Review: Updated: Nokia Lumia 630

Introduction

Update: The Nokia Lumia 630 has become even cheaper since its launch and new phones have arrived to challenge it. Our review now reflects this.

With the Nokia Lumia 520 now the world's top-selling Windows Phone 8 handset, it's no surprise that Nokia and Microsoft are concentrating on strengthening their low-budget range as it tries to dominate an area of the market.

The Nokia Lumia 630 was the first Windows Phone to arrive straight out of the box with Windows Phone 8.1.

Price-wise the Lumia 630 slots into the bottom end of the range just above the Lumia 520 and the newer Nokia Lumia 530, but it comes jam-packed with features thanks to the upgraded operating system, therefore you get a lot more bang for your buck.

Windows Phone 8.1 offers a lot more upgrades and additions than you would expect from the usual 'point upgrade', it's almost a complete overhaul of its predecessor.

All of the desirable features of Windows Phone 8 remain, however the upgrade pushes the OS closer to its competitors iOS and Android, replicating their existing features with the likes of the new Word Flow Keyboard and Action Centre.

Other additions to the new Windows Phone system are all focused on putting the smart back into smartphone as it focuses on getting you the most out of your features.

Data Sense and Wi-Fi Sense look to take the hassle out of data usage and Wi-Fi connection. The new ClearBlack screen allows you to enjoy the new entertainment features and apps available, including Xbox games.

The Nokia Lumia 630 also has new internal hardware ready to take advantage of the SensorCore SDK announced at Build 2014 so it can essentially act as your personal pedometer and measurement tool, because who doesn't take their phone everywhere they go.

The operating system isn't the only upgrade on the Lumia 630; it also has a generous 4.5-inch ClearBlack, 480 x 854 display, 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 512MB of RAM, beating out both the Lumia 530 and 620.

All that is not too shabby considering you can pick up the Nokia Lumia 630 for £99.95 SIM-free, £79.99 locked on pay as you go, or free if you buy it on a pay monthly deal from £9.50 per month. A dual-SIM variant is also available from around £120 SIM-free.

Although it's certainly an improvement on previous low-end Lumia's, there are still some features missing that you might expect. The Nokia Lumia 630 still doesn't have NFC, a camera flash or a front-facing snapper so if those are must-haves then this isn't the phone for you.

However, if you can live without those then it's not bad for the bargain price.

Statement colour is the cornerstone of the Nokia Lumia range and the Lumia 630 is no exception. The Nokia Lumia 630 has a removable, and therefore interchangeable, case so you can switch from the outspoken and fun bright green, bright yellow and bright orange to a more understated and professional black or white case.

The removable case also allows for easier access to the battery and SIM card so you won't be scrambling for a safety pin to get to the SIM (let's face it, you'll inevitably lose the actual tool for the job).

It also makes the Lumia 630 feel lighter and less bulky and allows for a larger screen than previous designs due to a smaller bezel.

The Nokia Lumia 630 is more rectangular and less smoothly finished than most of its competitors, however it has a strong and eye-catching design that follows the line of the higher-end Nokia's like the Lumia 920.

Its change in design makes it slimmer than the Lumia 620, 530 and 520 at just 9.2mm. Yet the increased screen size makes it heavier at 134g and wider at 129.5 x 66.7mm. This alongside the rectangular design does mean it feels quite wide in the hand, so I wouldn't recommend it if you have small, delicate hands.

Although the shell is removable, as with other Lumias it is a strong enough case that you don't need anything in addition. You can still customise the design to an extent – case manufacturers are bound to already be beavering away on alternative designs.

The front of the Nokia Lumia 630 is mostly screen and a good sized one at that for such a low-priced design. At 271 pixels per inch it's certainly not the best quality screen you'll find out there but for the price, what more can you expect?

You can also use gloves with it, which is becoming more common but it's a great selling point, or it will be in the winter at least.

Although the screen is sizeable, it isn't edge-to-edge. There's a black border running the entire way around it. The border becomes wider at the top to allow for the Nokia logo, ear and mouth pieces and at the bottom where you'll find the start, back and search soft-keys.

The back of the Nokia Lumia 630 is very simple with just a small loudspeaker, the 5MP camera lens near the top and of course the small Nokia logo in the centre.

The right edge of the handset houses all of the phone's physical buttons, with a volume rocker and the power button just below it. The signature camera button has been removed which is a shame as it was an added bonus on previous Nokia devices.

The left edge is completely free of any features, ports or buttons at all. The top is home only to a 3.5mm headphone port on the left-hand side and the bottom edge has a micro USB port in the centre, which is used for charging or connecting the Nokia Lumia 630 to a computer.

The back cover is easy to remove – you simply use your nails to peel it away at each corner. The cover is suitably strong enough and therefore unlikely to snap even if you're changing it every five minutes.

Once that has been removed, you'll have access to the 1830mAh battery, which is bigger than the Lumia 520 and 620.

Beneath the battery there are two slots – one for a micro SIM card and one for a microSD card. The Nokia Lumia 630 supports up to 128GB cards, which is useful for extending the fairly limited 8GB of on-board memory and 7GB OneDrive cloud storage.

Key Features

One of the long awaited additions to Windows Phone is 'Cortana', Microsoft's equivalent to Siri and Google Voice Search and I'm pleased to say it doesn't disappoint.

Cortana, with her lovely soothing tone works well for a first attempt. Speech recognition is fast and accurate and it is well integrated with the core functions – however, it is currently only available for the Lumia 630 in the US.

Purchase your Nokia Lumia 630 outside the States and you won't initially benefit from this feature, but the UK release of Cortana is scheduled to arrive on the Lumia 630 by the end of the year, so it should be here any day now.

There are a number of built-in entertainment features to the Nokia Lumia 630 including Mix Radio which is a nice alternative to Last.fm or Spotify.

Available both online and offline, Mix Radio offers a number of playlists compiled by Microsoft's music experts, or allows you to search and compile your own playlists.

