A sleek and powerful Windows Phone
Windows Phone 8.1 is a slick and well-designed mobile operating system, but until now almost all of the new phones which come with it pre-installed have been pretty mediocre. That’s all changed with the Nokia Lumia 830. Although it looks very similar to the Lumia 930, it actually has lower specifications. However, several refinements in the 830’s design help make it the best Windows Phone yet.
While the 830 looks very similar to the 930 with its colourful plastic rear panel and a metal band running around its edges, it’s far slimmer than the 930, making it much more comfortable to hold and use. Plus, unlike the 930, the metal band didn’t dig into our flesh as we were using it. The 830 also has two small but useful features that its more expensive counterpart lacks - an easily replaceable battery and a slot for adding more storage using microSD cards.
The 930’s battery life was disappointing, so we feared a similarly poor performance from the thinner 830. It actually lasted four hours longer than the 930, however, managing 29 hours on 3G. We suspect that this is due, at least in part, to two compromises that replace higher-specification components with parts that have lower specifications but are more power efficient. One is the 830’s Snapdragon 400 quad core processor. Although not as fast as the 930’s Snapdragon 800, it’s still more than fast enough for running most Windows Phone apps.
The other is the 830's 5in screen which has a 720p resolution instead of 1080p like the 930, but the difference in sharpness will be imperceptible to most people. The screen is very bright with good contrast. Colour accuracy is a little off, but it’s not too bad. There’s no compromise when it comes to responsiveness, though - as expected it had no trouble tracking our finger swipes and prods.
We weren’t surprised by the shoddy quality of the camera as it’s been a weak area for recent Lumia phones. The focus wasn’t sharp enough, while colours tended to look either washed out or oversaturated. Shots in dim conditions were too dark to be usable - even a wintery overcast day was often dark enough to have us reaching for another camera.
However, the biggest problem with the 830 is the threadbare selection of Windows Phone apps. While most of the big names are available, the number and quality of apps still lags behind iOS and Android, especially for niche interests. Whether you want an Arabic phrasebook ora bird-watching guide, it’s more likely you'll find what you need in Apple and Google’s app stores than in Microsoft’s.
The Lumia 830 isn’t perfect then, but it is reasonably priced at £300 without a contract. It’s a good value alternative to an iOS or Android phone, but bear in mind its limitations before buying.
VERDICT
Let down by a mediocre camera, but this latest Windows Phone otherwise has a lot going for it.
SPECIFICATIONS
5in 1280x720 pixel touchscreen • 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad core processor • 1GB memory • 16CB storage • 4G • micro SD slot • nano SIM • Windows Phone 8.1 • 150g • 139х71х8.5mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty