Nokia Lumia 900 {Review & Giveaway}

I've decided that there is an unwritten rule that no one should call me while my children are in school. It doesn't matter if they have been there for a few hours or if I just dropped them off 10 minutes ago, as soon as the phone starts to ring, I'm always going to assume that it is someone calling to tell me that they are sick or injured.

I'm not the only mom that feels that way, right?

With school underway all over the country, now is an important time for moms to be reachable at any point in case their children truly do need them. Whether you have young kids like me and want to relax knowing that the school could get a hold of you at any time, or you have kids in high school or college and want to always be able to get in touch with them, a quality, reliable device can do just that.

Does it hurt if it is convenient, user friendly and elegantly designed? Of course not!

And, in fact, all of the above (plus more) can be found in one smooth, lightweight package in the form of the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone.

A perfect smartphone for any mother who needs a reliable device which will keep up with her kids, as well as her hectic schedule, the Nokia Lumia 900 is available in black, white, cyan, and, for a limited time, the fun pink shown above.

This Windows Phone utilizes AT&T's LTE Network for super-fast speed, has a 4.3" AMOLED ClearBlack touchscreen and features an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. Combine all that with the way that the Nokia Lumia 900 was designed to be easy enough for smartphone novices to use, yet complex and high-powered enough for those that want the latest and greatest, and this leading-edge device works for just about anyone.

Right out of the box, I found that the setup for this phone was nearly non-existent, as it simply needed a SIM card before it was ready to go.

As soon as I had the Nokia Lumia 900 in my hand, I noticed the slightly larger size than what I was currently used to with my iPhone. Measuring in at 5.0 x 2.7 x 0.45", this is still very easy to hold (or store in a pocket or purse), while resulting in a larger, 4.3" display. While I initially didn't think that the screen size would make a big difference, I found that it really was so much easier to see and use!

When it comes to features, the Nokia Lumia 900 definitely did not disappoint. Nokia claims that this phone is built for speed and internet usage with a 1.4 GHz processor, 4G LTE, Bing, Internet Explorer 9, HTML5, and Wi-Fi... and, wow. Just wow. This phone is fast!

While I was used to tapping my fingers a little bit while I waited for my phone to load, this one is able to pull up apps, my email or websites quickly and easily. Considering that there are times that I just have a minute or two to quickly glance at my phone, not wasting time while it loads is a welcome change.

The 8MP auto-focus camera of the Nokia Lumia 900 has done a great job of ensuring that every picture is sharp and detailed. Every aspect that Nokia included — dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss lens optics, Auto Focus, auto and manual white balance, a 1MP front-facing camera and HD video — come together to ensure you never miss a shot.

At the same time, I appreciate that Nokia positioned the shutter button on the side of the camera itself (where your finger is already placed) rather than on the screen. Add in the fast, one-click photo sharing and it's just that easy to capture memories and share them with your social networks anytime and anywhere.

Of course one important part of a smartphone is utilizing apps and the Nokia Lumia 900 is no exception. Using the AT&T Marketplace, you can easily browse the various categories — AT&T Featured, Nokia Collection, Apps, Games, Music, Podcasts — or use the search feature to look for a specific title.

With a large collection of popular and unique games and apps to choose from, there's something for everyone! With back to school in the air, it's easy to take advantage of Flashcards, Dictionary.com, Amazon Kindle, Smartboard Calculator Free, BoxFiles for Dropbox, and Power Planner Free.

Nokia also took things one step further and included a variety of preloaded options to better your overall user experience. Along with all of the exclusive features of the Windows Phone platform, you'll find:

• Nokia Maps and AT&T Navigator offer voice guided turn-by-turn navigation so that you never need a separate GPS to make sure you arrive at your destination on time, every time. Even better, Nokia Drive gives users a traffic report an hour before they leave home or the office so you'll always be prepared to avoid any delays.

• The exclusive ESPN sports hub (something that made my husband's eyes light up) provides a one-stop application to stay up to date on news, videos and scores.

• AT&T Mobile U-Verse Mobile allows AT&T U-Verse TV subscribers to schedule and manage their DVR and even watch TV shows while on the go — there are more than 100 TV series and 700 TV shows available.

• The People Hub allows users to see "What’s New." Whether it's the latest tweets or what's happening on Facebook, users can filter information by the contact or the social media account they want to see updates from. This makes it so easy to quickly check what's new in your social circles with barely more than a glance!

• Voice activation can be used to make calls, check calendars, dictate a text or even search online. Instead of putting your thumbs to work to type out a text, simply press a button, speak your message, and watch it get translated into a text. Press send and it's off without any work on your part!

• One of my favorites, Local Scout, is a great way to locate places of interest that you might not have known about in your area or while you are on vacation somewhere new. From eating to shopping, it just takes a tap on the screen to find out the address, phone number, directions and more.

From the lightning fast Windows Phone operating system to the durable, one-piece polycarbonate body with comfortable, rounded edges, the Nokia Lumia 900 pretty much does it all.

Top it off with the all day battery life (seven hours of talk time and up to 12.5 days of standby time!) and you never have to worry that you can't stay connected to the world around you. You can even use this phone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, so you're not the only one who can stay in touch.

This phone has impressed me from day one and has proven to truly deserve the hype that it has received. A fast connection, large screen, a battery that doesn't need charging every other hour, crisp, bright photos, and thousands of apps in the Marketplace... clearly Nokia succeeded when they set out to design a phone that was designed to help you enjoy your mobile life to the fullest.

Priced at $49.99 with a 2-year agreement with AT&T or $399.99 with no commitment, the Nokia Lumia 900 is a wonderful phone and a fantastic value for all ages. And, thanks to the generosity of Nokia, one person will get to find out just how much a high quality smartphone can benefit their life, because...

One lucky person will win a Nokia Lumia 900*!

*Please note that the Nokia Lumia 900 is only available on the AT&T network, so the winner will need to be a current or new AT&T customer in order to use this phone

(Enter with the Rafflecopter form below. If you have any questions or problems entering, there is a video tutorial found here that can help.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A big thank you to Nokia for providing a Lumia 900 for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.