As with Spotify, Mix Radio also offers radio stations based on your music tastes and you can also share your mixes with your friends via Facebook and Twitter.

Another nice addition is the introduction of the Wordflow Keyboard. The swipe typing works well but I found it doesn't quite have the smart prediction and smoothness of other more established alternatives such as Swiftkey.

Windows Phone 8.1 also comes with Skype pre-installed and is set to automatically connect whenever and wherever possible allowing for greater connectivity with contacts.

All the features of Skype are available and you can switch from a regular call to a Skype call, great for when you lose signal but are on Wi-Fi. However, it does seem strange to have Skype pre-installed on a phone with no front-facing camera.

One surprising addition for a cheap phone is the ability to support motion data collection, meaning your phone will track and record your movement and location.

It's a great feature for fitness fans and can be used in conjunction with a number of apps including the pre-installed Bing Health and Fitness app.

I had a go with the app and was pleasantly surprised with the results. The pedometer function was relatively accurate and it monitors various types of exercise. The app also recommends exercises and diets and keeps a track record of all your exercises so you can map your progress.

As with all other Nokia Lumia devices, the Lumia 630 comes with Microsoft Office and OneNote, great additions, especially with such a bargain phone.

Business is always at the front of Microsoft's mind and as a result the Nokia Lumia 630 comes with dual-SIM capability, so now you can use just one device for two purposes. I can't see the Nokia Lumia 630 being the business phone of choice for large corporations but it's certainly an option for small-medium sized businesses.

Interface and performance

Operating the Nokia Lumia 630 is similar, if not identical to previous Lumia generations and the upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1 has made very few changes.

Nevertheless, swiping around the various screens is smoother and more responsive than Windows Phone 8 and the bigger screen means it's plenty big enough to do most things easily.

Although the 4.5-inch display doesn't have the best resolution, it's plenty good enough to make sure the tiles and menus are sharp and clear.

The screen, though responsive, does stick to the finger a little and isn't as smooth as the likes of the iPhone 5S or HTC One. It also seems to smudge easily and gets messy more quickly than others.

The interface on the Nokia Lumia 630 appears the same as on Windows Phone 8 phones.

Once switched on you start on the lockscreen, which shows the time and date as well as an overview of any unopened messages or emails and any useful reminders pulled from your calendar or Facebook. Behind that is a standard wallpaper which you can customise using Facebook to display random images from your account.

Swiping up takes you to the start screen which a variety of live tiles for apps and menus, which you can scroll through vertically.

Pressing and holding on to a tile lets you move, resize or unpin it from the screen. The colour scheme is also as interchangeable as the case; this can be changed in the settings menu.

Something new on Windows Phone 8.1 however is the ability to add another column of times to your homescreen, taking it from two up to three. Now this works well on larger handsets such as the 5-inch Lumia 930, but things can get a little crowded on the Lumia 630.

You don't have to have this third column, and it can be easily toggled in the settings - but it's nice to have the option if you are really live-tile crazy.

You can organise the live tiles in folders on your start screen and also create folders that can be pinned to the start screen, making your files much more organised and easy to find.

This is a feature which has been added by Nokia rather than coming direct from Microsoft - and it's an extremely welcome one.

To see the full list of apps you can swipe left and they are displayed in alphabetical order. Long-pressing an app on the list lets you bring it to the start screen or delete it to save memory. You will find the settings screen in here, and from there you can change sounds, ringtones, set-up Wi-Fi etc.

The biggest addition to the interface that has been included in Windows Phone 8.1 is the Action Centre. Anyone who is familiar with iOS or Android will know this as the notification area.

From the start screen or app list you can swipe down from the top of the phone, allowing you easy access to any new notifications as well as toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera access and screen brightness.

You can go to the wider settings categories from here and the Action Centre also displays your remaining battery.

The Nokia Lumia 630 features an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor running a 1.2GHz and backed by 512MB of RAM.

As a result, it outperforms both the Nokia Lumia 520 and 620. It's certainly plenty for day-to-day usage and keeps the new Windows Phone 8.1 OS running smoothly. Previously frustrating loading times have also improved – although it's still not the best. I'd recommend sticking to mobile sites if you want to cut down on waiting times.

I also tested the processor against its predecessors with the help of AnTuTu and WP Bench and the scores are pretty good for a lower end Windows Phone. It's certainly outperforming the Nokia Lumia 520 amongst others – although that should be the case with the added quad-core processor.

Equipped with an Adreno 305 GPU the Nokia Lumia 630 can handle 3D games from the Xbox section, however don't be expecting outstanding quality. Don't forget the phone is cheap - it's certainly not a mobile games console for the hard-core gamers out there.

As you'd expect at that price, the Nokia Lumia isn't 4G enabled but it comes with the standard Wi-Fi and 3G and the token web browser of choice is of course, Internet Explorer.

However, the new Windows Phone 8.1 does come with the upgraded Internet Explorer 11. Whilst this is an upgrade, it hasn't got anything spectacular that you wouldn't expect from competing browsers.

Battery and the essentials

The Nokia Lumia 630 has a 1830mAh battery at the heart of it, a significant boost over the 1430mAh found in the Nokia Lumia 520 and the 1300mAh battery found in the Nokia Lumia 620.

This much needed improvement in battery power has resulted in a significant improvement in performance over previous iterations. The Nokia Lumia 630 can now make it through the day with no problems, as long as you're not constantly glued to it for 24 hours.

The Nokia Lumia 630 also fared well in TechRadar's battery test – running a 90-minute video from a fully charged handset with Wi-Fi on, social networks and emails set to push notifications and the screen turned up to full brightness.

The battery dropped to 77% by the end. Not too shabby and the Nokia Lumia 630 fared even better when performing standard every day functions like making calls and playing music.

Nokia claims the Lumia 630 provides up to 25 days of standby time over 3G, 16.4 of talk-time over GSM and maximum 3G talk time of up to 13.1 hours. It also claims over 58 hours of music playback time and 7 hours for video.

