Our friends over at Verizon Wireless have sent us the Nokia Lumia 928 for us to review. This is Verizon’s first flagship device from Nokia, as you may remember their first device was the Lumia 822(Click Here To See Our Full Review). In terms of other Windows Phone 8 devices that the carrier offers, you get the Windows Phone 8X By HTC(Click Here To See Our Full Review) and the Samsung ATIV Odyssey(Click Here To See Our Full Review). Nokia usually reserve their flagship devices for AT&T, like the Lumia 920. Verizon has now been granted with a flagship from Nokia and this is their high-end Lumia device. Both Nokia and Verizon are saying that the Lumia 928 takes amazing low light photos. On board with the 928 you get Verizon 4G LTE and a 4.5-inch display. Now, let’s being our full review on the Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon.
Unboxing
NJTechReviews unboxed the Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia 928 and you can see our unboxing and our first impressions on the device, below!
Hardware
Let’s begin with the display on the Lumia 928. You will get a 4.5-inch WXGA AMOLED display and it is beautiful. In comparison to the other displays of Verizon’s other Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 928 is the clear winner here. Colors are very vibrant and images stay true to the original colors. The viewing angles are pretty good and will get the job done. Blacks look very dark and the whites look very bright. You do have some protection as well, thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass 2. This display does feature Nokia’s PureMotion and ClearBlack technologies as well.
Powering the software of the Lumia 928 you get a 1.5GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM. This is a very common processor in the mobile industry, but it is usually paired with 2GB of RAM. Surprisingly losing 1GB of RAM did not affect the Lumia 928 that much. Windows Phone 8 has a lot of optimization built-in to it and the Lumia 928 performed very nicely. If you were playing a very graphics intense game and had a many other applications open in the background, then it would slow down. In terms of average use the 1.5GHz Dual-Core Processor performed very well.
The Lumia 928 from Nokia for Verizon Wireless features a non user accessible 2000mAh or 3.8 Volt battery. For an average smartphone user who does not use too much media and who doesn’t game, the Lumia 928 should keep power for the entire day. For a medium or heavy user you can expect around 6 hours of battery life out of this guy. I was a little disappointed with this and the answer to this problem would be to bring your charger with you.
Network-Verizon Wireless
The Nokia Lumia 928 runs on the Verizon Wireless network, which does include their 4G LTE network. As I mentioned in the unboxing and camera test, we would be putting Verizon’s 4G LTE network to the test. We are used to seeing some very fast 4G LTE speeds from Verizon’s network. During my first speed tests I was very surprised, I was not getting the data speeds that we are used to seeing on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. I was managing around 5Mbps on the download and 2Mbps on the upload. 4G LTE usually gives you a speed that is 10 times faster than 3G, but we are looking at speeds closer to 3G and even 2G speeds. I decided to run some more speed tests over Verizon’s 4G LTE and I was still not cracking 5Mbps on the download and 2Mbps on the upload. During the time I was testing the Lumia 928 I had a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Camera that was averaging around 22Mbps on the download and 12Mbps on the upload. These are the Verizon 4G LTE speeds that we are used to getting. I decided to restore the device to factory settings, but it was to no prevail. I was still averaging the very slow data speeds, so I restored it to factory settings 2(two) more times. The second time I experienced the slow data seeds yet again. Then on my third factory reset, I was quite happy to see that fast data speeds from Verizon were back. Then our average data speeds were 28Mbps on the download and 11Mbps on the upload.
Camera
The Nokia Lumia 928 features 2(two) cameras, on the front you get an 1.3 megapixel camera. This is an HD wide-angle lens which allows you fit many people in your selfies. It has a f-number/aperture of f/2.4 and a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels. This can be used to video call with Lumia 928 as well. On the back you have the main feature of the device and that is the 8.7 megapixel Carl Zeiss Pure View camera. This is the same camera on the Lumia 920, but Nokia added a Xenon Flash to the mix. The Lumia 920 for AT&T has excellent low light performance and the Nokia, Verizon, and Windows Phone are saying that the 928 has the best low light performance of any smartphone. The 928 has a very good low light performance when the Xenon Flash is not in use. It seems that when you use the Xenon Flash while taking a photo the White Balance gets all messed up. It may be because it is too bright or because of the flash that happens before you take photograph it self. It may even be that the shutter time of the lens is too fast. It does not make your low light shots look better, if anything it stops you from getting good low light photographs. However, when the Xenon Flash is not used low light photos do look great and as good as they do on the Lumia 920. The back 8.7 megapixel camera also records video in up to 1080pHD. Of course you can record in 720pHD if you would like as well. The video quality was very nice, it has stabilization built-in which does come in handy. You can check out our camera test below, it includes a sample of video recording and a gallery of photos at the end.
Software
The Verizon Lumia 928 is their version or variant of the Nokia Lumia 920. The software experience on the Lumia 928, is very similar to that of the 920. This is to be expected, they are both running Windows Phone 8 with the classic Nokia Apps. The applications that come pre-loaded on Nokia smartphones, make that device even better. From maps to the camera features, they truly do have you covered. Windows Phone 8 is a very simple to use operating system that has some unique features, but it is still growing.
