Nokia Lumia 930 Review: Is The Best WP 8.1 Phone Enough To Take On Android Competition?

There are a lot of consumers today who are looking for Nokia Lumia 930 review articles mainly because they are wondering whether this smartphone will finally make them want to leave Android. 

In case you have been using Android for the past couple of years, and you are the tech savvy type, you may have already rooted your device, installed custom ROMs, undervolted and even overclocked its CPU. Like any relationships, doing something new will certainly make everything fresh and not boring. 

On the other hand, for people who can live with the simple launcher changes here and there, time will come that they will run out of options, especially after owning an Android phone for more than two years. 

And then comes the Nokia Lumia 930, the alleged savior of the Microsoft Windows Phone platform. 

But does it live up to expectations? Can it stand a chance against the tough competition by Android flagships?

Design

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the best Nokia and Windows Phone to date, and it does so in several aspecs. The design is reminiscent of previous Lumias and there's nothing wrong about that. As they say, if ain't broken, why fix it? 

However, we certainly would have wanted Nokia and Microsoft to experiment and explore new horizons as far as design and aesthetics are concerned. Take for example Samsung, who unshamefully released a flagship device that looks like it came from a bandaid factory. Still, the phone has been selling well and is currently at the fourth spot in the US, behind the iPhone 5s, 5c, and the Galaxy S4. 

Processor

Only two Lumias currently run on Snapdragon 800, the Lumia 1520 which was launched in December last year, and the Lumia 930. Yes, it is a already the time of the 801s, and the 805 will soon take its place before the year ends, but as a device that does not require too much processing power to run, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 and 2GB RAM is already a deadly combination and more than what you can ask for in a WP-powered phone. The iPhone 5s, in all its glory, only has a dual-core A7 chip. 

Camera

This is where Nokia puts its best, and even in its feature phones back in the day, it was the Fins who have revolutionized the way megapixels, fixed and auto focus specs were used. Now, they have the PureView technology which has been integrated into the Lumia 930. And with a snapper that has a 20.7MP resolution, you can never ask for more for a camera in a smartphone. 

Windows Phone 8.1

Aside from the phone itself, one of the Lumia 930's selling points is Windows Phone 8.1, arguably the best WP version to date. While there can certainly be more improvements, it is slowly emerging as a mature platform that offers several features also found in other operating systems. The customization options for the homescreen, as well as for the lockscreen are a step closer to Android. 

Verdict

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the perfect way to transfer from Android or iOS to Windows Phone, and with it comes all the features that come with Lumia Cyan or the 8.1 update. However, the fairly steep pricing may not help Nokia at all in gaining the mass market.