Nokia Lumia 720 preview: a slim and 'trendy' Windows Phone 8 handset for the social networking set (update: video)

It's what the 920 should've been -- the Lumia 720, that is. And that's likely what other press will claim, as well. From the moment Nokia laid the slim, 4.3-inch device in our hands, it was apparent the company has a different user in its sights: the hyper social and style-obsessed. With a profile of 9mm, the Lumia 720 is now the thinnest Windows Phone 8 device in the Finnish company's lineup. And it's also the "trendiest," as Nokia will no doubt remind you in its eventual marketing. So, you can forget about dazzling specs -- the 720's demo supposedly isn't concerned with bleeding edge tech. In fact, some of what you'll find in the 720 can also be found in its lowest end cousin, the 520; like that dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 800 x 480 Sensitive Touch display.

The question then is: what makes this Lumia sleek enough for the fashion crowd (and their tiny purses and skinny jeans)? At its base, the 720 is all about color(s) and camera, just not in the way the Lumia 920 was. For starters, the slight-looking 720 will come in five different shades (matte: cyan, yellow, black and red; glossy: white) and includes a 1.3-megapixel front facer with wide-angle lens and a new 6.7-megapixel rear camera module with f/1.9 lens (developed with Carl Zeiss labs) for lowlight performance. There's also a new digital lens Nokia's pre-installed, dubbed Glam Me, to give selfies (aka personal portrait shots) an extra bit of sheen -- something Nokia tells us its Asian user are clamoring for. Apparently, this new filter adds the ability to whiten teeth, widen eyes, soften skin and even overlay a rainy day window or magazine-like layouts to shots.

Gallery: Nokia Lumia 720 hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia

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