Nokia Lumia 735 RM-1039 - So far - so good

I recently purchased an unlocked Latin American Nokia Lumia 735 RM-1039.  It was the first of the new  735s I have seen that supported US LTE Bands and also came loaded with Denim Firmware and WP 8.1 update 1.

In my previous post I noted my initial impression and now have been running it for over a week including making my normal weekly road trip into Southern California.

Here is what I experienced and so far with the 735.  

Data and Voice connectivity has not been a problem.  But signal strength is consistently showing about 1 bar lower.

I did loose an occasional call in an elevator - but that was hit or miss with the 635 as well.   

Calls were clear and speed tests around SoCal where about in the same 20 - 30Mbps down and 10 - 14Mbps up range I experience here at home. 

I did experience some step downs in connection to HSPA+ and even 3G - but never lost connectivity.

Also - when I do a manual network search I can see both TMO and AT&T networks fine - so it should work on either network.

All of the things you expect from a Lumia phone worked well

Double Tap - check
Voice Dialing via Cortana - check including via Bluetooth
Here Drive & Maps - check

In fact the Here+ apps were the newest revs that included Here Account, My Commute, Find My Car (beta) and so on.  

After upgrading to build 8.10.14219.341 via Preview for Developers - all the MSN apps work fine.  Also new features live Live Folders, File App, etc all work fine.

All of my 3rd party apps work fine as well.   They range from banking and social apps, through web launchers, etc.   I'm not a gamer - so really can't comment there.  Apps launch and run more quickly than my 635.

I got very used to the new screen and features like auto brightness were nice. Overall screen readability is very good even in bright sunlight.  

 While the 735 is slightly taller than that 635 - one handed operation is still very good.  Front pant pocket carrying can be a little awkward and you have to angle the phone when sitting, driving, etc.

Battery life also seemed very good.   I'm a typical business user, so charge overnight, unplug and go all day.   So typically that means, LTE, WiFi , BT connections all day, the occasional GPS session for Here+ Drive.  

 Email is obviously the biggest apps - I maintain 3 accounts across my corporate (Good) application, outlook.com and gmail.   I have about 30 or so 3rd party apps installed - many of which do background updating and I also use Lync 2010.

I could run all day and be anywhere from 20 - 40% battery life left when I plugged back in at the end of the day.   So really very good in my opinion and I have battery saver turned off...

 Streaming also working fine.  I have some 400+ albums in my Xbox Music account and while I have still have issues with the Music App, streaming itself was not a problem.  Sound quality and volume were also good.

 I was able to install some of the TMO apps, specifically MyAccount - but I could not install WiFi calling.  While there is a link in the Store for the WiFi app - it will not install stating is is not available for my phone.  

 Bottom line - So far I've been happy with the purchase.  The 735 is a nice step up from the 635.  I'm hoping to see a radio firmware update in the new year to improve signal strength levels.

 If you are a 520/521 owner like I was and thinking about an upgrade and can afford the $300 - the 735 is a nice choice.  My only warning is that if you live in a fringe LTE area be aware of the current signal strength issue.










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