I guess that is the main and practical reason. There was no phone to buy. I bought an unsubsidized 6131 from England, but I wasn't going to do that again.

But if it was available the reasons for not getting it would have been:

N97 was too big and thick
Nokia had a crappy music player.
FM radio was not really good. It was okay outside, but the earbud antenna didn't work well in all situations. So I was willing to give it up.
Nokia software, once good, really sucked in the new versions, synching to my PC. Yes, I did not own a Mac back then. I had to resort to getting 3rd party software for outlook and my palm pilot to work.
No iTunes.....period...a big deal for organizing and buying music.
Probably no pinch and zoom....and Google Maps...boy that was a new thing...pinch and zoom maps and browser. I think that was only an Apple thing
Capacitive Touch screen, not resistive as the N97....capacitive is much better.
Accelerometer?
Compass?
oh, yes, on paper Nokia has a better camera than the iPHone 3G...but with the list above...that would have over scaled it of me.

There is probably more then I can think of.....but mainly the N97 came out a year too late in the USA and Apple changed the playing field.

And that was Nokia continuing marketing flaw....they held back the good stuff from the USA markets.

Come to think of it...that is why Android passed up Nokia....What was Nokia doing since 2007 when the iPhone came out?


Anyhow, your question raises old stuff. This is 2012. I'm only writing about one phone, the Lumia 900, not the whole landscape. WP will shake things up...They just need to release a better hardware with it. It is more than subsided at $100. It appears that is a limited time price...the real one being $200 probably.

 

Just for kicks, let's do some positive speculation on why the Lumia 900 has the potential to be a success. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to have plans to get this or even wat to get this.

I will go first.

Hardware:

LTE
Quality built
Proven manufacturer.
Great screen


Software:
Simple but efficient software
Fluid
Smooth
Intuitive

Great introductory price of $100

Please add to this. Only one condition the same couple of negatives have been repeated on this many times so lets please lets just do positives this time.

Thanks

PS: I or one of my fellow mods will delete any posts that counters my points or any one else's points, or undermines them with "who cares" Positive speculation only.

 

Integration between PC, Xbox, and phone is a big plus. It will certainly make all the Xbox users take notice and possibly move to WP. It is fun to be able to control your Xbox from your phone, message your game buddies while not on your Xbox. and play some games across all devices all tied to your profile.

Edit:
Here are some pics of the integration with Xbox.

1. View your profile
2. Message buddies
3. Select apps and games to play
4. Control those apps and games from the phone

 

Yeah I agree. Silly to be asked to defend one's choice of phone from 2008!

On a positive note, it comes in black not just light blue on launch day. and white later. Beyond that I would have to wait until it comes out tomorrow.

 

Excellent point, I hadn't even thought of that.


Thanks budney.

 

I will be keeping a eye on this phone too. While I am definitely not switching providers, it is always good to have competition in the market for cell phones. Personally I think the $100 price is going to definitely help sell it. I think people that don't have a Smartphone yet will take a close look at this on AT&T since it has a great pricing point. Plus not to mention the built in Live support for PC and Xbox. Put all of these things together with a nice screen and LTE, and I think this phone may be a winner.

I remember the last few times that I was in a Verizon store I overheard several people that wanted to upgrade from flip phones to their very first Smartphone. I also remember people mentioning that they wanted to save money and didn't want to spend a lot on their first Smartphone. Since the initial reviews have been positive, I think the $100 price will be one of the main selling points.

 

Here is the splash from last night

http://m.engadget.com/default/class...times-square-nicki-minaj/&icid=eng_latest_art

WP has been around for a while in the US, a forumite friend has the HTC Trophy and very happy with it. The 710 is actually a new comer to the market.and as you pointed out selling very well.

Just got this in my email this morning.




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WP has been in the states for over a year now, like the HTC Arrive. It's just that carriers didn't give it the light of day.

HTC Arrive Prices (Sprint) - CNET Marketplace

And T-Mobile and MS have been pushing the 710 quite a bit. I got my 710 for $200. All I had to do was open a T-Mobile prepaid account with a $50 monthly 4G plan. And being prepaid I am now on the standard prepaid plan.

 

Well the entire mall is closed for Easter here.

No record sales on launch day at this AT&T store.


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Actually, the reviews have been lukewarm over here.

