“Sleek” Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM Review

Nokia, as a brand, evokes a lot of emotions. For a large number of Ghanaians, their first phones would most likely have been Nokia. It is a brand that transcended all divisions based on social class - rich, poor and middle. A brand that truly "connected people".

However, Nokia's glory days have finally come to an end.

Microsoft, the tech major that acquired Nokia's handset division, recently announced the launch of the Microsoft Lumia Lumia 730 Dual SIM the smartphone.

This phone is a big upgrade to last year's Lumia 720. The mid-range Lumia 730 Dual SIM adds a good mix of features that include a capable processor, sufficient RAM, 6.7-megapixel primary camera, and it’s most promoted feature - a 5-megapixel, 24mm wide-angle front camera.

Let's find out how the Lumia 730 Dual SIM fares and ascertain if Nokia can exit the world stage with its head held high.

The Nokia 730 Dual SIM's design is not starkly different from that of its predecessor. It retains the rectangular candy bar design and would have looked nondescript but for its funky coloured rear shells. These are available in glossy orange and matte green, white and black.

The engineers managed to fit a 4.7-inch display in a phone that has dimensions of 134.7x68.5x8.7mm, which is great because it keeps the body compact. The girth of 8.7mm notwithstanding, the Lumia 730 Dual SIM actually feels much slimmer in the hand thanks to gentle slope on the rear. It is also pretty light at 130g.
The power/wake button and the volume rocker are on the right.

There is no dedicated camera shutter button, just like on the Lumia 630 Dual SIM.

This is a bit of a downer for us considering we expect this on Nokia phones. The primary camera on the rear is accompanied by an LED flash, and beside it lies a microphone. The loudspeaker sits on the bottom right corner of the rear. On prying open the rear cover, one can find the battery compartment, two Micro-SIM card slots, and a microSD card slot.

The Micro-USB port is bang in the centre of the bottom of the phone, while the 3.5mm jack is on the top. Above the screen one can find the earpiece and front-facing camera.

The phone makes use of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 quad-core chip clocked at 1.2GHz per core with Adreno 305 graphics. There is 1GB of RAM, which is a welcome change compared to the paltry 512MB on its predecessor.

Around half of the 8GB of internal storage space is used by system files. Thankfully, users can add up to 128GB of storage space using a microSD card. Also, there is a 2,200mAh battery powering the phone.

There are a ton of additional apps on Lumia 730. These include App Social, BoxTV, Facebook, Flipkart, Flipkart eBooks, Gameloft's GameHub, Health & Fitness, HERE Drive+, HERE Maps, Keek, MixRadio, Myntra, TimesCity and WeChat. Of the aforementioned apps, Keek is a new addition. It is a social network where people can share video status messages instead of regular text updates. Microsoft also provides 1TB of free cloud storage via OneDrive for six months. Users have the option to continue the subscription.

In addition to the default camera app bundled with all Windows Phone devices, Microsoft adds five Lumia-branded apps for capturing photographs and other related functions: Lumia Camera, Lumia Cinemagraph, Lumia Creative Studio, Lumia Selfie and Lumia Storyteller.

The Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM is a polished smartphone. I would, in fact, go as far as to state that this phone is the best Windows Phone alternative to the dependable.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007