Nokia Lumia 920 and the PureMotion HD+ Display

By George Ponder
last updated

The Nokia Lumia 920 will have a 4.5" WXGA, 1280x768 PureMotion HD+ display. It is being billed as the fastest and brightest displays and has the most sensitive touch responses.

We've been impressed with Nokia's ClearBlack technology found on other Lumia Windows Phones, such as the Lumia 900, and from what we have witness during today's press event the PureMotion technology definitely takes things to the next level.

The PureMotion HD+ technology works to improve three key areas of screen quality; display speed, display brightness and touch responsiveness.

Now I won't pretend to understand the science of what drive PureMotion but in reading Nokia's White Paper on the technology, PureMotion addresses the inadequate moving image quality in mobile displays. It leverages the high speed rendering capabilities of the graphic engine which results in smoother videos and the elimination of blurred displays while scrolling, navigating, playing games, using the camera viewfinder, etc.

WXGA screen compared to 720p and DVGA resolutions

The Lumia 920's screen will also have a pixel count of 1280x768. The HD+ in PureMotion refers to the fact that the Lumia 920 will have 7% more than a 720p display and 60% more than DVGA. The screen will be able to show content rendered at 60fps without blur. The 15:9 aspect ratio is also believed to be the best balance for content view and user interface controls. The user interface controls are closer to your fingers and less contortion is needed.

With regards to screen brightness and functionality outdoors, PureMotion taps into the low reflectivity of the ClearBlack technology and adds a high luminance mode for backlight LED-driving and contrast enhancement.

Nokia Lumia 900 compared to Lumia 920 in bright light

The end result is a more functional and readable screen outdoors on those bright, sunny days. With the example below you can pick out more detail in the background (as well as the overall image) when comparing the Lumia 900 to the Lumia 920.

Finally, PureMotion HD+ technology offers the most sensitive touch. The super sensitive touch that Kevin Fields demonstrated during the Nokia Press Event will allow you to manipulate your Lumia 920 with gloves on. It will also allow women to utilize their finger nails without the need to make contact with their actual fingers.

The technology adapts its sensitivity according to user input method, making touch usage faster, more natural and accurate. My only reservation with this aspect of PureMotion HD+ is how will pocket carry come into play? More than like you will just have to make sure your Lumia 920 is under a lock screen or turned off before pocketing it. If not you may accidentally activate something through your pants.

PureMotion HD+ sounds very appealing and from what hands on time Dan has had with the Lumia 920, he considers it a really nice. It's definitely a new feature from Nokia that makes the Lumia 920 attractive.

Source: Nokia PureMotion HD+ White Paper; Thanks, Binarri, for the tip!

George Ponder
George Ponder

George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.

152 Comments
  • nice
  • i am a bit sceptical as to  the automatic stuff happening with the screen. Will that affect the speed of the os , i mean i think the S4 is doing all the stuff so  less mhz for the os ?
    If you can ask daniel as to how responsive the os is better , worse or same  as to  Mango?
  • We have two cores. Maybe one is dedicated to OS. Is that technically possible?
  • I'm not sure but I thought MS knew how to process programs to a specific core only. I remember that in Vista. So I would think it's possible but I doubt that's the case.
  • I program PCs not phones, but they claim it is hardware accelerated with mean a graphics processor not one of the cores.
  • How does the screen look compared to the Retina display?  Of all the features of the iPhone, the only one I am really jealous of is the Retina display.
  • Apparently, the Lumia 920 has a 331 PPI display which is higher than the ‘retina’ display of the iPhone 4S.
  • Yes, it barely edges out the iPhone 4/4S display at 331 PPI compaired to 329 for iPhone. Essentially, this is same screen (IPS LCD) the iPhone has, just bigger, and more surrounding technology (refresh rate, latency, reflective properties, etc.).
  • Wiki lists the iPhone 4/4S as having 326 PPI. (FYI to others reading)
  • Sounds good to me. The iPhone can take its "Retina Display" and shove it. Ours is better. lol
  • I read that it has a 331 ppi display and it's higher than a retina display.
  • Well in a simplistic answer ... the Nokia 920 has 332ppi, whereas iPhone4/4S has 326ppi. Apple stated that anything over 300ppi is Retina Display in their marketing lingo. But keep in mind the iPhone Retina Display is 3.54" whereas the 920 is a 4.5" display, so a bigger display pegged with a higher resolution makes 920 have a great display atleast on paper. Just so that you can learn how to do the math; ppi = [sqrt(length^2+width^2) / screen_size]. Frankly this is the issue with Nokia; in this whole keynote they didn't dilute things down for people into the hype of $10 words like Retina Display or Megapixels. The whole keynote was devoid of telling users that megapixels don't count, that PureMotion HD+ was blah but nothing of essence that everyday users can hold as tangible progress. The entire PureMotion HD+ concept is a big deal, it uses Software to inspire hardware ... it increases the screen luminance in glare induced conditions increasing visibility added with Clear Black Display polarizers. The refresh rates on these screens are greater than industry standard for cell phones ... I loved the product; I just think the message could've been delivered with more spit and shine.
  • Daniel I'm sure you're sick of the questions at this rate but how does the 920 feel to hold? Is it big/cumbersome or could you see yourself carrying it around without much difficulty? 
    I've an 800 so I'm not sure how I feel about going so much bigger.
  • Good question. I hope Nokia comes out with a smaller high end phone early next year or something. 920 looks too big for me. :(
  • It's only a tenth of an inch wider and a tenth of an inch taller than the 900. Percentage-wise that's only 3.3% wider and 2% taller. I can't imagine it would feel that much different.
  • I'll be waiting for the same, no desire for a phone this big no matter what the specs.
  • Unfortunately, people wanting smaller phones are in the minority. I wouldn't hold out hope for a smaller flagship phone. 
     