If this doesn't live up to your expectations there is a battery saver, which prevents apps from syncing in the background.

The essentials

Although Windows Phone 8.1 has changed a lot, or at least added a lot as a new and improved OS, one thing that has stayed the same is the essential phone usage – making calls and texting.

Everything you need to make a call is listed in the 'Phone' app at the top left of the start screen. When you open it you'll see a history of your recent calls, made, received and missed alongside the date and time of each call.

It's a little odd that this is the default screen as, 'who was it that called me earlier?' isn't exactly what springs to mind when I'm going to call home and find out what's for tea. However, everything you need is well within reach and you have shortcuts to your contacts, voicemail and search.

Your contacts are displayed alphabetically in the same way that apps are on the second start screen, so they are easy enough to find.

Nonetheless, one thing that has always bugged me with Windows Phone is the duplication of contacts. If you've connected via Facebook, all your contacts are transferred so you end up with your dad in there twice.

The keypad is nothing to write home about as there's no smart dialling so you'll likely only use it to call new numbers or add to contacts. Calls on the other hand are great, the quality is above average and I've not had any problems hearing people or dropping calls.

You have the usual options on-screen during a call – mute, on hold, loudspeaker or to add additional callers and the phone also displays the contact's name, number and the call duration.

One thing I will reiterate is that I wouldn't recommend the phone for the dainty handed as the phone feels quite wide and could be uncomfortable during long calls.

Texting on the Nokia Lumia 630 now has the added bonus of the Wordflow keyboard, which, although it is a nice addition, isn't the most accurate thanks to the slightly sticky and slow screen.

This has complicated things and to be honest I think I preferred the simple QWERTY keyboard option, it felt more in keeping with Nokia's brand. Text is clear, sharp and easily read on the 4.5-inch screen.

Finally apps, and what does Windows Phone 8.1 have to offer? Always seen as lagging behind iTunes and Google Play, the Windows Store has upped its game.

Don't get me wrong, there are still favourites missing but your main or popular apps are easy to find and use. Microsoft has also secured some unique offerings and integrating Xbox Live was a genius move.

Camera

The camera on the Nokia Lumia 630 is probably the biggest let down as it's quite basic. You get a 5MP sensor on the back but there's no flash and no front facing camera so selfies are more difficult and video chatting impossible.

If that puts you off then I'd most likely recommend the Nokia Lumia 620 as a respectable alternative.

The options are also limited on the Nokia Lumia 630. You can adjust the white balance, aspect ratio, exposure value and the ISO and you can also choose between three modes: night, sports or automatic, all of which you can change from the camera directly rather than having to come out of the app.

Aside from that, the camera is basically just point and shoot. I was disappointed to see the external camera button go as it now means you have to hold the camera in one hand to take a photo and I found that this means the camera takes more time to focus.

There is a smart shoot option that takes several photos quickly and lets you pick the best ones. This helps as it allows the camera time to focus so even if your first couple are a little blurry, there's bound to be a good one in there.

As you will see in the camera sample shots, the automatic mode isn't bad for landscape photos and even up close shots. However the lack of flash means dark or night-time shots aren't great. Even with the night mode I didn't see any noticeable differences.

Having said all that, it's still not bad for a budget camera-phone and there are Nokia apps available for expanding your photographic options such as Cinemagraph and Panorama.

The video camera on the Nokia Lumia 630 is also quite basic, it shoots in 720p at 30fps (the same as the Nokia Lumia 620) and as such the performance is similar to that of its predecessor.

Options for shooting videos are even more limited than when taking still shots, you can still adjust the white balance as well as turning continuous focus on and off. In terms of the quality you can change that but you can only choose between 720p and WVGA.

The video camera works exactly how you'd expect, simply press the shutter button to start and again to stop filming. Sadly because of the lack of video lamp, the quality isn't great in poorly lit places but if you stick to well-lit areas then it's not too bad.

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Media

Whereas Windows Phone 8 would cover off all your media needs in just one app, the Music + Videos app to be precise, Windows Phone 8.1 has separated out the various media elements so you have an app for each.

As you can imagine, each app does exactly what it says on the tin. Your music is in the Music app, videos in the Video app and that's right, you've guessed it, your photos are in the Photos app and they are all quite standard.

Music

The music player works as you'd expect, you can create custom playlists or filter your library by artist, song, album or genre. Once a song is playing, you can view the album artwork, favourite it and repeat or shuffle it with the in-app options.

There are a few strange elements to the music player that I thought might have been addressed; there's no start screen controls for music but you can pause or skip songs from the lock screen. You also have to go into the main settings screen to change the equalizer settings, it can't be done in the app.

All that aside, the sound quality is quite good, though without speakers the sound can get a little tinny when the volume is up high.

In addition to the Music app you can also listen to music through Mix Radio or you can copy songs directly from your laptop to your phone.

Video

There are two options for video viewing on the Nokia Lumia 630. Firstly, images that you have taken yourself, these are stored in the camera roll. Simply select one of the thumbnails and tap one to view it. Once in you can pause it, skip ahead or skip to the next video but that is it, it's quite basic.

The Video app also allows you to purchase or rent video content and thanks to the partnership with Xbox live there is an excellent selection to choose from.

Although the screen and the sound isn't the best quality it certainly does what you'd expect and a little bit more for the price, the colours are bright and the image is clear.

As with the music though, I'd recommend headphones because the sound quality isn't great, although it is loud. It's also a decent size for videos, of course there are bigger and better quality phones for viewing video but then you'll be paying bigger prices.

The Nokia Lumia 630 does support all major audio and video formats, including MP3, WAV, eAAC+, WMA, MP4, H.264, H.263 and WMV.

Photos

Aside from music and video, there's also a standard Photo app. Your photos can also be viewed in the camera roll alongside the videos but this app is dedicated purely to your still images. It's a straight-forward app that does what you need it to.

