Unboxing the Nokia Lumia 820

Ever since Nokia launched the Lumia 820 and 920 in Singapore last year, I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on a Windows Phone 8 device in order to develop an informed opinion about Microsoft’s newest version of its smartphone platform that, in all fairness, has not really taken the world by storm. As someone who remains skeptical about how well Windows Phone can actually meet my needs and expectations of what a smartphone can and should do despite my love for the Metro UI, I’m determined to keep an open mind about Windows Phone 8, put my Android devices and my Nokia N9 aside and use a Windows Phone 8 device as my only smartphone for the next couple of weeks. Enter the Lumia 820.

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[title type="h2"]Behold the unboxing:[/title]
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(Note: If you’re reading this on our RSS feed and for some reason can’t see the video, the YouTube version can be found here)
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[title type="h2"]What’s in the retail box:[/title]

• Nokia Lumia 820
• USB to microUSB cable
• USB charger
• Colour-coordinated wired headset (WH-208)
• Assorted literature

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I’ve only just managed to get the device up and running, but my first impressions of the Lumia 820 and Windows Phone 8 are largely positive. In my opinion, the Lumia 820 deserves more attention than it tends to get; I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality and how the device feels in the hand, because you could easily mistake the 820 for having a unibody construction when the back cover in fact pops off (after some fiddling) to reveal a replaceable battery (that falls right out of the device), a microSIM card slot and a microSD card slot. The buttons on the side of the 820 offer very decent press feedback, and the WVGA AMOLED display surpasses my expectations by a large margin; I thought the 820′s display would be disappointing because of the mediocre resolution, but raw specifications do not tell the whole story.

Windows Phone 8 simply flies on the Lumia 820; the initial setup process was smooth and problem-free while it was a cinch to personalize the homescreen. So far, I love the new mini-tiles; they really make the Windows Phone homescreen a lot more space-efficient and flexible than it was on Windows Phone 7.5. I’ll have more to share about my experiences with Windows Phone 8 very soon, but at this point in time I feel more positive about Microsoft’s latest effort in smartphones than I ever felt about Windows Phone 7. Let’s see if that feeling persists in the next couple of weeks!

[title type="h4"]See more photos of the Nokia Lumia 820 here.[/title]
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