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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Very well made, inexpensive Windows 8 phone, good for FaceBook
By MWebb
Picked mine up in Thailand last month for 8,200 Thai baht from the Nokia Store there to learn about the Win Phone 8 operating system first hand (8200 baht turned up on my credit card as $268). I was surprised by how much I liked the operating system, it really is very appealing and slick as reported by tech writers, and on the Lumia 620 was quick and responsive - the 620 doesn't make the "single core, underpowered" mistake of the first Win Phone 7 products from other companies. It is dual core, modern with good graphics, and quite snappy throughout. The screen quality itself is superb, subject to the caveat that while it is much sharper than an iPhone 3GS with perhaps better black levels and colors, it doesn't have the high pixel density of a Retina Display like on iPhone 4 and up models. Pixel density is much better than an iPhone 3GS and below for reading FaceBook posts and emails, but not as sharp as I would want these days for book reading or "serious" video watching. The higher range of Win Phone 8 models do have HD resolution levels (the Lumia 620 is akin to DVD level resolution) but of course cost much more.But I didn't buy this for "serious" uses. I bought it to access FaceBook - both for consumption (reading messages and news feed) and content creation (status updates with pictures). The fact that Internet Explorer gives me full access to the web is a bonus - don't forget, when you bemoan the lack of an app for every almost trivial purpose, that the web through a browser is the "original" mother of all apps.So what I cared about the most was a compact body (flying in the face of my 4.3" Nexus 4, not to mention Samsung S3's and Galaxy Notes) with a fine screen, great "playful-functional" design, and superlow pricing. I was sold when I found out I could insert a sub-$60, 64gb microSD card, which would allow me to use it as a music player in lieu of an iPod Touch (the Lumia 620 has great audio quality - and if you like to play with "surround sound," Dolby Headphone - which can be turned on or off - is included). While these days I don't make many actual voice calls, I was pleasantly surprised that the unit includes the dual, noise canceling microphones from the higher model line.Set up was easy. Microsoft recently nagged me into converting an old Hotmail account to their new Outlook address, and I just used that account to sign in. Since that is pretty much an unused account, I also logged in with GMail and it imported all my Google telephone and email contacts after I gave it permission to do so. Once it had my credentials, it also logged me into my YouTube account. FaceBook isn't linked by credentials to GMail, so that and Skype (surprisingly enough, since Skype is owned by MS) were was the only accounts I had to sign into manually.During the remaining two weeks I had in Thailand, I used the phone to keep up on FaceBook. Text prediction was on par with Apple and better than Android 4.2; but there was no "swipe" option. Telephone audio was good on both cellular and Skype, but Skype was very dependent, as expected, on the wifi connection. The camera is very satisfactory, by current standards, in bright light, but could be better in low light without a flash. The front camera is sufficient for video calls, but the 720, which will be out soon, has much better optics front and rear. As a music player, quality is superb, but not audiophile as on the iPod Touch 5th gen. Nokia Music (a free streaming service) is excellent. In fact the Nokia apps themselves are quite good, and Nokia maps has an excellent reputation.The nice thing about the 620 is that it doesn't scream "steal me" like an iPhone or large screen Android phone seems to do these days; it has an incredibly loud ringer; the body is small and easy to stow, but the screen is larger than on an iPhone 4s and below.My favorite "new" app on Win Phone 8 is Skype - Microsoft owns Skype and is busily integrating old Hotmail and Microsoft instant messaging features into Skype, and making Skype more user friendly. Certainly despite some residual funkiness, Skype is the best alternative to FaceTime which is limited to Apple devices (Skype is platform agnostic - there are versions for Win Phone 8, for Android, for iPhone, for Windows desktops/laptops, for Mac desktops/laptops). While Line, WhatsApp, Viber, and other message/video applications are trying to stake out smartphone space, Skype is enjoying a renaissance (it never really went away) and is MUCH easier for me and my friends to use than Google+ Hangouts (which are more powerful, but a lot harder to use).The most serious "bugs" I have encountered are losing my place in the FaceBook news stream if I activate a pop up window to "like" or "comment" or read comments; and the ringer volume and music volume controls are one and the same, meaning