Verge Lumia 1520 review.
7.4
Good Stuff
Screen is beautiful
Solid build quality
Speedy performance
Bad Stuff
Windows Phone doesn’t take advantage of the big screen
No way to buy or rent video to watch offline yet
Slow camera
The Lumia 1520 is a prime example of when bigger isn't always better
When Nokia and Microsoft decided to go big with the Lumia 1520, they indeed did in some respects. The new display is tremendous and the faster processor makes the 1520 the speediest Windows Phone around. But the compromises you have to make for such a large screen aren’t rewarded with a significantly different or better experience than any other Windows Phone. The cumbersome size isn’t comfortable to use on the go or to keep in your pocket, and though the 1520 is nearly as big as a small tablet, it doesn’t offer any of the advantages that tablet software can bring to the table. Windows Phone needs more work to get the most out of such a big screen, and it desperately needs a proper media store to provide content for it.
If you’re looking for a 1080p display on a Windows Phone, right now the 1520 is the only one you can get. But you can be sure that more Windows Phones with full HD displays are coming in the near future, and you likely won’t have to accept a massive 6-inch screen for them. Same goes for the faster processor: Microsoft’s updates to Windows Phone mean that quad-core chips are supported by it natively, so there will certainly be more phones coming with similarly powerful chips.
Of course, if you are in the market for an oversized smartphone, there are a number of Android devices that provide better big screen experiences than the Lumia 1520. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 packs a great-looking 5.7-inch display, and includes software and a stylus to take advantage of it. That’s not to mention the much larger Google Play Store for apps, games, and video content.
Samsung and others have proven that there is a market for giant smartphones, warts and all. But that doesn’t mean that just any smartphone is better if it’s bigger, and the 1520 is a prime example of that. It’s bigger and faster than any other Windows Phone yet, but it’s not necessarily a better Windows Phone because of that. If all you’ve ever wanted in life is a Lumia 925 with a magnifying glass on top of it, the 1520 is exactly that. It’s a tour de force in resolution and speed, but it’s not a great smartphone or even a great replacement for a tablet.
Nokia could capture the minds and wallets of big smartphone shoppers with its excellent hardware design and impressive camera technology. But it needs to do more to give people a reason to choose its devices over the Note 3 and other big smartphones, and the 1520 doesn’t quite do that.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/18/5116360/nokia-lumia-1520-review
It's a huge fucking phone.
