Our friends over at AT&T have sent us the Nokia Lumia 1020 for us to review. Nokia is saying that the Lumia 1020 is Reinventing Zoom and we will be sure to let you know if this is true below. As you may know the reasoning behind this is that the 1020 from Nokia has a 41 megapixel sensor on the back. This is the largest sensor on any smartphone, another device that is near this is the Galaxy S 4 Zoom from Samsung. Expect the Lumia 1020 is no where nears as thick as the S 4 Zoom. Not only do you get a 41 megapixel sensor, but the Nokia exclusive application suite, a 4.5-inch display, Windows Phone 8, a 1.5 GHz processor, and much more is inside the Lumia 1020. All of this comes at a price tag of $299.99 with a 2-year contract, so is the Lumia 1020 your next device? We will answer this is in the full review, which starts now!

Camera

The star feature of the Lumia 1020 for AT&T is the 41 megapixel sensor on the back of the device. Let’s start off with the full specifications this camera. You are getting a 41 megapixel PureView sensor with Optical Image Stabilization, a Backside-illuminated image sensor, 6- lens optics, High resolution zoom 3x, Autofocus, Xenon Flash, and a LED Flash. The Lumia 1020 saves the image in a 38 megapixel format and a 5 megapixel format. The 5 megapixel format is perfect for sharing across social networks, while the 38 megapixel format is the full photo. The Xenon Flash and a LED flash are on board to make sure you can get take the perfect any time of the day.

On the editing side, Nokia really does mean that the device is “Zoom Reinvented”. You can take the full 38 megapixel photo and edit it, you can zoom in. So for instance if you are at a baseball game and are sitting in the outfield, you can take the photo of the batter at the plate. Then go in and zoom the photo in to make it seem like your were right next to player. You have access to many other editing skills as well, for instance cropping the image comes in very handy. If you want to you can zoom in while taking the photo as well. All of these tools are accessed via the Nokia Pro Cam application. You will find it on your home screen right out of the box. You can adjust the shutter speed, white balance, focus, ISO, exposure, along with much more. It is really is like having a DSLR camera built-in to your phone. The one issue being is that it not a quick capture smartphone, it takes time to capture these high quality images. If you love taking photos with your phone and are an avid photographer, you will love it. You will be able to set the scene and get the perfect shot, you will customize the settings to your needs. Those of you looking to just take your photos and wanting them done as quickly as possible, may like the HTC One or Galaxy S 4 better.

With all of that being said the quality of these images is incredible. Only one problem that I could find is in low light, make sure you figure out which flash works better in your conditions. I found that the Xenon flash worked better in very dark conditions, rather than the LED flash. They both helped to brighten the light on a cloudy day though. To say the least I am very impressed with the quality of the camera on the Lumia 1020.

Design

The AT&T Lumia 1020 from Nokia looks like the 920 and the many other devices from the company. It features a full Polycarbonate design and it feels nice in the hand. However, it does pack some weight and some thickness, coming in at 158 grams and 10.4 millimeters. To say that least you can certainly feel it in your hand and it should fit in your pocket. Keep in mind you do have the hump on the back for the 41 megapixel camera sensor. This camera sensor will always be black in color, regardless of the color of the phone you have chosen. Keep in mind that the 1020 does come in White, Yellow, and Black. The device is very nice in the hand, it has weight to it and you will know it is there.

On the back of the device you have the star of the show, the 1 megapixel PureView sensor with Optical Image Stabilization, a Backside-illuminated image sensor, 6- lens optics, High resolution zoom 3x, Autofocus, Xenon Flash, and a LED Flash find their home here. You have NFC or Near Field Communications built into the back of the device as well. Keep in mind that the back does not come off of the Lumia 1020. The top of the device is home to the headphone jack, a microphone, and the SIM card slot. To open the SIM card slot you will need to use the tool included in the box. Your volume rocker, power/sleep button, and camera shutter button live on the left hand side. The front of the device features a AT&T logo, a Nokia Logo, a back touch buttons, a home touch button, a search touch button, and a 1.2 megapixel camera.

