Once Nokia’s flagship smartphone, Lumia 920 was replaced after
only several months. Although handset makers usually bring a new
flagship device once per year, the Finnish company decided to release
the Lumia 925 a mere six months after Lumia 920 hit the shelves.
Aside from the obvious design differences between the two Windows Phone
models, the Lumia 925 gets the same highly-praised PureView technology
for its camera, but along with some hardware modifications that make it
slightly better.
Also, other small hardware improvements have been included, along
with lots of software tweaks and enhancements, which will ultimately be
available for Nokia Lumia 920 as well.
But the Lumia 925 won’t
be Nokia’s flagship smartphone for long, as the Finnish company is
already rolling out its Lumia 1020 model featuring an impressive
41-megapixel camera.
And things will be much more interesting
once Nokia World 2013 kicks off later this month. The company’s first
phablet, Lumia 1520 will certainly be unveiled in late October, but
other Windows Phone handsets are expected to make their entrance on the
market by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, Lumia 925’s reign
over the Windows Phone kingdom was shorter than expected though I’m not
sure if this is a good or bad thing.
It was officially
introduced back in May and hit shelves in most regions only one month
later. The smartphone is now available for purchase for around $550
(€405), but it can also be had for much less with new contracts.
Design
Nokia
Lumia 925 is the result of Windows Phone users’ feedback. Especially
those who own or previously owned the Lumia 920 had a lot to say about
the phone’s form factor (size, weight).
I assume Nokia took
into consideration all feedback received and came up with the Lumia 925
several months after Lumia 920 was launched on the market. The former
has the same unibody form factor, but when it comes to size and weight
it's pretty much everything that a smartphone user would want.
It’s sleeker and lighter than the Lumia 920, by a lot. I have already
reviewed the Lumia 920 and the main reason I gave up carrying it with me
after only 2 months was the fact that it felt like I was carrying a
brick, and a heavy one.
Nokia Lumia
920 weighs no less than 185g (battery included), whereas the Lumia 925
has only 139g (battery included). This is one of main reasons I consider
Lumia 925 a major upgrade over the Lumia 920.
Maybe it doesn’t
seem so sturdy as the Lumia 920, but the aluminum frame and thin
polycarbonate back makes me believe users won’t have any issues with the
Lumia 925.
Nokia Lumia 925 features an aluminum frame while
the back side is made of a very thin polycarbonate that feels like
rubber. That makes it lighter and more stylish in comparison with the
previous Nokia flagship smartphone.
It measures 129 x 70.6mm and
is only 8.5mm thick; that’s 2.2mm thinner than the Lumia 920. The front
side features a 4.5-inches display and the usual wide bezel at the base
of the screen.
It looks like the wide bezel at the base of
the display is a common trait for Nokia Lumia smartphones, which is
probably the main reason Lumia 920 and 925 have approximately the same
width.
Although
the numbers indicate Lumia 920 is slightly bigger, that’s because of the
polycarbonate shell that covers the insides of the smartphone. Right at
the bottom of the screen there are three standard capacitive key, which
are found in all Windows Phone handsets: Back, Home and Search.
When it comes to form factor, the Lumia 925 has the same rectangular
layout like most Nokia Windows Phone handsets, but it’s a bit rounder on
the edges than the Lumia 920.
The left side of the phone is
buttonless, while the right side features the volume and lock/unlock
key, as well as the dedicate camera shutter. The top side of Lumia 925
is pretty crowded as well thanks to the microSIM slot, audio jack and
microUSB ports.
The back side packs an 8-megapixel camera and a
small dual-LED flash. Just like Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 925 takes
advantage of the PureView image technology. Right above the loudspeaker
grille near the bottom of the back cover there are three pins.
These
three pins have been especially included by Nokia, so users can attach a
special back cover that allows them to wirelessly charge the
smartphone. You can also use compatible chargers or other accessories
for recharging.
Due to its unibody form factor Nokia Lumia 925
doesn’t feature a removable battery, so users won’t be able to pull it
out. It is also worth mentioning it lacks a microSD slot for memory
expansion.
Overall, the Lumia 925 is much easier to handle than
its predecessor given the much lighter weight and rounder edges. The
only downside that users with slightly smaller hands will definitely
notice is the fact that Nokia Lumia 925 is a bit wider than other
Windows Phone handsets, thus it may be a bit more difficult to handle at
times.
Display and Camera
Another difference between Lumia 925 and its predecessor is the quality
of the display. The Lumia 920 features an IPS LCD capacitive
touchscreen display, whereas the Lumia 925 sports a much better AMOLED
display. That means better image and less energy consumption.
The 4.5-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display supports HD (768 x
1280 pixels) resolution and 332 ppi (pixel density). It has the same
specifications as Lumia 920’s display, which means it features
PureMotion HD+ ClearBlack technology and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 coating
for protection against scratches.
