Switching on and setting up a Windows Phone:
Apart from the essential Windows specific buttons at middle of bottom, Nokia Lumia 800 looked like a typical Nokia, simple and elegant, but considering this was a Windows phone, I was wondering that if I gonna see the famous joining hands video while switching on the device.
Yes! that didn’t happened. In place of joining hands, I was greeted with a white Nokia logo in middle of the CBD screen (CBD is awesome) and then just for a half second the Windows logo came in. No joining hands or Nokia tune any more.
The next thing to think was if it was going to ask me for my Nokia Account credentials or Windows Live ID. Answer was the screen prompting me for Windows Live ID.
So, it was just like Google asks for Google Account, iOS asks for iTune ID\Apple Account and Nokia asks for their Nokia Account. First time, you are allowed to do one of the following: Either sign in, create one Live ID or leave it off as of now. It allows you to leave it off as of now though that will limit you from accessing most of the services like Market Place etc. No worries. I had an earlier hotmail account.
Little different from Google or Apple IDs, this Hotmail a.k.a Live ID links Windows Live, Hotmail, XBOX Live, and Zune on your phone. If you are new to these services, then it will be a no brainer for you, but if you been a user then there are some points of caution.
1. First Windows Live ID that you login your phone with, becomes the primary ID and if you add one more Windows Live ID then it will not bring in your Xbox Live gamertag or Zune Tag information.
2. Somehow Microsoft Services seem to be not that perfectly unified as Google’s one. There might be cases that you had services like Xbox or Zune under different Live IDs and if it is so then it would not be possible to bring all your services under one account that easily.
If you are starting a fresh, then I will suggest you to do these things on your desktop first rather than starting from phone itself.
You can sign up for a Windows Live ID here. Its very simple and requires you to give an email address (or create a Windows Live email), your name, a password, and some other personal information used to identify you if you need to retrieve sensitive account information. Fill in the obligatory captcha and you are ready to go. You get access to your Calendar, Messenger, SkyDrive, and more with the new Windows Live ID. It also sets up a Hotmail, XBOX Live and Zune account for you but you need to login to these accounts to customize and configure them. Once your Windows Live ID is setup, you can travel over to Hotmail here, Zune account here and configure your XBox Live account here.
In XBOX Live account, you can change your gamer tag from the default to one of your own choice, customize your avatar, upgrade to a Gold membership, and more.
In Zune Account, while US Account gives you options for unlimited Music (trial for 7 days) or option to purchase the membership to enjoy unlimited music, I couldn’t find any such thing in Indian Account.
Even if there is no Zune unlimited music for Indian users, there is Nokia Mix Radio that comes with every Lumia device, where you can listen to thousands of artists and songs. The service is completely FREE and doesn’t even require you to subscribe (You need to login into your Nokia Account though.. finally …:D ). You can listen to all of the music you want while you have an internet connection, and download up to 14 hours worth of music to listen offline. Unlike the similar iTunes service on the iPhone, Nokia Mix Radio is completely free. There is no monthly subscription, and you do not need to pay for each song listened to.
Anyway, we got deviated from the topic, but It is advised to setup these accounts first to explore the Nokia Lumia 800 fully at its potential.
You can add one Facebook Account (Facebook Chat would be integrated in messaging, no video though), One twitter Account (Twitter pic upload available via app but not via Gallery), One LinkedIn Account (You get your contacts, their updates and can update your status, no official app though), multiple exchange accounts (not sure how many, but more than one just like Android), multiple Yahoo Accounts, multiple Google Accounts (No IM or Video Chat Support though Push should be there), Multiple hotmail accounts, Multiple Pop Accounts and Multiple Nokia Mail Accounts.
In addition to these third party accounts, we obviously have the accounts for Windows Live (Hotmail, XBox Live, Messenger etc) and Outlook (Exchange and Office 365). Also you can add share point or Skydrive in your Microsoft Office Mobile.
Nitish Kumar's Blog 
Holy shit! 24 pages? :-O Sorry man, I give it a pass.. I am too busy, like you 😦
Nice post. How about an option to display the post in one page? May make it simpler to read
You are just awesome dude… how the hell can u review soooooo much!! hats offff! even i own nokia lumia 800!! feels like reading n reading… (now in page 1)
Will consider to put a PDF file for whole post.
One hell of a review Nitish.
Thanks mate. Went out a little early than scheduled but hope I covered most of things
Looks like you can now publish a book on Lumia Review 🙂 Great Review..
Nice review , by the way about OTA , it’s a wp7 limitation and not lumia , soon wp in market currently supports OTA same is true about other few features.
