Nokia Lumia 735 Review
by Brett Howse on February 3, 2015 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Microsoft
- Nokia
- Lumia
Back in September, Microsoft launched what would be the last two Nokia branded Lumias. The Lumia 830 was announced as an affordable flagship, and we reviewed the 830 back in November. The Lumia 730 and 735 were launched with a different feature set, a lower price, and a higher resolution front facing camera. Microsoft announced them as “built for Skype calls and selfies” with the inclusion of the five megapixel front facing camera and put the package in a smaller, lighter body. It was launched with four colors, with the 730 being a dual SIM version and the 735 is a single SIM with LTE capabilities.
Right after our Lumia 830 review, Microsoft asked if I would like to review the 735 as well. Although many of the internals are similar or identical to the 830 and 630, there is enough different that this is really a unique phone in the Lumia range. It lacks the PureView branded camera system, but still has a good camera. The OLED display is 720p, which is a step up from the lower cost 630, and the same resolution as the 830, but in a slightly smaller screen size. At 4.7”, this is the only Lumia available at this size.
The Lumia 830 tried to put a higher end package together with the metal frame, 5” display, and a PureView 10 MP camera with OIS into a less expensive price bracket. Although the SoC in the 830 is only a Snapdragon 400, it is overall a great phone which is hampered only by its price. The 735 steps the price down further and packages the phone in a more traditional Lumia style with a fully polycarbonate body.
| Nokia Lumia 735 | Nokia Lumia 830 | |
| SoC | MSM8926 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 | MSM8926 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 |
| RAM/NAND | 1 GB LPDDR2, 8 GB NAND + microSD 128 GB |
1 GB LPDDR2, 16 GB NAND + microSD 128 GB |
| Display | 4.7” 1280x720 ClearBlack OLED Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
5.0” 1280x720 IPS ClearBlack LCD Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Network | GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA/LTE up to 150 Mbps |
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA/LTE up to 150 Mbps |
| Dimensions | 134.7 x 68.5 x 8.9 (mm) | 139.4 x 70.7 x 8.5 (mm) |
| Weight | 134.3 grams | 150 grams |
| Rear Camera | 6.7MP, 1.4 µm pixels, 1/3.4" 16x9 CMOS, f/1.9, 26 mm focal length, LED Flash |
10MP, 1.1 µm pixels, 1/3.4" 16x9 CMOS, f/2.2, 26 mm focal length, LED Flash |
| Front Camera | 5MP wide angle, f/2.4, 1920x1080 video resolution |
0.9MP wide angle, f/2.4, 1280x720 video resolution |
| Battery | 2200 mAh, 3.8 V, 7.04 Wh | BV-L4A 2200 mAh, 3.8 V, 7.04 Wh |
| OS | Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim Firmware |
Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim Firmware |
| Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) + BT 4.0, USB2.0, DLNA, FM Radio |
802.11 a/b/g/n + BT 4.0, USB2.0, DLNA, FM Radio |
| Location Technologies |
Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning, A-GPS, A-GLONASS, BeiDou |
Cellular and Wi-Fi network positioning, A-GPS, A-GLONASS, BeiDou |
| SIM Size | Nano SIM, Dual-SIM HSPA on Lumia 730 |
Nano SIM |
Internally, it is very similar to the Lumia 830. The Snapdragon 400 MSM8926 provides the quad-core Cortex A7 at 1.2 GHz, as well as the LTE modem. Memory is identical at 1 GB of LPDDR2, which opens the entire range of Windows Store apps to this device. The OLED display also features ClearBlack, which is a polarizing filter to keep refractions and reflections from outside lighting to a minimum. Storage is less than the Lumia 830, with only 8 GB of internal NAND available. A micro SD card slot allows an additional 128 GB to be added, and Windows Phone’s Storage Sense app makes it easy to control where your data gets stored. The latest update to Windows Phone also allows future software updates to be staged to the SD card, making the 8 GB not as much of a detriment as on other platforms.
One rather large omission, which is available on the Lumia 830, is Glance screen support. Every Lumia should have Glance, as it is one of the best features. Because this one does not, it is a big knock against it, especially when moving from an older Lumia with Glance support.