You can view your pictures, favourite them, upload them to SkyDrive or set them as lock screen wallpaper. It's also easy to share your photos from here via social media channels.

There are a handful of editing options but these are quite limited, simply cropping, rotating or 'fixing' the picture.

Windows Phone 8.1 now organises your photos with the new Storyteller function. This organises them by the date that they were taken – I'm not sure I like this new format, I was perfectly happy with seeing all my photos in one go.

Ultimately there's not that much to media on the Nokia Lumia 630, but what there is works pretty well.

The internal storage could have been a bit limiting for big media moguls, but with an additional 128GB available with a microSD card slot, there should be plenty of room. In fact more than some of the higher end phones.

With the screen size and low pixel density it doesn't pack a strong punch if media is a big deal for you, however if it's just an added bonus then the Nokia Lumia 630 does a good job.

Comparisons

Motorola Moto E

The Motorola Moto E follows up the highly successful Moto G released last year. It comes in at around £80, making it marginally cheaper than the Nokia Lumia 630 and it has a number of similarities including the 5MP rear-facing only camera with no flash.

However there are a number of noticeable differences so it really depends what it is you're after for your money. The Moto E boasts an impressive 1980mAh battery so if long-lasting power is your cup of tea then the Moto E will most likely trump the Nokia Lumia 630.

In addition, although the screen is smaller it does impress with a surprisingly sharp 540 x 960 resolution, with 256ppi it's the sharpest display in its category.

Where the Nokia Lumia 630 does win out is with its quad-core processor and internal storage. The Motorola Moto E runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with only 4GB of internal storage.

Some would say the Motorola Moto E is more aesthetically pleasing but that is a personal preference and I think that's what this might come down to. Not the design but the preference in OS. If you don't want to move across to Windows Phone then this Android equivalent is spot on.

• Motorola Moto E review

Nokia Lumia 520

There have already been a number of comparisons with the Nokia Lumia 520 in this review. That's due to its stature as the best-selling Windows Phone on the market and its stalwart performance for a budget device.

Having said that, in every aspect of comparison throughout the review, the Nokia Lumia 630 has outshined the Nokia Lumia 520 – it has a faster processor, more expandable storage and a longer-lasting battery, alongside that it's also slimmer although a little heavier.

Nevertheless, the Nokia Lumia 520 is still a solid entry-level smartphone and also comes in slightly cheaper, which could make a difference when making that first foray into the smartphone world.

The Nokia Lumia 630 does come with Windows Phone 8.1 straight out of the box, which is an improvement, but the new OS version is now available for the Lumia 520 too.

On spec alone I'd suggest the Nokia Lumia 630 is the better phone; however the Nokia Lumia 520 still remains a firm favourite.

• Nokia Lumia 520 review

Vodafone Smart 4 Mini

Coming in even cheaper again, the Vodafone Smart 4 Mini at just £40 is an interesting addition to the market; however the price isn't the only thing that is noticeably lower.

There are numerous differences in spec on the Smart 4 Mini in comparison to the Nokia Lumia 630. The camera, for example, takes us back in time to the days where 3.2MP was a good quality phone camera, whereas we all know now that it's not going to cut it nowadays.

The design also isn't something to envy, in comparison to the Nokia Lumia 630 and the Moto E, the Smart 4 Mini looks like a budget phone from the get go.

On the plus side it does have a good battery life and expandable storage, two things you wouldn't necessarily expect for £40, however with a dual-core processor, the poor camera quality and a low UI I would recommend forking out the extra £40 for the Moto E or upgrading to the Nokia Lumia 630 if you're not intimidated by the prospect of Windows Phone.

Don't write the Smart 4 Mini off altogether though, as it would be a good investment as a second handset or an emergency stopgap between models.

• Vodafone Smart 4 Mini review

Nokia Lumia 635

Since the Nokia Lumia 630 launched, a tweaked version dubbed the Nokia Lumia 635 has also arrived. So what do those five extra little numbers get you? Not a lot to be honest. The main addition is 4G, which if you have or want a 4G contract is actually pretty handy, but other than that the only real change is that the finish on the 635 is glossy, while on the 630 it's matte.

It's subjective as to which looks better, but what's undeniable is that the finish on the Lumia 635 can make it a little clammy to hold, which is unfortunate. However while the Lumia 635 is slightly more expensive than its older sibling on contract, if you shop around you can actually get it for around the same price SIM-free, with many retailers charging just £99.99.

So if you can live with the gloss it's probably the better buy, since you get 4G and everything else from the screen to the processor is much the same.

• Nokia Lumia 635 review

Nokia Lumia 530

The Nokia Lumia 530 is one step down from the Lumia 630, with a smaller screen, an inferior processor and worse battery life. But it's still a snappy little handset and SIM free prices start at under £70, so it's a good bit cheaper than the Lumia 630.

Given that the Lumia 630 doesn't have the best battery life to begin with and this is even worse it's hard to recommend if you can afford to spend an extra £30, but if not the Lumia 530 is a decent entry-level smartphone.

The low price also makes it a better fit as a secondary phone or a festival phone than the Lumia 630, but it's undeniably an inferior choice as your main everyday handset.

• Nokia Lumia 530 review

Verdict

The Nokia Lumia 630 is a no nonsense phone with a no nonsense price tag. It was never going to take on the mighty iPhones or the HTC One M8's of this world but that's not what it's there for.

What it does, it does well and it's a suitable upgrade on the ridiculously popular Nokia Lumia 520.

We liked

As the first phone with Windows Phone 8.1 straight out of the box, the Nokia Lumia 630 is a great draw and not just because of that but its price point as well.

Microsoft and Nokia have taken everything I liked from the Nokia Lumia 520 and improved it in some way. The battery is more powerful and lasts longer and the quad-core processor is a much-needed upgrade to cope with the increased choice in apps, games and entertainment.

