Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Sony Xperia Ultra might steal the limelight when it comes to screen sizes, but what if you're not a 'Droid fan?
Check out the Nokia Lumia 625. Its 4.7-inch screen is the biggest you'll find with Windows Phone on board. Better yet, it can use 4G data networks for super speedy downloads. At £200 on pay as you go, it's among the most affordable 4G phones around right now.
The Lumia 625 is available now and you can get it free from £26 a month on a two-year contract, or SIM-free from £310.
Should I buy the Nokia Lumia 625?
If screen size above all else is important to you, you need 4G data speeds and you fancy swiping around the colourful tiles of Windows Phone, then yes. It's the biggest Windows Phone device to date, with plenty of room for photos and videos. Make no mistake though -- the 625 is a budget phone with specs to match.
The low resolution display doesn't impress and the dual-core chip struggled at times with more demanding tasks. The camera also isn't good enough for anything more than the most casual of tasks and the Marketplace still receives apps long after Android or iOS.
Still, Windows Phone is simple and quite fun to use, and with its affordable price tag and 4G gubbins, the 625 is a fair option. Alternatively, check out the Acer Liquid E2 -- although the screen is slightly smaller, it has a decent processor, loads more apps and a similarly affordable price.
Design and build quality
Its 4.7-inch screen size makes the Lumia 625 not only the largest of Nokia's Windows-based phones, but the largest Windows Phone device from any manufacturer currently. That naturally means that the device itself is on the chunky side.
It measures 133mm long, 72mm wide and comes in at 9.2mm thick. That's longer and wider than the Lumia 920, but slightly undercuts its thickness. At 159g, it knocks almost 30g off the 920's weight, too. If you want a phone to slide more easily into your jeans then you'd be better off looking at the Lumia 620 or even splashing out slightly more on the 720 -- its smaller size makes a surprising difference when you hold them in each hand.
Visually, there's no question that the 625 is part of the Lumia family. Its rounded edges and brightly coloured plastic body give it the same toy-like aesthetic present on most of Nokia's current phones. It's fairly attractive -- assuming you appreciate bold colours -- and is more suited to a party with cheap vodka in paper cups than expensive bubbly in crystal glasses. If you want a Lumia to match your sleek suit, you might be better off with the aluminium-clad Lumia 925.
The stiff, one-piece plastic back means the 625 feels very sturdy. There are none of the usual creaks and clicks when it's squeezed that you might find on cheaper big phones. The volume, camera and power buttons have a satisfying click to them, too. It won't survive a three-storey drop, but it's unlikely to crack in two if you plonk it on your desk too aggressively.
Around the edges you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port. Pop the case off -- a very awkward thing to do -- and you'll find slots for your SIM card and microSD card. I should note that you can't install apps to the microSD card. The phone has 8GB of storage, which is plenty of room for the essentials, but if you plan on storing a lot of music then you'll need to save it to an external card.
Display
The Lumia 625 might be a lot bigger than the regular 620, but Nokia hasn't seen fit to increase the pixel count with it. It has the same 800x480-pixel resolution, but as they're spread over such a large area, it results in a pixel density of only 198 pixels per inch. Even up against the Lumia 620 (245ppi), that doesn't impress and against the Nexus 4's 320ppi, it's pretty laughable.
Unsurprisingly, fine text isn't very sharp. The Windows Phone tiles, while usually crisp and clear, have a fuzziness to their edges that's hard to ignore, particularly if you've spent much time with higher resolution devices. While the sheer size of the display gives plenty of room for videos and photos, the low amount of pixels means that high resolution pics lack the same eye-popping clarity you might hope for.
Its colours aren't awful but they really don't have the same richness seen on other Lumias. For the relatively affordable price, it's about what you should expect though. If you want a big screen to enjoy YouTube clips and the odd bit of Netflix and don't want to spend a lot, it'll be fine, but if you're after rich videos and luscious-looking movies, you won't be impressed.
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User reviews8
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Hatim Lakdawala 15 November 2013
Good: Childrens Screen
Bad: Lot of things
Comment: This Nokia Lumia 625 is a total Disaster, I regretted it the very moment I shelled out 16grand INR. the store didn't take back the phone, now I am left with a piece of an entertainment device, which heats up when playing games like temple run, and Six Guns. I cannot access files on my memory card, as there is no file explorer, I cannot share videos at all, I cannot send documents as attachments via email, as I cannot browse to find Documents, only pics can be sent via email. Truly a disaster, I feel cheated once again by nokia, my earlier Nokia E6 was way to superior as compared to this phone.
Does anyone want to buy it back from me? It’s just a month old. Can the company compensate me back for this cheating? Coz I truly feel cheated.
Limitations
1) No file explorer- makes the external Memory card just storage for music pictures, and videos, one cannot access the memory card as a storage device.One cannot manage the storage of the phone and ext.mmc.
2) All software installed is on the phone and no option to install on memory card.
3) Limitations while sharing Documents – One cannot first compose email and then browse to the documents to attach them, but one has to select the document and then select a mailbox to send only that attachment, don’t know how one will add multiple attachments. The attachment button on email will only let you select and browse pictures, making this phone a worthless piece for business use where we have to send multiple files.
4) Using email using internet explorer is also very risky as, once I wrote a huge email and then it crashed, making all my work useless.
5) One cannot share Videos at all, Videos is the most silly and most degraded thing on the phone, for Music one has options of Albums, songs ect, but for videos there is only one sub menu called all.There is no way one can share videos over Bluetooth, whatsapp or even through mail box.
6) No Scroll bar or Scroll key makes it difficult to scroll to the bottom of the page if you do not want to use the search option.
7) The three keys on the screen, ‘back’, ‘Windows key’, & ‘search’, are not illuminated and it becomes extremely difficult, almost impossible to use in dark. Such an expensive phone and such a big design error.
8) Phone Heats a little while charging, heats up very much while play games like temple run and six guns. The games crash quite a few times.
9) Limitations in the headphone – Headset provided do not have any button to accept and reject calls not to change music tracks and radio channels.
10) Biggest Limitations – Taking backups, one cannot take a back up of the phone contents like contacts and messages and others ( like calendars, notes, bookmarks). As the windows phone app does not have that feature. I am scared of resetting the phone to factory default or reinstall OS as I will loose all my contacts as nothing is said about contacts in the help menu, messages and others, I can backup using the backup feature to cloud, earlier on E6-00 I could use Nokia Suite.
The Sales people will not explain you all this, you will realize this one you buy the phone. Please be aware and check for all these limitation and then make a wise decision.
theredrocket 30 October 2013
Good: Good value
Bad: Limited apps
Comment: I was asked to review the Lumia 625 as part of a blogger outreach programme.
My main phone is a Samsung S4 and it's not fair to compare the two: it's like putting a Ford Focus alongside a Mercedes. That said, as a business workhorse, like a Ford Focus, there's no much wrong with the Nokia. I was pleasantly surprised by the Windows OS and although there are limited apps compared to iOS and Android, there's enough for the average business user.
saskatoon 13 October 2013
Good: Nothing
Bad: Build quality, battery life, windows
Comment: Do you want a phone rated at less than 2 stars by users?
Despite fewer people choosing BlackBerry, those that have new BlackBerry phones like them. I am so happy I brought in my defective Nokia early enough to trade in for a Z30 which has been very intuitive and made my life and messaging so much easier than the S3 I originally upgraded from.
Give a new BlackBerry a chance, you'll be happy you tried it. Don't like it? Bring it back after a week, as I did with the defective Nokia
See all 8 user reviews