Nokia bridges the gap with its new Lumia 1520

SINGAPORE — Nokia finally entered the phablet game with the Lumia 1520, a device that could help the Finnish company close the gap with its Apple and Android rivals whose devices are currently more popular and commercially successful.

The Lumia 1520 boasts plenty of firsts for Nokia. It is the company’s first quad-core device and the first Lumia phone to come with a 1080p Full HD display.

As a result this is the best Windows Phone 8 device to play high-definition games and watch movies on. The phablet is also very fast and using everyday functions such as switching between apps, opening the camera app and accessing social media accounts is almost instantaneous thanks to the 2.2Ghz, Snapdragon 800 processor.

The 3,400mAh battery easily lasted two days, with frequent checking of social media accounts, playing of high-definition games, lots of web browsing and hundreds of emails coming in.

The Lumia 1520’s 20-megapixel camera is not in the same league as the 41-megapixel sensor on the Lumia 1020, but it is the best camera on any phablet in the market now. Pictures captured on the device are sharp and the colours are vibrant while snaps taken in low-light conditions are well lit but not blown out.

A Storyteller app is installed on the phablet to help users keep their pictures organised. The app automatically groups photos by date and location and an integrated map function shows you exactly where the photo was taken.

Music fans will be glad to know that Nokia has revamped its Music app to a fully-fledged music-streaming service known as Nokia MixRadio. The app also allows users to create their own customised playlists using music not currently stored on their Lumia device. Users just need to pick any three artists and the app compiles their songs and those from similar artists into a playlist, which can later be stored offline.

Like all Windows phones, the Lumia 1520 will also come with a free Microsoft Office app, allowing you to read and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents on the go. You can also sync the phablet to the cloud service SkyDrive, allowing you to work on the same document on both the phone and your computer.

On top of the new device, Nokia has made significant improvements and additions to its app store.

The store now boasts over 190,000 apps — including photo-sharing app Instagram — and other popular apps such as WhatsApp now perform almost as well as their iOS and Android versions. Even the HERE navigation app has been upgraded to include public transport timings and directions.

The Lumia 1520 does have some Wi-Fi connectivity issues, but it also has plenty of positives.

It is lightning fast, has a camera that is the best in the phablet class and the revamped music app is sure to get anyone’s feet tapping. But will that be enough to convince people to ditch their iPhones and Android devices? I think it might.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 will be available in yellow, black and white from Dec 14 at the retail price of S$999.

Pre-orders can now be made at all Nokia stores and Nokia Solutions Partners. A red version will be available at a later date.