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peterfares - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
PenTile screen? Yuck.Paulo Constança - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
Great article as always! I decided to finally create an account just to comment on this one. I have this phone, bought it 3 when it barely came out to replace my old and ageing trustworthy Nokia 5800. I tried several phones before making the decision to buy this one, several androids from several brands, i even glimpsed at the iphone (but that one was is too expensive for my poor pockets), and then i tried windows phone on a low end device. After seeing how fast it was, i decided to search for the lumia phones. Seeing this one had just came out 2 weeks ago back then, i decided to check for the pricing, and it was with a great discount: Unlocked for 189€ (it was, and still is, 249€ in most stores), so I decided "what tha hell, let's jump into the windows phone and see what's it about.", as i pretty much already knew well what android and ios could offer me, and kept hearing how "bad and lacking windows phone was".God damn it's great!
Phone runs super smooth, the hand feel is just right, screen has incredible colous, love the blacks, the entire system just pieces together incredibly well, and the so called "app lacking" problems are not nearly as close as people say it is: actually so far i haven't felt the need for any app that's lacking, even multilayer games a few of my collogues have and want me to play with them, i have them available on the store.
I can't believe i went for 6 years with Nokia 5800 thinking not a single phone could replace it anytime soon, and it seems this one was a heck of a deal for the price i got it (it was back in November, it had just arrived to my country it seemed).
Battery lasts for me 2 full days, and i do use the phone quite a lot during my day. Only thing i found sad to discover this one didn't have is the glance screen, but it's not that much of a big deal breaker.
A few stores have knocked the price down to 199.90€ (unlocked, it's at 168€ in Vodafone right now, locked of course) recently, so this phone should start being a hit, IF people stop being idiots saying Windows Phone isn't any good and actually try it out.
So far I don't have any problems with it, except for one: My wallet is screaming right now, as i just bought a second one to offer my sister for her 38th birthday haha. Got the Orange one for her as well, mine's the dark grey one.
Slap on it a SD card and you wont have any storage issues. 16GB fast mSD cards run so cheap this days (8€), it's a steal really. I got a 64GB card for mine to store all the things and more though :)
faizoff - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
Just to piggyback on your comment, before I bought my first smartphone (iphone 4) in 2010 I had the Nokia 7250i since 2004. I too went with the older nokia phone for 6 years. I bought a cheap lumia 525 and I'm seriously thinking of getting a high end windows phone once my iphone 6 plus dies (probably another 4 yrs).Cpt. Obvious - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
The Glance Screen is available as a download from the app-store. See: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/glance...AlluringRaja - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Yes I saw that but I think glance screen is not available to download for Lumia 520. There is no download button.atata - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Why you never test audio output quality from jack? Is no one listening to the music anymore?cbf - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Well, I guess this is good review for users outside the US. But why does Microsoft give you a phone to review that's not really available for sale here, or support the common US LTE bands?BMNify - Thursday, February 5, 2015 - link
Thanks for the review Brett, I have bought the dual sim Lumia 730 for $200 factory unlocked version, so its a very good deal when compared to the $375 Lumia 830 in my country. I was sick of carrying two phones and badly needed a dual sim phone and the Lumia 730 announcement got my interest.I don't like huge phones, so the 4.7inch screen is perfect for me, the OLED screen is of good quality, windows phone has the best implementation of MicroSD cards and thus storage is a non-issue, the phone design is nice with light weight and comfortable curves, got the Matte finish dark grey colour as i prefer matte finish and dark colours. The camera quality is actually good and can be bettered only by flagship phones, no other $200 phone can compete with Lumia 730 in this department !!
Now, looking forward to Windows 10 technical preview, i know that the final W10 launch will be in Fall-2015 but its nice of Microsoft to allow direct OS updates via technical preview or preview for developers app.
loimlo - Saturday, February 7, 2015 - link
The charge time is incredibly long given its battery capacity! Is it possible to charge the Lumia 735 using beefier chargers like 5V/1A or 5V/2A so as to reduce charge time?BMNify - Saturday, February 7, 2015 - link
Definitely, you can charge 730/735 with the beefier chargers, i charge my Lumia 730 Dual Sim with a 2A charger and i haven't timed it but its much much faster than the 0.75A charger i got in the box.