9.10.2013

My wife and I have both been using 2 of these Lumia 620s for 6 months.We both needed new phones, and these cost us £127 each from Virgin Media store.Battery life------------You can easily change the battery in this phone and Li-pol batteries do not last / reduce in capacity with use anyway. So replaceable is the best option for a phone in my view.I haven't got caught out with a flat battery yet, so for me the battery life is fine. I do carry a spare battery (£14), just in case but have only had to use it a couple of times when travelling. You can turn background apps off and there is a low power mode also.Apps----New apps seem to be coming pretty quickly.I haven't found any missing that I need.I have linked my Microsoft account with my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts, so I get all the feeds and those notifications from the `me' and `people' views. I do use the dedicated Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn apps as-well.I have found no shortage of games to keep me amused on my daily long commutes. I find that the best games for commuting are the simple puzzle games like solitaire/bejewelled/sudoku. When I look around those are the games that others are playing, on their large tablets as well.I tend to use webpages for things like weather forecasts and YouTube, rather than apps.People------WP8 integrates the people history of emails and postings into the people page/view. For example it gives history of all a person's emails, messages and postings within their contact page. To find an email from someone from 6 months ago you can go to their contact page and it will come up in the history view, as opposed to searching through an email inbox of 400 emails.Windows Rooms-------------For me Windows Rooms is one of the best features of WP8, particularly the `shared calendar'. Any calendar entry either my wife or I add to the calendar appears on each other's phones and laptops almost instantly.We also enjoy having our `own space' for pictures and chat etc., all cloud backed up. I understand that the WP8 rooms experience is better integrated than the Google equivalent, though I haven't compared them directly.OneNote and Office------------------As expected these work superbly. I have several office documents which I access on my phone on the train or on my work or home PC, and they are always instantly synched between devices via SkyDrive.In particular my wife and I share a OneNote to-do list that we both use daily for adding stuff that needs doing or is complete.Nokia maps / Nokia here------------------------Works very well indeed. Installing Europe maps was also very easy.Streaming---------For me it's been worth spending extra money on an unlimited data plan, £15/month. So I have the full Xbox music experience, and it is good to have freedom with BBC iPlayer for example. Yesterday I listened to an hour's BBC iPlayer radio program while driving around the M25 and M3, no pauses or interruptions whatsoever, of course this is not always the experience with the networks.WP ecosystem-------------To experience windows phone to the full I have signed up to the MS ecosystem. I make good use of SkyDrive, and I turned on tap-to-share, find-my-phone, kids-corner, cloud backup etc. I have created rooms, and a Microsoft account linked it with my Xbox account (this is less easy if it is a new MS account, but quite doable).I understand it is hard to switch from other ecosystems once you have bought into their services and hardware. It's what you get used to, but I am hugely impressed with MS's.Find-my-phone-------------My wife lost her Lumia 620 the other day. She logged into the WindowsPhone website and did `find-my-phone'. Up came a 3D map of our local shops showing that the phone was in a specific shop. We also had the option to lock the phone, send a loud signal to it, and erase it.This required no installing apps or so signing up for other services that are not properly integrated into the phone OS.Kids corner-----------The `kids corner' feature means that your kids can use the phone for gaming but can't access any of your part of the phone. I love this feature and use it all the time, it's a bit like having two devices in one.Back-up-------I dropped my wife's Lumia 620 from a great height and it belly flopped onto a concrete floor, smashing the screen. After much apologising I replaced the phone with a new one, although having the screen replaced is not too expensive this is a cheap phone to replace.To set up the new phone all she did was sign into her Microsoft account and within about 20 minutes everything in the phone was identical to the old one. Not just settings but all the email accounts, all contacts, all messages, all calendars, all settings including wifi, and all apps were automatically re-installed. The only thing she had to do was re-arrange the tiles on the home screen and re-enter passwords.I think SkyDrive is excellent and I love the way all photos are instantly backed up.X-box Music-----------I find the Xbox Music service and UI excellent, online and offline with a 64gbt micro SD card, and driving it from any PC via a web-browser (or Windows 8 PC / Xbox) work really well. I gave up Spotify after a very long time, with a lot of playlists, so it took some getting used to making the switch but it was worth it for me.There does still seem to be a problem with some track duplication. It has happened on about 30 of the 3000+ offline tracks, audio books and videos I now have stored in the device memory card.Other things I like-------------------Sharing location and getting directions to the other person's location that they share with you just takes a couple of clicks from within the text messaging.The music apps all integrate into the main music player.Streaming video and pics to a TV (TV has to be DLNA capable) and Xbox etc. is instant and seamless.Tap phones together to share pics works instantly without any setup,Controlling and using the phone as a keyboard for the Xbox again works very easily.Size----For me the phone is the right thickness for handling, but more importantly for me it is light as devices go and the whole screen can be easily reached one handed. Combined with the glance-ability of MS Window's large tiles it means that quick checks of emails or messages while walking is easy.Speed-----This phone is very zippy and fast. I compared like for like with a Galaxy S4 with just browsing, texting and calendar and the Lumia 620 was the same speed or faster. Nothing scientific mind.Conclusion----------My experience with the Lumia 620 is all pretty much positive. If you are considering switching from Android or Apple there is a lot to be said for WP8 and the Lumia 620, but like anything it takes a little getting used to a different OS.For me and my wife it was worth it. We find WP8 fast and intuitive, more `glance-able' and less clunky feeling than the competition, and the tiles feel fresh and fun. She doesn't have to ask me "how do you do this or that?" anymore as she just works it out for herself.In deciding whether to spend £500 or £130 on a new smartphone I was struck by how much the technology has moved on at the lower end of the market, to the point where there is very little difference between this phone and the high end phones, apart from what seem to be cosmetic or superfluous specification enhancements. Each to their own though.Good luck with your phone purchase!

