The cheaper version of Lumia 930 comes with Glance support

Nov 27, 2014 08:01 GMT  ·  By

One of the best Windows Phone handsets available on the market, the Lumia 930, recently received a sequel, but in the lower price range, Nokia Lumia 830.

Along with Lumia 735 (and its dual-SIM version), the Lumia 830 is the last Nokia-branded Windows Phone handset launched by Microsoft. The next smartphones launched by the Redmond-based company will be simply named Microsoft Lumia.

Unveiled back in September at IFA 2014, Nokia Lumia 830 was released on the market that same month and is now available for purchase for around $400 (€320) outright.

The smartphone is also among the first to come packed with the Lumia Denim software update, which is supposed to bring lots of camera improvements, including 4K video support, but only to compatible devices.

At first glance, Nokia Lumia 830 is the result of Microsoft taking the Lumia 930 and replacing some of its most powerful features with mid-range ones, while keeping the same candy bar form factor.

There’s one feature that Microsoft added in the Lumia 830, which makes it more functional in my opinion than the Lumia 930, Glance support.

Aside from that, Nokia Lumia 830 is a dumbed-down Lumia 930, so those who couldn’t afford one of Microsoft flagship smartphones can get a much cheaper alternative.

Design

If the Lumia 735 we have already reviewed is a sequel to the Lumia 920 when it comes to design, Nokia Lumia 830 strongly resembles Microsoft’s flagship smartphone, the Lumia 930.

However, the new smartphone is much lighter than the Lumia 930 at 150g (battery included) and slightly thinner (8.5mm vs. 9.8mm), measuring 139.4mm in length and 70.7mm in width.

Even though the Lumia 830 is lighter than the 930 model, it does come with a metal frame, which is supposed to protect the phone’s display when it’s accidentally dropped. Lumia 930 has an aluminum frame as well, but the phone is heavier probably due to the larger camera module and bigger battery.

Just like the Lumia 930, the mid-range Nokia Lumia 830 comes in multiple bright colors, including orange, green, black and white. However, unlike the former, the latter features a removable battery cover, which is made of plastic.

The phone’s build is of high quality, but our testing unit’s dedicated camera button on the right felt a bit flimsy and at each touch we had the feeling that it might drop. Apart from that, Nokia Lumia 830 looks and feels very sturdy for a mid-range smartphone.

The front side is mostly occupied by the large 5-inch display, while the back side features the 10-megapixel PureView camera and the loudspeaker grill at the bottom.

Nokia Lumia 830 (Metro UI)
Nokia Lumia 830 (Metro UI)
Unusually, the microUSB 2.0 port has been placed on the top side of the Lumia 830, along with the 3.5mm audio jack, while the bottom side has been left bare.

The same goes for the left side of the smartphone, which doesn’t have any buttons. However, the right side features a plethora of buttons, such as volume rocker, lock/unlock key and a dedicated camera button.

Both the microSD and nanoSIM card slots are placed under the back cover. The former can be replaced without pulling the battery, but the latter requires the removal of the battery.

Overall, Nokia Lumia 830 feels great in hand. It’s a perfectly balanced device that uses both aluminum and plastic in order to offer that premium look that most customers are looking for.

Display and Camera

The Lumia 830’s display is one of the components that Microsoft decided to downgrade in order to cut some of the phone’s suggested retail price. Nokia Lumia 830 sports a simple 5.0-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports 720 x 1280 pixels resolution (295ppi) and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating.

In comparison, the Lumia 930 is packed with a 5-inch AMOLED display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution (440ppi) and the same Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating.

The difference between the two types of displays is obvious when you put them against each other. Lumia 930 is the clear winner, but that’s to be expected since this is Microsoft’s latest flagship smartphone.

Still, Lumia 830’s display features above-average contrast ratio and brightness. Speaking of which, in case you’re not content with what the phone’s screen offers by default, you can play with the Lumia Color Profile settings, which allow you to set color temperature, color saturation and tint.

The brightness slider can also be set to low, medium or high, if you don’t want to keep your brightness levels on auto. Last but not least, the legibility under sunlight is very good as well, so you won’t have any issues when outdoors.

