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The transition from an old phone to a new one is of paramount importance for any smartphone user. My transition to a new phone, and an upgraded operating system, could not have been better. The Nokia Lumia 620, deemed a successor to the 610, shows that Nokia means business in the smartphone market.
Running the Windows Phone 8 OS, the 620 sports a 3.8-inch touch screen with ClearBlack LCD display. The screen is a treat to look at and can be easily viewed from different angles. We found it very easy to view it under sunlight as well. When locked, the 620 seems to have a big screen. It is only when you unlock the phone that you realise the screen ends to make way for three capacitive keys - the back, home and the search key.
At 127 gm, it is not the heaviest of smartphones and easily rests in your palm and slips into your pocket. All the three major physical buttons are located on the right side of the phone. I did take some time to get used to locating the lock key, as my Lumia 710 had it on the top. The volume rocker and dedicated camera button on the 620 were smooth and easy to use. The back cover is available in five vibrant colours which leave a dual colour effect. But, we had to sweat over taking the back panel off. It is tough to remove the cover, as you need to push your nails through the gap between the screen and the cover.
Battery and storage
The 620 comes with a removable 1,300 mAh battery which gives you 14 hours of talk time on 2G and 9 hours on 3G, the company claims. Since the Windows Phone OS does not seep much power, the battery worked well. It lasted for a day and a half after some casual gaming, music playback and lots of social networking. But as you keep increasing the number of apps and functions, the battery might eventually give in. Unlike its elder siblings, the 820 and the 920, the 620 cannot be charged wirelessly. A microUSB charging slot is available below the phone. (Vying for attention)
Apart from the 8GB onboard storage space, the 620 comes with a microSD card slot, with memory expandable up to 64GB. The phone works smoothly on the 512 mb RAM. You also have SkyDrive cloud storage.
Processor
The 620 runs on a dual-core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. The phone worked smoothly on the processor, without any glitches. Multi-tasking was really easy, and constant gaming did not seem to wear down the processor.
Camera
We were impressed with the results of the phone's 5MP primary camera. The camera yielded better results than my Lumia 710. Armed with an LED flash, the camera took crisp pictures in natural light. Photography in the dark was satisfactory, but the Night mode in camera settings should make it easier to click in low light conditions. The screen acts as a viewfinder when you start the camera app. The 4x zoom works on a pinch to zoom-in and zoom-out principle. The front VGA camera captures suitable video and still images. With the Smart Shoot and the Cinemagraph lens you can make your clicks memorable. The primary camera records HD video at a resolution of 1,280x720p, while the front camera has a recording resolution of 640x480p.
Audio
The 620 is loud in a good way. The primary speaker rests on the lower side of the back cover. An array of ringtones and sound alerts will definitely remind you where you left the phone when it rings. A 3.5mm headphone port is located on top of the phone. Interestingly, the port is integrated in to the back cover. So, what that means is, you can not plug in the headphones incase your back cover is missing. Aided with noise cancellation, we were able to make and receive calls without much distortion.
Bluetooth and more…
Gone are the days when you had to put on a grim look on your face and tell your mates that your Windows smartphone did not support Bluetooth file transfer, and ergo you could not transfer files. The 620 comes with Bluetooth 3.0, which lets you transfer files with any other smartphone user and connect to wireless headsets.
The most important feature that makes Windows phones different from its other rival platforms is its integration with Facebook and other social networking sites. The People's hub on the 620 lets you keep track of what your friends are doing. You can check out what is trending on Twitter and whether you've got mail. Linking various accounts to the phone is very easy and lets you manage your personal stuff with ease. If you get bored with the songs on your memory card, you can always turn to Nokia Music. You can download any song from Nokia's huge database, oh and did I mention it is free for one year?
Windows Phone 8 is loaded with many more features. The new look MS Office was also easy to understand. Browsing the internet was smoother with Internet Explorer 10. And then ofcourse, there is the Windows Marketplace and live tiles.
Currently available for Rs 14,515, it doesn't look like the 620 carries a hefty price tag. A mid-range phone, the 620 is apt for anyone who is looking to venture into the Windows Phone platform or looking for a change of operating system. And for all you Windows Phone fanatics, this one is an affordable and magnificent boon.
