Nokia Lumia 810 and Lumia 820 Review

The Lumia 810 has a boxy design with ever-so-slightly rounded corners and a slightly curved back. The back cover has a soft rubber feel that resists fingerprints. This cover is removable and can be swapped out with a shell (sold separately) that enables wireless charging. Removing the back cover isn't easy, however, so it's not something you'll want to do often.

Like many smartphones today, the majority of the front of the Lumia 810 is consumed by the 4.3-inch OLED WVGA ClearBlack display with a resolution of 480 x 800. The Lumia 810's display doesn’t offer the same resolution as other high-end smartphones. As a result, text and graphics aren't quite as crisp as they could be, but overall, the display is still easy on the eyes. This display also features scratchproof Corning Gorilla Glass. Viewing the screen outdoors under direct sunlight was no worse than on other phones.

When holding the Lumia 810, you'll notice a small lip where the phone transitions to the casing near the edges of the device. Below the display, you'll find the Back, Start, and Search capacitive touch buttons that don't encroach on the screen real estate. Above the display, you'll find the proximity sensor, front-facing 1.2 megapixel camera, and earpiece.

The top edge of the phone houses the 3.5mm headset jack. On the bottom edge of the phone, you'll find the microUSB port as well as a speaker and microphone. The left edge of the phone is void of any hardware buttons. On the right edge, you'll find the volume rocker, power button, and a dedicated camera button. The camera button can act as a shutter when you're in the camera application or be used to fire up the camera app. On the back of the camera, you'll find the 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash.

The Lumia 810 isn't quite as big as the Nokia Lumia 920 we reviewed recently, but it's still a hefty phone. Although the Lumia 810 has a slightly smaller footprint than the Samsung Galaxy S III, for example, the Lumia 810 is thicker and weighs more than the Galaxy S III which makes the phone feel bigger. In comparison to the iPhone 5 which weighs 3.95 ounces, you'll definitely notice the extra heft of the Lumia 810 which weighs 5.11 ounces.

Nokia put a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor as well as 1GB of RAM in the Lumia 810. This combination makes for a zippy, responsive phone, especially when compared to previous generation Windows Phone 7.5 devices. Although the phone comes with only 8GB of onboard storage, you're welcome to add up to 64GB using a microSD card.

Nokia's Lumia 820 is available for AT&T. This smartphone features many of the same specifications and features as the Lumia 810 for T-Mobile. As you can see, the Lumia 820 also has similar styling as the Lumia 810.