Selfies are a really, actually large matter. Walk around any major urban center or tourist allure and yous'll come across loads of people holding their phones at arm's length to get themselves into a front-facing-camera photo. You even sometimes encounter people with their phones on poles to get the most epic broad angle shot, looking light-headed at the same fourth dimension.

The problem with selfies is that the front end facing cameras on well-nigh smartphones suck. A two megapixel sensor with awful low lite functioning and weak optics is a hardware combination I would verbally annihilate if information technology were the main photographic camera on a smartphone. Some manufacturers have noticed this, promising to deliver significantly better sensors to facilitate college quality selfies that we all dearest to take.

And so the Nokia Lumia 735 was born. Under the command of Microsoft, the company'south devices team has produced a mid-range handset dubbed the "selfie phone," complete with a higher resolution and better quality five megapixel front facing camera. Although the 735's standout feature is the selfie cam, it besides packs other things we've come to dear from Lumias, such as the solid build quality across the unabridged lineup.

Cost may be somewhat of a concern, with the Lumia 735 set at $300 while offering specs similar to Motorola'south more than affordable Moto K. But a superior quality could work in Microsoft's favor if they tin can execute well beyond the board to deliver a great mid-range handset.

Most of the handset'due south torso is plastic, but the coating used on the 735 makes information technology feel particularly awesome for a material I ofttimes slam in reviews. With a hint of softness to it while remaining tough, Nokia knows how to craft plastic into a pleasing smartphone trunk.

The Lumia 735 uses a unibody design that is similar to what we've seen from Nokia in the by. The left and right edges are curved to fit better in your easily, while the top and bottom edges are flat, containing the three.5mm audio jack and micro-USB port respectively.

The colorful polycarbonate wraps around to the edges of the Gorilla Glass three brandish, first meeting a pocket-sized plastic rim that you can barely feel as you swoosh your fingers beyond the substantially blunt piece of drinking glass. Nokia has managed to give the perfect amount of curvature to the Lumia 735's back such that it appears to bladder when placed on a desk-bound.

For all its similarities to the Nokia style we've come to dear, there's i thing you don't see: slots or hatches to insert the SIM bill of fare and microSD carte du jour. This is because the entire polycarbonate section can be removed to reveal a removable battery and said card slots. It also allows yous to swap out the back embrace for one of a unlike color, just in example yous decide the bright green you went for is too flamboyant for everyday apply.

The plastic case is really pretty interesting. You tin clearly encounter the Qi induction coil for wireless charging on the back plate, something that will have to be included on every rear cover Nokia sells for the handset. Besides, the material is pretty damn thick, giving expert protection to the internal components only calculation a significant amount of thickness to the handset.

With the cover removed, the Lumia 735 is a respectable eight.2mm thick. This balloons out to 10.1mm with the plastic cover on at its thickest indicate. I can't help just feel this device could accept been made slimmer as well-nigh of the components are protected by a 2nd layer of plastic behind the removable back embrace.

The other principal complaint I have is that the device'due south profile is too big for a handset that only packs a 4.vii-inch display. Information technology'due south only marginally smaller (~10%) than the Galaxy S5 but packs a xv% smaller display, featuring screen coverage of just 66%. This tin can be put downwardly to the large bezels at the top and bottom of the display. Shrinking these areas would brand the Lumia 735 experience more like a portable device than the big-screened flagship that it isn't.

The typical Lumia push button arrangement returns on the correct edge of the Lumia 735, which sees the book rocker placed higher up the power button. The power push would be slightly easier to hit if it were in the position currently occupied past the volume rocker, but at least information technology'southward not on the top edge. Also you lot'll note that 735 does non come with a dedicated camera button, dissimilar the majority of Windows Phones released over the past few years.

Also non found on the Lumia 735 are capacitive navigation buttons, equally Microsoft recently implemented on-screen buttons in Windows Phone.

The remainder of the smartphone'due south features are a typical affair. The camera is centered on the minimalist back panel, flanked by an LED flash and microphone. Further downwardly the back is the handset'southward main speaker, which is unsurprisingly terrible in quality yet surprisingly loud for a single commuter. The forepart console contains the in-call speaker, selfie camera, some sensors and Nokia branding.

As is the case with near of Nokia's devices, the Lumia 735 comes in two vibrant colour options – bright green or orange – also as white or greyness. I received a grayness review unit with a green vanquish, and although at that place's nix wrong with the subtle grey, I prefer the crazily vibrant green that Nokia uses.