[neo_wales]

Just saw mention of two new 'budget' W8 phones from Nokia, the 520 and 720

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pho...c=rss&attr=all

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...d-720-features

[Steven L Hunter]

The 520 looks a nice phone and nice price too.

[Everything Goes]

Was shown at MWC this week the 520 will retail at €139 which should be £120 but you have to factor in Rip Off Britain I suspect it will be closer to £150.

Whilst probably a decent handset there are plenty of sub £100 Android sets. Alcatel OTE 983 for £50 being a good example. So stiff competition for Nokia im afraid!

http://shop.o2.co.uk/mobile_phone/pa...Alcatel/OT-983

[CoolboyA]

The Lumia 520 looks really nice. Contemplating purchasing one for the other half.

The Lumia 620 is good as well and can be bought for about £150.

[Anika Hanson]

Nice. I might be interested in one of these. I'm looking at getting rid of my galaxy note but don't want to spend a fortune to replace it.

[toyotacity]

How about this windows phone which is £120....on o2 though if thats any good

http://www.mobot.net/o2-bags-huawei-...120-payg-53963

[noise747]

Hardware specs for the price looks ok, I dislike the bright colours that windows phones seems to have.

[CoolboyA]

Originally Posted by toyotacity

How about this windows phone which is £120....on o2 though if thats any good

http://www.mobot.net/o2-bags-huawei-...120-payg-53963

Not bad at all. Windows Phone will run really well on those specs.

My other half currently has an Omnia 7, from 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. However, I think a newer model would be quite nice. Cannot decide whether the Lumia 620 or Huawei W1 is better.

[TheBigM]

Originally Posted by CoolboyA

Not bad at all. Windows Phone will run really well on those specs.

My other half currently has an Omnia 7, from 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. However, I think a newer model would be quite nice. Cannot decide whether the Lumia 620 or Huawei W1 is better.

The Ascend W1 edges it on hardware specs but the Lumia is worth it for the nokia apps like nokia music plus they get many app exclusives.

[Anika Hanson]

I like the look of the 720. I'd have to see it in the flesh before deciding. I like the colours. I think I'd go for the pink or red if I do decide to get it. I have access to all the apps I need through my iOS devices. They only things I need it to do is be able to do wifi tethering. Does anyone with a windows phone know if they suffer from stability issues?Are they prone to freezing/crashing/rebooting/switching themselves off?

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I like the look of the 720. I'd have to see it in the flesh before deciding. I like the colours. I think I'd go for the pink or red if I do decide to get it. I have access to all the apps I need through my iOS devices. They only things I need it to do is be able to do wifi tethering. Does anyone with a windows phone know if they suffer from stability issues?Are they prone to freezing/crashing/rebooting/switching themselves off?

My HTC 8x has been pretty stable so far... a couple of apps have crashed out but the OS hasn't had any issues... no freezing, crashes or reboots

[A321]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I like the look of the 720. I'd have to see it in the flesh before deciding. I like the colours. I think I'd go for the pink or red if I do decide to get it. I have access to all the apps I need through my iOS devices. They only things I need it to do is be able to do wifi tethering. Does anyone with a windows phone know if they suffer from stability issues?Are they prone to freezing/crashing/rebooting/switching themselves off?

I bought a Lumia 610 about 4 weeks ago as a secondary phone and to see what Windows phone was all about as I've owned both Android and iOS. I'm very impressed to say the least, so much so that its become my main phone. It's a little slow on some things but it is surprisingly quick at others (obtaining wi-fi, browsing, etc.c..) but it is the entry level model so cuts have been made. It's very stable and I think it certainly holds its own against similar specced Android devices. I'll be looking at the flagship model when I come to renew my contract.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by A321

I bought a Lumia 610 about 4 weeks ago as a secondary phone and to see what Windows phone was all about as I've owned both Android and iOS. I'm very impressed to say the least, so much so that its become my main phone. It's a little slow on some things but it is surprisingly quick at others (obtaining wi-fi, browsing, etc.c..) but it is the entry level model so cuts have been made. It's very stable and I think it certainly holds its own against similar specced Android devices. I'll be looking at the flagship model when I come to renew my contract.

I doubt you'll see any slowness in the 920. The matching spec'd 8x is very speedy and responsive.

[Anika Hanson]

Thanks for the replies. It's looking like it might be a good phone for me.

[A321]

Originally Posted by irishguy

I doubt you'll see any slowness in the 920. The matching spec'd 8x is very speedy and responsive.