I have to turn the speaker volume way up for a loud ringer, but drop it all the way down to listen to music through headphones. If you forget, you won't hear your ringer and/or your ears will get blasted.This is a great first, second, kid's, and travel phone. It isn't designed to be, and isn't, a "premium" phone but there are so many little "premium" touches that you will feel that you got more than your money's worth, and never feel you are in a "penalty box." The one I am reviewing is like mine - an international GSM edition which is factory unlocked. Although mine will take a T-Mobile sim (and run well on the T-Mobile network at HSPA+ speeds, which are quasi LTE speeds, although LTE bands are NOT included) - I am just using mine here on wifi for Skype calls, and as a music player. When I travel again, I will buy a "travelers package SIM/activation/plan" at the airport which will give me 3gb of data for one month at 3g and HSPA+ speeds - depending on provider. It's a lot more appealing to use this almost-disposable phone in lieu of my more premium phone while traveling.Note: Lumia 620's in "white" come with a replaceable BLACK back cover, so what you are getting, from one point of view, is a traditional black phone with an interchangeable white cover option. Tech writers have noted that the removable and replaceable hard glass/carbonate covers include the speaker and USB jacks, two points of common failure, so the failure of a port won't disable this phone as designed - just swap in your extra cover, or buy a new one for about $30. On the other hand, good luck finding any suitable after market gummy or thin polycarbonate cover for this one - given the design, you will probably want to go "coverless" on this one. You'll see what I mean when you check one out in person.Finally, you should go to the international Nokia website and study the specs for the just-released Lumia 720. Same screen resolution, but bigger screen (so you won't see more text, but the text you see will be larger); same processor and speed; much better front and rear cameras (Carl Zeiss lens on the back, designed for low light without flash; wide angle front lens in HD resolution, for better video conferencing, better "selfies," and the wide angle allows including a friend in the conference). NOT a playful cover design - designed to be very slab like, but ultra thin. Only $50-$75 more.The even less expensive 520 that will be appearing at T-Mobile shortly lacks two important features of the 620 - mainly a camera flash and a front camera (so you can't do video chats). It also lacks NFC but personally I don't use that, and NFC is probably not a big deal for the emerging markets targeted by the 520 (touchless payments at cafes, for example). So I recommend starting with the 620 and giving some consideration to the 720.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Good Smartphone
By elizolotte
Lumia 620 is a great smartphone and you dont need to spend so much money! because is really good! Windows phone 8 is smoth and fluid, There are good app's in the market! and dont worry microsoft and nokia will get even more! camera is good! better than the S3 mini, the only bad thing is you cant save the app or games in the SD card... but I RECOMMENDED! GREAT SMARTPHONE!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful budget smartphone
By Paul
This is a perfectly capable phone, with the clean and nice WP8 interface and lots of features for a low price. Unlike the other reviewer, my unit came only with the white cover, but I wasn't really expecting anything different. If you like Windows Phone but are limited in your budget, this is a wonderful choice. If you want to try something different this phone will perform WAY better than any cheap android phone, with the advantage of the exclusive Nokia apps, and the brand well known quality build.Surprising little details: even though the screen is LCD, it displays good black levels and it's surprisingly good to read under sunlight. Also, even though most reviews said the camera was terrible, I found it decent enough for average use. Obviously it's not lumia 920 quality, but good enough for most cases, even some night pictures. The cover is very soft and nice to touch. It can be cleaned easily.Now some things to consider: the battery is one of the smallest I've seen in most recent smartphones of this range. However, it will probably last you through a normal day. The phone comes with 8 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded via micro SD. HOWEVER, currently (April 8 2013) apps can only be installed on the internal memory. That may change in the future with an update, but nobody really knows. It won't probably be an issue for most, but if you need to install big apps, or apps that may need a lot of space to store data (like deezer for offline music), you might want to consider your priorities.In summary: wonderful phone for a great price.
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