The extension of the additional memory is a plus, as is the Dual-SIM functionality. It's a great phone for small-medium sized businesses. With built in Microsoft Office and OneNote you have everything you need for both a personal and professional device.

We disliked

One thing to improve upon for the Nokia Lumia 520 is the camera. Although you wouldn't expect much more for that money, it clearly needed a bit of work and with the flash still missing it does let an otherwise stellar phone down. I also miss the external camera button – bring it back Nokia please, I beg of you.

As with other Nokia Lumia devices, the screen does tend to stick a little and attract dirt, fingerprints and marks quite easily which is a real shame as the rest of the phone looks quite appealing, although a little cheap.

Verdict

I'd like to take my hat off to Microsoft and Nokia who have built on the success of the Nokia Lumia 520 brilliantly to design and build yet another respectable budget phone in the Nokia Lumia 630.

For a low price it does all the basics and does them well but also offers a decent battery, solid quad-core processor and a whole host of new features in Windows Phone 8.1.

Don't get me wrong; it's not the perfect phone, but for a bargainous £79.99 on pay as you go it's a brilliant addition to the market and I foresee it becoming even more popular than the Nokia Lumia 520.

First reviewed: June 2014

from TechRadar: Mobile phone reviews http://ift.tt/1BcZRuz

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Review: Nokia Lumia 830

Introduction and design

Somewhere between the budget Lumia 735 and the flagship Lumia 930, you'll find the Lumia 830. Not quite a flagship, the Lumia 830 aims at the higher end of the middle market, competing against the Galaxy S5 Mini and HTC One Mini 2 on contract with prices on EE hitting £33.99pm to get the Lumia 830 for free with 4GB of double speed 4G and free EU roaming.

Alternatively, you can also get it for £19.99 with no extras and a £59.99 upfront fee. In the US, it's available for $99.99 with an AT&T plan. If you're looking for more freedom, the Lumia 830 can found for £280.99 on PAYG or £304.99 SIM free. In the US, you can buy it for US$449.99 without a service plan, while in Australia you can pick it up for AU$535 at JB HiFi.

What does this actually get you though? The Lumia 830 has a metal body and a 5-inch, 294ppi, 720p HD screen. Under the skin, there's a quad-core Snapdragon 400 CPU clocked at 1.2GHz backed with 1GB RAM to run Windows Phone 8.1, and it also includes a 10MP PureView camera with Carl Zeiss lenses.

Metal handsets are often commended for their premium feel - a perception driven by the iPhone range and the HTC One M8, But I think that the metal frame is actually detrimental to the Lumia 830.

This is in part because of the plastic back, which detracts from the overall feel, and partly because of the shape. While the HTC One M8 comes with a beautifully ergonomic curved back, and the iPhone 6 is nicely rounded, the Lumia 830 just feels like a metal brick.

The chassis comes in two colours. The silver version is the less attractive: the contrast with the black face exaggerates the overall squareness of the handset. The black version has a more elegant look.

Couple the hard lines with the larger 139.4 x 70.7 x 8.5mm frame and you're left with a phone that sits uncomfortably in the hand. It also feels a little heavy at 150g. Despite the metal build, I would not feel overly confident about the chances of a phone this hefty surviving a drop.

The plastic back plate of the 830 makes it slightly grippier, but comes with its own faults. Being exceptionally thin means that it feels borderline flimsy, especially when I removed it to pop in the SIM. And that's before I get to the colours.

The Lumia 830 comes in four colours: a silver frame with white, orange or green back, and a black frame with black back. My review model was silver and orange, and I'm not a fan. Bright shades are a hallmark of the Lumia range - but whereas the 735 is enveloped in fun and outrageous colours, the orange and green plates on the 830 simply seem unnecessarily garish.

The Lumia 830 has soft back, Windows and search keys below the screen (so there are no on-screen navigation buttons) as well as the traditional hard volume rocker and power/lock key. There is a dedicated shutter key located with the other hard buttons on the right hand edge, which can be used to launch directly into the camera app.

On the top edge, you'll find the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and microUSB port for charging and connecting to a PC. This is perfect for the headphone port, as it means you can slip the Lumia 830 into your pocket while listening to music. However, it's a different story for charging.

There must be a good internal design reason why the microUSB port is on the top, but it makes it awkward to use the Lumia 830 when it's connected to the wall. However, a strong battery performance means this is unlikely to be an issue. With normal usage, you'll only have to charge it at the end of the day.

And with so much to criticise about the look of the Lumia 830, it will need to be a phone of substance over style to succeed. How does it fare? Read on to find out.

Key features

Just as with the Galaxy S5 Mini and the HTC One Mini 2, it is clear that one of the major selling points of the Lumia 830 is its cut-down flagship look. Unfortunately, the design of the Lumia 930 hasn't translated well to downsizing.

The squared corners don't fit in alongside the more rounded black glass face, and the plastic back plate can be described as gaudy at best. This is a real shame because, believe it or not, I am quite a fan of the Lumia 930's design, apart from that brightly coloured back of course.

Microsoft has kept in other features that made the Lumia 930 such a good handset, including wireless charging. But because the Lumia 830 doesn't come with the charging pad, you'll need to buy it as an extra - an added expense that defeats the point of choosing a midrange phone. So, nice as the inclusion of wireless charging is, few 830 owners are likely to enjoy its benefits.

PureView camera technology is included to make the most of the 10MP sensor, found in a rather obvious black circle on the back of the Lumia 830. Although the Nokia brand is no more, it still stands behind the Lumia range, and its great history in the camera phone market gives the 830 something to live up to. The Nokia 7650 arguably started the camera phone revolution, while the more modern Nokia N8 (winner of our best camera phone on the market title in 2010), Nokia 808 PureView and the Lumia 1020 show that quality was strong to the end.

And the Lumia 830 lives up to the PureView name. Shots come out clear and bright, although the front facing camera does leave a little to be desired with its sub-1MP sensor. In all, the Lumia 830 camera certainly gives reason to take a second look.