17.2.2013

What I can I say about my Lumia 620 other than after 5 days of ownership I am still unable to put it down.Getting a Windows phone was a fairly big leap for me as a long term Android user but I am very happy at this point that I did.ReviewDelivery was fast and efficient as usual from Amazon:In the box was the phone ,a manual, earphones(throw these away they are rubbish), charger and cableSetup:This phone requires a micro sim card to work. I purchased a sim card cutter from Amazon at the same time for about £4 There was something slightly worrying about putting your sim in this machine but all was fine and my sim was transformed in seconds.Inserting the sim and 32Gb SD card was simple and quick.Once switched on the phone booted quite quickly.There was the usual questions about network providers and accounts that you wanted to link to the phone. The whole process was simple and over in less than 5 minutes.HardwareI have not been a big fan of Nokia over the years but the quality of this device has changed my perception of that completely. In the hand this feels like a robust sturdy phone that does not require you to treat it with kids gloves. The removable case slotted easily into position. The phone came with the black one which has a soft matt feel.The screen is simply stunning, vivid bold colors that look great with games and video alike once you have turned off the annoying auto brightness control!I am not a big fan of larger screens and the form factor of this phone is hitting the mark so far. Not too big to fit comfortably in my jeans pocket and not too small so that everything is difficult to read.The battery has proven to easily last a day of what I would describe as moderate to heavy use.Windows Phone 8This has been the biggest surprise to me. The overall experience is brilliant, there are a few minor niggles but the good far outweighs any negatives.Good,pointsThe speed of this device is great, there has not been a single stutter or wait in the 5 days of usage. Considering its hardware specs are not exactly headline making in terms of cpu this is a fantastic result. Windows just zips along nicely.The screen transitions and the overall flow and just nice and give the you the feeling that they have actually thought about the user experience; It all feels very slick/The people hub is brilliant, all of my updates in one place, simple and easy to use, I have found myself using this instead of the individual apps.Nokia's apps that come with the device and are available mainly for free in the store are fantastic. The Nokia drive app is a significant selling point on its own. It is so much better than the google Navigation app on my android. The city lens and maps function are also great additions.XBox integration is seamless and intuitive. Smartglass works well and I like the consolidation of gaming into the one hub.Office comes for free and appears functional for reading documents and presentations. One note integration is excellent. Surprisingly Skydrive wasn't pre-installed and I had to download it, this just works really well.Kids corner is a great addition to the OS, I dont have to worry about my 6 year old being able to get into things he shouldn't whilst playing games on the phone. I had something similar on Android but that was a bit clunky. This works a treat and is simple to configure.One feature i love is the ability to decline an incoming call with a text message from a standard list of responses.Bad points:My one major annoyance so far is the lack of independent volume controls for ringtones and media. If I have had music up quite loud then when the phone rings it is also very loud. I have not found a way yet of setting these independently other than remembering to turn it down.Windows phone 8 has an app called datasense that tracks you phone and data usage on your mobile network, This unfortunately has to be enabled by your carrier and vodafone have not yet done so. I miss the "my vodafone" app that I had on android.No native Sonos app! I have found an alternative called Phonos that works well but would have been nice to have the real thing available.My one fear with Windows phone before purchase was the app availability,but this has not really turned out to be a significant issue. everything I want is there apart from the couple mentioned above.SummaryAll in all I love the Lumia 620 . the wonderful Nokia's hardware and apps, Windows 8 just zips along and is simple and intuitive. Live tiles works as a concept and the platform feels surprisingly mature. So far it has been bullet proof with no crashes or issues at all.This is a great phone at this price point and comes whole heatedly reccomended

