The Nokia Lumia 822, 820, and 810 are, from a hardware perspective, all the same phone -- an affordable mid-tier option with interchangeable casings -- just with different builds and offered on different carriers. The Lumia 820 is AT&T's version of the phone, while the Lumia 810 is a T-Mobile exclusive. That leaves Verizon Wireless' offering, the Lumia 822, which is a decidedly less attractive looking model that alternatively offers more in terms of performance.
Since we recently reviewed T-Mobile's Lumia 810, a very similar smartphone, we will be using this short-form review to highlight the few differences that set Verizon's Lumia 822 apart from its sister handsets. And though the differences are few and far between, they're certainly enough to suggest that this $50 option just might be the best option of the three.
Build and Design
The Lumia 822 takes a more traditional approach to its build, what with its rounded corners and gentle curves, unlike the sharper edges of the Lumia 810. It also features a glossy white casing instead of a matte finish, which I was personally a little disappointed to see, but I recognize that that's just a matter of taste.
The dimensions of the Lumia 822 are similar to its kinfolk, however, sharing the same exact width (2.69 inches) and height (5.03 inches) as the Lumia 810. The Lumia is ever-so-slightly thicker though, measuring 0.44 inches thick. It also features the same bottom-firing "speakers" as the Lumia 810, but this is once again a farce, as pulling off the removable casing reveals that there is, in fact, only one speaker beneath the grill.
Everything else is the same as far as the buttons and ports, as well, with the volume rocker, power button, and dedicated camera button all located on the right side. The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top edge, while the micro USB port for charging is on the bottom, and the front-facing camera is right next to the earpiece. The 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics is located on the upper center of the back, along with its flash.
I talked in depth about the display in the Lumia 810 review, but let me repeat that Nokia's ClearBlack display technology makes a relativly low-resolution, 800 x 480 pixel display, look good.
The wasted space below the screen and navigation keys that I complained about on the Lumia 810 is still present, but it's perhaps a little less obvious at first glance due to the fact that some of that black space from the bezel is taken over by the white trim of the casing (though it is also available in black and silver). Rather than having close to an inch of black space on below the screen, it switches to white about halfway down -- complete with the Verizon branding -- which keeps it from looking like the bottom of the device was just stretched out.
Performance
Given that the Nokia Lumia 822 has the exact same hardware under the hood as the other 820-equivalent models, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core, 1.5 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, performance is identically good. Very good, actually.
What's not the same, however, is the carrier. I absolutely panned the Lumia 810 for its service, as it's a T-Mobile exclusive and that network proved to be a nightmare, both in terms of speed and coverage (signal strength) here in Boston. Not so with the Lumia 822, a device that is connected to Verizon's 4G LTE network, which has proven to be far more reliable in its performance.
Speeds are vastly superior, undoubtedly due to the fact that this is real 4G and not T-Mobile's "4G" network, which is actually HSPA+ rather than LTE. And coverage is a completely different ballgame with the Lumia 822, as I consistently got a strong signal in the two major cities in which I tested it: Boston and New York. Admittedly, there were a couple of occasions where it would have to downshift to 3G, but it was still far better than the Lumia 810 and the T-Mobile network, which more often than not told me I was either running on a 2G or 1X network, or had no signal at all.
Software
Since this is still a Nokia phone, the Lumia 822 shares the same preloaded suite of Nokia-branded apps as its sister models, including App Highlights, Nokia City Lens, Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, and Nokia Music.
There are, however, some Verizon-exclusive app additions to this particular model, a couple of which are actually worth your while. The first is NFL Mobile, which is great for watching football this time of year, but is admittedly pretty useless the other seven or so months of the year that constitute the off-season. Curiously enough, Verizon also threw in an app for the Univision Spanish language television network. And then finally, there is the much-touted Data Sense app, which will supposedly be available to other carriers eventually, but is currently a Verizon Wireless exclusive.
Data Sense, for those who aren't familiar with it, is an app that helps you intelligently ration your data each month rather than just monitor usage. On top of showing you your remaining data, the app also offers a detailed breakdown of what exactly is using up your data allotment (e.g. streaming media, app downloads, Internet Explorer, etc.) while also helping you preserve it by mapping out nearby Wi-Fi hotspots based on your location. Data Sense can even be set to limit the usage of background data (from apps that are still running even when you're not actively using them) when your monthly amount starts to run low.
The only drawback to Data Sense is that users manually set the data parameters; in other words, it's not actually tied to your account. You simply tell the app the amount of data you're supposed to have each month and how often it refreshes, and it provides numbers based on that information. So aside from the fact that you need to know the exact details of your data plan to set it up -- including the specific date of when it refreshes each month -- this may lead to complications at times since you're technically dealing with a theoretical approximation based on what you told the app (if you're saying you have X amount of data allotted for this period of time and you've used Y amount so far, then you should have Z remaining... but hey, no promises).
Camera and Battery Life
I went into depth on all the features of this handset when reviewing the Lumia 810 variant, so I'll just summarize that the camera could be better, but the battery life was quite satisfactory.
Conclusion
If the hardware and price of the Nokia Lumia 820 and its carrier equivalents appeal to you, then Verizon's own Lumia 822 is likely your best bet. It may not have as sexy of a build as the Lumia 810, but what it lacks in style, it more than makes up for in performance.
After all, the greatest drawback of the Lumia 810 -- the awful performance of the T-Mobile network to which it was tied -- is no longer a factor here. And while the Lumia 820 on AT&T's network certainly offers better performance than T-Mobile's network, it's still not quite on the same level as that of Verizon's.
Those who are willing to overlook the rather plain (to put it nicely) build in favor of Verizon's excellent 4G LTE network and the carrier-exclusive apps (namely, DataSense) will find that the Lumia 822 makes for an attractive package. Despite being a mid-tier handset, this is still a respectable piece of hardware for $50, and unlike the competition, it's running on a powerful network, to boot.
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