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April 15, 2012
Lumia

The Big Debate: Glossy or matte finish?



Hello there and happy Sunday. Welcome to yet another installment of the Nokia Connects Big Debate, where we argue about a many number of things that we all encounter in our day-to-day mobile lives. This time we are going to be fiercely discussing a topic that cropped up recently in our Twitter feed, regarding Lumia phones with a matte finish vs those of a glossy nature (e.g white Lumia phones).

The Big Debate: Glossy or matte finish?

via Long Zheng

I believe this all started off when Ali Al-Qudsi made a plea to his followers that they should all get ‘Stormtrooper’ white Lumia phones. This was pretty much immediately contested by Sam Pullen who reckons that the white finish is too shiny and would prefer something matte given the choice. At this point Trenton Smith jumped in saying he is of the opposite opinion to Sam, and thinks the white finish ‘adds polish and iconic feel.’

From there on many others started getting involved and the conversation evolved from visual appeal to ergonomics. Again, holding true to the preference of a matte finish, Sam says that because of a white Lumia’s glossy nature it’s more prone to slip free from your grasp. While Trenton agreed to some degree with this he raised a very valid point, saying that regardless of its finish any phone has the potential to slip. This is right around the time James Burland threw his opinion out there, stating that a Lumia with a matte finish actually has more of a chance to slip because it has less surface area. To this Jason Goh was in agreement but from a different angle, he reckons the glossy body actually helps the phone stick to your hand.

 

With regards to the slipping or sticking of the glossy finish, Sam’s final word on the matter was that if you suffer from sweaty palms the glossy finish would be detrimental to your handheld experience.

So… many arguments and different points of view are already out there on this. But what do you think? Let let us know your opinion of matte vs glossy phones in the comments section. Also if you would like to tackle any of this on Twitter don’t hesitate to get involved. #NokiaDebate