Nokia Lumia 730 review: selfie focus for the mid-range Windows buyer
The Lumia 730 arrived at a turning point for Microsoft's smartphone ambitions. By late 2014, the Nokia devices team had been folded into Microsoft Mobile, and Windows Phone 8.1 was maturing into a genuinely competitive platform with Cortana, notification previews, and the reworked Action Centre. Sitting just below the flagship Lumia 930, the 730 was pitched as a phone that could capture people as naturally as they appeared at a Sydney bar or a Melbourne laneway café.
Microsoft marketed the handset heavily around its front-facing camera, billing it as the first "selfie phone" in the Lumia range. For Australian buyers weighing a mid-range purchase, the device offered a different proposition to the Samsung Galaxy Grand series or the HTC Desire line that dominated carrier shelves in Brisbane and Adelaide. It traded raw benchmark numbers for a more lifestyle-oriented feature set, including a wide-angle 5-megapixel front camera that became the centrepiece of every marketing slide.
Local interest was modest but real. Windows Phone still ranked third in Australia behind Android and Apple's iOS, but Telstra's continued support for the platform meant buyers in regional areas such as Wagga Wagga or Cairns could pick one up alongside a sensible plan. The Lumia 730 also benefited from Microsoft's push to bring flagship-grade imaging features to cheaper handsets, a strategy that played well with younger buyers who wanted quality selfies without paying iPhone money.
What separated the 730 from earlier Lumia models was the combination of a dedicated selfie lens, Nokia's trusted build quality, and Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1's tighter integration with social apps. The phone was not revolutionary, but it filled a gap that previous mid-range efforts had left open, and it gave Microsoft a credible answer to the selfie craze that defined the second half of 2014.
Design that travels well across Australian pockets
The Lumia 730 follows the familiar polycarbonate shell recipe that Nokia had refined across several generations. The removable back panel comes in green, orange, white, and black, giving the phone a playful look that suits a Bondi Beach sunset or a night out in Fortitude Valley. At 134 grams, it feels light without tipping into the toy-like territory that plagued some budget Windows handsets of the era.
Build quality remains a strength. The side keys click reassuringly, the camera hump is shallow, and the matte finish resists fingerprints far better than glossy rivals. In the hand, the curved rear makes the 4.7-inch form factor easy to grip one-handed, which matters when you are juggling a coffee at a Brisbane café or tapping out a message on a packed Sydney train.
Microsoft kept the headphone jack on top, the micro-USB port on the bottom, and the microSD tray tucked under the back cover alongside the dual nano-SIM slots. That dual-SIM support was a quiet highlight for Australian buyers who split work and personal numbers, particularly tradies and small business operators in Perth and Adelaide. Storage expansion up to 128 GB also meant camera-centric buyers could carry thousands of photos without offloading.
Display and everyday viewing
The screen is a 4.7-inch OLED panel with Nokia's ClearBlack technology, running at 720p. On paper those numbers look conservative compared with the 1080p displays that Android manufacturers were pushing in late 2014, yet the Lumia 730 punches above its weight. Blacks are genuinely black, and the colour profile can be tuned through the Lumia Cyan settings to either punchy or natural.
Outdoor visibility is solid, helped by the high-contrast OLED layer. Walking down George Street in Sydney or sitting at an open-air restaurant in Melbourne's South Bank, the screen stays readable even under harsh summer sun. The ambient light sensor is quick to react, and the new glance screen preview shows the time and notifications without waking the full display, sparing battery life during a long commute.
Windows Phone's bold tile-based interface looks striking on this panel, particularly the live tiles that animate across the home screen. Reading web pages in Internet Explorer, watching YouTube clips, or scrolling through Facebook feels responsive. For a mid-range device, the Lumia 730 delivers a viewing experience that holds its own in its price tier.
Front camera, selfie apps, and imaging pipeline
The headline feature is the 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a wide f/2.4 lens and a 22mm focal length, designed specifically to fit more faces in the frame. Compared with the older Nokia Lumia 820, which used a basic VGA front camera, this is a significant leap, and the reason Microsoft leaned so heavily on selfie marketing in markets such as India and Australia.
