The Nokia Lumia 1520 is a phone that takes all the best bits of the Finnish brand and stuffs them into a dramatically oversized package.

The handset, which brings the first round of supercharged Windows Phone handsets to the market, is really rather large. Think HTC One Max rather than Galaxy Note 3 and you'll get the picture.

The Lumia 1520 is the first Windows Phone with 1080p resolution, and it's rocking the biggest screen yet – a 6-inch offering in a large, polycarbonate body.

It's also the first Nokia to come with a nanoSIM tray, meaning a number of sad upgraders who realise that once again they'll have to order a new SIM card.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, given this is the biggest phone Nokia has ever created, but does mean that future models will be given a little more design room to play with.

It's also using a Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU, supplemented with 2GB of RAM, to really make things speed along under the finger.

In our testing, the speed really was there, and it's hard to explain how important the upgrade to the 800 processor really is. We wouldn't advocate an upgrade to a quad-core CPU for the sake of it, but in this case it's a significant improvement over the Lumia 1020.

Everything opened that little bit quicker, the overall speed of browsing (which has always been reliable, rather than nippy, on Windows Phone) was improved and generally you could tell that things were working a bit more smoothly when using the phone.

For instance, using the Pureview 20MP camera was a lot faster in general use, and web pages opened with much more urgency than they had before.

Even TechRadar managed to flick up on the six inch display with more aplomb, and while the zooming ability of the phone was still hampered by the need to use Internet Explorer we still found it to be a real step forward when it came to using the phone for the fun tasks we'd want a larger display to allow.

What else impressed us? Well, the addition of the microSD slot means you can supplement the 32GB of onboard storage with 64GB of expandable goodness… Google and friends might be trying to rip these from our handsets, but we're really happy to see hot swapping on offer.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 will be on sale very soon for those in the US, although other territories will have to wait a little longer… Europe is covered but we've got a scary feeling that we'll be into 2014 before it goes on our shelves.

The Pureview camera is obviously a big step up for Nokia again - it's not the 41MP option found in the Lumia 1020, but it does pop in at 20MP, and loses the extra heft the cameraphone flagship brought.

It also dispenses with the Xenon flash, but that, combined with the Snapdragon 800 processor moves the Lumia 1520 into a more useable option... we got so fed up with the processing speed of the 1020, despite the results often being brilliant.

Another great ability of the Lumia 1520 is the ability to output RAW files, although it can't manipulate them on the device itself. However, it's another boon for the Finnish firm, as it means professional photographers, or those that like to really edit properly, will be able to get the maximum from the photos.

Optical image stabilisation, something we thought we'd be seeing on a lot more phones by now, is thankfully here again, proving the photo-ability of the device nicely - plus the 5MP shareable shot is something we're always glad to see for social networking.

Here, Nokia's mapping team, has combined with the photo guys to create Storyteller, an app that places your pics and other such juicy photonuggets on a map, enabling you to create a location-based tale that you can easily get to by pinching inwards on the snap to jump straight into the map view.

This was handled easily by the Snapdragon processor, and we were impressed with the overall design of the app. We're not fans of the way Here maps looks generally, but this little addition does go some way towards improving it.

The final thing we'd like to talk up is the battery: Nokia has slapped a 3400mAh power pack in there to keep things ticking along. Combined with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU this should equate to some really long standby time.

More importantly, this means that when you're taking loads of photos at max resolution you'll be able to use the phone for more than a minute before it dies in your hands.

The price is a little more palatable though for this slice of technological power from Nokia, with the $749 price tag (around £460 / AUS$775) meaning it will rival the likes of Samsung's Note 3 and HTC's One Max in the pricing wars, while beating them both in some ways on specs.

That's not a phrase we thought we'd be saying about Nokia any time soon.

Early verdict

What's Nokia done here? Made something that we can't criticise from the spec sheet alone? The answer has to be yes: the CPU, screen, design and expansion offerings are all the things we've been gagging to see for months, if not years.

The extra apps are standard fare from the firm: bringing user upgrades in a way that delivers actual performance… we're actually quite intrigued by Storyteller as an app, although it can be a little cumbersome to use.

We'll be fleshing out this hands on in the next hour or two, so pop back later today to see more of an in-depth look at Nokia's flagship… but if you're the odd sort who makes an instant decision and won't budge from it, we can honestly say this might be the first Nokia phone in ages that we can recommend without worry.

That's if you can get past the craziness of more Windows Phone tiles on your home screen, that is…

Source : techradar[dot]com

The Nokia Lumia 1320 is a phone that tries to straddle two worlds, but is in danger of sitting comfortably in either.

On the one hand, it's got the same phablet-sized dimensions as the bigger brother, the Lumia 1520. On the other, it has the spec list that rivals only the Lumia 625, a phone that's been quietly released for the budget-fancier and doesn't seem to be making great waves.

It's clear the market Nokia is going for here: Asian users who don't want to spend oodles on a phone with the spec list of the Lumia 1520 but still want a number of the features.

Gone is the decent camera in place of an average 5MP choice. The CPU is downgraded to an S4 dual core 1.GHz option, and while we don't have information on RAM, we doubt it's anything above 1GB and could be even less than that.