But the most important feature that Lumia 830 comes with, unlike the Lumia 930 flagship smartphone, is Glance. With this feature users will be able to see if they have any missed calls, messages or emails right on the display without having to wake up the phone.

The double-tap feature is there as well, so when you need to wake the phone up, you don’t need to actually click on the lock/unlock button on the right side. Simply tap twice in quick succession on the display and the phone will immediately wake up.

These are two nifty features that are among the best for Windows Phone users, considering the operating system still doesn’t seem to support LED notification light.

Nokia Lumia 830 camera sample
Nokia Lumia 830 camera sample
Moving to the 10-megapixel camera on the back, Microsoft included its PureView imaging technology, which it usually saves for the high-end tier.

Aside from that, the Lumia 830’s camera sports Carl Zeiss lens and OIS (optical image stabilization). In addition, the 10-megapixel photo snapper features autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording.

You can either shoot pictures in 16:9 ratio or 4:3. The important thing is that in both cases the quality is very high. The level of detail and color accuracy is spot on, even for a PureView camera.

If you’re looking for a mid-range smartphone with a good camera and switching to Windows Phone won’t bother you, then the Lumia 830 is the right phone for you.

As mentioned earlier, the Lumia 830 can capture full HD (1080p) video at 30fps. Quality-wise, videos shot with the 10-megapixel camera look just as good as the picture captured, which is another strong point of the handset.

It’s also worth mentioning Nokia Lumia 830 comes with a dedicated camera button, which is very important for those who intend to use very often.

Menu and Software

Nokia Lumia 830 ships with Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box, but also comes pre-installed with Lumia Denim firmware. The latter brings a few camera-related features into the mix, exclusively available on Microsoft’s Lumia smartphones.

Lumia Denim has been recently confirmed to arrive on more Nokia smartphones in the coming weeks, but some of the devices receiving the update aren’t compatible with all the features and improvements included.

Cortana, Quite Hours, Live Tiles, Here Maps, and Office are just some of the apps and services that Nokia Lumia 830 comes packed with.

Even though Lumia 830 doesn’t really come with a powerful processor, you won’t notice any differences when put against high-end devices like Lumia 930 or 1520.

Obviously, the Lumia 830 might perform lower when running apps or games that require powerful CPUs, but you won’t encounter any issues running any software on this mid-range smartphone.

The smartphone does not come preloaded with social apps, but you can access the Windows Phone Store and download just about any popular app that’s available on Android or iOS as well with very few exceptions.

Communication

When it comes to connectivity, Nokia Lumia 830 offers the full package. Just like the Lumia 930, the mid-range handset features HSPA (42Mbps) and LTE Cat.4, as well as Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, NFC (Near Field Communication) and GPS with A-GPS support.

Given the fact that Windows Phone does not support USB on-the-go, the Lumia 830 doesn’t have that feature either. Hopefully, Microsoft will add this feature with the next major update for Windows Phone.

The smartphone comes pre-installed with HERE services, as well as Internet Explorer 11 as the default browser for Nokia Lumia 830. However, we recommend using another browser compatible with Windows Phone, as Microsoft still has a few things to iron out when it comes to IE11’s capabilities.

GSM signal reception on the Lumia 830 is more than adequate and I haven’t noticed any drops. The in-call sound is above average, though it’s not on par with Lumia 1520 concerning this aspect.

Keep in mind that Nokia Lumia 830 only accepts nanoSIM cards and you will have to pull out the battery in order to insert one.

Nokia Lumia 830 (display)
Nokia Lumia 830 (display)

Processor and Memory

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Nokia Lumia 830 doesn’t come with the best hardware solution for mid-range smartphone, but considering it runs Windows Phone, users should not have any issue running any app or game.

The smartphone is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, an Adreno 305 graphics processing unit and 1GB of RAM.

These specs are enough and then some for a Windows Phone, so if you’re not looking for high-specs, the Lumia 830 should be a very good alternative for a high-end Android device.

There’s one more advantage Lumia 830 has over the Lumia 930 and that’s the microSD card slot. Nokia Lumia 830 packs 16GB of internal memory, as well as microSD card slot for storage expansion (up to 128GB). The Lumia 930 comes with only 32GB, but no slot for microSD card.

