[freestaterocker]

I find the iPhone to be a mid-range gadget. Not as an insult, but because it's purposely lacking features that Apple felt weren't necessary or to keep it in a particular price point. People buy it anyway, and they even buy previous models without so much as a second thought, and whether they are nuts or not doesn't matter to them.

Why, then, do we care what they think? Who really gives a rat's rump roast what people classify it as? If you think it meets your needs and price point, isn't that all that matters? I'm buying the 920, because it has the features I want. So should anyone buy an 820 if they feel it has the features they want. Or an 8X or 8S or ATIV.

Price point has nothing to do with Apple excluding NFC and other current tech. With their production scale and 350% markup, they could include NFC as well as a HOST of other features, including some real innovation, and sell it at a LOWER price point than the iPhone 5 and still make a massive profit. They are greedy and lazy, and know the iSheep will buy it in record numbers anyway.

[GoodThings2Life]

Yes, that's entirely true, but you missed the point I was making... the compromised features make it no better than any of those other mid-range devices, and yet people buy it without a care in the world of our opinion. Why do we care how they view our choice?

[freestaterocker]

Yes, that's entirely true, but you missed the point I was making... the compromised features make it no better than any of those other mid-range devices, and yet people buy it without a care in the world of our opinion. Why do we care how they view our choice?

I didn't miss your point. It's just so obviously true that I didn't feel the need to contribute to it. :)

[VagrantWade]

There is a model above and below the 820. Isn't that the very definition of being a mid-grade phone?

[TJWINS]

There is a model above and below the 820. Isn't that the very definition of being a mid-grade phone?

I consider a mid grade phone one which is solid but does not have premium features. Lumia 820 has premium features usually not found in mid-grade phones such as Carl Zeiss tessar lense, NFC, synaptics super-sensitive touch screen, and wireless charging.

[Paladinleeds]

I consider a mid grade phone one which is solid but does not have premium features. Lumia 820 has premium features usually not found in mid-grade phones such as Carl Zeiss tessar lense, NFC, synaptics super-sensitive touch screen, and wireless charging.

I would consider a mid-grade phone one that is solid but not the flagship. The flagship is the Lumia 920. Therefore the 820 is mid-grade to me.

[7 KDZ]

I consider a mid grade phone one which is solid but does not have premium features. Lumia 820 has premium features usually not found in mid-grade phones such as Carl Zeiss tessar lense, NFC, synaptics super-sensitive touch screen, and wireless charging.

This is all symantics; how one person defines where a phone ranks vs. another's opinion. I think Nokia & HTC were both smart to bring out two WP8 models. The 920 hits alot of buttons for the tech savvy types on this forum as the recent survey shows; however, to get broader marketshare for windows phone you need lower pricepoint models. The premium features on the 820 certainly give it an edge over the 8S. But either way, there will be a range of choces that will hopefully get the average customer lookng at WP. The average user doesn't need the high end specs.

While I think the 920 is great, I'm not crazy about the size and weight. I'm with TJWINS - the 820 with its extras may be just what I'm looking for.

[Mitlov]

You want to know why it's mid-grade? Becuase the Lumia 920 is high-end, the HTC 8S is low-end, and the 820 is somewhere inbetween the two.

[TJWINS]

I would consider a mid-grade phone one that is solid but not the flagship. The flagship is the Lumia 920. Therefore the 820 is mid-grade to me.

So if the BMW 7-Series is the flagship and the 5-Series is the mid-grade BMW does that make the 5-Series a mid-grade car?

[VagrantWade]

So if the BMW 7-Series is the flagship and the 5-Series is the mid-grade BMW does that make the 5-Series a mid-grade car?

No, but it would make it a mid-grade BMW.

[TJWINS]

No, but it would make it a mid-grade BMW.

LOL! I know it does that's my point. Well I'm done trying to prove my point. The 820 is a mid-grade Nokia but not a mid-grade phone compared to other OEM's. I thought more people would see my point but I guess not.

[Paladinleeds]

LOL! I know it does that's my point. Well I'm done trying to prove my point. The 820 is a mid-grade Nokia but not a mid-grade phone compared to other OEM's. I thought more people would see my point but I guess not.

Consider it this way. The 7 one is the absolute top of the range, the 5 is on par with all other manufacturer's high-end phones, which makes them ALL mid range. That's my way of seeing it. The ATIV S, 820, 8X, they're all mid-range to me.

[Mitlov]

LOL! I know it does that's my point. Well I'm done trying to prove my point. The 820 is a mid-grade Nokia but not a mid-grade phone compared to other OEM's. I thought more people would see my point but I guess not.

