Analyzed: Nokia Lumia 800

We were a little skeptical when this phone came out. Nokia seemed to be lost as to the direction it should be heading in, but we know now that we were plain wrong. Everyone always talks about the Android Market or the App Store but it looks like there is a legitimate contender in the Windows Phone marketplace. We take a look at Nokia's new offering, the Lumia 800 and the Windows Mobile platform (code name Mango).

It is very easy to overlook the Lumia 800 with its understated elegance and compact looks. It is a good idea they came out with different colors like Cyan, Magenta and White so that you know that you actually have a gadget lying around! The 3.7" phone is also quite powerful and comes with a 1.4GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 16GB of storage (non-expandable), 8MP camera (with Carl Zeiss lens) and the almost standard Gorilla glass to prevent those unwieldy scratches. The Mango OS is really seamless and feels tailor made for the phone. Not once did we notice any lag while cycling through applications, viewing or streaming videos, playing games, listening to music, working on applications or browsing the web. We like the Metro UI chiclets that provide you with all the information you may wish to see on your home screen (although we will admit this will take some getting used to since all other phones have little icons for all the apps). The camera is decent and despite the dual LED flash, we felt the cameras in the iPhone4S and Samsung Galaxy S2 and Note were better. The images just seemed a lot crisper at the highest settings on other phones compared to the Nokia.

One of the coolest features is the access you get to the Microsoft Office Suite. Creating Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents are a breeze and you get a glimpse into the direction Microsoft is taking with the Office 365 suite. It makes sense and just works. Battery life is fantastic and we were actually able to manage over 2 days without having to recharge the battery (with regular usage but no game play). Mind you the battery is non-removable. The phone also feels comfortable in your palm and the sides are smoothed out which give that sensation of comfort. You also get to connect to your XBox Live account (which in turn brings in your avatar, scores, achievements etc.) and play a lot of the games that are available in the Windows Phone marketplace. There are over 70,000 apps available for download in the marketplace.

In conclusion, there is a legitimate contender to the Android and iOS powered smartphones out there. Considering the market share they cover, it will take some time for Nokia and specifically Windows Mobile to catch up, but they have come out with a very good product to do just that. At a price of Rs. 24,000 in India, it is a lot cheaper than the flagship Android and iOS phones which can drive the price up to almost Rs. 50,000! Now that's a great alternative in our minds.