There's one more feature that makes the 830 stand out, and that's Windows Phone 8.1 OS. Windows has come in leaps and bounds since its first real outing in the form of Windows Phone 7, it now features a notifications bar (nicknamed Action Centre on Windows) and allows the input of background images to your Live Tiles, as well as resizing to levels not seen before.

Live Tiles form the crux of the whole OS, and anybody that is familiar with earlier iterations of Windows Phone, or Windows 8 onwards on tablets and PCs, will feel right at home. They work in a similar way to Android's widgets, offering up information without the need to load up the individual app, but in a much more uniform way.

Windows Phone now also offers a Google Now and Siri rivalling assistant called Cortana, something that was sorely missed on Microsoft's mobile OS until now.

Overall though, the lack of apps lets Windows down, and the implementation of things such as the dialler app and settings menu (to be covered later) still leave Windows Phone as the third player in the mobile world, and likely to remain there for some time.

Interface and performance

The Lumia 830 runs Windows Phone 8.1, unsurprising given Nokia's recent acquisition by Microsoft. Navigating Windows Phone is done through the Live Tiles, something that will be very familiar to those that have used any versions of Windows Phone since the relaunch as Windows Phone 7, or Windows 8 or 8.1 on tablets and PCs.

These offer up little snippets of information without the need to launch the actual app, much the same way that widgets work on Android. The lack of a background image to place these tiles over is covered with a rather neat feature that creates a collage with the image being set as backgrounds to the tiles themselves. That said, not all the tiles accept this background so you may have to rejig your tiling layout.

While these tiles work much like widgets, there is a real appeal to the uniformity of these tiles that makes it seem far more organised than its Google counterpart.

This level of organisation doesn't translate further into the WP8.1 OS, with menu's seeming to be a little haphazard. The greatest example of this is the settings menu, one that I found myself endlessly flicking through in order to find what I was looking for.

The same can be said for the dialler app, and is a problem that bothered me perhaps a little more than it should. When launching a phone app, the custom is to be greeted by a standard T9 keypad that allows you to type in any number of your choosing before hitting the call button. In its infinite wisdom, Microsoft has added an extra layer where you have to hit a rather small and inconspicuous button at the bottom of the screen.

In order to navigate this OS, Microsoft has equipped the Lumia 830 with a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU, 1GB of RAM and an Adreno 305 GPU. This puts it on par with the lower priced Lumia 735, and even the Lumia 635, both of which come with smaller and lower resolution screens.

It also sits alongside the HTC One Mini 2 for power, although the use of Android's KitKat OS rather than Microsoft's Windows Phone will govern how powerful each of these seem.

In order to fully gauge and standardise how well each handset performs, the WPBench app was run with the Lumia 830 scoring an average of 233. This score is lower than both the Lumia 530 and the Lumia 635, both of which scored over 250. It also means it scored fairly similarly to the Lumia 735, perhaps thanks to the HD resolution of these screens.

This was a little unsurprising as the 830 always felt a little sluggish whilst moving throughout. This is a problem that I also encountered on the Lumia 735, with apps taking a noticeable amount of time to load, especially from the lock screen.

On the lower priced of the two Lumias this wait can be somewhat forgiven, but as the Lumia 830 comes in with a higher price tag I'm far more sceptical.

Battery

With the talk of Windows Phone being more power efficient, hence the refrain from using quad-core CPUs until now, you would expect a Lumia running the latest iteration to be rather battery friendly.

Despite this, Microsoft has fitted a 2200mAh battery beneath the hood of the Lumia 830. This means that it sits above the HTC One Mini 2 and Samsung's Galaxy S5 Mini in terms of sheer battery size, with the Android handsets coming in at 2110 and 2100mAh respectively.

This will be needed though, given that both the HTC and Samsung only have 4.5-inch screens where the Nokia has 5.

Thankfully though, much like with the Lumia 735, I can safely say that the Lumia 830 performs well when it comes to battery performance. Based purely on the figure attained from the standard 90 minute HD movie test at full brightness, the Lumia 830 experienced a drop of only 22%.

This puts it better than the 29% that the One Mini 2 hit and the 25% of the much higher powered Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, but compares badly against the Galaxy S5 Mini's 16%. It also performs worse than the Lumia 735 which managed to score a rather impressive of 15%.

Throughout my time with the Lumia 830 I found that I could get through a standard days use, although very heavy use of the Skype app and pushing the battery through Temple Run or Asphalt racing games through lunch left the Lumia begging for a little top up before bed.

For those that do want to push the battery life a little further, Microsoft does include a battery saving mode. It is unclear just what this does although limiting data, screen brightness, CPU speed and email refresh seem likely culprits.

This mode can be enabled permanently, until the next charge or whenever the battery gets low. Annoyingly there is no choice of how you define low, is it less than 30% or 15%? Whilst the appeal of being able to preserve battery life is there, the lack of control and explanation is extremely frustrating.

Just look at the work being done by Sony, HTC or Samsung with the Stamina mode, Extreme power saving mode and Ultra power saving mode respectively giving the Android handsets a much greater boost.

The essentials

It shouldn't be too hard to guess the two vital parts that make up a smartphone, it must be smart and it must also work as a phone. Believe it or not, even today some handsets still fail to live up to their billing as a phone with the Acer Liquid E3 lacking in this department.

Calling

Does the Lumia 830 suffer in the same sense though? Thankfully not. This could be down to a lot of factors, such as the decent signal holding, or the three microphones that are located all around the handset.

I was a little surprised at how well the signal was held with the Lumia 830 given its metallic shell, but Microsoft has managed to sort that out thanks to some plastic strips in the casing.

This decent calling though was marred by the poor handling of actually making the call to begin with. For starters, the integration of the dialler app and the contacts book is poor meaning that smart dialling is a no go.

I'm also not a fan of the dialler app itself, why is there two steps in order to load up the number pad that I want to access?

