I have been an Apple purist for over five years. My loyalty was so deep that I still touted around my ultra busted iPhone 4s. But in August, I switched from Apple to Windows Phone and haven’t looked back since. As a bloggers, one of the best perks is getting to review products. Microsoft gave me the new Nokia Lumia 1020 during the MTV Video Music Awards for a test drive with 30-day service. After my free service ended, I switched my iPhone micro SIM card into the Nokia Lumia 1020 and I’ve snapping pictures ever since.
If you’re looking for a technical review of the Nokia Lumia 1020, head to CNET. I am going to give you my unbridled opinion the best phone I’ve ever owned. As a full time blogger, the only use I have for my phone are photos and social media. When choosing a phone, I make sure it takes amazing photos and is compatible with the apps I use to upload them.
The Nokia Lumia 1020, in my opinion, takes the most amazing photos ever. With a 41 megapixel camera, PureView technology, this phone takes the most vivid photos and HD videos, which are perfect for product shots, events and outfit shots. My poor DSLR has gotten zero love since switching to this phone. I’ve been shooting all my YouTube video tutorials with this phone. During New York Fashion Week, this phone was all the rage, with bloggers and models stopping me to ask to play with the camera phone and see its capabilities.
The screen is about 4.5 inches with Gorilla Glass 3 – which is pretty durable, and bigger than the iPhone 5s. You can switch between several camera modes, plus there are a few more camera apps to help you take better pictures. There is the Camera timer app, which when combined with the Nokia Lumia1020 grip and a tripod, become an amazing camera for selfies and family photos.
The Nokia Panorama, Smart Cam and Cinemagraph are amazing camera options. You can also control ISO, White Balance, Shutter Speed and sensitivity of the camera just like on a DSLR. If you aren’t familiar with a lot of these features, I suggest you leave it on the auto, which is intuitive enough to take the perfect pictures. You can edit your photos in the Nokia Creative Studio.
The phone comes with the Microsoft SkyDrive, which you can set up to automatically save all your images so you don’t have to take up too much memory on your phone. The SkyDrive account is free and can be set up on both your phone and computer so you can take your work with you everywhere you go. P.S. You can access SkyDrive on the iOS computers with the app from the iTunes App store. It saves everything, from videos and photos to Excel spreadsheets and Word documents.
If you aren’t familiar with the Windows 8 platform, it takes a few minutes to get used to. Once you master the home screen, you’ll see how intuitive it is. You can organize your life on your home screen, putting your important apps, documents and more on there for quick reference. One of my favorite things about this phone is the built in Office Mobile and OneNote. I can edit my blog posts and documents while on the go. In fact, I did a lot of my blog posts and fashion week outfit posts on the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Here’s an example of a video I took with the Nokia Lumia 1020 during New York Fashion Week backstage at the Pamela Rolland show
The one criticism those who haven’t tried the Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone is that it lacks the amount of apps the Android Market and iTunes have. Yes that is true! But of the thousands or millions of junk apps out there, how many do most people use on their phones? For a blogger, there are a handful of apps that are mandatory on any app store.
Here are a few:
- Instagram (Instagram BETA or 6Tag)
- Foursqare
- A collage App (PhotoGrid or Phototastic)
- Netflix
- YouTube and the ability to upload (Nokia Video Upload is the best)
- WordPress
- Blogger
- Spotify
- Tumblr
- Evernote
- Bloglovin’
- Dropbox
- Google Analytics
- Voice Recorder
Click here to see a list of useful apps for the Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone. And now, without further adieu, here is the Nokia Lumia 1020 in action. All videos and photos posted are my own. Nokia Lumia 020 is available on AT&T for $199.
