Nokia Lumia 800 black 16GB -FACTORY UNLOCKED- by Nokia

Nokia Lumia 800 black 16GB factory unlocked. GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 & 3G/HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100. 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset, 3D Graphics HW. 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual-LED flash. HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps. Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. ATTENTION!!! THIS DEVICE NEEDS MICRO-SIM!!! be sure to have a Micro-Sim (like Iphone 4) or a cutter!

Stunning product. (Perfect after 11501 update!)

UPDATE #3: I just realized I completely forgot to mention certain carrier info. I'm using the phone with AT&T in NYC. Doesn't work with their HSPA+ (yet? I believe there will be a way to enable the frequency) as far as I can tell but I get 3mbit downstream and 1mbit upstream, which is a-OK.

UPDATE #2: Flashed the new 11501 firmware. Battery problem be gone! I unplugged my phone at around 1AM and left it idling. It's now 330PM and battery still at 58% with normal use from 9AM. Great job Nokia. I haven't noticed anything else other than the battery fix though. Added the last star :)

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You can love or hate Windows Phone OS, but you have to admit, Nokia sure stepped up their game in designing this beauty.

HARDWARE:

"Borrowed" heavily from its N9 sibling, this is one stunning phone to look at. Poly-carbonate body means very scratch resistant and none of that slippery glass surface, unlike a certain smartphone. The curves also make it very comfortable to hold, especially over a long period of time, also unlike a certain square-ish phone. Speaker and microphone neatly at the bottom while micro USB port and sim slot are at the top.

The screen is amazing. The 3.7" Clearblack LCD (aka Super AMOLED or whatever you want to call it) gives you such vibrant colors that my retina-display iPhone 4 looks like a last-gen screen next to it, at least in terms of colors and contrasts. The touchscreen is very sensitive, though I've noticed it can be a bit jumpy at times. No idea if it's a software or hardware problem, or just my screen protector.

The only problems I have with the designs are: a) the dedicated camera button. It's a two-stage shutter (slightly press to focus and fully to shoot) is a bit flimsy. b) the micro-USB port cover flips up and can easily be broken. And it stays this way while connected. (This has been remedied with the upcoming Lumia 900 btw.)

Overall, this is the best looking phone I've seen in years. Kudos to Nokia for trying something new. And dare I say, they succeeded brilliantly.

SOFTWARE:

It's Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. You either love it, or hate it.

Let me say that coming from Android/iOS, the first main differences I saw were the big and bold tiles, and the minimal homescreen. No gazillions of icons and folders cluttering up the screen. Everything is right there, in your face. Phone, SMS, Mail, Browser are all there and easily accessible the moment you turn on the screen. Very cool, I thought. But then, as an avid app user, I loaded up the Windows Marketplace. And boy, was I in for a huge disappointment. I'd known that this was a new ecosystem and there wouldn't be that many apps yet. But I didn't think that many of the iOS/Android apps (not games, don't care about those) that I often used wouldn't have an alternative for WP (more on this later).

I was ready to return the phone. But then (yes, another turning point), I started using it. And I fell in love. The way Live Tiles work, instant updated info without loading the apps. The way "People" combines all/most of your social networks into one place. The way I stopped using my phone to do useless things and actually get stuff done. And of course, the way the Lumia 800 felt in my hands. Also, slowly, I started discovering new ways to find the apps that I want/need. Sure, I had to compromise and discarded certain apps that I don't really need, but I did manage to gather a good number of apps in the end.

Windows Phone 7.5 isn't perfect. I still hate the way copy/paste is implemented. I still think the keyboard is awkward at times and too sensitive at others. I hate that there's no jailbreak/root, or as WP users call it "Interop unlock". Or how background tasking has a 9-processes limit. Or how there's no way to change text size in SMS. Or that the default Marketplace is rather unwelcoming and harder to navigate. And many more. But these minor bugs and inconveniences all become irrelevant when you look at the big picture. Windows Phone 7.5 is a brilliant mobile OS. You might call it the smartphone OS for newbies. I'm guessing the reason why it hasn't attracted that many people yet is the lack of quality phones. We haven't seen anything that is so stylish, so cool that can actually compete with the annual iPhone and monthly Androids. Until now.

I'm definitely getting a Lumia 900 when it comes out in a few months (though I'll miss the curved glass). Good job Nokia and Microsoft. You've won me over.

Update: I forgot to mention that the 800 has battery issues (doesn't last very long). I hear that there's a new update out that has fixed this problem, but I'm still waiting for them to push it out to my phone. Will confirm when I get it. -- By Linh Nguyen (New York City)