Gadgetory

so the same thing always happens when a new device launches the media gets review units ahead of the official launch and we get to use them while we write our review then the press embargo lifts every outlet posts their reviews and videos at the same time writers and commenters go back and forth and it's a huge frenzy of opinion and buzz for about a day and then it all goes away sure there's some follow-up coverage but after that initial blast almost no one revisits the device to see how well it's aged because we're all onto the next big thing already so let's do something about it let's have a look at a device after a couple of weeks after release and when it's not shiny and new anymore I'm hoping to be better with pocket now this is the Lumia 930 and this is episode 40 of after the buzz it's been nearly a year since Nokia launched the Lumia icon on Verizon and six months since the unlocked GSM twin the Lumia 930 made the scene by Android standards that's probably the equivalent to a couple of decades and device launches but in the case of Microsoft's Windows Phone not so much aging hasn't really been a problem for the Lumia 930 mainly because it's got very little competition on its own platform unless you're into the phablet size Lumia 1520 or the elegance of the HTC One m8 for Windows or even the budget-minded Lumia 830 the 930 is still the best midsize lumia you can buy in both design and specifications the Snapdragon 800 with 2 gigs of ram and 32 gigs of non expandable storage powering the Lumia 930 are still top-notch specifications by Windows Phone standards and this particular 1080p AMOLED display is probably one of the best-looking we've tested even after almost a year down the road software updates have been nice enough to enable the double tap to wake function that was originally absent in the icon but sadly the glance feature that's already available in the budget Lumia 830 is absent on the 930 and apparently that's the way it's going to be since this display seems to lack display memory the devices built is proven to be resilient as well a recent fall from waist level barely shows a minor scuff at the aluminum trim and some scratches on the display and another noble back which we actually found a neat trick on how to remove it still looks pristine over time this device lifts up to every single positive claim in Lunia build quality and unless you mind using a phone that completely misses the new trend of thin and light you'll be satisfied to carry a product that looks like new after months of use aging is less apparent on the software front and really the bigger story of the Lumia 930 Microsoft has reinvigorated its Windows Phone platform with version 8.1 gd-r 1 and unless you're a fan of the ginormous Lumia 1520 phablet the Lumia 930 is the only other Windows Phone that takes full advantage of Lumia denim or well everything except the new glance screen features hey Cortana is one of the coolest just like you can summon a Moto X with your voice without needing to activate the display you can do the same with Cortana it might take an extra second to respond compared to the Moto X but Cortana will actually provide you with faster results most of the time other improvements include snooze times for reminders and a Karkat integration feature that we weren't able to test sadly building folders shouldn't be a cool new feature but these live up to the name live folders as opposed to just the simple icon on a folder with other platforms live tiles within these folders still display periodic information to you to make them useful it actually makes you want to use these folders since the information is still at a glance available to you other improvements include a much overdue consumer a VPN option in addition to improve speed and Internet Explorer and if you want the full list the features that Windows Phone 8.1 brings make sure you watch Michael Fisher's extensive video in the link in the description what makes Lumia denim cooler is really the user experience improve UI fluidity has the six month old device blazing through anything you throw at it be a day-to-day task or graphics intensive games my only complaint with Windows Phone remains the excessive transition animations to run basic tasks like looking at a Facebook photo for example these really aren't necessary but then again the 930 handles these like a flagship would battery life doesn't seem to be affected by the dip performance as well you'll probably notice that it begins to drop rather quickly compared to other devices but it eventually settles and lasts for more than a day with extensive views or at least my type of usage where I even found Windows Phone to be superior to Android as in notifications I've been an iOS fan mainly because of timely notifications and Windows Phone has proven to be on par with the standard every single time which is great it could be because of how the OS handles data or Wi-Fi which I found to be top-notch even without LTE and for the Lumia 930 held on to Wi-Fi in more areas than even the iPhone phone calls and even voice messaging are probably one of the best that I've personally ever tested the four microphones have users claiming crisp sound on my end and the earpiece reminds me of how good landlines used to be a thing I only thought Motorola phones could do the speaker at the back is definitely disappointing by today's standards but it's still plenty loud as well now Lumia denim and really anything Lumia related is mostly about the camera it's the real reason why I've personally ditched the iPhone 6 for this Lumia 930 surely images on both devices are comparable even with the 20 megapixel PureView sensor and size optics on the Lumia but it's really the software features that make using a Lumia camera so cool the Lumia denim camera enhancements are so vast that we have to film a separate video to show them off and lick the description to watch that in a nutshell to have rich capture allow you to manually add Flash tone to an already existing photo or to manually add high dynamic range to add a shot or to even be able to pull out an 8 megapixel shot from a 4k video on the move is simply genius match that with the audio quality of four microphones over any time video shot and it's really hard to beat this camera we could go on for hours about how cool this is so please watch our separate video and get a glimpse of what we mean by the Lumia camera overall even after six months the Lumia 930 is not only the Windows Phone to beat but really a smart phone to beat as well and this comes from an iPhone guy it gives you the voice features of the Moto X with a far better camera it gives you the simplicity of the iPhone with a far better camera heck it even gives you the battery life and performance of most phablets and there I say it again with a far better camera Microsoft has proven that even through software an old flagship can challenge new competition as even the app gap is no longer existent for users like me the only reason why I wouldn't recommend that you buy this phone is because Lumia flagship is long overdue still if you want to Windows Phone now or if you want a really great camera on a smart phone I highly recommend that you join me that's it for episode 40 of after the buzz thank you very much for watching do you own a lumia 930 or a Lumia icon leave us a comment down below and share your experiences and also follow us on social media subscribe to YouTube channel as well you can follow me on Twitter hi I'm Andrew Rivera please give this video a thumbs up if you like what you saw I am hind at Ravenna thank you very much for watching we'll see you on the next video