A friend has the 920 which is a nice bit of kit. I might look at the HTC this weekend and compare.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by A321

A friend has the 920 which is a nice bit of kit. I might look at the HTC this weekend and compare.

It's a thinner, lighter phone to the 920... but I think the music app alone would make me opt for the lumia if I had the choice. HTC's Beats Audio isn't really that great in comparison.

[IvanIV]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I like the look of the 720. I'd have to see it in the flesh before deciding. I like the colours. I think I'd go for the pink or red if I do decide to get it. I have access to all the apps I need through my iOS devices. They only things I need it to do is be able to do wifi tethering. Does anyone with a windows phone know if they suffer from stability issues?Are they prone to freezing/crashing/rebooting/switching themselves off?

I have been using WP phones from the very beginning, the only real issue I had was with an early Lumia 800 a year ago, the display went black after finishing the very first call and the phone went back to its maker No problems since, with another Lumia 800 and now 920, I don't really remember any problem. They are very stable.

[whoever,hey]

I dont like the primary colour backings. Aren't all nokias like this now?

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

I dont like the primary colour backings. Aren't all nokias like this now?

The 920's still available in black I believe... its only the new, cheaper models that have the bright colour shells.

[November_Rain]

How does WP8 compare to it's predecessor?

I had a brief flirtation with WP7 last year on the Lumia 800 and it felt so limited compared to Android (in my opinion of course). Is this new iteration much of an improvement? At the price of the Huawei and the new Lumia I'm half-tempted to give it another go, depending on what the OS has to offer.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by November_Rain

How does WP8 compare to it's predecessor?

I had a brief flirtation with WP7 last year on the Lumia 800 and it felt so limited compared to Android (in my opinion of course). Is this new iteration much of an improvement? At the price of the Huawei and the new Lumia I'm half-tempted to give it another go, depending on what the OS has to offer.

Windows 8 mobile is the OS that Windows 7 should have been... I think its a better laid out and more intuitive OS to android... but in what ways did you think 7 was limited... ?

[November_Rain]

Originally Posted by irishguy

Windows 8 mobile is the OS that Windows 7 should have been... I think its a better laid out and more intuitive OS to android... but in what ways did you think 7 was limited... ?

For me it was a lack of available apps that appealed to me and the lesser level of customisation. I can just about live with the latter, but I didn't realise how much of an app whore I was until I got the Lumia so the former is really important.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by November_Rain

For me it was a lack of available apps that appealed to me and the lesser level of customisation. I can just about live with the latter, but I didn't realise how much of an app whore I was until I got the Lumia so the former is really important.

Heh - well unfortunately the lack of apps is still WP8's biggest weakness.... they do claim that they have the vast majority of the most popular apps available now... but they still have nowhere near the range of Android or iOS.

I'm not a big app fan... the only one I sort of miss is iPlayer but I'm not that fussed as watching TV on a phone isn't really worth it. And some of the apps are an improvement on the other phones... MetroTube is a much better Youtube client than Google's native option. You can get all the main ones though.... Twitter, Spotify, Facebook, Maps, Evernote, Wikipedia etc... But if apps are your thing then you might be as well to stick with Android.

[November_Rain]

Originally Posted by irishguy

Heh - well unfortunately the lack of apps is still WP8's biggest weakness.... they do claim that they have the vast majority of the most popular apps available now... but they still have nowhere near the range of Android or iOS.

I'm not a big app fan... the only one I sort of miss is iPlayer but I'm not that fussed as watching TV on a phone isn't really worth it. And some of the apps are an improvement on the other phones... MetroTube is a much better Youtube client than Google's native option. You can get all the main ones though.... Twitter, Spotify, Facebook, Maps, Evernote, Wikipedia etc... But if apps are your thing then you might be as well to stick with Android.

In that case I'll give it a wide berth. I see Lloyds TSB still don't have an app for Windows phone, which was quite a big bugbear of mine when I had the Lumia. A shame really as I like the look of these new phones.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by November_Rain

In that case I'll give it a wide berth. I see Lloyds TSB still don't have an app for Windows phone, which was quite a big bugbear of mine when I had the Lumia. A shame really as I like the look of these new phones.

Yeah - it's a problem that Msoft and Nokia are all too aware off... a catch22 where the lack of apps is preventing people from buying it and developers are put off creating apps due to the lack of users. But there does seem to be a steady increase in numbers of apps being released... hopefully in a years time the number of new releases will have made some headway to catching up with iOS and Android.... I do believe the phones, along with the OS are some of the best currently available so it would be a shame if they died out due to lack of users.