Nokia Lumia 730 Dual SIM Ending on a High Note

Nostalgia reigns supreme as we start writing this review. Nokia, as a brand, evokes a lot of emotions. For a large number of Indians, their first phones would most likely have been Nokias. We are talking about a brand that transcended all divisions based on social class - rich, poor and middle. A brand that a surprising number of Indians swear by even today. A brand that truly "connected people".

This phone is a big upgrade to last year's Lumia 720 (Review | Pictures). The mid-range Lumia 730 Dual SIM adds a good mix of features that include a capable processor, sufficient RAM, 6.7-megapixel primary camera, and - its most promoted feature - a 5-megapixel, 24mm wide-angle front camera. Let's find out how the Lumia 730 Dual SIM fares in our tests, and ascertain if Nokia can exit the world stage with its head held high.

Look and feel:

The Nokia 730 Dual SIM's design is not starkly different from that of its predecessor. It retains the rectangular candybar design and would have looked nondescript but for its funky coloured rear shells. These are available in glossy orange and matte green, white and black.

The engineers managed to fit a 4.7-inch display in a phone that has dimensions of 134.7x68.5x8.7mm, which is great because it keeps the body compact. The girth of 8.7mm notwithstanding, the Lumia 730 Dual SIM actually feels much slimmer in the hand thanks to gentle slope on the rear. It is also pretty light at 130g. We got the green variant for review and its matte rear ensured that the phone didn't feel slippery. The edges are sharp but not to the point that they feel uncomfortable. We would still have preferred it if the edges had been rounded off instead.

The power/wake button and the volume rocker are on the right. There is no dedicated camera shutter button, just like on the Lumia 630 Dual SIM (Review | Pictures). This is a bit of a downer for us considering we expect this on Nokia phones. The primary camera on the rear is accompanied by an LED flash, and beside it lies a microphone.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom right corner of the rear. On prying open the rear cover, one can find the battery compartment, two Micro-SIM card slots, and a microSD card slot. The Micro-USB port is bang in the centre of the bottom of the phone, while the 3.5mm jack is on the top. Above the screen one can find the earpiece and front-facing camera.

There is a row of buttons for navigation on-screen, which takes up some real estate. However, Windows Phone 8.1 hides these buttons automatically when an app/game goes full-screen, just like Android 4.4 (KitKat). However, we noticed that bottom portion some apps, such as one called App Social, were cut off because of the bar on the bottom. This could probably be fixed with an update, but it was still jarring (check the screenshot in the software section).