Nokia Lumia 1520

And now for those who want something smaller than the Nokia Lumia 2520, we have the Nokia Lumia 1520 smartphone, released at the same time as Nokia's first Windows tablet. The Lumia 1520 has a few firsts as well: it's the first Windows phone phablet, the first with a full HD display and the first to sport a quad core processor. Nice! Though the 6" Lumia 1520 might be too big for some, there's no denying the temptations of a Windows Phone that finally competes spec for spec with flagship Android phones. And the Lumia manages to beat most with its 20 megapixel main camera with dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss lens.

The Lumia 1520 is exclusive to AT&T in the US, and it's available in red, black, yellow and white. All have a matte finish except the red that's glossy. We love the red's look, but it is both large and slippery. The black looks very classy and the yellow... well it's a signature color that we loved on the Nokia Lumia 1020. The design language is distinctly Lumia, and that's a good thing because it's unique and pleasingly clean and modern. This is a 7.26 ounce phone, and though it's a little lighter than the notoriously heavy HTC One max, it's still almost as heavy as the Kindle Paperwhite 6" E-Ink eReader. That said, it's more compact than the Paperwhite, thanks in part to the different display aspect ratio, but also because phone makers like Nokia work hard to make even their phablets as compact as possible. 

Serious Internals

This is a 4G LTE smartphone with 16 gigs of storage and a microSD card slot for storage expansion. The phone runs on a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core CPU with 2 gigs of RAM and Adreno 330 graphics, making it the fastest Windows 8 phone to date. It should have the necessary specs to receive OS updates for some time to come, though that's up to Nokia and Microsoft (Microsoft now owns Nokia's phone business). The phone has Bluetooth 4.0 and dual band WiFi 802.11ac as well as NFC.

Display

The Nokia Lumia 1520 has a 6" IPS full HD display with glove-friendly touch and Nokia's ClearBlack technology. It's a really lovely display that's viewable outdoors and it has bold and pleasing colors. Windows Phone 8 handles higher resolutions well, though some UI elements seem needlessly large. Live Tiles are sized well and we appreciate the added real estate and number of viewable tiles. The big display makes this feel more like a tablet, and I suspect that's exactly what the target audience (phablet buyers) wants.

Nokia Lumia 1520 Video Review

Camera

Once you move past the superb display and size of the phone, the 20 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flash steal the show. Granted, it's not as impressive as the Nokia Lumia 1020 and it's 41MP shooter (nothing is), but it's better than most high end camera phones on the market. Like the Lumia 1020, by default it shoots a moderate resolution 5MP image and a full res 19MP image that you can use for print and lossless zooming via crop. Also like the Lumia 1020, shot times could be better, and we have to wonder why a phone with the fastest CPU on the market seems to ponder on each shot. Video is crisp and clear, and we found the camera a more than adequate replacement for a point and shoot when taking photos and shooting video.We particularly appreciate Nokia's OIS (optical image stabilization) in a phone this large and heavy-- there's no need to have perfectly steady hands to shoot smooth full HD video.

Conclusion

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is a very likeable tablet-phone with an excellent display, a stylish design, great call quality and good speed. It has the latest generation hardware inside, making it the first Windows Phone that isn't a step behind flagship Android phones. Windows Phone still lags behind Android and IOS for app selection, but the popular staples are here, including Netflix, Weather Channel and Instagram. If you're a software junky, the platform might not be your best choice, but I suspect there's more than enough here to keep the average user entertained. The basics like MS Office mobile, IE and a solid email client are built in, and the People Hub offers integration with Facebook. If you're after a Windows Phone with the feel of a tablet, the Lumia 1520 won't disappoint. Obviously, it's not meant to be the more mainstream sized Lumia 1020's replacement; this is for the phablet crowd.

Websites: wireless.att.com, www.nokiausa.com

Price: $199 with 2 year contract, $585 without contract from AT&T