Nokia announced the Lumia 720 at Mobile World Congress (MWC 2013) back in February this year. Lumia 720 is the successor to first generation Lumia 710, but unlike the older version, Lumia 720 comes with features you can’t find in other mid range phones. With a 4.3 inch display and 1Ghz dual core processor along with 8GB storage and microSD card support, Lumia 720 is an great phone in the mid range segment.
Nokia has been mentioning about is camera starting from the announcement as it comes with some of the Pureview capabilities including low light photography. So today we review the Lumia 720 to check how much this beautiful device is capable of.
Quick Specs;
- Display size: 4.3 ”, WVGA (800 x 480)
- Display technology: IPS, ClearBlack, Super-sensitive touch
- 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Processor
- Main camera sensor: 6.7 MP
- 2000 mAh battery
- 8GB Internal memory, 512MB RAM
- microSD card, NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Now lets have a detailed look into Lumia 720.
Design and Build Quality:
When it comes to design, we all know that Nokia has been known for great designs in the past and the Lumia 720 is no exception. The unibody design has polycarbonate shell with rounded, curved edges and an almost completely flat front. The phone feels really nice in hand and with 120gms it even feels light as well. The screen size and the thickness makes the phone a perfect combination to hold and use.
The phone has matt finish unlike the glossy finish in Lumia 920. This makes the phone even more stylish than the Lumia 920. The fit and finish is top notch and we do not have any complaints with the device here.
The external buttons are similar to other Lumia phones with volume keys, power button and the camera button on the right side and the left side houses the microSD card slot. The top portion has the SIM tray and the 3.5 mm jack. The microSD card slot is similar to the SIM tray, so you will need the included pin to open it.
At the bottom you have the mic and the micro USB charging point. Unlike Lumia 920, the speaker have been moved to the back and it comes with only one speaker. The back panel has the camera and the flash along with the Nokia logo.
There are three small points at the back panel and this is needed for wireless charging if you use the wireless charging cover (by default does not have wireless charging).
The Lumia 720 feels solid in hand because of the perfect combination of size and thickness. This should have been the ideal size of Lumia 920.
Display and Screen:
Lumia 720 has a 4.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution (~217 ppi pixel density). The screen is really good and comparable with the Lumia 920 although the latter has a higher resolution. Since the screen has super sensitive touch, scrolling is ultra smooth. The Corning Gorilla Glass 2 is rounded at the corners similar to the Lumia 920.
Display is vibrant and colors are pretty good, but since the resolution is lower, you can see the pixels if you view the screen closely. The clear black display along with good sunlight readability makes it easier to read emails and browse websites even if you are outside.
The viewing angles are also good. Even though the resolution is low, the clear black display along with color balance makes this screen look a lot better than actual specs.
Overall, we feel it has one of the best displays for the phone in that price range.
Camera and Video Recording:
Generally, if you take an mid range phone, you will find that the camera performance is just average or only for causal shots. But things change with Lumia 720. Nokia has been praising the camera of Lumia 720 since the launch event. Lumia 720 has one of the smallest aperture for a smartphone camera at f/1.9. Nokia has included some of the PureView features in Lumia 720 and this comes in the form of low light performance.
Related Reading: Nokia Lumia 720 vs Lumia 920 Camera Comparison
Camera settings are similar to Lumia 920, except for the video recording where 720p is the maximum whereas in Lumia 920 is it was 1020p.
The front camera is 1.3MP but capable of recording videos in 720p. There is also Nokia Glam Me lens app to use the front camera.
The 6.7-megapixel camera in Lumia 720 performs extremely well in low light conditions like the big brother Lumia 920. While there is lot of noise is some of the shots, it is still way better than the competition in the same price range.
The automatic setting in the camera does good shots in most of the cases, so really don’t have to manually adjust it every now and then. Below are some of the images taken using the Lumia 720 camera.
Daylight photography (exterior)
Low light Photography (Inside)
Low light Photography (Outside)
Close Up Shots:
Overall, the camera on Lumia 720 is really good considering that it is a mid range phone. But when you consider the overall features and images, Lumia 920 is still better.
Here is a sample video recording from Lumia 720 (720p).
Performance and Apps:
Lumia 720 comes with only 512MB RAM unlike Lumia 820 and Lumia 920. But this is not refracted in the performance as it does almost all tasks with ease. There is absolutely no lag whatsoever even when you are playing graphics rich games like Asphalt 7.
Here is quick video on Lumia 720 performance with Asphalt 7 Heat.
The call quality on Lumia 720 is really good and we didn’t find any issues with making and receiving calls. There is also NFC included in the phone. Our version of Lumia 720 had the storage check app installed which allows you to manage temporary files on your device.
The device comes with 8GB of internal storage, but you can always extend it using the microSD card. Opening apps are pretty quick, but sometime when you resume an app, it takes a bit longer than the Lumia 920 and this could be perhaps due to the 512MB RAM.
Other than this, Windows Phone 8 performs very well without any issues on Lumia 720. We are not covering the Windows Phone 8 features and performance here, since we have done it in Lumia 920 review.
Since the RAM is only 512MB, there are some games which is not available for Lumia 720. One of the main title, the Temple Run is not available for Lumia 720 for this reason.
Battery:
This is one area where Lumia 720 has no competitors as it has an excellent battery life. Lumia 720 includes a non-removable 2,000 mAh battery which is similar to the one found in Lumia 920 and higher than Lumia 820. The battery performs really well under almost all conditions. We set the brightness level to automatic, HSDPA was enabled, listen to songs using the speakers, sync was enabled for Twitter and Facebook and we still had almost 75% battery after 16 hours of use. That’s really excellent by all standards.
For a normal user with emailing, casual browsing, Tweeting, taking photos and music along with calls, it should easily last for 2 days. The battery on Lumia 720 refuse to die!
Summary:
Lumia 720 is a solid mid range performer with an awesome design and build quality. Ideally Lumia 720 design should have been what Lumia 920 needs to have. It is lightweight, feels sturdy and also feels good in hand. Although the screen resolution isn’t the best, Nokia has made an excellent screen with its clear black display and color balance. The camera is also very good when you consider this is a mid range phone and even comes close to Lumia 920 in few shots.
While there are few issues like the limitation with 512 RAM while playing games, but the overall package what Lumia 720 offers is really good.Coupled with excellent battery life, we would even recommend Lumia 720 over the Lumia 820.
If you are on a tight budget, then look no further, get the Lumia 720 and you won’t be disappointed.