     
  • I want to lick that display
  • +1 and lol
  • LOL
  • lol!
  • Motorola failed, Nokia wins in the innovation department. Next to the slaughter, iPhone
  • If Motorola made a WP, I probably would have bought one. Nokia will be getting my money next.
  • Motorola sucks lol
  • +1
  • Yeah, they brought a bigger battery, woopidoo...
  • Return of pocket dialing
  • I can't wait to butt-dial all of my friends!
  • I think that was more a symptom of the "call" button of old rather than stylus-based touch screens. Pockets are not friendly to phones. Put it in a holster on your belt. That's what Men do.
  • Not any real men do holsters that I know. Only men who wear pleated pants and/or have a mustache use those...nuff said
  • Real men don't have mustache? Kids ....ha
  • If you mean by "kids", not so old I still think a mustache is In, than yeah, 40 and younger are kids... Gladly
  • I don't wear holsters because I don't want some idiot on the crowded buses of Chicago easily snatching my shit. Not because I'm not a "real man"
  • That is why Men also do not tuck in their shirts.  We can't be constrained like that.
  •  
    +1 
     
    And don't mind, cdbstl76. He's just generalizing. I'm a 25 year old who, on a regular work day, can do manual labor pulling network cable or sit down at meetings with a company's CFO, CIO, and/or CEO to plan out system deployments or assist with a sales pitch. I wear a holster. It's the most convenient way to access my phone, and it doesn't allow the phone to overheat as it sometimes would in my pocket.
     
    And, I'm not sure how this applies, but I don't have a mustache.
  • Only if you leave the screen unlocked when you put t in your pocket. You can probably butt dial with any touch screen if you put it in your pocket unlocked.
  • Proximity sensor will take care of that...
  • Proximity sensor, at least in Lumia 800 , is active only during a call. The screen does NOT turn off in any other situation, not even if you press it agains your face :p. Too bad, I would too like the proximity sensor to be functional all the time and cut the hardware buttons as well. On more than one ocasion I've accidentally pressed the power button long enough to trigger the "slide down to power off" message to appear, even with the screen locked; hate that
  • The proximity sensor is also used when the phone is in your pocket and you get a text or notification. It keeps the screen off and turns it on if you take it out your pocket within 10 seconds or so
  • You can verify that this works by having someone send you a bazillion text messages and keep your thumb over the proximity sensor. The screen will stay off.
  • Can't wait to get my 920
  • So excited about this display.
    Glad they skipped the temptation to go with oled pentile.
  • -100; like the pentile amoled (hooked on  my lumia's black levels), would have loved the super_amoled_+hd_super_duper_hyper_regular_RGBStripsSubpixels; or whatever it's called nowdays. Love 920, but I'm grumpy about no amoled stuff ...
  • You can  get Samsung Ativ it has AMOLED display. I'm waiting for your next complaint.
  • Will screen sensitivity be affected poorly by adding a screen protector?  I don't bother with one nowadays, but many do.
     
    Screen is curved?  I personally would like to see a brightness comparsion against Galaxy S3, HTC superLCD and iPhone also.  My Samsung phones are totally useless outdoors, my HTC works great.  Wondering where the Nokia will fit in.
  • Lumia 920 has an polarizing filter so it should help with the outdoor visibility. If you can test Lumia 900, it has polarizing filter as well in form of the Clear Black technology by Nokia.
     
