[Nokia Lumia 920] katamari201:
I've been following the new Lumia 920 since it was first rumored. Even after it was officially announced and the massive disappointment set in that it had nothing remotely close to the Pureview sensor, the saving grace was the optical stabilization and the idea of getting a smartphone with actual next-gen imaging capabilities that was a clear improvement over the same generic 8MP shooters the competition had been recycling for over two years. I checked google every day for "lumia 920", setting it to 24hrs and looking at the first two pages. However, the weeks turned into months, and even though there is a tentative November release date, the competition has already wrecnhed away a significant part of my interest in the Lumia, now that the holiday wars are starting. They should've never thought getting in the fray at this heated time would be a smart move.

When the Lumia 920 was announced, the best thing around was the Galaxy S III and the One X, both of which had already been a few months old and neither of which I liked. The One X I owned and wasn't wowed by. The Galaxy S III, another plasticky Samsung phone with a gaudy AMOLED screen that I had grown weary of after owning a half dozen Samsung phones prior. The iPhone5 came and went and I never cared for it either. Sony offerings were still a joke, and LG was half-hearted with the Optimus 4x. The Lumia 920 was the only one on my list. It was a guaranteed buy.

However, Nokia just kept pushing its luck, squandering their advantage, and now it's holiday season and the big guns are coming out with their 2012 Q4 lineup. LG has their Optimus G and even better Nexus 4 coming out. Motorola with their Razr M and Razr HD. HTC with their gorgeous looking 5" 1080p screen on the DNA/Butterfly. Sony with a possible Nexus 5. Asus and it's padfone 2. And other brands like Oppo throwing their hat in the flagship ring.

Windows Phone 8 is looking archaic in comparison. Microsoft still refuses to demo the rest of the UI. What can be seen looks no different than WP7 aside from more live tiles crammed in front. The slickness of the UI is basically a moot point by now. Android has reached parity with their quad-core phnoes, even without the help of JellyBean. The transitions on many of the custom skins are more complicated but just as smooth as any of the stark flying stuff on Windows Phone. This wasn't true a few months ago, when only the Galaxy S III's touchwiz looked truly smooth and all other Android phones, like the One X for example, couldn't quite make it. This smoothness is accompanied by far more functionality, with notification centers and widgets and everything else Android is known for. Windows Phone's signature smoothness, once a breath of fresh air from the choppy Android, falls to the wayside, and now there's nothing of real substance that makes it stand out above the Android competition.

The two traits of the Lumia 920 that kept me waiting for it are slowly losing their luster. The build quality is grand, but at this point I am fine with anything NOT Samsung made, and there are lots of premium quality phones to choose from. The harder one to swallow is the PureView camera, especially its top-class nightshot abilities. However, the 8MP camera really isn't better than anything out there, if you have a steady hand. I will lose the splendid night-taking abilities, but on further thought it really isn't that important to have to begin with. The biggest standout on Android phones right now is how big the screens can get while still maintaining such a small size with their thin bezels.

The Lumia 920 really needs to get released soon, and at a very competitive price.