If you are mulling for a gadget purchase this holiday season and wanting to try out a different smartphone system, the best bet you can get is Nokia's Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, according to tech experts.

But be warned, app addicts would surely be disappointed with the nascent Windows ecosystem, which to date remains fraught with apps shortages when compared to the estimated 700,000 applications offered each on Apple's App Store and Google Play Store.

Brushing this concern aside, the Windows Phone 8 experience seems pleasing enough, according to early reviews, and consumer reception both in the United States and Australia, where the Lumia 920 was picked by major telcos, was more than encouraging thus far.

The 920, Telstra said, has atttacted local demands that were 'beyond amazing' while AT&T, Lumia carrier for the U.S. market, has reported that the new Nokia phone is nearing the 'sold out' point, especially certain colours of its polycarbonate shell.

The same trend is happening in the European Market, according to John Davidson, tech expert for The Australian Financial Review, noting that global consumers seem to favour the black and cyan housing of the Lumia 920.

Indications are promising that the 920 is surpassing market projections, Mr Davidson said, and the only issue to be encountered is some form of limitation on colour preference for the high-end WP8 handset. But in Australia, this problem may not be too nagging as Telstra appears to have piled up just the right amount of colour stocks to meet what consumers would want.

Aussies would be able to get the Lumia 920 in black, white, red and yellow, The AFR said, with Telstra enjoying a monopoly of its initial months of local distribution.

For others raring to try out the new WP8 system but reluctant to fork out too much cash, the Lumia 820 is more than a decent alternative.

The phone will not blow away hardcore gadget fans but according to TechCrunch, it "delivers almost the same software experience as the Lumia 920 for a more affordable price-tag."

"The Lumia 820 runs the latest version of WP8 ... and is preloaded with a suite of Nokia apps ... a fully featured streaming music service, sat-nav app, rich maps and more," which should mean would-be buyers are getting "a fair amount of functionality for a mid-range smartphone price," TechCrunch said.

Users, however, will miss the 920's PureView technology, which is one of the compromises that Nokia has deployed with the 820.

But the two Lumia handsets definitely fulfil even the most demanding of gadget cravings this Christmas, as indicated by reviews of the gadgets, especially for users willing to restart with the new environment from Microsoft and Nokia.