Nokia Lumia 930 review, specs review, price and release date

Everything you need to know about Microsoft's flagship Windows Phone

With Microsoft having just unveiled its first ever Lumia phone not to carry the Nokia branding, the Lumia 535, the Lumia 930 is potentially the last ever flagship smartphone we'll see carrying the Finnish firm's iconic branding.

While older phone users may feel sad about the end of the iconic brand's use, the Lumia 930 is at least an adequate send off for Nokia.

Featuring a wealth of top end components, custom hardware and software features and innovative design, the Lumia 930 is a great smartphone. In fact the Lumia 930 is so rife with custom features not normally seen on a smartphone, some buyers have been mystified by it.

Here to help we've pulled together all the key facts you need to know about the Lumia 930.

Specs
The Nokia 930 is designed to follow the legacy set by the company's Lumia 925 smartphone, not its previous Lumia 1020 handset.

The Lumia 930 is currently powered by Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8.1 mobile operating system, however Microsoft has confirmed plans to upgrade existing Lumia phones to its forthcoming Windows 10 operating system.

Unveiled in September Windows 10 is designed to be an all in one operating system that works across all Microsoft' powered laptops, tablets and smartphones. It features a number of under the hood changes and reworked user interface that combines elements of Microsoft's past Windows 7 and current Windows 8 operating systems.

From a hardware perspective, the Lumia 930 has a very different design to traditional Lumias, featuring metal sides and a clipped-in backplate, as opposed to the single-piece polycarbonate chassis seen on other top-end Nokia Windows Phones, such as the Lumia 1020.Nokia Lumia 930 review home screen

It also means the Lumia 930 doesn't feature the top-end 41MP PureView rear camera sensor debuted on the Lumia 1020. Instead the Nokia Lumia 930 features a 20MP rear camera, complete with Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilisation and LED flash and a basic 1.2MP front camera.

In terms of dimensions, the Lumia 930 is fairly large, measuring 137x71x9.8mm and weighing 167g.

The Nokia Lumia 930 also comes loaded with some pretty impressive hardware. It features a 5in screen, which boasts Full HD 1080x1920 resolution and Nokia's custom ClearBlack technology.

The phone runs using a quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip and features 2GB of RAM. The specifications make the Lumia 930 one of the fastest Windows Phones ever released.

The Lumia 930 also features a sizeable 2,420mAh battery, which Nokia claims will offer up to 15.5 hours of talk time and a standby time of up to 18 days.

Nokia has also reintroduced wireless charging support to the Lumia 930, meaning with the addition of the free wireless charger, it should be quick and easy to top up the handset's battery throughout the day.

Other specifications include Bluetooth 4.0, 32GB of internal storage - without a micro SD card slot for expansion - and support for 4G LTE connectivity.

Review
Having had the Lumia 930 since 7 July, we're pleased to say it does live up to its specifications on paper promise. Featuring a metallic, colourful design the Lumia 930 is one of the sturdiest smartphones currently available.

Running on Windows Phone 8.1, which adds key enterprise services such as mobile device-management (MDM) support, and useful productivity services such as Outlook and Office 365, the Lumia 930 is very business friendly.

Add to this the Lumia 930's impressive quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and stellar 20MP rear camera and we can't help but be impressed with Microsoft's current flagship. The only niggling flaw hampering the Lumia 930's overall appeal is its below-average battery, which at best makes it through a day before needing a top-up charge.

Release date and price
The Lumia 930 went on sale in the UK on 17 July with monthly contract prices starting at £33. The handset is available from Vodafone, EE, Phones 4u, O2, Carphone Warehouse, Tesco and Amazon.

The Lumia 930 is available in some eye-catching colours including bright orange, bright green and the less head-turning black. Phones 4u has exclusive access to a white model. Those who buy the phone within the first two weeks will receive a launch pack worth £130, which will include a portable wireless speaker, a portable wireless charger and a £20 Windows Store voucher.

Microsoft did not give a SIM-free price for the Lumia 930, though some firms are selling the device SIM-free at a variety of price points. Top End Electronics offers the Nokia Lumia 930 SIM-free for £399.

Carphone Warehouse is taking Lumia 930 orders. There are tariffs available on the EE, O2 and Vodafone networks, with the cheapest being a 24-month £30.50 Vodafone contract, which comes with a free Lumia 930, 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data. For those after more data, O2 is offering unlimited texts, minutes and 1GB of 4G data for £33 a month, while EE is offering 2GB of data for £34.99.

Phones 4u is also taking orders for the smartphone, although it is offering the Lumia 930 only on contracts with Vodafone. The cheapest is a £30.50 tariff that comes with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB data, while those after 4G can opt for a £35.50 offering, complete with unlimited texts, unlimited minutes and 4GB data.

O2 is offering the Lumia 930 in green and black, with the best tariff coming in at £33 per month with a £9.99 upfront cost. This comes with unlimited minutes and texts, and 1GB of 4G data.

EE offers the Lumia 930 free on a £29.99 per month contract, complete with 1,000 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.