Nokia / Microsoft Lumia 735 Quick Review

Nokia Lumia 735 Quick Review

Brief:  Windows Phone’s Moto G

Price: Right now O2 will sell you one for £140

Specification:  See here. http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/mobile/phone/lumia735/specifications/

Accessories:  You get a charger.  As ever ebay is awash with cases and things.

Build Quality:  It is without doubt the benchmark for plastic phones.  Not only does the back come off but when attached it’s so perfectly fitted you could easily believe it’s a unibody device.  It’s faultless.

Aesthetics:  I very much like it.  I have a desire to get the blue back, the orange and green, errr no.  Oooh what about a yellow, why can’t you get it in yellow?  In short the device is highly customisable and I think is the best looking midrange handset available. 

As a Phone:  Running WP it’s very snappy. Super snappy.  Of course there is the downside of app limitations but the OS itself works beautifully, so smooth and fluid.  It’s limited, sure but it’s really nice to use so long as you don’t want to do too much with it.  Calls were excellently clear with a particular talent for holding a signal.  Very usable if a bit simple.

Sound:  Surprisingly good for a phone.  It won’t satisfy those looking for a warm, soft, mushy sound that they are probably used to with an Iphone but a clean, crisp offering.  I love the clarity and the solidity it lends to the bass.  Solid, confident, firm oomph.  Mids are open, spacious maybe a little dry but the quality is above what I expect from a phone.  Highs are clean, very clear and generally good.  For sure they are not the worlds most refined, with their crispness they can be a little hard.  Dare I say a little brittle and over edgy?  Well they are but I am inclined to forgive them.  They are after all a phone, not even a phone that has any real emphasis on audio either.  So long as you pair them with something a little warm, they will pair nicely.  Given it’s a “cheap” phone it’s likely it will only ever encounter mainstream consumer earphones anyway which are probably very warm and very heavy.  That should make the likely pairings perfectly complimentary to each other.

I don’t know if Microsoft has intentionally set out to produce a clean sounding phone that is so aurally pleasing but they seem to be on a roll.  I was a huge fan of the 635’s audio output and I’m pretty sure that the 735 has the same clean and crisp sounding internals.  To date, I’d have to say it’s the best sounding mobile phone I have used.  Yep it is that good.

Value:  I think it’s superb.  The audio is great, the screen is great, the CPU is great for the money.  If this thing had android, it would have crushed the Moto G.

Pro’s:  Audio quality.  Screen. Feels so snappy.

Con’s:  Erm it runs Windows Phone, if you classify that as a flaw.