    And if Lumia 920 supposedly has brighter screen than Lumia 920. 
  • Nothing today is better than the 900, so if 920 is better when it hits the market...well, there's your answer
  • Lumia 900 has the best screen for reading outdoor. Couple sites already tested it. 920 should be better than 900 because of brightest screen.
  • Well damn, this looks very impressive. I feel like I can't resist but to sell my 900 and get this.
  • Take my money already!!
  • Date,carrier(s)?? This is where they are missing the point of an event.
  • O.k.... This is it! This is my new phone. Sorry, Samsung. Bring it to AT&T!!!!!
  • I'm always 'activating something through my pants.' if ya know what I mean. *wink wink
  • LMAO!
  • I have no idea what you mean. You'll have to elaborate ;-)
  • Why does the Sammy WP8 appear to be more tempting
  • Probably the goofy colors and the plastic IKEA look of the phones. The metal accents are more 'adult' looking while the Nokia line is more playful, almost toy like looking. However, the Nokia is a better device. I just wish it was the size of the Sammy given the awesomeness of the PureView camera.
  • The only big draw towards the ATIV S is the microSD slot; if it supports microSDXC cards that'll be 96GBs on a phone potentially. And that attracts me since I don't get the best signal in the mountains.
  • That is a huge draw. If the Lumia920 came with an SD card slot, it would be nearly perfect
  • Perhaps something to do with the optics and lack of room inside? Just guessing, since the 820 has a slot but without the stabilization hardware.
  • Can we officially call the whole announcement a train wreck?  Nokia share price is negative fifteen percent, and falling.
    Apparently the remaining investors weren't impressed, are throwing in their chips.
    I have to say, withholding a ship date and pricing until "sometime in Q4" is pretty disappointing.  That smacks of the old pre-Elop Nokia, where they had trouble getting devices out the door.
  • I woulnd't follow Nokia's stock too much and it this point it's Microsoft's job to announce when the OS is ready. Nokia can't say anything, just like Samsung couldn't 
    When the OS is ready, Nokia is ready to ship. Nokia did say Q4 though.
     
    Nokia's stock is so low that big investor groups are not allowed touch it. Meaning there are players who can play with the stock. 
    Nokia's stock is one of the most short sold, almost 35% of all transactions are short selling the stock. 
    Meaning today many where closing their stock they had shorted. It can raise 15% tomorrow or go 20% down again. That's been Nokia's stock for past year. 
  • But if nothing is close to ready, then why bother announcing?  Most people would have forgotten about these phones until late in Q4, when they're likely to hit retail.
  • Because iPhone 5 is right around the corner and Microsoft and their vendors like Samsung and Nokia want to let consumers get eyes on their devices to sway some possible apple purchases.
  • There won't be any swaying if they have to sit and wait 2-3 more months.
  • So you're saying most people will pick an inferior phone simply beause they can get it 2 to 3 months earlier? Not saying the iPhone5 is inferior, But if thay can just convince 1% of the potential iPhone5 buyers to wait for the Lumia 920, This press conference will have been worth it.
  • Finally, someone gets it...this is exactly why these manufacturers are announcing early.
  • How do you sway an iPhone 5 purchase, without offering something that you have in return? 
  • Not everyone is out of contract waiting for the Day 1 iPhone release either.  Or maybe they see the Lumia offerings and start reading up on them more and decide, wow this looks like a cool device, I think I want it, so they wait another month or 2 for it to release on the carrier of their choice (assuming it fits in with their preference here).  Why advertise a movie and show trailers months before it comes out?  To build some hype and get some interest going in people's heads.
  • Free purity headset for each preorder, that would sway me.
  • "Closing the stock you shorted," a.k.a. "short covering" makes the stock price go up, not down.  Could be "buy the rumor, sell the news".  I don't blame investors for being disappointed, though.  We need to know what carriers are going to have the phones available on what date.  I can assure you that Apple will announce pricing and availability next week.  I mean, Nokia needed to announce now to get people to hold off on iPhone 5 purchases until the Nokia is available.  But let's get going here.  This thing needed to be available the day iPhone 5 comes available, and that appears not to be happening.
     
  • In a way yes, bought at $5. per,$3.per then again at $1.69 per as soon as saw this event I wanted to dump it all but held even though I think it's a mistake. both MS and Nokia had a chance today to make an statement they failed. WP8 needed to be out yesterday. Apple iphone5 is six days away and I bet yea within 7 days it will be in the stores. When your in the back of the pack there is no holding time you make bold steps and get it out there before someone else steals the thunder. to little too late again......
  • Stock Exchange = Casino = Don't waste your money, it s completely disconnected from reality.They only want to f##k your money, just stay out ;)
  • It's super dupper LCD IPS, No OLED. But the 820 will be CB AMOLED
  • I love my 900 but I think im gonna switch to Galaxy S3(WP8)
  • A couple things I havent seen mentioned I'd like to know. Does the 920 have the Pureview rich recording feature and is there a gyroscope?
  • http://www.developer.nokia.com/Devices/Device_specifications/Lumia_920/
     
    Gyro - yes
    rich recording - no
  • Thanks. The rich recording was what I most wanted (for taking to concerts) ...oh well.
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