Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on

[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/nokia-lumia-820-hands-on/)

[Nokia's Lumia 820](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/nokia-lumia-820/) is here, after [countless](http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/nokia-820-prototype-breaks-cover-in-photos-confirms-little-else/) [leaks](http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/nokia-lumia-820-920-leak/), and the budget-friendly handset is exactly what we expected. We'll admit we're sad to see the rather singular design of its spiritual forebearer, the Lumia 800, fall by the wayside, but we can't complain about the build quality here. The usual attention to detail and materials we've come to appreciate from the Finnish phone maker is on full display. The flat glass panel on the front may lack the mystique of the curved display on the 920 and 800, but it's hardly something that should factor into your decision to buy this handset or another. The volume rocker and lock button on the right side have a pleasant and satisfying click, though, we're sad to report that the camera button still leaves us wanting. Sure, any dedicated camera key is better than none, but its squishy response to our press was hardly encouraging. We were also a bit put off by the shine of the body. The Lumia series stole our hearts with its matte finish when it first debuted, now the coats of paint are a little more likely to throw some glare and attract fingerprints.

What's under the hood certainly makes up for some of those shortcomings. The 1.5 GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM simply chewed through the light-weight Windows Phone 8, leaving us to wonder if Apple and Google can truly keep up. All of the UI animations were smooth and fluid, and apps launched with nary a hiccup. And, can we just say that Windows Phone 8 is a an absolute pleasure to use. At the risk of angering quite a few people -- there's simply no mid-range Android phone or iOS device that's as quick and satisfying to use as the Lumia 820, and much of that is thanks to the highly optimized Microsoft OS. It's a pleasure to see that new features like the highly-customizable home screen and background multitasking haven't weighed down Redmond's phone platform.

**Gallery: [Nokia Lumia 820](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/)**

[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/#5259098)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/#5259099)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/#5259100)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/#5259101)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/nokia-lumia-820-1/#5259102)

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Filed under: [Cellphones](http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/), [Mobile](http://www.engadget.com/category/mobile/)

[Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/nokia-lumia-820-hands-on/) originally appeared on [Engadget](http://www.engadget.com) on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds](http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).

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