Windows Phone 8 is its own ecosystem and it has it’s on Application store. That being called the Windows Phone Store and on the scale of things it is still small, but is growing quite quickly. It has somewhere around 125,00 applications at the moment, but it may not have all of the applications that you may have had on your Android device. For instance you don’t get Instagram, Pinterest, MOG, or Flipboard. And this is just naming a few, but there are other applications that you may and should be able to substitute these for.
You will get Data Sense pre-loaded on the Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless. Data Sense is a great application that is currently exclusive to Windows Phone 8 devices on Verizon Wireless. It will let you track the data that you use every month and you can set limits. You can see usage for both cellular and WiFi, this application will definitely come in handy. On an even more in-depth level you can see which apps are using data and how much data they are using. It will even map out nearby WiFi locations for you and the limits will help you to not go over your monthly data plan.
Nokia makes many applications for Windows Phone 8 and while many people desire them, they are only found on Nokia devices like the Lumia 928. With Nokia HERE Maps, you have an excellent substitute for Google Maps. You get navigation and you can browse for many different locations. Cinemagraphs will let you make your GIFS, very similar to the functionality of Vine or Instagram for Video. With Creative Studio you get a free photo editing software this will let you create focus and blur, cropping, brightness, effects, contrast, and much more.
Many of the pre-loaded applications on the Nokia Lumia 928 can be uninstalled as you wish. Pre-loaded from Verizon Wireless on the Lumia 928 you will get My Verizon Mobile, NFL Mobile, VZ Navigator, and the Red Verizon theme. Other applications pre-loaded on the Nokia Lumia 928 are Alarms, App Highlights, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Cinemagraph, CNN, Creative Studio, Data Sense, ESPN, Games, Help + Tips, HERE City Lens, HERE Maps, Internet Explorer, Messaging, Music + Videos, Nokia Drive+ Beta, Nokia Music, Office, OneNote, Panorama, People, Phone, Photos, Smart Shoot, Weather, Wallet, and more.
Design
One of the biggest things about the Nokia Lumia 928 that I am most upset about with would be the fact that it only comes in Black or White. The Lumia 920 on AT&T came in many different colors, as did many of Nokia’s other devices. I was very surprise that they did not go the same route with the Lumia 928 for Verizon. We are stuck with Black or White for our color choices, I have been testing out the White variant of the device. Most Lumia device have some thickness and weight to them, the 928 is no different. It has a thickness of 10.1 millimeters and weighs in at 162 grams. While it will not break your hand over how much it weighs, it is a large device. Especially when it is next to a HTC One or a Galaxy S 4. Granted it is slimmer than some of the Nokia devices of the past. It has a polycarbonate plastic build to it and the back is quite smooth. The back cover does not come off there for you can not see what lays under the device. But rest assured there is a 2000mAh battery somewhere under the back case. The device is slightly curved or rounded as well, this provides some grip and makes it nice to hold in your hand. The physical buttons on the side of the device are quite tactile as well. Nokia and Verizon did a nice job with the build and design of the 928. If you are looking to get a nicer color, you could hop ship to AT&T or just buy a case for the device. Clearly the later of two ideas is more economically friendly.
Now, let’s do a tour of the Lumia 928 by Nokia for Verizon Wireless. Above the display you get an earpiece, some sensors, a Nokia logo, a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, and a Verizon logo. Below the display you have 3 touch buttons, but they are not as receptive as I would have liked them to be. Those buttons being the back, home, and search buttons. The left hand side of the device is not home to anything at all. The right hand side of the device is quite busy with a volume rocker, power/sleep button, and a camera shutter button. The back of the device is home to a speaker, a 4G LTE logo, and a 8.7 megapixel back camera with a Xenon Flash. The bottom of the device is home the model number, FCC id, and regulatory information. The top of the device has the headphone jack, SIM card slot behind a pull out holder, a microphone, and the micro USB port. I think Nokia and Verizon were trying to confuse us by putting the micro USB port on the top of the device. Usually it is on the bottom of the device and every once in a while it gets moved to the side. But, it is never on the top of the device except for the case of the Lumia 928. I hope that you will be able to get used it, but it is not something that you can get used to easily. After all you may have to re setup you entire charging area, but next time I hope they include the micro USB port on the bottom of the device.
Bottom Line
The Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia 928 is a very nice device. It is a very interesting device with some unique features, but it is Verizon’s flagship Nokia. The device that might have been waiting for, there variant of the 920 has arrived in the from of the 928. Verizon’s 4G LTE network took some time to prove it self and after 3(three) factory resets, we got the normal speeds. Nokia made a very interesting design choice by putting the micro USB port on the top of the device and I am not a fan of this. It has a strong build and a very nice 8.7 megapixel camera when the Xenon Flash is not being used. Windows Phone 8 performs very well on the device thanks to the 1.5GHz processor. The 4.5-inch display is absolutely gorgeous and you plenty of storage thanks to 32GB inside. The Nokia Lumia 928 is a great device on Verizon Wireless and comes in at $99.99 with a 2-year contract. For More Information On The Lumia 928 By Nokia For Verizon, Please Click Here. We would like to thank Verizon Wireless for providing us with a copy of the “Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia 928″.
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