news Finnish smartphone vendor Nokia this week revealed it would in February launch its new Lumia 1320 handset in Australia, which it is billing as introducing many of the high-end features and bold colours Lumia has become known for in an affordable six inch large-screen smartphone.
The 4G-enabled Lumia 1320 will be available from Telstra and Vodafone, or for outright purchase through Harvey Norman and leading retailers from 4 February, with a recommended retail price of $449, placing it in competition with low-priced but powerful models such as Google’s Nexus 5.
“From advanced mapping, access to the latest apps and new imaging capabilities, unlimited music streaming and a super sensitive six-inch HD screen, the Lumia 1320 is a real all-rounder offering incredible value – it’s the best of Lumia adapted for the big screen,” said Nokia Australia managing director Steve Lewis.
The smartphone’s screen is a 6″ HC LCD IPS screen running at a resolution of 1280×720 and protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 material. The Lumia 1320 comes with a five megapixel main camera that can shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Its front camera is a 0.3 megapixel ‘VGA’ camera, and its CPU is a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 model running at 1.7GHz. It comes with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal user memory and support for a microSD card with up to 64GB of additional storage.
Powered by the latest version of Windows Phone 8 including the Nokia Lumia Black update, the Lumia 1320 has been designed with “productivity in mind”, according to Nokia. Microsoft Office comes built-in, plus its additional screen real-estate and a third column of enhanced live tiles means users can see more of their calendar, email, notes and music at-a-glance.
The Nokia Lumia 1320 offers consumers unlimited free music without ads or sign-on, as well as access to the HERE Maps, DRIVE and Transit apps which are proprietary to Nokia.
“Whether you’re a student or small business owner, the Lumia 1320’s larger screen lets you easily check email and access Office documents delivering more on-the-go functionality to our customers,” said Lewis.
Over the past several years, Nokia has launched a plethora of handsets in Australia, including the the Lumia 620, the Lumia 820, the Lumia 920, the Lumia 610, the Lumia 900, the Lumia 710, the Lumia 800, the Nokia N9 and the Lumia 925, and more recently, the the Lumia 1020. In November it launched the Lumia 1520.
However, the company’s strategy does not appear to see it making significant ground against dominant smartphone vendors such as Apple and Samsung in the Australian market.
opinion/analysis
Yet another Nokia phone which isn’t going to go anywhere. The vendor needs to focus on cutting down its ballooning smartphone line. I’m a professional technology journalist and have reviewed dozens of smartphones. Yet even I couldn’t tell you at a moment’s notice right now which Nokia model you should buy if you’re interested in one. With Android it’s easy — you should buy the Nexus 5, the Galaxy S4, the HTC One or the Galaxy Note 3. With Apple it’s easy — you buy the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 5C.
With Nokia it’s almost impossible. The company appears to have at least half a dozen different models on the market at any time — all with arcane numbers identifying them. How the hell is the average consumer supposed to know the difference between the Lumia 1320 and the Lumia 1520? Beats me.
Image credit: Nokia
so let me get this right:
when you recommend an android phone, there are FOUR options, and you consider that EASY?
perhaps you should actually have a closer look at the lumia line and you will see that each phone has a pretty specific use case (camera, size, removable cases, 4g), as opposed to the android phones you have mentioned, which are all very much alike.
the list of lumia’s you have mentioned is a bit dodgy as well. the N9? the lumia 800? these were released ages ago. lumia 900, 920 and 620? these have all been superseded by newer models.
more and more, users are choosing their phones by usage case, not by specs. i would say nokia is trying to cover all of the usage cases.
perhaps you should try using one for 6 months and then give a more authoritative opinion, considering you have said that you flick between iphones and android phones on a regular basis. why not add a windows phone to that list before judging the line-up.
phone reviews are becoming increasingly irrelevant because of the change in user’s reasons for picking a phone in the first place. it used to be specs, now it is what they want it to do…
“When you recommend an android phone, there are FOUR options, and you consider that EASY?”
Yes, I do consider it easy. In terms of overall quality, power and functionality, the four Android options (the Nexus 5, the Galaxy Note 3, the HTC One and the Galaxy S4) are all quite similar. I would recommend each based on the specific users’ desires — respectively, wanting a clean Android install, wanting a phablet, wanting a slick metallic design or wanting a good all-rounder in a decent size.
The same cannot be said of the Lumias. The quality of the camera, processing power, size, design, etc, all varies significantly between models. The 1320, for example, has a poor camera compared to others. Its large screen size is not congruent with a powerful CPU.
What we’re seeing here is that the Android vendors, as well as Apple, are winning through consistently selling good all-round phones, with top quality in almost every area. In comparison, Nokia is taking the old strategy of selling ‘feature phones’ — phones which compromise on one or more areas but excels in another. The 1320 has a large screen, but poor processing power and resolution. The 1020 has an amazing camera, but a smaller screen and is a tank in terms of its bulkiness. And so on.
