The Nokia 1520 is one of the most mouth watering devices that I've used. However, is it practical to use? I've spent a few days just using it and my conclusion so far is that for me, it's brilliant as a weekend phone, and as a tablet in the evenings. For the working day the gflex is still the most practical, comfortable device for my needs (especially when used alongside an iPhone 5s). However, I still get a certain 'wow' and feeling of luxuriance that I don't with any other phone or tablet. Part of that is helped by the vivid and fresh windows phone ui.
Pro
-it feels lovely to hold (could be a bit wide for some. It's noticeably wider than the gflex, though both are 6").
-the display is lovely. Indoors and outdoors (the flex is difficult to read in bright sunlight, unlike the 1520- especially using the increased contrast setting).
-the camera is great for fiddling with and takes very good photos (if a bit slower than the iPhone 5s and requiring more set up than the iPhone). I'm getting better and better at taking decent photos with this. And the large, gorgeous screen that is fine in bright sunlight makes it great for showing photos to people.
-The windows phone ui makes a refreshing change after so long with Android & ios. I like the ability to set up live tiles for specific podcast subscriptions, and see how many unplayed episodes there are.
-kids corner: this is one of the better implementations of kids account. I've just specified which games, music albums, video clips and apps my daughter can access.
-audio is very good on earphones. The external speaker isn't the best but it's pretty decent, and I like it especially for vocal (bbc iplayer, audible, podcasts...).
- Nokia car navigation (Nokia here) is NOTICABLY better than using Google maps to give directions. Trying it over the same route I was surprised at just how much better Nokia is than Google maps. It could do with pausing other audio when giving directions though (not just reducing the other app's volume).
-I'm enjoying Nokia radio. I've found more new music that I like with this than using similar apps on ios and Android.
Con
-the squared corners make it less pocket friendly than the gflex.
-most apps I need are on Windows phone, or on their way. It's not as seamless a Google app experience as android or ios but it's good enough for me. And some apps that I use are better on WP than Android or ios.
-I haven't yet managed to get a lower case ' i ' to automatically change to upper case (good reason for not using I too much!)
-the buttons on my hands free sets don't work (yet). The 3 buttons sets work fully on ios, and partially on Android. I'll look for a decent one that works fully on Windows phone.
Misc notes
-it's heavier than the gflex but the weight is manageable.
-audio and call quality were fine. Though the gflex is clearer.
-using the same sim card on the flex and in the Nokia, the flex seemed to have more success in finding a signal.
-battery life of the 1520 is decent, though not as good as the gflex.
-not all of the apps I want are on Windows phone (eg citymapper). However, most are there or there are usable alternatives.
Did I say how gorgeous a device this is?
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