Review: Nokia Lumia 820

Nokia's Lumia 820 isn't a flagship phone, and it's not here to impress veteran smartphone users. But with an on-contract price of just $50, the Windows Phone 8 device is a bargain. The entry-level handset won't disappoint first-time smartphone buyers, and it has enough features that it'll satisfy anybody curious about the Windows Phone experience.

The Lumia 820 is not as eye-catching as its brawnier sibling, the Lumia 920. The phone has a flat, 4.3-inch display, as opposed to the pretty curved glass of the 920. The plastic shell that serves as the back cover has curved edges, and while you can opt for some bold colors (yellow, red, and cyan), there isn't much else fetching about it. At least the Lumia 820 is noticeably less bulky, measuring in at 9.9 mm thick and 5.6 ounces compared to the Lumia 920's 10.7-millimeter thickness and 6.5-ounce weight. (We dinged the 920 for its excessive weight in our review.)

Other than the thinness, there are very few "oohs" and "ahhs" here. The phone's display is sub-par compared to the competition, including the Lumia 920. If you're used to Retina-quality screens, you'll find the phone's 800x480-pixel resolution AMOLED display pretty disappointing, with blurred edges and visible stair-stepping in text. However, considering the target audience here is people upgrading from a feature phone, the display will be a step up, delivering comparably sharp and crisp images and text with vibrant color. You also only get 8GB of on-board data, though the phone does have a microSD card slot located behind the removable battery (a feature missing from the Lumia 920) which can be utilized to expand the phone's total storage up to 64GB.

That said, the Lumia 820 does deliver the same slick and speedy Windows Phone 8 experience as any other Nokia Windows Phone 8 device thanks to the identical 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. You also get the same useful Nokia-exclusive apps built into the device, like Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, City Lens, and Nokia Music, along with the Nokia-exclusive camera lenses like Cinemagraph and Panorama.

The only real standout hardware feature is the removable back cover, which allows you to swap out the standard black back for more enticing options – including a cover that allows the phone to charge wirelessly using the Qi standard. But there are a couple caveats. First of all, the back cover is a challenge to remove – you have to dig a fingernail into the crack between the screen and the plastic cover on the button side of the phone. Then, you have to bend the plastic back quite a bit to pop it off entirely. You won't want to be changing your back cover very often. Also, for a phone this affordable, the accessory covers are ridiculously pricey. A cover with built-in wireless charging will set you back another $25, which is half the cost of the phone. The cheapest wireless charger from AT&T is a $49 plastic plate. In its current state, wireless charging is a novelty feature, and it doesn't make much sense to spend more money than you paid for the phone just to take advantage of the feature.

Snap-happy users won't get the same level of photo quality that Nokia packs into its Lumia 920, but the rear-facing 8 megapixel camera in the 820 takes good enough shots for basic day-to-day use. It's no PureView, but you still get the same photo settings found on other Windows Phones, as well as a focus-assist light to ensure it snaps sharp photos. In my testing, photos were above average, though not close to the best of the smartphone cameras. The 820's optics didn't perform well in low-light settings, resulting in blurry and fuzzy shots.

If you're more concerned with having a seamless Windows Phone experience than you are with possessing the latest and greatest hardware, then the Lumia 820 will satisfy your needs. At just $50 with a two-year contract, the phone is a bargain, and it's perfect for first-time smartphone users, or anyone who craves the flexibility of microSD expansion, and increasingly rare feature to find in the latest crop of smartphones.

Overall, it's a fairly modest device. Wireless charging aside, it doesn't have any fancy specs. But it delivers a slick and snappy Windows-based experience for relatively little money.

WIRED Fast and polished Windows Phone 8 interface. Lighter and thinner than other Nokia Windows phones, easy to use with one hand. Removable covers add value, once you know how to take them off. Great price for what you're getting.

TIRED Buying into wireless charging ends up costing more than the phone. Display is unimpressive. Actually getting the removable back cover off is a challenge. Brick-like design is uninspired.