Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic device
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2014
First of all, I purchased this phone as a replacement for my old LG Quantum C-900. It was a great phone, and WP 7.8 was always very stable and snappy, but had reached the end of its development cycle, so it was time to move on.
This also means that I was already familiar with the Windows Phone environment, its strengths and virtues. I am also very familiar with the other OS choices, android and iOS. My wife's phone (galaxy s4) is certainly very versatile, but also very complex (and a bit quirky to use). The iOS devices are mostly to play games (our iPad 2 now sits without much use). So i decided against switching.
Good call, most of the issues i had with windows phone have been addressed in windows phone 8, and those that haven't are about to get resolved in WP 8.1. I haven't switched yet to developer preview since i don't really want to compromise my battery life and app compatibility, as my phone hone is working rather well as is, and i don't really mind the wait until the official upgrade rolls out.
Now, as for the hardware, i can only say it is top notch. None of the games or apps or HD videos i have used or play ever stutter or fail to execute. Some games look kind of low res, but that's on the developers side. The screen is beautiful. I'm coming from a phone with hardware keyboard and was hesitant to make the change to screen typing only, but with this big a screen, typing is a breeze. The phone itself is light and thin but i am using a rugged case, so weight and bulk have been added for the sake of safety. It still fits in the front pocket of most of my jeans. I think my only complaint on the hardware has nothing to do with the phone itself, but with the fact that the charger is the Asian version, so it doesn't fit in my AC power sockets. I don't downgrade my rating to 4 stars because the device itself is so damn awesome.
Integration with Windows 8.1 is easy enough. Transferring data is very easy with the Windows 8 metro app. Skydrive (i mean, Onedrive) integration is very improved from WP 7. Haven't used the SD card yet, but the lack of native file management within the OS in WP8 should impair its usability (again, WP 8.1 is expected to solve this).
Users of other mobile OS shouldn't worry too much about app availability. Most big name apps are already available for WP8, with others on their way. Most apps that aren't in the marketplace yet have suitable replacements. WP ecosystem is growing, as is its user base. Maybe not so in the US, but us international users are starting to see more windows phones around. I have already a couple of friends who switched, one of then changing from android (owned a galaxy s3, upgraded to a lumia 1520). He is very pleased with his phone too.
All in all, very pleased with this device. Will probably keep buying lumias in the future.