I know there are good all-round Lumias — the 925 being the best current example. I wrote in my review of that model:
“The Lumia 925 is the best Windows Phone-based smartphone we’ve reviewed, and we have no hesitation in rating it up there with the best of the rest of the top-end of the market. It’s deservedly in the same class as the Samsung Galaxy S4, the HTC One and Apple’s iPhones.”
But the final sentence of that review was rather telling of Nokia’s situation: “Now it’s just up to Nokia to convince the rest of the smartphone buying market of that fact.”
I speak with a lot of ordinary people about smartphones. It is my habit to give my family and friends any review models I have sitting in the office to play with for 1/2 an hour, so I can get the impression of “normal people” about smartphones. Of those people, one consistent message comes through when they play with the many, many Lumias I’ve personally reviewed: They all really like them, particularly the stunning Windows Phone interface, which is so refreshing for those from the Android and iOS ecosystems.
But the other thing is that they get confused about the model numbers. Everyone knows what an iPhone 5 is, or a Galaxy S4. The number increments just once per year, or two years. But nobody can work out what a Lumia 925 is, or how it is different from a Lumia 1520. You have to look at the detailed specs for that.
I’m sorry … but this is the truth. And before you post an angry rant in response, consider that I have reviewed almost all the Lumias released in Australia over the past two years, as well as most of the competition. I’m not blowing smoke out my ass. I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours reviewing smartphones over that period. I know what I’m talking about here.
The Lumias, as I consistently write in my reviews, are great phones. But Nokia’s product naming and marketing strategy is idiotic.
i know full well what your credentials are, no need to ram them down my throat.
“I would recommend each based on the specific users’ desires”
exactly what i just said in my original comment. usage case, not specs.
“The same cannot be said of the Lumias. The quality of the camera, processing power, size, design, etc, all varies significantly between models. ”
it can be said, but reviewers and tech writers persist in not giving lumias the time of day. the fact that android phones in particular are almost all exactly the same should make the selection harder, not easier…
give a review unit to a family member for 30 minutes?? what kind of usage test is that?
again, try using a lumia for more than 3 months as your daily driver, then you can give a more non-biased answer.
as a fellow commenter has already pointed out, how do you respond to samsung’s naming strategy?
“How the hell is the average consumer supposed to know the difference between…”
They could ask my 13 year old daughter!
Ok so its bad for Nokia to name there models in an increasing number order, however its fine for Samsung to have the following models
Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 Active
Galaxy S4 Zoom
Galaxy S4 Mini
I think its a more relevant question how the hell does a customer tell the difference between them?
And since you are listing the “plethora of phones” introduced over the last 3 years you might as well complete the list, Lumia 520 voted best value handset in the world when it launched and the Lumia 625.
I wouldn’t even attempt to list the handsets that Samsung have released in that time frame. So lets not talk about trying to confuse the general public.
This is just another example of personal bias affecting a “Tech Review” and I’m amazed that the usual tag line didn’t appear at the bottom regarding apps.
Oh and congratulations for being able to recommend if a customer wants an apple they get a 5s or 5c.
See my response to this here:
http://delimiter.com.au/2014/01/21/nokias-6-lumia-1320-hits-australia/#comment-634624
‘The smartphone’s screen is a 6″ HC LCD IPS screen running at a resolution of 1280×720 and protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 material. The Lumia 1320 comes with a five megapixel main camera that can shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Its front camera is a 0.3 megapixel ‘VGA’ camera, and its CPU is a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 model running at 1.7GHz. It comes with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal user memory and support for a microSD card with up to 64GB of additional storage.”
That’s all you have to know.
Yawn……
I get what Renai is saying. Nokia does not yet have a easily recognizable flagship device which is updated once a year like the other brands/operating systems, that doesn’t mean the phones are not good it’s just a branding problem.
Maybe now Microsoft owns the Lumia brand that may change. Perhaps the Lumia brand could be used for the many lower end models and there could be a single, once yearly update of a Microsoft WP that is universal across all countries and carriers.
+1
This is precisely what I’d like to see.
If you need somewhere to stand and view low end to high end, its not confusing at all… The higher the model number means it is in the higher end in one way or another. Now with that being said the variety of designs and specs gives the end user the opportunity to own a 520 which does almost everything a 1020 does minus the extra hardware and the high cost! ( remember you don’t need a quad core to power a Windows Phone, you will get the same speed and quality across the board) you just pay for what you need! Everyone is different, some people would rather spend $80 on a smartphone than $800 for a smartphone with a 41mp camera.. The 1520 and the 1320 are no exception to the rule, they offer larger screens, an extra row of live tiles, the newest OS updates or more capable CPU than the last years lower numbered models. Now can you Guess which one has the higher specs and better camera than the other between those 2?? Its really a no brainer I think…
i actually thought it was easy, they release a high end and lower end model
6″ range – high end 1520 , entry level 1320
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