Nokia Lumia 1520 Reviews, Specs, Video: Hands-On Review Roundup For New Phablet

The Nokia Lumia 1520, a long-rumored, big-screened smartphone, was finally announced at Nokia World in Abu Dhabi. Here's a roundup of hands-on reviews from around the Internet.

The phone will sport a giant screen-enough room for a third row of live tiles-a faster processor, and a Nokia Camera, a new camera app. It will all be housed in a polycarbonate shell in yellow, red, white, and black options. The unsubsidized price will of the Nokia Lumia 1520 be about $750.

The specs are emerging, and reviews have been varied. Here's a roundup of what the critics are saying:

Engadget reported,

"The 1520 comes with a 20MP BSI F/2.4 PureView camera with OIS and Carl Zeiss lens, which numberwise isn't technically quite up to par with the 41MP sensor photography enthusiasts enjoy on the 1020, but we believe it will be more than enough for most power users. The real story with the new Lumia isn't its resolution or detail this time around, however -- it's the software capabilities of the phone. Thankfully, Nokia has combined the Pro and Smart camera lenses, which makes it much easier to switch back and forth between your preferences. There's also something Nokia calls the Refocus Lens, which is a fruit of the company's Scalado acquisition; this lens is like a software-based version of Lytro, which uses "clever algorithms" to let you change the focus of your photo after it's taken. (This lens will debut on the 1520 and eventually make it to older Lumia devices, such as the 900 series.)

It's hard not to like the rest of the 1520's spec sheet: it's capable of Qi wireless charging, has a 3,400mAh battery, 32GB of internal storage, microSD expansion up to 64GB, 2GB of RAM, four mics that simulates surround sound, a 1.2MP front-facing cam and even a dual LED flash to go along with the rear camera. Given the similar plastic matt finish and build quality, the phone feels very much like the Lumia 920 but in a similar shape as the metallic Lumia 925. Like the 1320, this phone is also just as slim for a 6-inch phone, but it's just ever so slightly heavier which is likely due to the built-in wireless charging. As the new flagship device, its top notch 1080p display is well worth the extra money over the lesser 1320."

But how does it actually feel in your hand? TechRadar gave the phone a hands-on review, saying the processor speed made a big difference,"

"In our testing, the speed really was there, and it's hard to explain how important the upgrade to the 800 processor really is. We wouldn't advocate an upgrade to a quad-core CPU for the sake of it, but in this case it's a significant improvement over the Lumia 1020.

Everything opened that little bit quicker, the overall speed of browsing (which has always been reliable, rather than nippy, on Windows Phone) was improved and generally you could tell that things were working a bit more smoothly when using the phone.

PhoneArena.com said that the phablet ushers in a "watershed moment""

ll the good things we heard about it turned out real, and then some, but the handset also marks a watershed moment for Windows Phones, as it ushers them in the world of quad-cores and huge 1080p screens, which has been an Android domain so far.

And, they said, the 20 MP PureView camera and 4 HAAC microphones

are a big deal.

"The exclusive part of Nokia's first phablet is its unique 20 MP camera with 6-element Zeiss lens, f/2.4 aperture, lossless zoom and optical image stabilization.

The sensor, at 1/2.5", however, is much smaller than the 1/1.5" piece in the 1020, as you can see in the chart below, and even smaller than the 1/2.3" one in the Xperia Z1, for instance. Still, the specs alone make it the best camera on a phablet, and since the sensor is a scaled down version of the 41 MP monster in the Lumia 1020, it also offers pixel-binning 2x lossless zoom in stills mode, and 4x for HD video capture.", PhoneArena.com said.

What do you think of the Nokia Lumia 1520 specs? Sound off below!