Nokia Lumia 620 poised to spread Nokia's name
Fine features, crazy color combinations, and an affordable off-contract price should help get Nokia smartphones into more hands worldwide.
How low can Nokia pricing go? With the Nokia Lumia 620, the answer is: pretty darn low for an unsubsidized handset. Launched December 5 at LeWeb 2012, the screamingly colorful Lumia 620 costs $249, or about 190 euros.
This is Nokia's stab at an affordable Windows Phone 8 device for the global masses, and its fun, youthful design so typical of the Lumia line will help it stand out from competitors. The screen comes in smaller than 4 inches, and the phone's feature set won't be as rich as higher-end Lumias. But NFC, Nokia apps, and a decent camera make it an appealing, and fairly feature-rich, smartphone choice.
The 620 will ship first in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. With the high-end Lumia 920 and more mid-tier Lumia 820, 810, and 822 phones already launched here in the U.S., I don't anticipate seeing the 620 link up with a U.S. carrier.
Design and build
With its five saturated hues -- white, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta-- the Lumia 620 cries out for attention. But no, the parade of shades doesn't end there. To boost the handset's customization, Nokia has also created transparent covers that shift the color combination depending on how you layer them. So, a yellow Lumia 620 coupled with a blue case turns into a lime phone. Of course, those with more buttoned-up preferences can reach for the plain black-and-white finish.
Beyond experimenting with primary color theory, you'll find that the youngest Lumia has a fairly similar look and feel to its more feature-rich cousins. Not all of that resemblance is a good thing. The phone may only stand 4.5 inches tall and 2.4 inches wide, but it weighs a hefty 4.5 ounces and is just as thick as its older cousins, 0.4 inch.
Thick isn't always a bad thing. The phone may be heavy, but it could also prove sturdy during accidental drops. On the plus side, the Lumia 620's buttons look like they pop out from the surface for easy manipulation. Several finishes appear slick and glossy, but some may have a matte finish, like the blue color.
Display
Nokia has produced some really terrific screens for its Lumia phones, which the 620 happily inherits. At 3.8 inches, this is a much more petite display than what we've been seeing on the market. For reference, the Lumia 820-series phones have a 4.3-inch display and the 920's measures 4.5 inches.
Even the stubbornly smaller iPhone 5 shifted to a 4-inch display. I think the smaller size could turn some people off. You'll have no problem tapping the larger live tiles on the home screen, but typing could be trickier for those with larger fingertips.
At least the 620's screen looks great, according to CNET reporter Stephen Shankland when he got his hands on the phone in Paris. That's partially because of the WVGA resolution (800×480 pixels) and partially because of the ClearBlack filter that cuts down on glare.
OS and features
A Windows Phone 8 device, the Lumia 620 comes with Internet Explorer 10, 7GB free Skydrive storage, and access to the Xbox media store. Nokia's exclusive apps for music, navigation, and photography are also there for the taking.
While the 620 doesn't have wireless charging capabilities, it is compatible with NFC, including NFC-pairing devices like external speakers. It may be more entry-level, but in terms of OS uniformity, it won't be too far behind the higher-end Nokia phones.
Read the full Windows Phone 8 review for more OS details.
Camera and video
The Lumia 620's 5-megapixel camera won't break any records, but based on past performance, I have high hopes that the 620 will produce decent, usable photos and smooth, colorful 720p HD video. The front-facing VGA camera will give budget users a basic way to add a visual element to mobile voice chats, like Skype calls.
Of course, we won't know anything for sure about the 620's lens quality until we get a review unit in our hands long enough to analyze some test shots, so it's all speculation for now.
Hardware performance
Windows Phone 8 made dual-core processors possible, and it's good to see Nokia embracing a 1GHz dual-core chipset for this entry-level smartphone. CNET's Shankland already found panning on the screen a little laggy compared with snappier premium handsets. That's no surprise there, but the updated chipset should help keep basic tasks operating smoothly.
Internal memory tops out at 512MB RAM and 8GB internal storage, but you'll be able to heap on up to 64GB more through the microSD card slot.
Outlook
I think that Nokia made some smart moves with the Lumia 620. It's clearly a smaller, more entry-level handset, but the device-maker hasn't overskimped on features like NFC or the dual-camera setup. An emphasis on color customization and personality should help the Lumia 620 sell in the lower-cost and youth markets, and the $249 price is pretty affordable for the features. In comparison, premium devices like the Lumia 920 sell for around $500 and $600, more than twice the 620's price.