The phone does, however, have a lot of design wins that will many will appreciate. For instance, the covers are changeable, there's a microSD slot under the hood, and the whole device has a curved nature that makes it sit nicely in the hand without being too cumbersome.

Yes, that display is far too large for some people, but to others (notably those in China and Vietnam, a couple of the primary markets Nokia is targeting with the Lumia 1320) it will be just perfect and the foray into phablets they've been craving.

There's not a lot else to really evangelise on the Lumia 1320, especially when you see what's going on with its better-specced brother. The 720p screen can't support the extra row of Live Tiles, which we're a little disappointed about.

Sure, it makes things very busy, but we all like having options in this area.

Things like the StoryTeller app will make a difference to some users, allowing them to tag just where they made the one Cinemagraph that we all feel compelled to when taking the phone out of the box (before realising it's rather creepy and never doing it again).

The camera enhancements don't seem to have slowed down this handset, which is good to see, and in general Windows Phone flows as nicely as we'd hope it would on a new handset. Especially one running Lumia Black, the new update which brings a range of performance improvements to Microsoft's OS.

Early verdict

There seems to be a very real possibility that we'll never see the Lumia 1320 outside of Asia, coming as it is in the early part of next year. That said, it would do very well in some markets where a larger screen is lauded - and if the Samsung Galaxy Mega can be pitched to the student market, why not this phone?

After all, it still comes with Microsoft Office and can run all manner of games, which is fine given Windows Phone still isn't geared up for the really powerful titles.

We can't help but feel nonplussed by this effort from Nokia, simply because the Lumia 1520 is so much better in a number of ways - although given it's under -half the price of the Lumia 1520, perhaps there's still a place in the market for this under-powered phablet.

We'll be updating this hands on with more pictures and thoughts in the next few hours - stay tuned to see a little bit more of Nokia's latest budget challenger.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Nokia has revealed the Lumia 1320, a low-end smartphone which was bandied about previously with the codename "Batman."

The device arrived during Nokia World, shown off as part of the Nokia Beamer app which allows Nokia users to share screens between one another. As expected, it's specs are comparable to the Lumia 625.

The biggest selling point of the low-end device is it's screen, which like the 625 before it, tips the scale on the larger end, coming with a 6-inch display that's pegged at 720p.

Under the hood the Lumia 1320 houses a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a handy microSD slot and 4G connectivity.

Not so fancy

In the camera department the Lumia 1320 is no where near as well equipped as the 20MP toting Lumia 1520, with this budget offering lumped with a 5MP rear snapper which Nokia claims will shoot 1080p video, although we're wary of the quality.

There's also a 0.3MP camera, although bar the odd video call it's probably worth avoiding.

The Nokia Lumia 1320 features removable back covers, meaning this could be tiered more towards the youth market, a demographic that will appreciate the microSD slot and the range of colors it arrives in: orange, yellow, black and white.

Under that rear cover lives a sizable 3400mAh battery, and the plastic housing is a rather chunky 164.5 x 85.9 x 9.79mm and weighs a wrist crippling 220g.

Thanks to the 720p display, you won't be getting the necessary resolution to have the extra column of Live Tiles on the home screen a la the Lumia 1520 - sad face.

The Lumia 1320 will be coming to China and Vietnam early next year, with other markets to follow - we hope this means the likes of Europe and the US.

In terms of a the Lumia 1320 price it will set you back around $339 (around £210, AU$350) which certainly places it at the lower end of the market.

Source : techradar[dot]com

BlackBerry might have fallen on hard times but BBM is one area of its business which is still going strong and the launch of BBM on Android and iOS is likely to strengthen it further still.

The messaging app is available to download now and has already proved tremendously popular, with over 5 million users downloading the app in the first eight hours that it was on sale, according to a tweet sent from the BBM Twitter account.

BBM was originally meant to launch a month ago, but an unofficial version of the Android app was posted online and downloaded 1.1 million times, causing BlackBerry issues which halted the official launch.

A successful BBM launch is exactly what BlackBerry needs after months of financial issues.

Join the queue

However the downside to BBM's popularity is that BlackBerry has had to roll it out gradually to users.

You can download it now but once you do you'll be prompted to enter your email address to join a queue, at which point you'll then have to wait till BlackBerry contacts you and gives you access to the app.

If you signed up for notifications at BBM.com in advance of the launch then you should be able to use the app immediately, but everyone else will have to wait.

It remains to be seen how many users will ultimately sign up for the app and how ongoing its popularity will be, but the popularity of it at launch suggests there might be a hint of sun breaking through BlackBerry's clouds.

• On Windows Phone and looking for some BBM love? You might be in luck.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Nokia's tablet has been teasing the camera for some time. Today it's dropping that "Sirius" codename for good and going official as the Nokia Lumia 2520.

Nokia describes it as 'a global tablet' and has designed it to be easy to hold, and the 2520 packs LTE connectivity.

It comes with a Gorilla Glass 2 screen which Nokia reckons is anti-glare enough to use outdoors.

Snap happy

The new Nokia Camera App and a 6.7MP camera with Zeiss optics are also on board to get in on the "growing trend of people taking photos with their tablets" - not that we think that's something that ought to be encouraged.

The tablet comes running Windows 8 and offers a 720p display and Snapdragon 8974 CPU.

Developing...

Source : techradar[dot]com