Yup! The review is mostly about Windows Phone as a whole rather than Lumia only
Good post , though I must say I couldn’t read it in one go 🙂
Even though I havent used or tried any WP device for more than half an hour, I just hated UI and how it looks. I don’t think that perception of ugly,over simplified UI will change.
As expected and read all over for me 3 things stand out for WP. These can make it success.
1) People Hub
2) Brilliant Office Suite ( and its FREE)
3) Email
But sadly I feel Nokia is going away from their soul and going Apple way.
This may be good for company(I really doubt) but not good for industry as whole.
Suyog,
I had similar sentiments about WP UI before trying it myself. Even I mentioned once that I felt those uneven fonts as ugly. But trust me, views are bound to change once you allow it grow over you. Not all the praises going around are dummy.
Agree with Nitish, once I got my hands on Lumia 800, I didn’t like UI for few hours or a day and missed home screens. But later, started loving the UI and now I am a fan of UI. 🙂
People hub is exceptional as just like Meego it brings all social activities at one place and like WebOS it brings all the photos (even twitter ones).
So in all, people hub will effectively help people managing their social needs without going behind any apps that is a great thing for n00bs or even people coming from Symbian/Meego.
Second great thing is speed of UI that literally no offers either be Symbian or Android
Suyog, I’ll agree with Nitish.. in just two words…. you will see my views about it changing too… it’s actually a good UI. there are however some features that really were needed but if talking about UI, seriously I think if I was given more time with it I would been liking this UI. and I’ll not say like many out there that “Windows Phone 7.5” is not that good to be used.
But still I’ll say that MeeGo on N9 (for its given time) has been the most *Mature* smartphone OS (in most of the aspects) among all of them.
And Nitish; that really is great post above, I’ll try to read it completely 😛
Review is great for people want to know about the History, comparison , apps functionality , dimensions but drawback is too massive detail..
Very interesting article, Nitish. I’m very exited with Windows phone on Nokia, but lack of BT and file transfer worries me. Nokia has been great among other things because of its flexibility and versatility. Does is support USB on the go, like my N8? What about something small but GREAT in functionality, notification light? Man, I think Nokia should never get rid of this. It helps the user so much to see through a notification light, that you have a missed event.
Quite a thorough article on the Lumia 800(& upcoming 900)windows phone. The most important things for me are:i’m not going to sell a Rolls Royce to ride a better handlind motorcycle-ie,my Nokia E7-00 vs any Lumia! No storage! No tethering! No bluetooth! No sale!
One of the most comprehensive review of Lumia 800 I have read. sheer Brilliant.
Are u still using this device? How is the battery life holding up for you?
Any word on Lumia 900 launch date in india?
Thanks,
-Pankaj
The best review of WP that I have seen , kudos to u Mr. Kumar ! U r right , the Lumia 800 is beautiful ; it should be since it`s a copy of the N9 ! But that same design is also a problem in certain areas of the world ( more about this in a bit . ) .
i`ve always said that WP has potential but it`s still immature ( Takes 3 years to work out enough of the bus and work enough features in , to make the OS useful . ) , seriously late to the party and there r too many other OEMs trying to get a piece of the pie . In all fairness to Nokia , they haven`t had a chance to make an impact on WP yet , maybe WP8 will change this . Nor have the Lumias been out too long , though this is changing . So it`s still a bit early to say for sure .
That said , WP hasn`t exactly taken off yet , marketshare is still single digits . Nor do I like the Metro UI , though my issue with it is more function than form ( but I do think it`s ugly !) . I firmly believe that a homescreen should convey enough info to keep u current at a glance , and the Metro UI doesn`t do this . Even Windows Mobile could do this !
WP`s biggest problem , IMHO , is it`s requirements for a constant connection and Skydrive . Not so much a problem in developed countries , but in emerging markets with their infrastructure issues and the need to watch data usage, it`s a different thing entirely . I don`t think WP will do well in emerging markets ( It seems to not be … ) , though it also doesn`t seem to be doing well in many developed countries either , with the USA , Finland and Russia as notable exceptions .
Nor will do well in countries where the N9 was a success, most notably China , due to the problem that WP is functionally inferior to Meego , and Symbian , for that matter . even the new 311 is better from what I can tell !
For these reasons , I don`t see WP as more than moderately successful , assuming it takes off , of course ! Maybe WP8 will change this , ir really needs too ! cheers !
Mofo awesome! Never believed there existed a greater Lumia 800 fan than me! :p
Hmmm , no replies , can`t say I`m surprised lol !
On second thought , looks like the 10/19/2012 post MIGHT have a reply so I take back the previous remark , t least to an extent lol…
Every thing about Windows Phone OS is covered very well.