14.9.2016

Windows Phone 8 OS was written to run on lowest spec. phones of the Lumia range, as well as the high spec. ones. As the range has developed, so have the minimum lag free requirements, although these may be unwritten. Generally, speed of functions is okay but not a sprint.This phone sits nice in the hand, it is small by modern standards, and although the screen resolution is low compared to premium phones it is never an issue, either for watching YouTube or for reading online content. The screen size, rather than resolution, is the limiting factor.I recently had reason to dig out my Nokia Lumia 620, from the back of the draw, and start using it. Revisiting the phone, after using a higher spec.WP phone, the main lag I noticed was using 3G instead of 4G, although this is not a fault of the phone The inbuilt apps are still quick enough after upgrading to WP8.1, the phone response is not always instant but not bad enough to call laggy. Keep in mind, this was a budget phone when it was launched. A definite plus is Nokia /Here maps, these are fantastic instead of a sat nav, and use the same mapping database as many of the after-market sat navs. Battery life still gives more than a day, however I normally disable wifi, bluetooth and GPS, and limit background tasks to email. These can be added to the quick links and turned on when required.The 5MP camera works well, although now low spec, it suffers a little in low light. The front camera is okay for Skype on the move.Works well as a mifi device.Lack of apps is the main complaint from the media, but this has become something of an obsession so here are some thoughts.- Nokia/Here maps as a sat nav, as referenced above, is excellent- The built-in mail client works well, connects to exchange, and online email, and allows linking of mailbox so you can see all mail in one place, but it does not force this approach- UK Trains works well as a free train app, and for London 'Buses due - London' works well- Twitter has a supported client, it's basic but it works- FB has a client, although I cannot comment on its usability, and so does Whatsapp- MSN Weather works very well and updates its Live tile, and AccuWeather also work well- A few levels of Angry Birds are preinstalled, this game works well but the screen is a little small- Nokia camera software works well, the dedicated camera button was not present in later budget Lumia phones.So why the 4 starts? This phone and some other Lumia phones produced around the same time may develop an issue with the power button not working correctly. Most people work round this by enabling double screen tap to wake up the phone, charging turns the phone on. The issue is the button comes loose and can often be corrected with some DIY, if you are brave enough after watching the YouTube guides to fix it.Would I recommend this phone? Yes.

26.9.2014

It might be the lower end of Lumia's but it still has many features and good battery life too. Nokia's music store that let's you download up to 4 different choices to listen to offline, for example top hits of 2014, number 1's, top 40 charts, most popular charts music etc as well as many others like rock, classic, festival, British music etc etc. you have up to date tunes to listen to for free! When you've finished just delete and download the next. Brilliant!Battery life is average, about a day with medium use. On par with an iphone 4S or any other similar spec phone. It's rapid to charge too which is nice,

5.5.2013

I also own the Lumia 800, which I was satisfied with, but there were some things missing in it which I desired:* Downloadable maps* Expandable memory* Latest Windows Phone 8 platformSo this is where I found myself when I started looking at the mobile phones market. I should also add that I have had 3 different Android phones in the past, but my experience with the Lumia 800 (bar the drawbacks mentioned earlier) convinced me of Windows Phone's superior performance as a platform. Even high spec Android phones had enough interface lag for it to be irritating. The Windows interface in contrast is elegant, snappy, and intuitive. Though the overall number of apps are fewer,

6.12.2013

Its the fastest and most responsive smart phone I have ever used. Stunning screen , crisp, colours, resolution is brilliant. Battery life is excellent, no match for Nokia.Windows phone software is the best ever smart phone operating system. Its designed around users usability, its light, fast and very modern. I loved the Microsoft approach of building one app that does work of four apps. In this price range all these features and both front and back cameras is a bargain. Last but not least security of data protection and its management through cloud has made it super easy to backup and protect. Just go to [...] and register your phone for free and then you can remote while, lock,

29.12.2013

I bought this phone from Virgin Media, not Amazon. I have been using the phone for about 6 months, and despite this being at the budget end of the market I'm very happy with it. The phone is well built, I've not had a single problem with the hardware, and compared to previous Android phones I have previously owned (HTC and Samsung) the windows software is very robust and never crashes. I have updated the phone to the Amber software, and it has added some nice features - and unlike my previous experiences of Android updates it did not cause any new problems! I'm very happy with the phone.My only problem has nothing to do with the phone, it's the lack of apps for the windows platform.