Overall, I have to say that whilst phone section of the Lumia 830 is perfectly functional, it is handled much better software wise on its Android brethren.

Messaging

As with the calling capabilities of the Lumia 830, messaging is handled well, although it still proves to be a little frustrating. Just take a look at the keyboard for example.

Compared to the stock offerings on iOS and Android, Microsoft's keyboard attempt holds up pretty well, but is still clearly the last choice of the three. Add in manufacturer's own take, the third party offerings that have long been able to be downloaded from Google's Play Store and now with iOS8 on the App Store as well, and you're left way behind.

Yes, auto correct is there but it lags just enough to become noticeable. Slide to text input is also available, but struggles for speed and accuracy when placed against the original Swype app, or even Swiftkey's offering. Microsoft needs to up its game, or at the very least open up the keyboard API to developers to allow third party apps.

The SMS app and email apps are also starting to appear a little dated. Compare them to the older iOS apps and you'd feel that they had been made in the same mould, but iOS has clearly moved on from that whilst Windows seems a little stuck.

Emailing is much the same, with the app feeling a little dated and a tad clunky. Users moving over from Android will be pleased to see that you can use your Gmail as a Windows Live ID if you wish, but even then a lot of Gmail's features are lost.

Internet

There are many that will recoil in horror when I point out that in order to surf the worldwide web, one must make use of a program that many have long considered obsolete... Internet Explorer. I admit, I am one such user and have become heavily reliant on Google Chrome across all other ecosystems; my laptop, Android phone and iPad all have it installed.

Thanks in part to a lack of other options, I found myself using IE and was pleasantly surprised. For those that have long ignored Microsoft's browser, you'll be rather surprised at just how far it has come since IE6.

IE now includes all the features that you would expect from a standard mobile browser; tabbed browsing, full page views, the ability to disable pictures and even Do Not Track. It does place the URL bar at the bottom of the page though, something that I have never really gotten my head around thanks to 14 years of always finding it at the top.

Pages loaded swiftly over both a 3G and WiFi connection, both mobile and desktop sites. Things will only get faster if you happen to live in a 4G enabled area too.

Camera

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that you might opt for the Lumia 830 over either of its cut down rivals is the whopping camera that has been placed on the back. This 10MP sensor dwarves the 8MP snapper on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini, but lacks against the 13MP of the One Mini 2.

Both of these camera's take some pretty decent shots, with a further battle being launched against Sony's Xperia Z1 Compact that comes packing a 20MP sensor.

Thankfully the 830 has been blessed with the right weapons: it comes with a decent sized sensor, the PureView technology that has graced higher end Lumia handsets for a while, as well as a Nokia standard in the form of its Carl Zeiss lens. There is even a dedicated shutter button which gains a massive thumbs up.

All of these add up on paper to give a pretty decent snapping experience.

There is a slight issue for the Lumia 830's camera though: where the hardware excels the software falls short.

The whole camera app seems a little confused with the ability to download extra lenses, in the same fashion as the Sony Xperia Z range, being a novelty that soon wears off thanks to its poor integration. These are okay when you're lining up a perfect shot and have all the time in the world, but make no sense when it comes to quick point and shoot.

That said, there are a few options that you can make use of in order to try and improve your shot.

For starters, you can take what Microsoft calls a Smart Sequence. In essence this takes a series of photos that you can edit later, such as removing moving objects, changing faces to ensure that your whole group is smiling, select what the software thinks is the best shot or the auto selected action or motion shot.

Elsewhere within the camera app is the standard ability to change the flash, set a timer or add framing grids. You can also take multiple images at different exposures. I found this latter feature to be a little annoying, as the three images aren't all captured in one go. Instead it takes three images one after the other so you will have to stand steady for a while.

Loading the camera can be done one of two ways, either via long pressing the shutter button or by selecting the app in the menu or live tile. I found myself instinctively going for the shutter key, as it was much quicker to launch.

Even then it still took a good second to load, with the 'resuming' page that is all too familiar popping up from every screen I tried loading the camera from. Whilst this isn't really a problem for taking a perfectly framed portrait or landscape shot, it will prove a problem of snapping your cat being a little silly.

As for the forward facing camera, those that have bought heavily into the selfie craze like myself will want to avoid the Lumia 830. Equipped only with a 0.9MP sensor, it lags heavily behind the other 'Mini' handsets with the Galaxy S5 Mini managing 2.1MP and the One Mini 2 managing 5MP.

Even the cheaper Lumia 735 comes with a 5MP front sensor, but that is its key selling point.

Sample images

Click here for the full resolution image

Click here for the full resolution image

Click here for the full resolution image

Click here for the full resolution image

Click here to see the full resolution image

Click here for the full resolution image

Media

Given that the Lumia 830 comes with a 5-inch screen, it can easily be argued that the 830 is handset that is far more targeted to the consumption of media than its smaller Lumia brethren. It is much less suited than its bigger brother the Lumia 930 though, for a number of reasons.

Looking only at the Lumia 830, the 5-inch IPS LCD screen comes packing a HD 720 x 1,280 resolution giving a density of 294ppi. This gives a lower density than its smaller rivals (326ppi), with both the HTC One Mini 2 and Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini offering 4.5-inch screens at the same resolution. Which of the density or size is most important to you is something you'll have to decide.

I never found that lower resolution was all that problematic, but is heavily highlighted compared against the 5-inch Full HD (441ppi) Lumia 930. The 930 flagship also has another trick up its sleeve that is missed on the 830, with the bright AMOLED screen replaced with an LCD option to save money.

Normally I would accept this as a given, but as the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini comes with a Super AMOLED option, I do wonder just how much Microsoft is pushing its profit margins here.

The other key hardware here is the loud speaker located on the back of the Lumia 830, which thankfully worked rather well. Compared with the likes of the One Mini 2, the 830 is a definite step down, but unlike many handsets the Lumia 830 doesn't suffer from any problems at higher pitches or louder volumes.

