Nokia Lumia 900

FOR

• Fantastic apps
• Gorgeous hardware
• Windows Phone 7.5

AGAINST

• 16GB storage
• Mediocre camera
• Empty marketplace
• Limited push email
• Bloatware

After waving the white flag in retreat from American shores against an invasion of iOS and Android smartphones, Nokia has regrouped with the Lumia 900, a handsome upgrade to its overseas cousin, the Lumia 800 (by way of second cousin, the N9). Now strategic allies with Microsoft's Windows Phone and carrier AT&T, can Nokia stage a comeback and reclaim lost ground?

With good reason: Nokia has outdone itself with this stylish 5.03-inch tall and 2.7-inch wide slab. At only 5.6 ounces and 0.45 inches thick, it's one of the best-looking smartphones we've ever seen.

The Lumia 900 features a classy, unibody frame made from polycarbonate. It's tough and feels absolutely wonderful when held in your hand; Nokia's industrial design work has clearly not been dulled by age. ClearBlack technology allows the screen to be used outdoors (even with polarized sunglasses at any angle), while Corning Gorilla Glass protects a vivid AMOLED display.

The front of the Lumia 900 is primarily a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. While this can be a sticking point with many critics in the age of qHDs and Retina Display, the screen is bright, colorful and pixel dense enough for all but the most discerning users.

A 1MP front-facing camera for video chat sits at upper left, while a very thin gap at top hides the earpiece; three capacitive Windows Phone buttons sit below the display for Back, Start and Search.

The left side is devoid of buttons, all of which reside on the right, with volume rocker at top, power/lock button at center and two-stage dedicated camera button below.

At first this arrangement seemed a strange choice, but when held with the left hand, our middle finger was conveniently aligned with the power/lock button, and our thumb could still reach it comfortably while held in the right hand.

Atop the Lumia 900 is a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB port (for charging and data transfer) and micro-SIM card door. AT&T includes a SIM door key for popping this out, which is then pulled out completely to reveal the piggybacked card.

It's a bit more flimsy and complicated than the SIM card tray on the iPhone 4S, but the card itself is held in place quite well. A large speaker grille resides at the bottom next to FCC and corporate information.

On the back of the Lumia 900 is an 8MP auto focus camera lens with Nokia's customary Carl Zeiss optics next to an unobtrusive dual LED flash. While the silver band around the lens is a nice touch, we're concerned that over time it may attract scratches from without using a case – however, we prefer the look of this flush lens to the obtrusive lenses used by manufacturers like HTC.

AT&T is offering the Nokia Lumia 900 with a modest 16GB of storage in cyan or black (a white model arrives in late April) for a wallet-friendly $99.99 with two-year agreement, but only for a limited time; existing customers can upgrade for a bit more or purchase no-commitment for $449.99.