Sunlight legibility is above
average, so you won’t have any issues reading what’s displayed on the
screen even under strong sunlight. Quality-wise, Lumia 925’s display
shows a high level of brightness and good color contrast.
Another
improvement added by Nokia to the Lumia 925 in comparison with the
previous model is the so-called Glance feature. With the Glance feature
users will be able to check the time without having to wake up the
phone.
A clock is now displayed on the screen when the phone is
in standby mode. You will be able to set how long you want to remain on
the screen or you can disable it completely. There’s also the option to
display the clock all the time and that will not drain the battery
given the fact the screen features AMOLED technology.
Another
selling point of Nokia Lumia 925 should be the 8-megapixe rear-facing
camera which has been enhanced with PureView imaging technology. It can
capture pictures with a maximum resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels using
the 4:3 ratio or 3552 x 2000 pixels when camera is set for 16:9 ratio.
Nokia Lumia 925’s camera has a few advantages over the Lumia 920’s. It
comes with 6 elements instead of only 5, which means pictures have more
details and are slightly sharper.
The smartphone also features
Optical Image Stabilization and f/2.0 lens, which means users get much
better results when using the camera in low-light conditions. In
addition, hand-shaking should be removed while capturing a video thanks
the true OIS feature included.
The camera UI is pretty simple
to navigate, but features extensive menus with lots of the settings and
options. You can now set ISO to a maxim 3200 value and there’s also an
option that allows you to use the dual-LED flash as an AF assist light.
Switching from camera to video mode can be done with a simple click.
The same goes for flash, which can be set to off/on/auto with a single
tap on the screen.
Another
interesting feature that comes with Lumia 925’s camera is called Lenses
and allows users to apply various effects on the pictures they take.
These lenses act as third-party plugins and can be accessed within the
camera interface once they are downloaded and installed on the phone.
Nokia Lumia 925 comes preloaded with Bing Vision, Nokia Smart Cam and
Cinemagraph lens add-ons, but additional can be downloaded for free.
Bing Vision is an image recognition lens, while Nokia Smart Cam is the
improved version of Nokia Smart Shoot lens that was pre-loaded on Lumia
920. Smart Cam allows users to shoot bursts of 10 photos at 5-megapixel
and edit them later.
Quality-wise, pictures look better than
Lumia 920’s with a slightly more details and less noise. It’s an
improvement that can be easily detected with the naked eye, even for
those who aren’t into photos.
The same goes
for videos, as the Lumia 925 can shoot 1080p clips at 30fps (frames per
second). The only downside is you can only record mono sound when
shooting a video.
Menu and Software
Unlike previous Windows Phone handsets, Nokia Lumia 925 comes with
Amber update pre-installed, which means more features, which in return
translates into more value for what you pay.
The Amber update
added new features and various tweaks to the Lumia 925, but did not
change the overall look and feel of the UI. The Glance feature that we
mentioned earlier is one of these new additions, as well as the more
importantly FM Radio support and new camera lens.
Aside from
displaying the clock on the screen, users will now be able to wake up
the phone by double tapping. This feature is power consuming but it can
be disabled at any time. I did not notice any surge in energy drainage
while using this feature, so I guess it’s not so power demanding. You
can also set the Clock’s brightness a bit dimmer between certain hours
(night mode), usually when you’re sleeping.
It’s also
worth mentioning Nokia Lumia 925 comes with Data Sense app
pre-installed, something that Lumia 920 lacked. With Data Sense users
can see the amount of mobile data they have used at any given moment.
Moreover, the application allows you to preset a data limit.
Windows Phone 8
UI did not change at all since last year, so the Lumia 925 has nothing
new to offer in comparison with Nokia Lumia 920. For a more in-depth
look on Windows Phone 8 and all the features included I strongly
recommend those interested to read my Nokia Lumia 920 review.
Communication
Those who are wondering if there’s anything missing from the Lumia 925
when it comes to connectivity will be happy to know that Nokia stuffed
everything in. There’s not a single important communication feature that
the Finnish company might have ruled out from Lumia 925’s specs sheet.
It has GSM / GPRS / EDGE support, as well as LTE (cat 3) and HSDPA
(42Mbps) connectivity. The smartphone also supports dual-band Wi-Fi with
DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi Direct.
I should also
mention that Nokia also added the missing OBEX protocol for the
Bluetooth support, so users will now be able to transfer files with
ease.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is another asset that
comes in handy when you want to share files between compatible devices.
It works flawlessly and is much more helpful than having to use
Bluetooth connectivity.
Obviously, NFC requires users to touch
their phones in order for the transfer to commence, while Bluetooth
allow you to beam files at certain distances.
Internet Explorer
is one of the best browsers embedded onto a mobile device and the one
pre-installed on the Lumia 925 is no exception.
