NetCom today released information on pricing for the Nokia Lumia 920. My choice would be the Komplett Medium subscription which will put the upfront cost of the phone at 1499 NOK ($ 250), with a one year contract which includes 400 SMS, 400 minutes of ringtime, 800 MB data and Spotify Premium included with a monthly fee of 479 NOK ($ 80), making the cost of the phone for the first year to a total of 7247,- NOK ($ 1200).
 
When comparing that price with the price of the Apple iPhone 5 with the same subscription, I found that you would have to pay 3999 NOK for the phone ($ 666,50), the same monthly fee, with a total of 9747 NOK ($ 1624,50) for the first year.

Easy choice… 😀

[section_title title=Introduction – Spesifications – Reception and call quality – Display]

I am looking forward to getting my hands on one of the new and soon to be launched Nokia Lumia 920 phones. Hopefully in a not so distant future. Until that happens what should a blogger with too much technolust do? Thanks to Nokia Norway, I have been so lucky as to get my hands on a Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone 7.5, and I have been using this phone full time for a while now, instead of my old trustworthy iPhone 4.

I have been doing so in order to prepare for the Lumia 920 and familiarizing myself with the Windows Phone OS. And the mere fact that I also are able to temporarily stifle my technolust with a new and shiny gadget is of course part of the story as well.

At the moment the Nokia Lumia 900 is Nokia’s top of the line smartphone. And it is for that fact alone worthwhile to see how this phone compares to my old iPhone, and maybe even the new iPhone 5.

In this review I will cover the following topics:

• Specifications
• Reception and call quality
• Display
• Battery life
• Camera
• Ease of use – Windows Phone 7.5
• Design and form factor
• Portability
• Media Support
• Durability
• Ecosystem
• Nokia Specific Software
• Performance
• Conclusion

Specifications

Reception and call quality

A factor that is often overlooked in modern smartphones is the ability to make and receive phone calls. It is not, perhaps, what you do often on a smartphone, but for me it is a prerequisite to be able to make phone calls without too much fuzz or interference. I live on the edge of 3G coverage, and have occasionally had reception problems with my iPhone 4. MMS-messages have been a particular problem, but also in making and receiving phone calls if I happen to be in the wrong part of the house. No such problems with the Nokia Lumia 900. Reception is excellent, and I even get the added bonus of having HSPA+ available in the house now, which means faster data-streams than what I am able to get on the iPhone. Call quality over the speakerphone is excellent as well, and connected to my bluetooth handsfree set in my car also provide excellent call quality all around.

Subscore: 9 out of 10

Display

The most important feature of a smart phone is the main device for interacting with the phone – the screen. And let me just say it out loud: this screen is beautiful. It is 4.3” with a resolution of 400×800 pixels, which by todays standard may seem lacking, but this AMOLED screen just rocks with its vibrant colors. The black is so black, compared to the greyish black on my iPhone 4, and pictures just look gorgeous on this phone. I have gotten so used to the beauty and size of this screen, that I am in no way inclined to pick up the iPhone when I want to use a smartphone. Crispy clear vibrant pictures on a large screen, that even works great when outdoors. A win for Nokia, and I can only imagine the screen quality on the upcoming Nokia Lumia 920 which has real HD resolution.

Subscore: 9 out of 10

I received my Kindle e-reader today, after having ordered it from Amazon late last week. In this post I will show the un-boxing process, as well as give my first impressions after being hands-on with the device.

I had been thinking about getting a dedicated e-reader for a while, more and more lately as my eyes have acted up on me. I have been reading e-books on my iPad, not exactly resting my eyes, with its backlit and reflective screen. Thus, it will be interesting to see whether this shiny new thing actually helps my sore eyes when it comes to reading. But first lets get this box open.

Unboxing

Spesifications

Courtesy of Amazon (screenshot of their Kindle-page)

Reading…

After having unboxed my new shiny tech-gadget, I tethered my Kindle with my iPhone and loaded my books onto it. The Kindle was preset with my account info on it (courtesy of Amazon) so this took less time than entering the password in order to tether the two devices.

I am currently listening to Starship Troopers via the Audible app on my iPhone, and I have also purchased it as an e-book. The Whispersync feature works as promised and the e-book opened up where I had left the audiobook last time I listened.

It is noticeably easier on my eyes to read on this device, and using the back and forward buttons on the side of it to turn pages is easy and intuitive. The Kindle is weighing only 170 grams and fits in my uniforms leg pocket, and possibly in some of my jacket pockets. It is a little wide to hold with just one hand and at the same time being able to turn pages, although it is only a minor challenge.

Conclusion

So far I am impressed. I will be actively using it going forward, and will keep you posted on my impressions and experiences with the Kindle.

Do you have a Kindle, what is your experience with it? Let me know in the comments below: