Nokia Lumia 920 and the PureMotion HD+ Display

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 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.