My meaning was that is why the Android OS on various smartphone hardware, passed up Nokia OS + smartphone hardware in sales. The question was why did Nokia, the powerhouse of OS's, let Google come out with a Apple iOS matching platform, the Android. They have been sleeping, and had to rely on Microsoft to do the job for them.

 

I have been running it on and off since MS made it available. The tiled start menu is neat, still needs a bit of work. Unless you own other MS products, their is no major need to upgrade to Windows 8 IMHO.

 

Did AT&T's big launch of the Nokia Limia's 900 on Easter Sunday hurt the sales of this nice new flagship device?

. Nokia Lumia 900 Released Today, But Who's Even Open? | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

I don't understand this either. Although there were pre orders and some stores were open, ours were, I consider this as a major fail on AT&T's part to schedule this launch on Easter Sunday. :thumbdown:



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I called around yesterday to see what stores were open near me as I wanted to see this phone, however, there were only 2 stores open and they were closed by the time I got off work.

I honestly think AT&T would have been better off launching this device today. When you figure a lot of people have off today due to Easter being on a Sunday, and the fact that all stores will be open today it would have been a great time for the launch. I guess only AT&T knows the reason for this, but I agree with ya here, Charlyee, this is a definite fail on their part.


Sent from my iPad 4G using Tapatalk HD.

 

As if that's not bad enough, the New York Times reported that although not all of the 39 AT&T stores within walking distance of Times Square were closed, the few that were open and answered their phones did not have the handset in stock.

Apple handles most of the PR for iPhone launches, less so AT&T.

Maybe it's coming but there should have been more tv ads and such from Nokia and MS directly. The times square thing was too local to be noticed.

As I said in my post way back. The mall and AT&T were closed in Boston.


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I called up our local stores today and the announcement still says " welcome to att,.the home of the exciting iPhone 4s etc etc " If I was Nokia or MS, I would hold Death Star responsible for their ineptitude.

AT&T is a total fail as far as I am concerned.

 

Yup. However ATT doesn't have much incentive...every phone they sell is a money loss, like most subsidy phones...unless they get kick backs from MS/Nokia.

However, Microsoft and Nokia have much more at stake...they really should ramp up the Public Relations on this one...just like Apple does.

 

All but the "Plus" version of the various AMOLED displays use a Pentile subpixel matrix which results in reduced image quality and color accuracy in order to claim a higher resolution. Compared to the LCDs Apple has been using, AMOLED would have been the cheaper alternative. Then there is the issue that AMOLED Plus hasn't reached the resolution density level of Apple's "Retina" display. Non "Plus" versions may have, but again that's by sacrificing sub-pixels to claim higher resolution. (Last I checked, Super AMOLED Plus was 800x480@4.3 inches, a little short of 960x640@3.5 inches).

The integrated touch layer also makes Super AMOLED a cheaper package for most manufacturers, but would prevent Apple from using their current solution (which could be argued is "better", either for accuracy or for their bulk manufacturing discount).

 

Amazon to the rescue!
Nokia Lumia 900 tops Amazon charts, Titan II nowhere in sight - GSMArena.com news

 

It's doubly stupid -- first, iPhone's no longer living at home, second is playing this "hard to get" card

 

Stopped into my AT&T store about 5 pm Monday. Two Lumia 900 were on display with no one around them. I picked up the blue one and two guys picked up the black to test out.

I can verify that the reflection on the screen from the overhead spotlight was about one half as bright compared to my iPhone. But still bright enough to obscure the screen. But it works as advertised, about 4%

It's big. 4.3" is too big for comfort for me. I hope that Appple doesn't go that route at least exclusively.

Nice phone. But the shape didn't feel good in the hand nor appealing to me. Others may like it. Definitely didn't like the mini USB port being in the phones top side. Doesn't come with earphones btw.

I still don't find the tiles that more useful. Found myself going to the list in the next screen a lot.

Could not check out the browser. Couldn't connect to AT&T nor the store wifi. On both phones. Fooled aroud with settings but no luck. Read later that this is a common problem. Probably needs a software update. Welcome Nokia to launch issues. still AT&T should have had the floor models working.

Guys next to me we're impressed with the tiles. They thought less of the poly back and corners. Thought it would ding easily. Cases were there. But they made the phone even bigger.

Store was not very crowded.


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