1.1.2014

This is a great phone i originally had the Nokia 520 but i really missed the flash and equalizer so sold it and bought this one.This is a phone that can do anything and windows 8 is a really nice os much better than android and that's coming from a once andriod fanboy, i certainly don't miss the laggy screens and long app boot times and this was just as bad on my xperia z, i find it amazing that the Nokia 620 can show up some of the premium hand sets, there is a lot that i love about the 620, the replaceable headphone socket, Dolby headphone with adjustable equalizer, cameras flash and torch, Nokia drive, good screen, brilliant loud speaker, good video and mp3 player, good app store,

12.7.2013

This is my first smartphone. I found WP8 very easy to understand and can confirm that this phone lives up to its reviews. Importantly, when there was a problem - the volume stuck at zero - Nokia (via my local vodafone store) fixed it under warranty in three days. So far I have found an app for everything I have wanted. Call quality is very good, though I am working on a more aggressive ringtone, as the default options are a little too self-effacing. Connectivity has been excellent - I generally use wi-fi hotspots, but 3G has worked well when needed. Camera is pretty good for snapshots and the various photo-apps are fun. 7GB of backups in Skydrive is enough for me,

28.4.2013

I bought this as a replacement for my HTC Cha Cha.There are loads of apps available and the large screen and easy to use interface make it a treat to use.The Lumia needs a micro sim so you will need one if you don't already use one. I am on the O2 network and they will send you a micro sim free of charge, just log into the O2 Shop.The process to change my number from the old mini sim to the micro sim took around twenty minutes and was all done online without a hitch. An alternative is to buy a sim cutter for a few pounds or if you're really brave take a pair of scissors to your old sim.If you want a great phone at the right price this is the one to buy but don't forget you will need that micro

4.2.2013

I have been waiting for this phone to release ever since I heard about it. It sure is a great phone and the above reviews are surely very very helpful for anyone who is looking to buy this phone.However, I wouldn't really pay £240 for this phone specially when it is much cheaper in other stores. I have been keeping a track of the phone here on amazon and the seller has increased the price from £220 to £240 in just 2 days. I have also been checking it at other stores, I think carphone warehouse is getting it end of this week, not sure of the prices yet. But this is available at 3 stores for £190, unlocked and sim free. I wouldn't £50 more for the same thing.

10.9.2013

I don't care about games, I want a use-able phone that does email & internet.In the last 2 years I have used this phone, an iPhone, an old Nokia, and a Samsung S. My wife has an iPod.This phone is easy to use - I like the Windowsphone operating system & find it much nicer than Apple. This is simple to set-up and to customise your home screen & Apps. It is very intuitive when you get used to it.Nice build quality. Good reception quality in various locations. Great for the price.If you don't care about having / need a little 'Apple' logo on you phone then get one of these.

30.7.2013

I bought this for my sister who's a complete technophobe. I had a good play around before I gave it to her and it's amazing. I have to say it's completely changed her life. She loves the camera and Nokia music and she finds it really easy to use, she's even started emailing me from her phone!As a Nexus 4 and iPad owner I can say that this is an easier OS to use. I would definitely choose it over Android which is far too messy for most people. In fact my next phone will be a Lumia 1020, this little baby has converted me.

13.5.2013

Coming from Android this is a breath of fresh air.Screen, sound quality and phone functionality: Good.Navigation: Here Drive is better than Google sat nav. It tells you the speed limit, you speed and warns you if you are over the limit.Music: Nokia music and Xbox music are very good. Just get a 32Gb card and fill it up with music.Camera: Pretty good for a non-Carl Zeiss lens.Apps: Plenty of apps, games on the market place.Good introduction to WP8.

21.7.2013

The device works smoothly, the design is great and really comfortable to hold in the hand, the screen us stunning and videos look great on it. Battery life can last for at least a day, albeit heavy usage (especially Nokia's HERE drive+, which I think is due to app optimization) drains the battery quite fast.The keyboard is great, but can be slightly difficult to use on a 3.8" screen.Highly recommended, and the price makes this buy a must.

Nokia Lumia 620 - Reviews

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