7 reasons why the Nokia Lumia 1520 scores top with gamers
We love the Nokia Lumia 1520 for many reasons, but one of the things that really makes it a winner for us is its pure oomph as a gaming machine.
We might be a bit biased, but we’re not alone: new results posted by mobile benchmarking firm Rightware indicate that the Lumia 1520 is not only fast, strong and ever so sexy, but that it’s the best smartphone on the planet for mobile gaming! Let’s take a look under the bonnet and break down the verdict – in between playing the latest Xbox Live release, that is…
1. It’s fast and furious
The first, and maybe most obvious, factor in Rightware’s analysis is the glorious smoothness of the Windows Phone experience, or, as they put it, more efficient software than its competitors. We’re no strangers to the Windows Phone experience, of course, but we always like to see the independent adjudicators go along with us. The 1520 boasts an Adreno 330 GPU with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU, which are great, but equivalent to some comparable machines – and yet, the 1520 sprints past them all when it comes to gameplay, which the boffins attribute to the excellent design of the Window mobile OS. Of course!
2. It has great graphics
Speaking of the Adreno 330 GPU, let’s check out the 3D graphics that the Lumia 1520 brings to the gaming table. Windows Phones use Direct3D feature level 9_3 accelerated graphics, which is tech-speak for how that GPU can be used for fancy 3D graphics. Direct 3D is what you’ll find in the vector graphics API on the Xbox as well as your Lumia 1520, and it allows for powerful 3D graphics that can run full-screen. All of which means that Nokia haven’t skimped, and the Lumia 1520 is geared up for a really powerful performance when it comes to running those higher end games
3. It has a super-sized, super colourful screen
If you’re a gamer you’ll appreciate the importance of the good screen, and the Lumia 1520 has a screen that’ll knock the virtual socks off most other smartphones. With a 6” screen size a resolution of 1080×1920, 368 pixels per inch, 16 million colours and a good wide viewing angle, it’s safe to say this’ll manage games considerably fancier than Pong, or, indeed, the basic puzzle games and simple side-scrollers that we often associate with mobile gaming.
4. It can store tons of top games
Games can be pretty hefty beasts when it comes to storage, especially when you’re in the habit of downloading dozens of them – many smartphone users struggle to fit them all on board. With the Lumia 1520, you get 32GB of built-in memory and space for another 64GB in the microSD expansion slot. There’s also another 7GB as standard with OneDrive – not so handy for games, but you can clear space for even more games by uploading your photos to the cloud. Plus the 1520 comes with 2GB of RAM, which will run pretty much any game you want to throw at it.
5. Its display tech is so good you can play outdoors
The joys of mobile gaming mean, of course, that can you can play anywhere, but screen-glare is often a problem that deters gamers from getting busy when they’re out and about. As springtime starts to take hold, we’re all going to want to get out more often, and this is where the excellent adaptable display of the Lumia 1520 kicks in. As well as the great viewing angle and resolution, the screen features ClearBlack and Assertive Display technology: Nokia’s Head of Display and Touch Technology, Jussi Ropo, explains that ‘Assertive Display nicely complements the ClearBlack promise of being able to see more anywhere, anytime – even in a bright environment.’ What this means is, the Lumia 1520 screen works at an individual pixel level to optimize visibility – it responds to its environment, to changing light and shadow, to balance the picture you see by processing it all in real time, so that you really can use the phablet anywhere: indoors, outdoors, or in low-light conditions.
6. It’s perfect for online gaming
Much gaming is conducted online these days, particularly when we’re talking high-end multiplayer titles, which means that high-speed internet access is at a premium. The Lumia 1520 really shows its stripes here: its super-fast 4G connectivity makes online gaming a completely smooth, social experience. Thanks to Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft, your Lumia 1520 is linked to Xbox, Microsoft’s famous gaming service, meaning that your Xbox profile is loaded on your phone and you can play with your friends and keep track of all your results and achievements via the phone’s Games Hub. Even if your contract doesn’t support 4G, there’s always Wi-Fi!
7. It’s big on battery
Last, but by no means least, all the fancy graphics and memory in the world wouldn’t mean much if your phone kept conking out before you cleared the level – but never fear, the Nokia Lumia 1520 has an enormously powerful 3,400mAh battery that’s ideal for full-on gaming. In layman’s terms, you’re looking at a talk-time of over 25 hours, which means that you should be able to slot a huge chunk of gaming into your day before you plug in.
That’s our seven super reasons why we think the Nokia Lumia 1520 scores so highly with gamers, but what about yours? Let us know which features top your leaderboard in the comments below.