You get tabbed
browsing, an interesting Share option and an extensive setting menu.
It’s worth mentioning you can open as many tabs as you want but the more
you have opened the slower the phone will become.
Nokia Lumia
925 comes with new versions of Drive+ and HERE Maps. They bring free
voice-guided navigation to Lumia 925 users, along with global coverage.
All these are available for free without a time limit. With Drive+
users get to plan routes without having to connect to the Internet, as
everything is done offline once the maps are downloaded on the phone.
Processor and Memory
Although Lumia 925 received a facelift in comparison with Lumia 920,
nothing has changed under the hood. The smartphone comes with the same
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon chipset inside, which accommodates a
dual-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, and Adreno 225 graphics
processing unit and 1GB of RAM.
That’s not necessarily a bad
thing, as Windows Phone 8 has been perfectly optimized to run on this
type of hardware configuration. That means you won’t have any issues
running any compatible application or game.
However,
Nokia Lumia 925 does miss something and that’s a microSD card slot for
memory expansion. Even though the smartphone comes with 16GB of internal
memory, that’s not enough even for medium users. There’s also a 32GB
version available on the market, which is exclusive to Vodafone.
Multimedia
The Lumia 925 comes with the same Mix Radio service that’s available on
all Windows Phone handsets launched by Nokia. The service offers users
free music streaming, along with the option to make some tracks
available for offline listening. Keep in mind though that mixes you save
for offline listening change from time to time.
The basic
music player that comes with the smartphone does not have an equalizer,
but Nokia has added its own application that allows users to set several
equalizer presets and Dolby Headphone enhancements.
The video
player has been included in the Music hub as well and offers support for
XviD, DivX and MP4 formats. As expected, it lacks subtitle support.
More importantly, Nokia Lumia 925 comes with FM Radio support,
something that’s been missing from the previous flagship smartphone.
Quality-wise, Lumia 925’s audio output is way above average, something
that most Lumia high-end models are renown for. The headphones that come
with the smartphone are of high quality, so there’s no need to change
them.
Battery
Nokia Lumia 925 comes with the same 2,000 Li-Ion battery that is
featured in the Lumia 920 as well. It’s still non-removable and offers
similar standby and talk times. According to Nokia, the Lumia 925’s
battery should last for up to 440 hours of standby time or up to 18
hours of talk time (13 hours in 3G mode).
We managed to get
around 2 days of medium use on a charge and we had like 30 minutes of
phone calls, 30 minutes of Internet browsing and emailing and about 2
hours of music playback daily.
Those who are already used with
charging their smartphone daily will be happy with the Lumia 925,
otherwise we haven’t notice any improvement over other high-end
smartphones available on the market with few exceptions.
Impressions
Nokia Lumia 925 is a major improvement over Lumia 920, even if we take
into consideration the phone’s new design. Nokia Amber that adds FM
Radio and several neat features make the Lumia 925 a better smartphone
than the previous flagship handset.
The Lumia 925 is the prove
Nokia has started to take into consideration users’ feedback and learn
from its mistakes. The fact that it was launched several months after
Lumia 920 shows that the Finnish company really thought it provides a
completely new smartphone experience to consumers, and from many points
of view it really does.
Unlike the Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 925
is easy to handle with one hand and you won’t even feel it in your
pocket. It got a better display, an enhanced camera and more features,
so I see no reasons to upgrade from the Lumia 920, if Windows Phone is
your favorite mobile platform.
The Good
There are so many good features stuffed inside the Lumia 925 that I’m
afraid I’ll overlook something. Aside from the fact that you won’t feel
that you’re carrying a brick inside your pocket when you’re on the move,
Nokia Lumia 925 offers just about all the features a smartphone user
would want.
I would highlight the phone’s full connectivity
package (HSDPA and LTE cat 3), great 8-megapixel camera, stylish design,
crystal clear display, decent processor and GPU, wireless charging and
excellent audio output.
The phone’s price is perhaps another
selling point, as Android flagship smartphones are much more expensive
than Windows Phone high-end devices, so this should be another positive
aspect worth mentioning.
The Bad
The Lumia 925 still misses some critical features, such as microSD card
slot for memory expansion and a dedicated file manager.
The
lack of third-party apps could be another downside, but Windows Phone
users have learned to live with that. Unfortunately, not many popular
cross-platform applications work really well on the WP platform and the
fact that the numbers of apps in the Windows Phone Store is way lower
than its rivals hurts Microsoft’s operating system on longer term.
It’s also hilarious, but Nokia Lumia 925 still doesn’t feature a
notification LED. I know some smartphone users don’t bother with that,
but for me it’s a mandatory function. Hopefully, the next major Windows
Phone upgrade will add this feature as well.
Sales Package Nokia Lumia 925
USB cable
A/C adapter
Stereo earphones
SIM eject tool
Leaflets
