Nokia goes large with 6-inch Lumia 1520 and 1320 smartphones

Nokia’s latest additions to its high-end Lumia smartphone range step into the ‘phablet’ category with 6-inch displays offering more room for Windows Phone’s unique Live Tiles experience, and new apps to beef up the Windows Phone Store.

The Lumia 1520 and 1320 devices were unveiled at the Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi this morning, along with new members of the lower-cost Asha smartphone family and an all-new tablet, the Lumia 2520.

By introducing a 6-inch display option to the Lumia range, the 1520 and 1320 make room for an extra column of Live Tiles on the customisable home screen, while the constantly updating tiles themselves have space for more information.

Lumia’s leading 1520

The leader of the pack of smartphones revealed today is the Lumia 1520. Its 1080p full-HD display is protected by Gorilla Glass 2 and encased in a polycarbonate mono-body measuring less than 9mm thick.

Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and a powerful 3,400mAh integrated battery that can be charged using Qi wireless charging accessories.

While camera capabilities aren’t as impressive as the Lumia 1020, the 1520 still has top-of-the-line specs with a 20MP PureView camera, Zeiss optics and optical image stabilisation (OIS). The rear camera also features oversampling technology and 2x lossless zoom.

For the Lumia 1520, Nokia has combined its Pro Camera and Smart Camera apps into one, Nokia Camera, which allows users to access manual controls or take 10 5MP photos at once via a single app.

App line-up expands with Instagram, Vine and more

There’s a dedicated shutter button for easy point-and-shoot photography, and Nokia has also introduced a range of new apps to make use of these images. Nokia Storyteller lets users view photos by timeline, favourites or by location on an interactive map that also allows them to look up points of interest, get contact info and check out user reviews.

Nokia Beamer lets users share pictures, locations or even their camera viewfinder view to any compatible screen wherever it may be by sending a link via social media, email or SMS. For enhanced video recording, Nokia Rich Recording users four microphones to better capture audio.

More importantly, Nokia today revealed some key third-party apps joining the Windows Phone ecosystem. Snap-happy users will be happy to hear that Instagram, Vine and Vyclone Pro are coming to Windows Phone 8, as well as a number of lesser-known image manipulation and sharing apps.

For productivity, there are note-taking apps Papyrus and InNote, not to mention the advantages to be had using Microsoft Office on a larger screen.

New accessories also unveiled today include the DC-50 mobile wireless charging plate and a case for the Lumia 1520 with a fold-back cover that doubles as a stand.

^{The Nokia Lumia 1320 range}

Less specs for a lower cost

Alongside the 1520, Nokia also revealed the Lumia 1320, a lower-spec device with a price to match. This 6-inch device features 720p HD resolution with Gorilla Glass 3 and a super-sensitive touchscreen that can be used while wearing gloves.

While processing power, memory and on-board storage all take a step down, the 1320 features the same battery capacity as the 1520, meaning more power for less.

The 1320 is compatible with Nokia Storyteller and Nokia Camera even though they don’t come preloaded. In fact, many new features introduced with the 1520 will be opened up to the current range of Lumia devices when a new Lumia Black software update starts rolling out in early 2014.

The Lumia 1320 will be available in orange, yellow, black or white, with an estimated price of US$339. It will come first to China and Vietnam in early 2014, followed by other markets in Asia, India and Europe.

The Lumia 1520 comes in white, yellow, red and black models – the last of which is made using recycled materials – and will be available this quarter at an estimated price of US$749 in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, China and Europe, with other markets to follow.