Hands-on review: MWC 2013: Nokia Lumia 720

As well as the budget Nokia 520, Nokia also announced the Lumia 720 at MWC 2013.

The new handsets join Nokia's increasingly broad Lumia range, slotting in around the Lumia 620, 820 and 920 for Windows Phone 8.

The 4.3-inch 720 retains the familiar unibody casing and it's available in five different colours - we've opted to photograph the rather striking mustard yellow. Do you like it? We actually do.

If you've used a Lumia before, the new model will seem unremarkable, but it is a lot lighter than the high-end Lumias at just 128g.

The phone will make its debut in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore soon - the Nokia Lumia 720 UK release date is likely to be in the Spring. It seems the US release date will be further out.

Performance of the handset is snappy - there's a 1Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor inside - but the screen doesn't innvovate - it's 800 x 480 just like the 820's 4.3-inch display. It 217ppi though, and it has a high enough resolution to make some third-party live tiles look a little substandard.

However, all the standard OS and Nokia Here add-on apps look the part, and you won't be disappointed with how things look.

The camera is, again, a selling point for Nokia; Carl Zeiss optics are used as usual, although it's only a 6.7MP snapper. Pictures did look vibrant though, but some images were a bit blurry under the MWC show lights.

Video is 720p at 30fps, while the front camera has a resolution of 1280 x 960.

We've always liked how the Lumias look and feel in the hand, but some of the handsets have been a little too big for our liking. 4.3-inches is a good size

On the top of the handset there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and you can see the camera lens and flash here too.

On the side are the standard three Lumia buttons - volume, screen on/off and the camera control. This picture makes the handset look a lot thicker than it actually is - it's 9mm.

Towards the bottom of the back is a speaker as well as three tiny holes for a Wireless Charging cover, which fits on the back of the device..

The Lumia 720 doesn't have the high end features we've come to expect from the more expensive Lumias but it does have a decent spec sheet for something that's bound to be available on next-to-nothing contracts. Nokia wants to spread the Lumia's appeal - and that of Windows Phone 8 - and sees this and the low end 520 as crucial to its hopes.

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'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

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Nokia exec says Lumia 520 isn't the cheapest the range can go

The Lumia 720 is one of Nokia's just-announced cheaper Windows Phone 8 devices

The rumors were true - Nokia seized the global stage at Mobile World Congress this week to announce a new line of super affordable phones, including the Lumia 520.

But one Nokia executive on the convention floor revealed that even cheaper Lumia devices are a possibility.

Nokia's Hans Henrik Lund, vice president of smart devices marketing, spilled the beans to CNET.

The Lumia 520 was announced at the start of MWC at a cool €139 (US$183, UK£121, AU$178) price point, but Lund reportedly said that's "not the lowest price point we can get to."

With its onset of Windows Phone 8 smartphones like the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, Nokia has been focusing on the high end of the price spectrum.

But that changed on Monday when the Finnish phone company introduced the Lumia 520, Lumia 720, Nokia 105, and Nokia 301 to the world.

Astute readers will notice the lack of a "Lumia" in those last two names, and that's because they're not part of the Lumia line at all - they're not even smartphones, in fact.

Between the new Lumia devices and the ultra-cheap feature phones (the Nokia 105 is only €15 [US$20, UK£13, AU$19] and lasts a month on one charge), Nokia is trying to bring Windows Phone to the masses and put the fun back in feature phones.

It's unclear from the statements reported by CNET exactly what Lund was referring to when he said that the price could go lower, but given the context and the site's other details it does seem he was referring to cheaper Lumia devices.

Lund did explain that Nokia will likely stick with the multi-hued, polycarbonate motif for the time being.

As far as future devices, he didn't offer anything concrete, but said, "We see our future in having a family including devices at all price points." That's certainly been evident in its MWC announcements so far.

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Hands-on review: MWC 2013: Nokia Lumia 720

As well as the budget Nokia 520, Nokia also announced the Lumia 720 at MWC 2013.
The new handsets join Nokia's increasingly broad Lumia range, slotting in around the Lumia 620, 820 and 920 for Windows Phone 8.

The 4.3-inch 720 retains the familiar unibody casing and it's available in five different colours - we've opted to photograph the rather striking mustard yellow. Do you like it? We actually do.
If you've used a Lumia before, the new model will seem unremarkable, but it is a lot lighter than the high-end Lumias at just 128g.

The phone will make its debut in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore soon - the Nokia Lumia 720 UK release date is likely to be in the Spring. It seems the US release date will be further out.

Performance of the handset is snappy - there's a 1Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor inside - but the screen doesn't innvovate - it's 800 x 480 just like the 820's 4.3-inch display. It 217ppi though, and it has a high enough resolution to make some third-party live tiles look a little substandard.
However, all the standard OS and Nokia Here add-on apps look the part, and you won't be disappointed with how things look.



The camera is, again, a selling point for Nokia; Carl Zeiss optics are used as usual, although it's only a 6.7MP snapper. Pictures did look vibrant though, but some images were a bit blurry under the MWC show lights.
Video is 720p at 30fps, while the front camera has a resolution of 1280 x 960.

We've always liked how the Lumias look and feel in the hand, but some of the handsets have been a little too big for our liking. 4.3-inches is a good size

On the top of the handset there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and you can see the camera lens and flash here too.

On the side are the standard three Lumia buttons - volume, screen on/off and the camera control. This picture makes the handset look a lot thicker than it actually is - it's 9mm.

Towards the bottom of the back is a speaker as well as three tiny holes for a Wireless Charging cover, which fits on the back of the device..


The Lumia 720 doesn't have the high end features we've come to expect from the more expensive Lumias but it does have a decent spec sheet for something that's bound to be available on next-to-nothing contracts. Nokia wants to spread the Lumia's appeal - and that of Windows Phone 8 - and sees this and the low end 520 as crucial to its hopes.

See more mobile phones Add comment 'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

View the original article here