Verizon Nokia Lumia 822: Performance
Performance
Given that the Verizon Nokia Lumia
822 has the exact same hardware under the hood as the other 820-equivalent models, including a Qualcomm
Snapdragon S4 dual-core, 1.5 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, performance is
identically good. Very good, actually.
What's not the same, however, is the
carrier. I absolutely panned the Lumia 810 for its service, as it's a T-Mobile
exclusive and that network proved to be a nightmare, both in terms of speed and
coverage (signal strength) here in Boston. Not so with the Lumia 822, a device
that is connected to Verizon's 4G LTE network, which has proven to be far more
reliable in its performance.
Speeds are vastly superior,
undoubtedly due to the fact that this is real 4G and not T-Mobile's
"4G" network, which is actually HSPA+ rather than LTE. And coverage
is a completely different ballgame with the Lumia 822, as I consistently got a
strong signal in the two major cities in which I tested it: Boston and New
York. Admittedly, there were a couple of occasions
where it would have to downshift to
3G, but it was still far better than the Lumia 810 and the T-Mobile network,
which more often than not told me I was either running on a 2G or 1X network,
or had no signal at all.
Software
Since this is still a Nokia phone, the Lumia 822 shares the same preloaded suite of Nokia-branded apps as its sister models, including App Highlights, Nokia City Lens, Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, and Nokia Music.
Since this is still a Nokia phone, the Lumia 822 shares the same preloaded suite of Nokia-branded apps as its sister models, including App Highlights, Nokia City Lens, Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, and Nokia Music.
There are, however, some
Verizon-exclusive app additions to this particular model, a couple of which are
actually worth your while. The first is NFL Mobile, which is great for watching
football this time of year, but is admittedly pretty useless the other seven or
so months of the year that constitute the off-season. Curiously enough, Verizon
also threw in an app for the Univision Spanish language television network. And
then finally, there is the much-touted Data Sense app, which will supposedly be
available to other carriers eventually, but is currently a Verizon Wireless
exclusive.
Data Sense, for those who aren't familiar with it, is an app
that helps you intelligently ration your data each month rather than just
monitor usage. On top of showing you your remaining data, the app also offers a
detailed breakdown of what exactly is using up your data allotment (e.g.
streaming media, app downloads, Internet Explorer, etc.) while also helping you
preserve it by mapping out nearby Wi-Fi hotspots based on your location. Data
Sense can even be set to limit the usage of background data (from apps that are
still running even when you're not actively using them) when your monthly
amount starts to run low.
The only drawback to Data Sense is
that users manually set the data parameters; in other words, it's not actually
tied to your account. You simply tell the app the amount of data you're
supposed to have each month and how often it refreshes, and it provides numbers
based on that information. So aside from the fact that you need to know the
exact details of your data plan to set it up -- including the specific date of
when it refreshes each month -- this may lead to complications at times since
you're technically dealing with a theoretical approximation based on what you
told the app (if you're saying you have X amount of data allotted for this
period of time and you've used Y amount so far, then you should have Z
remaining... but hey, no promises).
Camera and Battery Life
I went into depth on all the features of this handset when reviewing the Lumia 810 varient, so I'll just summarize that the camera could be better, but the battery life was quite satisfactory.
I went into depth on all the features of this handset when reviewing the Lumia 810 varient, so I'll just summarize that the camera could be better, but the battery life was quite satisfactory.
