Nokia Lumia Smartphones - Which is Best for You?

Until recently I had written off Microsoft when it came to mobile phones. To be honest I hadn't used any windows device in a long time, and didn't miss it. 

But...

With our recent search for a mobile phone for Big Prince I learned that I shouldn't have dismissed Microsoft. It turns out that their phones are actually very good. The Nokia Lumia 635 is a good phone and a great introduction into the world of smartphones. 

But what about those of us who know how to use the phones and are looking for a phone to do something in particular. Well the Lumia range can handle it.

First up something that every blogger NEEDS - a great phone for Photography/Video.

Nokia Lumia 930


"With a 20MP PureView Camera and 4 directional microphones with Dolby surround-sound, you can capture high quality photos and immersive video with sound that's more true to life than ever before. Use Lumia Camera app to take full creative control of your photos, then unleash your creations through Lumia Storyteller, Instagram and your favourite social networks."



Over the last couple of weeks I've been using the Nokia Lumia 930 for photos when out on walks with the boys and I was impressed with it. Even with me taking the photos I got some good ones, and that's something special! 

On the phone itself you can edit photos using the Lumia Creative Studio which allows you to change colour, brightness, and a number of other settings to ensure you have the best photos possible.

The 32GB storage isn't a limit either because you can easily upload your fabulous photos to Microsoft's OneDrive, their cloud storage. It's fairly quick and easy and can be done from anywhere as long as you have 3G, 4G or WiFi. If you don't want the hassle of uploading the photos yourself you can set the phone up to automatically upload all your photos to OneDrive.

When you have your best photos sorted you can share through Lumia Storyteller or any other social network app you have installed on the phone. They're all (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) available on the Windows Store.

Below are a few photos (unedited) taken using the Nokia Lumia 930.

We attempted to bake Cinnamon Rolls
And then added icing sugar... mmmmm.
A walk along the canal after those Cinnamon Rolls
I loved the reflection of the boat in the water, and the sun came out! Yay!
The lake was filled with swans, ducks and geese.
They soon swam off when they realised we had no bread.
The ducks stuck around a little longer.

If you have more of an artistic eye than me (not difficult) I'm sure you could make these photos look amazing. This is the limit of my talent when it comes to photos - although I will play about with the Lumia Creation Studio to see if I can make them any better.



Another essential requirement for bloggers is to have a device they can work on from anywhere. Well the Lumia Range has you covered for that one too.

Microsoft Lumia 640


"Open the box and power on your Lumia 640 to access the full range of free Microsoft Services built in and ready to go. Connect to friends and family with Skype, enjoy instant access to your photos and music on OneDrive, and edit files with Microsoft Office from wherever you are. Balancing your work life and personal life just became easier."



Having a device that you can work on while out and about is useful and the Microsoft Lumia 640 does its best to help. With Office you can type out documents using word, or even edit documents that already exist. You can keep track of your Excel and Powerpoint documents too. I found typing on the phone a little strange but then I'm used to physical keyboards. I don't do a lot of working on my phone. Perhaps this can change now?

The social network apps are available on the Windows Store and I do like how Twitter looks on the Lumia 640. In the home feed you can see three tweets on screen but they're large and the 'favourite' and 'retweet' buttons are big enough that it's not awkward to tap them. Facebook is pleasant to use too and I find it easy to update my status and share photos.



The Lumia 640 comes with a one year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote). The subscription includes use on one PC or Mac and 1 tablet, plus 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 free minutes of Skype Unlimited Worldwide calling per month. 

Sounds like a good deal to me.



Now we all need down time and playing games and streaming videos on our mobile devices has become increasingly popular. I've been know to spend a bit of time playing Candy Crush and Crack Attack! 

Again the Lumia range has you covered, enter the...

Nokia Lumia 830


"With a 1.2GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor and an exceptional, sharp 5" ClearBlack display you can enjoy faster, smoother web browsing and gaming action even in daylight conditions. In addition, its super-sensitive touch technology with Curved Gorilla 3.0 glass ensures easy use even with gloves on."



As I said I've spent a fair few hours playing games on mobile devices. The screen on the Nokia Lumia 830 is bright and colourful. It is responsive and they have some great games in the Windows Store.

Using the Lumia 830 I've played Candy Crush and Sonic Dash. I'm usually quite rubbish at playing games like Sonic Dash but on this phone I managed to last longer than ever before. I'm quite impressed!

The video streaming on this phone is good too, I love the YouTube video of Daniel Radcliffe doing the Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics and it played brilliantly on this phone. I can imagine the Nokia Lumia 830 being great for older children who are familiar with smartphones but are looking for something with a bit more power.



The Nokia Lumia 830 is powerful enough to play games and stream videos but not too expensive that you'd constantly worry about the phone being lost or stolen. 

The Lumia range is great and offers all kinds of options. Below is a table listing the specifications for the phones in this article.


Nokia Lumia 930 Microsoft Lumia 640 Nokia Lumia 830
Height:       137mm

Width:        71mm

Thickness:  9.8mm


Weight:      167g
Height:       141.3mm

Width:        72.2mm

Thickness:  8.8mm


Weight:       145g
Height:       139.4mm

Width:        70.7mm

Thickness:  8.5mm


Weight:       150g
5" Full HD Display (resolution 1920x1080)
5" Display (resolution 1280x720)
5" Display (resolution 1280x720)
20MP Camera 8MP Camera 10MP Camera
32GB Memory 8GB Memory (expandable with MircroSD) 16GB Memory (expandable with MicroSD)
4G LTE 4G LTE 4G LTE
Quad-core 2.2GHz Processor Quad-core 1.2GHz Processor Quad-core 1.2GHz Processor
Max Talk Time (3G):  17.9 hours Max Talk Time (3G):  17.5 hours Max Talk Time (3G):  14.8 hours
Max Standby Time: 16 days Max Standby Time: 36 days Max Standby Time: 22 days

If you're considering buying a new phone perhaps take a look at the Lumia Range, with great phones that have all kinds of capabilities you'd be crazy not to.

This is a collaborative post.

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com