Nokia Lumia 1320 review: Playing by the book

Retail package covers the basics

The Nokia Lumia 1320 ships in a standard retail box, which holds the usual set of accessories that Nokia phones come with. Inside the large, blue box there's a charger with a detachable microUSB cable, a single piece headset and some printed manuals.

Unlike the Lumia 625, there's no extra back cover in the box of the Lumia 1320.

The standard Nokia retail package

Nokia Lumia 1320 360-degree spin

The Nokia Lumia 1320 is, inevitably, a large slab, just like the Lumia 1520. The 6" screen alone isn't going to easily fit in a pocket, if at all. At 164.2x 85.9 x 9.8mm, it's actually reasonably sized for a phablet, but a tad larger and thicker than the premium Lumia 1520.

Its weight however is something to consider. The Lumia 1320 weighs a good 220g, which is nearly 40g heavier than its main rival, the Galaxy Mega 5.8, which weighs in at just 182 grams (but it has a smaller, 2,600mAh, battery).

Design and handling

You won't mistake the Nokia Lumia 1320 for any other make of phone on the market - the design of the Lumia line-up, which has been pretty much set in stone, is instantly recognizable. In fact, the Lumia 1320 is actually very similar to the Lumia 625. Almost too similar.

Not that we're complaining - the Lumia 625 is a good looking phone, albeit a little too simple and understated. Both have replaceable back panels in a variety of bright paint jobs, which don't just cover the back, but wrap around the sides as well. This works as a subtle accent, forming a slim frame around the screen.

The well-familiar Lumia exterior design

Sadly, the only benefit of a removable back panel is missing - the 3400mAh battery is non-user-replaceable. Still, the matte finish is quite resistant to fingerprints, but still has enough texture so as to provide grip and not feel poorly made. In fact, it feels more premium than a large portion of the other plastic phones we've come across.

Our Lumia 1320 comes with a white back panel, but Nokia offers black, yellow and red, too.

The back cover feels premium to the touch

Beyond that, the design of the 1320 is largely the same as what you'll find on most other Lumias: rectangular frame with tapered edges, for a subtly curved back. A notable difference lies in the display on the front, which unlike the 625 doesn't sport the gently tapered edges. Other than that, the rectangular look and beveled sides have been an unmistakable trait of the Lumia line since its inception.

Overall, the Lumia 1320 is solidly built and quite pleasant to handle with one annoying exception - although the rear cover seems to fit quite tightly, the inner body would move up and down within the case if you press the screen down and slide. It's just a slight wobble, but one you can really feel it. It could be just our review unit though.

Controls

Below the display there are three capacitive keys - Back, Home and Search. At the edge where glass meets frame is the microphone pinhole, while above the screen is the VGA front-facing camera, the ambient light and proximity sensors, and the earpiece.

Three capacitive keys below the screen • standard sensors above it

The right side of the phone is where all of the hardware buttons are. From top to bottom they include the volume rocker, Power/Lock key, and the two-step camera shutter key. Like we mentioned, all the buttons come as part of the back panel, so they'll keep a uniform color should you choose to replace it.

The left side of the device features no controls and ports.

Camera shutter key, Power/Lock key and volume rocker on the right

The Power/Lock key can be used to wake up the screen, but another way to unlock the Nokia Lumia 625 is to long press the shutter key. There's an option to either start the stock WP camera or Nokia's Camera app (which we'll cover later on).

The top and bottom of the phone hold the 3.5mm audio jack and USB port, respectively.

3.5mm audio jack on top • microUSB on the bottom.

Around back, you'll find the 5MP camera lens alongside an LED flash, and there's a speakerphone grille towards the bottom.

The removable back panel • 5MP camera with LED flash

We've covered the removable back panel in detail, so let's get into what's underneath. The 3400mAh battery is sealed within the inner body and therefore non-user-replaceable, which is a bit of a downer considering the non-unibody design. To the right of the camera lens you'll find the microSIM and microSD card slots stacked on top of each another.

Underneath the back panel are the microSIM and microSD card slots

Handling

There's no going away from the fact that the Lumia 1320 is a large device. It'll be near impossible to operate with one hand. The Lumia design may feel a bit played up, but its minimalism works on a phablet quite well.

Handling the Lumia 1320 in one hand is a hard task to pull off

Realistically, the majority of the potential Lumia 1320 users will be using both of their hands to handle it. The matte plastic provides very good grip, on top of being fingerprint-resistant.