HMD's Nokia launches a smartphone subscription service with eco-friendly twists
Hold onto your phone for environmental, but not financial, rewards.
Nokia Lumia 822
75
Engadget Review
The Lumia 822 is a solid mid-range Windows Phone and provides an excellent value for those unable to afford HTC's 8X.
Pros
- Strong performanceGreat cameraGood value
Cons
- Ugly designAverage displayMiddling call quality
View All Critic & User Reviews
Nokia Lumia 822
- Critic Reviews (9)
- User Reviews (9)
- 72AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE9 ReviewsEngadget80Nokia Lumia 822 review: the pride of Espoo returnsThe Nokia Lumia 822 isn't likely to inspire love at first sight, but if you're able to look past its homely design and chunky enclosure you'll quickly discover a device that's worthy of your affection. The Lumia 822 is a well-rounded handset offering good performance ... and an excellent camera.Laptop Magazine60Nokia Lumia 822 (Verizon Wireless) ReviewThe Nokia Lumia 822 on Verizon delivers snappy Windows Phone performance and fast 4G LTE speeds, but it's hampered by short battery life.PC Mag70Nokia Lumia 822 (Verizon Wireless)The Nokia Lumia 822 delivers a solid, if unexceptional, Windows Phone 8 experience on Verizon Wireless.CNET80Strong features burdened by boring designThe Nokia Lumia 822 offers a very good value for Verizon, but if you're into stylish design and spotless call quality, this isn't the phone for you.SlashGear80Verizon Nokia Lumia 822 ReviewThe Nokia team was smart to finally make a connection with Verizon for Windows Phone 8 here. Hopefully the hot selling action that’s happening with the Lumia 920 will continue here with the Verizon-bound 822 so Nokia can continue to bring unique solutions like this one to the market.Phone Scoop70Review: Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon WirelessThe Nokia Lumia 822 does a masterful job at most tasks... The 822 loses the best feature of its companion devices with its lack of customizable shells. The hardware is mostly good, but crummy buttons and the awkward shape are a bit of a let down.Mobiledia60Nokia Lumia 822Overall, if you're looking for a mid-range Windows phone, the AT&T's Lumia 820 and Verizon's 822 are good choices -- they're also similar enough that you won't have to switch carriers. But the 822 has a leg up on internal storage and Data Sense, so if you're on a budget, the 822 is a good bet.phoneArena80Nokia Lumia 822 reviewThe Lumia 822 is a solid device with good features that complements its $100 on contract price.PocketNow70Nokia Lumia 822 Quick Review...somewhere in the midst of that tailoring, between Verizon’s LTE support and Nokia’s excellent camera optics, the 822 became something more: we think the device has an impressive enough feature set to warrant the label of “mid-to-high-tier” smartphone.
- 88AVERAGE USER SCORE9 ReviewsEngadget Reader80June 8, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Verizon has removed group messaging and visual voicemail, but visual voicemail was added back with a Verizon app.Engadget Reader100April 21, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader90March 10, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader80February 25, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!There's a lot to like about this in spite of a few flaws. - EngadgetEngadget Reader80February 14, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!There's a lot to like about this in spite of a few flaws. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90January 19, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader100December 6, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Only going to get better. I'm glad I got this rather than the HTX WP8XEngadget Reader80December 3, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I had "Windows Mobile" and "Symbian" back before smart phones were cool. The iPhone came out and changed the world. I had an iPhone and loved it. Upgraded to a 3GS and was starting to get annoyed by it. The original "Motorolla Droid" came out on Verizon here in the US and I jumped on it immediately. Since then I have has the Droid Pro, Droid Incredible, Droid X, Thunderbolt, Droid 3 and Droid 4. I loved all my Motorolas and tolerated all my HTC Android Phones. But I started getting sick of all these new policies that Google was adopting about forcing me to use my real name. Eventually one of my Google accounts was suspended after 7 years of faithful Googling! That was the last straw. I looked at the market and really my only option was the HTC Trophy 7 on Verizon. I got it on eBay for under $200 and loved it! Enter the new Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia 822. Not having over all very good luck with HTC phones (namely call quality and antenna performance), the HTC Trophy included, when the new HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 822 hit Verizon I had to decide what I wanted more, a nice 720 HD screen or better call quality, removable battery, upgradable storage, Nokia Apps. I Seemed like I had already made my decision. I preordered the white Lumia 822. I will try and keep it short. If you are on Verizon, IMO, the Lumia 822 has way more to offer than the HTC 8X. As I mentioned before, the only thing it really has going for it is the 720HD screen. Also the soft touch plastic it is made out of seems grippy. I don't know if the 8X has good battery life or good reception/call quality. But I do know what the 822 has. A wonderful 800x480 AMOLED screen that the OS really makes good use of. Incredible voice call quality, really fast LTE radio, incredible standby time, even in weak LTE areas, or weak 3G areas. It has a removable battery and supports up to 64GB micro SD cards (SDXC?). Has the ultra sensitive touch screen so you can use gloves, I have the ultra sensitive thing turned off. Quick GPS lock, Qi Wireless Charging built in (you don't need to buy a different door!). 