Why You Can Trust CNET Nokia Lumia 930 debuts with HD display, quad-core chops, and Windows Phone 8.1
Featuring a 5-inch screen and a 20-megapixel camera, the Lumia 930 is also one of the first handsets running the Windows 8.1 OS.
During a keynote presentation at the Build developer conference earlier today, former Nokia CEO and current Executive Vice President of Devices at Microsoft Stephen Elop unveiled the Nokia Lumia 930, a Windows Phone 8.1 flagship handset that packs a 20-megapixel camera and wireless charging. It will launch in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and India beginning in June for $599. (The company didn't announce pricing in other currencies, but it's likely to be in the region of €500 and £400).
Shop for Nokia Lumia 930 (black)
See all pricesThe phone will be available in several bright colors including orange and green with metallic trimmings. During her brief time with it, CNET's Jessica Dolcourt noticed that because the back panel is the only part of the device with color, the contrast can be surprising, but it adds a splash of personality to the device.
The phone also felt sturdy, with severe edges that are straight enough to stand the 930 upright. It flaunts a 5-inch full HD ClearBlack display with a 1080p resolution, and a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. Powering its insides is a 2,420mAh battery, which has a reported talk time of up to 15.5 hours.
The 4G LTE handset's 20-megapixel PureView camera can record full HD video and with Nokia's Creative Studio app, it has a number of photo-editing features. One new tool is Living Images, which enables users to combine photos and short videos for a more creative cinematic image. There are also four microphones built into the device to lend a more robust audio-recording experience.
Other trimmings include 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory, and 7GB of of Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage.
As for Windows Phone 8.1, the updated OS will feature Cortana, a digital assistant not unlike Apple's Siri or Google's Google Now. Currently in its beta phase, Cortana is represented by a pair of moving circles and lives in its own Windows live tile on the homescreen. Powered by Bing, Cortana can look up airline flights, sports scores, and even nutritional data.
There's also an Action Center, similar to the drop-down menus for Android and iOS, where you can quickly turn on and off settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as a Notifications menu. The update has bolstered security and privacy settings like email encryption; a refreshed Word Flow keyboard with slide-type capabilities; and Wi-Fi Sense, a service that suggests and connects to free surrounding networks.
With the update, users can now change their background image in the home screen. However, when we tried it out ourselves, we found that the Live Tiles obscured the wallpaper so much that it ended up covering much of the picture anyway.
Though the dev preview for Windows Phone 8.1 will roll out to developers in April, it will be available to consumers in the coming months. Existing Windows Phone users can receive an over-the-air update to version 8.1 this summer.
Save for its OS update, the Nokia Lumia 930 is nearly identical to the Lumia Icon in terms of specs. Sold exclusively on Verizon Wireless in only black and white, the Icon has the same screen, camera, and processor as the 930. However, we were told that unlike the Icon, the 930 can have an extra column of Live Tiles on the start screen. This is a new feature included in the OS update, and it will be an option on any Nokia phone from now that measures five inches or larger.
The Lumia 930 is just one of three new devices Nokia announced today. The more budget-friendly Lumia 630 and 635 are the other phones launching with Windows Phone 8.1, and both feature 4.5-inch touch screens.