Nokia's Lumia handsets are coming thick and fast. They all run on the Windows Phone 8 operating system and the 720 comes in the middle of the pack, with a midrange spec by Nokia standards, but attention to detail and a feast of add-ons nudges it closer to the high-end than many manufacturers.
It's on sale now for around £280.
Design
Whatever their price and spec, Nokia's Lumia handsets share a commitment to solid build quality and the 720 is no exception. The polycarbonate unibody design feels tough and absolutely without flex. While you can't open it to get at the battery, there are slots in the side and top for microSIM and microSD memory cards. Buttons on one side include volume rocker, power/sleep and camera shutter, with 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port on top and bottom respectively. At just 9mm thick it's easy to slip into the pocket and it's fairly lightweight too at 128g, certainly more so that its higher-specced (and considerably higher priced) cousin, the Lumia 925.
Whatever their price and spec, Nokia's Lumia handsets share a commitment to solid build quality and the 720 is no exception. The polycarbonate unibody design feels tough and absolutely without flex. While you can't open it to get at the battery, there are slots in the side and top for microSIM and microSD memory cards. Buttons on one side include volume rocker, power/sleep and camera shutter, with 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port on top and bottom respectively. At just 9mm thick it's easy to slip into the pocket and it's fairly lightweight too at 128g, certainly more so that its higher-specced (and considerably higher priced) cousin, the Lumia 925.
Virtually the whole of the front is covered by a sheet of tough, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass that protects the 4.3-inch IPS touchscreen. It's less-than-HD resolution of 800x480 pixels, which boils down to 217 pixels per inch, won't set the world alight, and falls way behind the best, such as the Galaxy S4's 1,920x1,080-pixel screen, or even the similarly priced Google Nexus 4's 1,280x720-pixel count. It's actually the same as the screen on the Lumia 620, which you can pick up for around half the price, which is a bit disappointing. Still, it's sharp, clear and bright (which helps a lot when viewing in sunlight), and displays movies, websites and pics very well.
It's responsive too, and you can set the sensitivity to "high" which allows you to use it with gloves, something we've seen on other Lumia handsets as well as Samsung's Galaxy S4 high-ender.
Software and features
The Windows Phone 8 software takes a bit of getting used to after Android or iOS, but it's so simple, the learning curve is really very short. It's easy to move the tiles from the apps menu to your scrollable home page. It's easy to resize them as well, and active ones, such as your People tile that alternates pictures of your contacts in an ever-shifting mosaic, or the weather tile that gives constant climate updates, are welcome.
The Windows Phone 8 software takes a bit of getting used to after Android or iOS, but it's so simple, the learning curve is really very short. It's easy to move the tiles from the apps menu to your scrollable home page. It's easy to resize them as well, and active ones, such as your People tile that alternates pictures of your contacts in an ever-shifting mosaic, or the weather tile that gives constant climate updates, are welcome.
Performance
The dual-core 1GHz processor backed by 512MB RAM is distinctly mid-range these days, especially with many handsets now providing a full 1GB or more of RAM. But while it might feel a little underpowered on an Android handset, Windows' streamlined architecture means you don't really notice any slowdown in general use. Apps open smoothly, albeit just a wee bit sluggishly when compared to more powerful engines, as do web pages and HD games (not that you have a huge range to choose from on Windows) play smoothly. It delivered an AntuTu performance benchmark rating of 7,628, which puts it behind some dual-core handsets like the HTC One SV but ahead of others like the Sony Xperia T.
The dual-core 1GHz processor backed by 512MB RAM is distinctly mid-range these days, especially with many handsets now providing a full 1GB or more of RAM. But while it might feel a little underpowered on an Android handset, Windows' streamlined architecture means you don't really notice any slowdown in general use. Apps open smoothly, albeit just a wee bit sluggishly when compared to more powerful engines, as do web pages and HD games (not that you have a huge range to choose from on Windows) play smoothly. It delivered an AntuTu performance benchmark rating of 7,628, which puts it behind some dual-core handsets like the HTC One SV but ahead of others like the Sony Xperia T.
Nokia has an exemplary package of extras as standard, including HERE Maps with its range of views including standard, satellite, public transport and traffic maps. You can download maps and use them with HERE Drive turn-by-turn satnav, even when you don't have a Wi-Fi or network connection, all for free. You can even download the new City Lens app, which we recently saw demonstrated on the top-end Lumia 925. This shows local businesses and points of interest using augmented reality -- hold your phone's camera up and it will overlay details about what's nearby. Nokia Music is also a big plus, with free downloadable playlists of popular tunes.
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