nokia lumia 920

These days, almost every smartphone contains the same bag of tricks, with little to differentiate handsets, apart from the hardware and maybe some software extras.

Sure, one might have a better camera, more external or internal storage, and other specs that help us tell one phone from another. But on the whole, you can access e-mail, text messages, and social networks from them all, share photos and videos, surf the Internet, and install any number of apps.

This kind of uniformity is actually good news, since it means that even midrange smartphones can be just as capable as high-end products, even if they have a smaller screen or shorter battery life, for instance. Of course, there are some smartphones that stand out from the crowd for a certain physical or software feature. In no particular order, here's the current crop of unique handsets that have me looking twice.… Read more

We're back, and just in time for the holiday shopping season! Welcome to the pre-Black Friday episode of Always On: the unboxing extravaganza.

This episode alone features Google's two new pure-Android Nexus devices -- the LG Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10 tablet. I so wanted to love the Nexus 4, since I'm definitely in the market for a pure-Android device, but I'm skeptical (as is our CNET reviewer, Lynn La) about the lack of 4G LTE in the unlocked model. Then again, I don't have to sit around worrying about it since the phone … Read more

We originally published this article September 14, 2012 and updated it November 19, 2012.

With the launch of the Apple iPhone 5, a legion of excellent Android handsets, and the rise of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system, choosing the right smartphone has never been more difficult.

On the bright side, all these options mean greater choice, which is a good thing -- if you're armed with the knowledge necessary to make smart shopping decisions. Sit tight as we break down what you need to know to choose the right mobile platform and model to fit your needs.… Read more

Nokia has trumpeted the ability of its Nokia Lumia 920's 8.7-megapixel camera with image stabilization, low-light enhancements, and PureView algorithms. Photo quality was strong and fairly consistent, though photos had a blue cast to them and the Lumia 920 had problems with contrast and absolute sharpness compared with the others.

In the meantime, HTC's 8-megapixel Windows Phone 8X took some pretty nice photos as well, though there was more swing between the highs and lows. For its part, the 8-megapixel iPhone 5 won some and lost some, but retained the most consistent.

Don't just take my … Read more

Best Buy's preorder offer on the Lumia 920 didn't last long.

On Sunday, the retail chain first listed the 920 on its Web site for customers who wanted to preorder the Windows Phone 8 handset. But now a search for the Lumia 920 on the Best Buy Web site fails to turn up any results.

A direct link to the 920's Best Buy page provided by WPCentral lists the phone as "Sold out online." The page shows a price of just $149.99 for the 32GB version with the standard two-year contract.

But why the … Read more

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop knows that the U.S. is a clutch market for Nokia's revival, and competition is only getting hotter.

With the Nokia Lumia 920 coming to AT&T -- and apparently only AT&T -- Nokia will have to work even harder to battle Android and the iPhone on multiple carriers apiece, while also fending off HTC, whose lookalike HTC Windows Phone 8X will also flood the market on three providers.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in San Francisco to dive into Nokia's strategy for breaking through.… Read more

High global prices for the Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia 920 are causing a stir for outlets reporting U.S. dollar equivalents ranging from $643 to $860 in Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden -- but U.S. buyers considering the phone have little cause to worry.

Although international price tags are said to be 10 percent to 25 percent higher than that of high-end rival Samsung Galaxy S3, according to pricing information gathered from German, Italian, and Swedish Web retailers, Nokia's U.S. pricing is guaranteed to cost less than 50 percent of those fees.

Deals with carriers, which … Read more

There's no mistaking it: the Windows Phone 8 battle is heating up between the HTC Windows Phone 8X for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and the Nokia Lumia 920.

The resemblance between the two phones is readily apparent in photos, and more than skin deep. Like the Lumia 920, the HTC Windows Phone 8X drops the phone … Read more

News flash: The iPhone 5 is not the end-all and be-all of the smartphone universe, a fact that should thrill Nokia and Samsung alike.

Here's what it is: a strong improvement to the iPhone 4S that offers up a larger screen, 4G LTE speeds, and a terrific camera. The iPhone 5 carries on the goodness that Apple excels at, like iTunes entertainment and cloud storage.

But however good the iPhone 5 is, it lacks the knockout, gasp-inducing feature that Apple followers have come to expect: perhaps double the battery life of any other phone on the market, or an … Read more