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 take a second look at the biggest Windows Phone Nokia's ever made i'm michael fisher with pocket now this is the lumia 1520 and this is episode 37 of after the buzz our demo device comes to us from our friends at GSM nation if you've got a hankering for the biggest baddest Windows Phone on the market do what we did visit GSM nation.com and tell'em pocket now sent you Windows Phone has never been the bastion of the spec obsessed but some people want maximum Hardware no matter what eight months after launch the Lumia 1520 is still Microsoft's handheld spec leader with a snapdragon 800 2 gigs of ram and microSD expansion all powered by a monster battery and despite the onslaught of oversized smartphones hitting shelves in the past year the 1520 is still freakishly huge with its 6 inch display the good news at 1080p resolution that display continues to hold up well even given our modern dubious flirtation with quad HD screens the bad news at 206 grams at 162 millimeters in height the Lumia 1520 is still definitely a two-handed phone for anyone outside the NBA that is and for all windows phones enhancements with version 8.1 it still doesn't offer much to take advantage of that big canvas like the snap multitasking in its desktop cousin the sum of eight point one's offerings actually make the 15:20 harder to use like the Notification Center way up at the but the display the platform still has catching up to do in functionality compared to Android and iOS and the road to 8.1 hasn't been without a few bumps we see intermittent keyboard lag and occasional instability with the new windows build which wasn't there before fortunately those are not major hiccups they don't come around that often and they're likely to be smoothed out with software updates over time further the new platforms many improvements like Cortana combined with a richer app ecosystem to make the 15:20 a much more capable device than it was back in November the Snapdragon 800 offers more than enough power for intense browsing and high demand gaming and the big screen still out does any other in the Microsoft catalogue for long books or Netflix sessions while the speaker around back makes up for its rear placement with a very loud voice with optical image stabilization Carl Zeiss optics and a 20 megapixel PureView sensor the Lumia 1520's camera was nearly without peer when it debuted and that remains true today while Sony has done a lot to advance the Android photography frontier with the cameras on its newer Xperia Z and Apple continues to deliver a phenomenal photographic experience with the iPhone neither offers the simple yet fine grain control the Lumia does and that's a software experience Microsoft continues to build on the video tuner app is brand new and it was released just as this report was going to press from bright Sun to moonlight the Lumia 1520 camera brings the heat the 1520 is still awkward to use as a phone awkward to fit into a pocket and awkward to explain to people who think you're carrying a tablet around town if that doesn't sound like your cup of raktajino you can find most of the 1520's capabilities in the more pocketable arguably more modern looking Lumia icon and lumia 930 but neither of those packs the extreme endurance of the 1520's huge battery and neither offers the kind of screen acreage that could conceivably replace a tablet even eight months after launch the 1520's powerful internals keep it at the forefront of the Windows Phone landscape it's one of the most future-proof Microsoft smartphones we've seen yet despite its status as a niche product for a smaller audience full of people who prefer sizeable smartphones for more Windows Phone coverage check out our full review on the Lumia icon Lumia 1020 and the Lumia 1520 here on youtube and at pocket now follow us on social media and subscribe if you did enjoy this video and stay tuned for more after the buzz in the weeks ahead until next time this has been michael fisher with PocketNow thanks for watching and we'll see you on the next one