Software

As expected from Nokia, the Lumia 1020 is a Windows Phone. Specifically it is running Windows Phone 8 and features the Nokia App Suite. A really nice software feature is similar to Active Display on the Moto X, except it lacks a lot of the functionality. When the 1020 is not being used it will simply show the time and your battery level, it will move around the display. The Lumia 1020 features the great live tiles home screen and the very simple user interface that Windows Phone is known for. Unfortunately, it is still lacking the ecosystem of applications. For instance Instagram has not yet made its way over and with the 41 megapixel sensor on the back, this is unfortunate. Nokia will be helping to bring Path and Hipstamatic over to Windows Phone as a Nokia exclusive in the coming weeks. Windows Phone 8 is an older OS and hopefully a refresh is coming this fall.

In terms of what comes pre-loaded on the 1020, you will find Alarms, AT&T Address Book, AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Locker, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, ESPN Hub, Games, Help+Tips, HERE City Lens, HERE Drive+ Beta, HERe Maps, HERE Transit, Internet Explorer, Messaging, Mobile TV, Music+Videos, myAT&T, Nokia Care, Nokia Music, Nokia Pro Cam, Nokia Smart Cam, Office, One Note, Panorama, People, Phone, Photo Beamer, Photos, Settings, Store, Wallet, weather, and YP Mobile. You will find a boat load of pre-loaded applications on the Lumia 1020!

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.

Hardware

Windows Phone 8 does not yet support 1080pHD displays and this is a let down, but hopefully it is coming in the OS release. Instead Nokia has put a  4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion HD+ Corning Gorilla Glass display with a 1280 X 768 resolution. While it does get the job done, there is noticeably difference between the 1020 and a 1080pHD smartphone. The PureMotion HD+ does look great in comparison to other Windows Phone devices. It does seem brighter and the colors pop more on it that in comparison to the Lumia 920.

The Lumia 1020 is running on AT&T fast 4G LTE network. This will give you speeds that should be around 10 times faster than on a 3G network. I had a great experience with the network and call quality was nice as well. If for some reason 4G LTE has not yet launched in your area, AT&T will be offering your 1020 the HSPA+ network. This network has a huge backhaul and will provide some nice speeds as well.

For speed with Windows Phone 8 you get a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM. While this may seem slow for most smartphones these days, this is a common chip for a Windows Phone device. Plus you do get 1 more GB of RAM than on previous Lumia devices. The software runs great on the device and only lags in the Pro Cam application, usually it is a little slower when opening the application or taking the actual shot. In other areas of the operating system it performs very well and it is on par with other handsets.

In terms of connectivity you get WiFi, Near Field Communications, 4G LTE, 4G HSPA+, 3G, 2000mAh battery with wireless charging capabilities, and BlueTooth. You do get 32GB of internal storage as well, no expandable store is found on the Lumia 1020.

Bottom Line

The Nokia Lumia 1020 on AT&T is a photographers smartphone, there is no doubt about the 41 megapixel sensor on the back. Your camera on this smartphone takes time when shooting the image and the end result is a gorgeous shot, if done correctly. For those looking to just take your phone and grab the shot, you might be disappointed. To get these amazing images you need to set some stuff up and even if you don’t do this, you may end up with an image that is still better than your current device. Nokia beat Samsung here, as unlike the Galaxy S 4 Zoom the Lumia 1020 will fit in your pocket. The Lumia 1020 has the best camera of any smartphone on the market. You also get a nice 4.5-inch display and a speedy 1.5GHz processor. Overall, this all comes together with Windows Phone 8 and the exclusive Nokia App Suite. The only other issue here is the heavy on contract price of $299.99. If you are looking for a smartphone with an amazing camera, I highly suggest you look at the Lumia 1020! We would like to thank AT&T for providing us with a copy of the “AT&T Nokia Lumia 1020″.