With the hardware performing well, it is a shame that the software doesn't appear to hold up as well. Again those that have used any of Microsoft's other products, such as Windows 8.1 on a PC or even the Xbox One or Xbox 360, will feel at home with the video, music and photos app.

On the surface it seems that this might be a good move by the Redmond firm, but I would argue to the contrary. It might ensure a uniformity and continuity across all platforms, but the apps themselves have always been poor, and push the sale of video and music more than most users will appreciate.

Neither app comes with any functionality worth mentioning above the standard options, which is a real disappointment because competitors are making strides in this area. Samsung might not have hit on a winner with its music square, but it shows some effort to innovate.

Gaming is handled through the Xbox Games app, which is much the same as the aforementioned media apps. This app will prove far more useful to those that play across platforms, especially those with an Xbox console.

In truth though, I found it to be a little pointless as all games can be found via the Microsoft app store and then accessed via the menu.

Comparison

With its stripped down flagship, Microsoft is pushing the Lumia 830 against some very well established handsets with an arguably better OS. Just how does it fare against its Android opposition?

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini

Perhaps the more famous of the 'Mini' generation, the Galaxy S5 Mini is the third iteration of Samsung's cut down flagships. It should be expected that Samsung has worked out how to produce a smaller, more budget friendly flagship and the S5 Mini is a very good example.

In terms of specs the Galaxy S5 Mini compares extremely favourably against the Lumia 830; better screen technology, a more powerful CPU and front camera, even a fingerprint scanner built into the home key.

The latter of these is PayPal certified meaning that it can be used on your favourite sites to buy a variety of items, as well as being used to secure information within your handset.

The Galaxy S5 Mini also comes with a skinned Android on board which will appeal more to the masses than the Windows OS.

For those looking for a metal handset though, the Samsung is sadly lacking.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini review here.

HTC One Mini 2

A metal frame is something that the Lumia 830 doesn't have over the HTC One Mini 2, as it follows the design of the larger all metal HTC One M8. The curved back makes it much easier to hold, and doesn't come with that plastic backing.

HTC has also given the One Mini 2 a superb 5MP front facing camera that smashes the Lumia 830's 0.9MP, and matches the 830 in terms of power with an identical 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU, 1GB RAM and Adreno 305 GPU.

Again, the One Mini 2 runs Android although packs in HTC's Blinkfeed home screen to add in a customised news feed.

The Lumia 830 wins hands down here on battery life, with that extra screen size not providing the drain that might have been expected.

Read our full HTC One Mini 2 review here.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

The big battle between the Lumia 830 and the Sony here rests with the camera. Sony will win any competition on size, with its 20MP sensor doubling that of Microsoft's 10MP snapper. Both cameras come with the ability to download new lenses so will appeal to budding photographers.

Sony also comes with far more power being a smaller flagship, rather than a stripped down version of the Xperia Z1. The Xperia comes with a 2.2GHz CPU and 2GB of RAM, as well as an Adreno 330 GPU.

However, the Xperia Z1 Compact might feel a little dated having been usurped, the Japanese firm now offers the Xperia Z3 Compact.

Those looking for a media experience though may want to direct their eyes in the direction of the Lumia 830, with its 5-inch screen being a massive 0.7-inches larger making it easier to view videos whilst on the go.

Read our full Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review here.

Verdict

The 830 sits between the Lumia 735 and the Lumia 930 in terms of power, being an upgrade over last year's Lumia 820.

Taking many clues from its flagship brother, the Lumia 830 comes with a metallic frame and 5-inch screen as well as a cut down 10MP PureView camera in a bid to help it compete against its biggest 'Mini' rivals; the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini and HTC One Mini 2.

We liked

That 10MP PureView camera is certainly one of the better options on the market, able to make the most of some really decent optics and that PureView technology. A dedicated shutter button is also very welcome

Battery life is also much appreciated. It might not be the best on the market but I never once found that I was left wanting for my charger at any point during this review. The Lumia 830 should be able to make it through 2 days of light to medium use, but will easily make it through a standard day with heavy text and calling.

Media consumption is also well catered for with the Lumia 830; its larger screen makes movie viewing easier (although does detract slightly from the clarity), the external speaker is loud and clear, and storage is well catered for with the ability to throw in 128GB of microSD storage.

We disliked

Going right back to basics, one of my biggest qualms with the Lumia 830 is the design. It borrows a lot from the Lumia 930 with the metal frame and bright back, but is implemented really poorly. The colour scheme of the back is far too showy, the metal frame doesn't follow the glass front well and the positioning of the charging port on the top means it gets in the way.

The Lumia 830 also felt extremely sluggish throughout my time with it. Using the same 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB RAM and Adreno 305 GPU as the lower powered Lumia 635 and 735 is nothing short of a mistake when it has a larger screen to cope with and commands a higher price tag.

Finally, I still have real problems with the Windows Phone 8.1 OS. On its face the Live Tiles give a styled sense of organisation, but dig just a little deeper and Microsoft's mobile operating system stutters. The settings menu felt all over the place, as did the contacts integration. Elsewhere Microsoft suffers from a poor keyboard, and a real lack of apps.

Final verdict

With a cheaper price tag than its flagship brother, the Lumia 830 can be forgiven for taken a few cuts in performance. One of the key features of these being the internal grunt, but it seems Microsoft has given it a cut too far.

How Microsoft can justify the inclusion of identical internals to cheaper handsets is beyond me, especially as there is a middle step between the Snapdragon 400 and 800 SoC's. This lower power leaves the Lumia 830 struggling, with a very noticeable lag whilst moving between different areas of the handset.

It is also let down heavily by a poor design and equally poor operating system, with neither living up the quality of the Android powered HTC One Mini 2 and Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini. With the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact also coming in at a similar price bracket, I really struggle to see how the Lumia 830 will compete.

from TechRadar: Mobile phone reviews http://ift.tt/1rKrzMm

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