1.5Ghz SnapDragon dual core CPU (I think basically all the current WP8 phones have this, including the Lumia 920). And it has decent front and back cameras. And since its a Lumia, there are all kinds of extra goodies that Nokia gives you.This unfortunately brings me to the negative side of my review. I was excited about Nokia Drive and Nokia maps. I heard good things about them but in practice, they aren't very good. Nokia Maps is fairly fast, but the traffic data is hit or miss and is very slow to populate on the map. POI's are good though and finding business, houses and places to eat works pretty well. Nokia Drive was the biggest disappointment. It can be VEEEEERY slow to find an address. And even though I already downloaded the huge California offline map, it keeps saying I should download the map. It also seems to have no concept of clover leafs. It will just show a left into a freeway when you should be on the right to take the clover. Mapping to my house, it says I should take the street behind my house to get to it. It also doesn't tell you what your next turn is clearly on the phones screen most of the time. If you are on 880 North and need to get to 80 East, it will say something like "Merge to 80". 80 what?! East, West? While over all it is a big improvement to the very basic turn by turn built into WP7.5 it is a step back in some ways. For my trusty little HTC Trophy, I had the Garmin GPS app that I think I paid $40 for. I think I am going to go back to that. One other gripe I have about the phone is the built in loud speaker. The ear piece is perfect, but the loud speaker is VERY tinny and almost piercingly sharp. Its actually shockingly bad for a modern cell phone. If you like to listen to music with the built on speaker, the 8X may be the way to go for you. I havn't tried with the speaker phone yet, but maybe it will lend it self better to voice calls than music. Oddly the ring tones all pretty much sound fine.But for me over all Windows Phone 8 shines. I am a heavy e-mail and SMS user. I also browse the web a lot on my phone (a good reason for a 720 HD screen), but all smart phones are a compromise in some way or another to a mobile power user. Bottom line, the Nokia Lumia 822 is a wonderful phone with great ergonomics, call quality, reception and battery life. But I never see it anywhere. It is a very under appreciated phone. If you are a Verizon customer and want a Windows 8 Phone right now, weigh your options carefully when choosing between the 8X and the 822. They are both good phones for different reasons. To me, all the things the 822 offered far outweighed the HD screen and possible shortcomings that all other HTC phones I have ever owned have had. I am giving this review an 8 out of 10 because of the disappointing exclusive Nokia apps like Maps and Drive, at the time of this writing anyway. Hopefully they will get better. Thanks for reading. -JHEngadget Reader90November 18, 2012Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I came from an Android phone, and while I loved that I could change everything, I found that I had to do a lot to the phone to get decent battery life. The 822 gives me all of the functionality that Android gave me with little of the work. This phone just works. The start screen is awesome. I love the notification count for what matters to me that lives on the lock screen The phone is fast and fluid. The call quality is great, both the normal mode and speaker phone. It integrates well with the Google ecosystem. This phone does everything my Android could do. People talk about the lack of apps. I found most first party apps and supplemented omissions with 3rd party apps. And if there isn't an app solution now, there will be soon. This phone just works. So far I love it.
Key Specs
TYPE
Smartphone
OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows Phone
SCREEN SIZE
4.322
INTERNAL MEMORY
161
CAMERA
Yes
TALK TIME
2g, 3g
CARRIERS (US)
Verizon / Alltel
More from Nokia
HMD's first Nokia tablet features a huge battery and costs $250
The T20 can go nearly 15 hours between charges and offers optional LTE.
The Nokia 2720 Flip phone is finally coming to the US
The remake of the 2009 handset will be available on Verizon.We have two newsletters, why not sign up for both?
HMD revamps its Nokia smartphone lineup with six new affordable models
Oh, and the company will start selling wireless service too.
Robinhood raises $1 billion, will reopen GameStop stock purchases on Friday
After freezing purchases of 13 stocks on Thursday, the stock trading service sought cash to continue operating normally.
Nokia's first big HMD-made phone in the US is an 8.3 5G for Verizon
The Nokia 8 V 5G UW boasts a big screen and clever camera tech.
43Unreleased Nokia N95 follow-up pops up on YouTube
YouTuber Mr. Mobile shows off a prototype HMD device that could've revived the Nokia N95 name.
Verizon and Nokia are building private 5G networks for businesses
The tech is designed to replace WiFi in "industrial-grade facilities."
NASA taps Nokia to bring LTE to the Moon
The agency awarded the company a $14.1 million contract.
Tell us what you think of your classic Nokia 3310
20 years later, how does this indestructible phone rate?
HMD's Nokia 8.3 5G 'flagship' is coming to the US this fall
The phone uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765G, just like the OnePlus Nord.
The Nokia 8.3 5G wants to be the king of roaming
HMD Global has also unveiled the Nokia 5.3 and Nokia 1.3 today.
10The next Nokia remake is the XpressMusic-branded 5310
The colorful candybar handset is back.
How did we get to 5G? The history of mobile networks
From 80lb car phones to mobile broadband and 5G.
Nokia will announce its new phone in a James Bond trailer
Nokia's first 5G phone will co-star in a commercial with Bond actor Lashana Lynch.
How exactly does 5G work?
5G arrives properly in 2020, but what's real, and what's hype?
Alphabet's Loon, telecoms unite to boost high-altitude internet
The HAPS Alliance includes large carriers, Nokia and Airbus.
Nokia-branded smart TVs are coming to India
The brand name has been licensed by Indian retail giant Flipkart.
Catch up on Nokia's IFA 2019 event in under 10 minutes
The brand revealed more feature phones than smartphones.
The latest Nokia feature phones are rugged and retro, respectively
HMD's Nokia 800 and 2720 couldn't be any more different.