Nokia's camera software brings a thoughtful set of tools. The Lumia Selfie app walks users through capturing a self-portrait, then applies skin smoothing, whitening teeth, and enlarging eyes with a single tap. For Australian buyers who prefer not to fiddle with manual sliders, the one-button beautification is appealing. The main camera app also supports rich capture, dynamic flash, and a 6.7-megapixel rear sensor that handles daylight shots with plenty of detail.
| Feature | Nokia Lumia 730 | Nokia Lumia 735 | Nokia Lumia 820 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 4.7-inch OLED 720p | 4.7-inch OLED 720p | 4.3-inch AMOLED 480p |
| Front camera | 5 MP wide-angle | 5 MP wide-angle | 0.3 MP VGA |
| Rear camera | 6.7 MP | 6.7 MP | 8 MP |
| Processor | Snapdragon 400 | Snapdragon 400 | Snapdragon S4 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Battery | 2220 mAh removable | 2220 mAh removable | 1650 mAh |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-SIM | Yes | No | No |
In real-world use, the front camera handles mixed lighting with grace. Indoor selfies at a Darlinghurst pub keep skin tones warm, while outdoor shots on a Bondi boardwalk retain plenty of background detail without aggressive smoothing. Low light is naturally the weak spot, but the f/2.4 lens gathers enough photons for sharing on Instagram or Facebook, and the wide focal length makes group shots far easier than on most Android rivals of the era.
Performance, software, and the Windows Phone 8.1 experience
Powering the Lumia 730 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core chip clocked at 1.2 GHz, paired with 1 GB of RAM. Windows Phone 8.1 runs smoothly on this hardware, and the Live Tiles animate without the stutter that affected older single-core Lumia models. App launches are quick, and the Action Centre finally brings Android-style notifications to the platform.
Cortana had only just launched in beta when the 730 shipped, but Australian users could take advantage of the localised voice assistant for directions, calendar queries, and reminders. HERE Maps offered downloadable offline maps for Sydney, Melbourne, and regional towns alike, which benefited travellers driving between capital cities or heading out to the Outback.
The app Store remained a known weakness compared with Apple's iOS section or Android's Google Play. Banking apps, streaming services, and many local Australian brands arrived late to Windows Phone, and gaps like Instagram's early absence frustrated buyers. Even so, Microsoft Office integration gave the Lumia 730 an edge for buyers who wanted a workhorse phone at a mid-range price.
Battery life is solid thanks to the 2220 mAh removable cell. Most Australian users will comfortably reach bedtime with 20 to 30 percent remaining, helped by the modest 720p panel and the glance-screen feature. Heavy shooters who spend a day at the MCG will want a spare battery, but for typical daily use the 730 holds up respectably against its 2014 rivals and even gives some later Android handsets a lesson about endurance.
Pricing in Australia and how it stacks against the competition
At launch, the Lumia 730 landed in Australia at roughly $329 outright, placing it firmly in the mid-range bracket. Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone all carried the handset on contract plans during late 2014, often bundled with a $30 to $40 monthly cap. JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stocked the unlocked version, and the device became a regular sight on weekend catalogues in Sydney and Melbourne.
Against the competition, the 730 faced stiff challenges. Samsung's Galaxy Alpha and the HTC Desire 820 offered more raw performance and stronger app ecosystems, while Apple's iPhone 5C remained a tempting alternative for buyers loyal to iOS. Where the Lumia 730 won was in its imaging pipeline, the removable battery, dual-SIM flexibility, and a price tag that undercut most of its rivals by $100 or more.
Readers who want to see how the Lumia 730 compared against an Indian market rival should also check the HTC Desire 600 review for a sense of how dual-SIM mid-rangers were positioned in neighbouring markets at the time.
Shoppers who value selfies, dual-SIM flexibility, and a clean Windows experience will find the Lumia 730 an easy recommendation, and anyone walking into a JB Hi-Fi today should still consider picking one up second-hand as a backup device for short trips around Victoria and New South Wales.