But when you compare it to other "high-end" phones, whether it be the iPhone 5, HTC One S, Samsung Ativ S, Samsung Galaxy S3, whatever...the 820 consistently lags behind in screen resolution; except for Samsung flagships, lags in the luxuriousness of the case materials; and except for the iPhone 5 and HTC 8X, lags behind on screen size.

The Lumia 820 is an excellent midrange device. Probably the best second-tier phone on the market. But that doesn't mean it's not midrange. It is indeed a mid-range device, not a flagship device, just like the well-reviewed One S is a midrange device whereas the One X is a flagship device.

TJWINS--you're acting like BMW is the only luxury brand on the planet, like being "a mid-range BMW" still means you're the coolest thing on the block by far. Wrong. A mid-range BMW is a step above your run-of-the-mill Chevy or Toyota, but it still competes directly against mid-range Infinitis, Mercs, Lexuses, and Audis. Likewise, a midrange Nokia runs circles around even flagship ZTEs and Huaweis and the like, but there's no reason to pretend that it's in a completely different league than Samsung, HTC, Sony, or Apple. It's not.

[dazziex]

On a video, Olivier Lagreou, responsible for Nokia marketing in France, has stated that both devices (920 and 820) would have gorilla glass 2. I hope he knows its product and that would be great for lumia 820 buyers!

[VagrantWade]

LOL! I know it does that's my point. Well I'm done trying to prove my point. The 820 is a mid-grade Nokia but not a mid-grade phone compared to other OEM's. I thought more people would see my point but I guess not.

Why do you even care what people call it? It's a phone not your mother.

[snowmutt]

When helping people decide what is best for them (which in my circle of friends is surprisingly often), I never use "top end" or "mid-grade" to describe a device. To me there are 2 levels of Smart phones: Premium, and everything else. Either you are a top tier device and are worth a top tier price, or you are not and you had better be priced accordingly. Some premium devices are a stinking steal at their price point. I am betting the 820 will be a stinking steal. It has the making of a premium device, but will obviously be cheaper then the 920 or the premium Androids. That makes it a steal.

Again, we need to see. We need to see what the entire feature set of WP8 is, the performance of each device, and the prices. But it does look like you could argue for the 820 to be the best overall device with all things considered so long as it is less expensive than other WP8 phones.

[Mitlov]

When helping people decide what is best for them (which in my circle of friends is surprisingly often), I never use "top end" or "mid-grade" to describe a device. To me there are 2 levels of Smart phones: Premium, and everything else. Either you are a top tier device and are worth a top tier price, or you are not and you had better be priced accordingly. Some premium devices are a stinking steal at their price point. I am betting the 820 will be a stinking steal. It has the making of a premium device, but will obviously be cheaper then the 920 or the premium Androids. That makes it a steal.

Again, we need to see. We need to see what the entire feature set of WP8 is, the performance of each device, and the prices. But it does look like you could argue for the 820 to be the best overall device with all things considered so long as it is less expensive than other WP8 phones.

I use "high end" for $199+ with a two-year plan; "mid-range" for $99 with a two-year plan, and "entry-level" for free with a two-year plan. I suspect the Lumia 920 will be priced at $200-$250 with a two-year plan and the 820 will be $99 with a two-year plan.

[TJWINS]

Why do you even care what people call it? It's a phone not your mother.

I don't care what people call it. I thought I would defend my reasoning on why I don't consider the Lumia 820 a mid range device. Sorry for starting a conversation on a forum.

[maycontainuts]

What I always find interesting for the 'high-end' classification is how specs and hardware are the only thing factored into this way of thinking, we need to see build quality and the design in front of our eyes first before we can judge ey?

[Paladinleeds]

What I always find interesting for the 'high-end' classification is how specs and hardware are the only thing factored into this way of thinking, we need to see build quality and the design in front of our eyes first before we can judge ey?

The reason for this is specification and hardware are cold hard facts. Build quality is highly opinionated. Like most people said the TITAN was poor build quality, whereas mine has been solid.

[AngryNil]

the 8X a mid-high and the L920 and ATIV S high-end phones.

What makes the Ativ high-end compared to the 8X? The PenTile screen?

[jkrc717]

Eh, no HD screen still irks me. I love watching video's on my phone.

Also love that curved back is nice.

Surprisingly, I could care less about purview.

[socialcarpet]

800x480 resolution on a 4.3" screen at this point is decidedly mid-grade. So is 8 GB of memory.

That said, I'd probably still be more likely to get an 820 over the gigantic 920.

[Andrzej Janus]

They call it mid-grade because right now Nokia offers two models: 920 and 820. And between those two, the 920 has better specs - i know, in most vital parts they're exactly the same - but that's the reason. It doesn't make the 820 any less amazing, and for me it might be mid-grade between Lumias, but they're bot high-end devices.

[ttsoldier]

It's mid range because it's smaller.

Come on guys, bigger IS better