Nokia Lumia 1020 Identity Crisis: Is it a Phone with a Built-in Camera or a Camera with a Built-in Phone?

With its enormous 41 MP camera unit, you could easily mistaken Nokia Lumia 1020 as a very thin, high-end digital camera. But, when you look at its specs, you would realize that it's not just a camera. It's also a phone.

As cliché as it maybe, but you should never judge a book, or in this case a gadget, by its cover.

Design and Chassis

In terms of design, Lumia 1020 has a one-piece polycarbonate body available in black, white and bright yellow, buttons on the side. It is 130.4 mm in height, 71.4 mm in width and 10.4 mm in thickness. Compared to Lumia 920, Lumia 1020 is lighter at 158g.

If you will look at the back of the Lumia 1020, the first thought that would come to mind is a super thin digital camera because of its enormous black, round camera unit at the back, as if announcing to the world its best feature - its 41 megapixel-sensor. The camera protrudes from the body by about 3 mm.

Screen and Display

Lumia 1020's 4.5-inch screen has a display resolution of 1,280 x 768 pixels. Which means it only has a pixel density of 334ppi, not as impressive as other flagships like HTC One with 468ppi and Sony Xperia Z1 with 441ppi. But, despite Lumia 1020 having a lower pixel density, the display is still very sharp and crisp due to the deep black levels and high contrast.

Performance

In terms of performance, Lumia 1020 is lagging behind its competitors with only a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. If you're into apps, heavy-duty gaming and multi-tasking, Nokia Lumia 1020 will not be able to impress you. HTC One and Sony Xperia Z1 will suit your taste better with their quad-core processor.

Camera

In terms of photo imaging, Lumia 1020 is impressive with its 41 megapixel-sensors. With this much technology in a camera, you would think that Lumia is a camera with a built-in phone rather than a phone with a built-in camera. It has the capacity to capture a very evenly exposed scene.

Lumia 1020 has 2 camera apps: Windows Phone 8 camera app for casual shooting and Nokia Pro Cam app with manual control over shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus.

Price Range

Nokia Lumia 1020 is available at a price ranging from $599 to $708 in Australia according to myshopping.com.

The Ultimate Decree

Nokia Lumia 1020 may not be impressive as a phone, considering the current trends on smartphones. But, its camera is definitely stunning and brilliant. So, whether it's a phone with a built-in camera or a camera with a built-in phone is up to the user.