Just like most other Windows Phone handset available on the market, you won’t be hit by lags, freezes or random reboots, unless your phone has some hardware issues.

Multimedia

First of all, Nokia Lumia 830 does not come with any earphones in the sale package, which has become standard for the newest smartphones launched by Microsoft.

This means that you will have to purchase some 3.5mm headphones if you want to take advantage of Lumia 830’s multimedia features.

That will be possible through either Xbox Music or Video apps, which are still included in Windows Phone and are the main music and video players available on the Lumia 830.

That means that you will lack any equalizer options or FLAC support, but you will be able to set audio via Settings / Audio. There are some presets available in there, as well as the Dolby Virtual Surround and Dialog Enhancer options.

The Video app supports most video file formats except for MKV and any video that takes advantage of the AC3 audio codec. Although it’s a disappointment, this isn’t something unusual for mid-range Windows Phones.

Nokia Lumia 830 comes with an FM Radio function as well and you can listen to the radio through the loudspeaker, but you will still have to plug in some headphones, which will act as an antenna.

Quality-wise, the Lumia 830 doesn’t bring anything new into the mix but maintains the excellent audio sound of its predecessors. In case you decide to use the Lumia 830 as a music device, you will definitely not be disappointed.

Battery

Battery is a bit of an issue on the Lumia 830, but depending on how you use it and what apps you install on the device, you might squeeze up to two days of battery life on average use.

However, I’ve noticed that taking pictures and capturing video will drain the battery slightly faster. On heavy use you will definitely get a day of use, but even if you’re left with 10% or 20% battery, you will still have to recharge daily.

Average users will get at least 1 and a half day of use, but avoid WhatsApp on the Lumia 830 if you want your phone’s battery to last till the end of the day. Lumia 830 also offers wireless charging, but you will have to purchase a wireless charging plate separately for that to work.

According to Microsoft, the 2200 mAh battery inside the Lumia 830 should last for up to 22 days in standby more or up to half a day of talk time.

Nokia Lumia 830 vs. Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 830 vs. Nokia Lumia 920

Sales package

Nokia Lumia 830 Compact charger Leaflet


The Good

Nokia Lumia 830 has been advertised as the most affordable flagship smartphone and even if on paper the device seems to be far behind a top-tier handset, Microsoft’s device performs admirably.

The 10-megapixel rear-camera with PureView technology and Carl Zeiss lens, as well as the presence of the Glance feature, which not many Windows Phone handsets have, are among the best features the Lumia 830 has packed inside.

Another important strong point for a mid-range smartphone is how it looks, and Lumia 830 is another example that Microsoft can do nice things when it needs to.

The Lumia 830 looks and feels perfectly balanced. The aluminum frame gives it a premium feel, which few mid-range smartphones can offer.

The presence of the microSD card slot and the fact that it comes with the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim on top should also be highlighted as key features.

The Bad

The only thing that I regret while using the Nokia Lumia 830 is the fact that it doesn’t offer longer battery autonomy. Perhaps the presence of an AMOLED display would have made it much more appealing, but that would have definitely increased the phone’s suggested retail price.

Other than that, I haven’t encountered any issues with the Lumia 830, in fact I’m almost convinced that it might be the perfect mid-range smartphone launched by Microsoft.

Conclusion

Nokia Lumia 830 might look a bit more expensive than other smartphones with similar specs, but the addition of the 10-megapixel PureView camera and 5-inch ClearBlack display completely justifies its price.

The fact that the smartphone almost doesn’t have any downsides should make it popular among smartphone users. Alas, things aren’t that simple and given Windows Phone market share is so low, the devices powered by this operating system have a harder time getting into customers' hands unless they have a really good price.

I have enjoyed using the Nokia Lumia 830 very much and strongly recommend the smartphone to those who are willing to switch to Windows Phone but don’t want to spend more to get the Lumia 930 or Lumia 1520.

Our Rating

looks 5
build 4
speed 4
battery 2
calls 4
camera 4
video 4
apps 3
screen 3
signal4

final rating 4

Nokia Lumia 830 (89 Images)

Nokia Lumia 830
Nokia Lumia 830 (front)Nokia Lumia 830 (left side)
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