Expert Reviews | Nathan Spendelow

We're blown away by Nokia's Lumia 1020. It's the first phone that properly replaces a compact camera; we can see ourselves doing most of our photography on the phone and leaving a compact camera, or even a CSC, at home most of the time. It's an incredible imaging phone so it wins a Best Buy award.

What Mobile | Jordan O'Brien

If you're primarily looking for a great camera on your smartphone, then the Lumia 1020 should be your first and only choice.

Coolsmartphone | Dan

Nokia have really pulled something special out of the bag with the 1020 and for that I must applaud everyone involved in making this special phone.

The Mobile Indian | Samir Makwana

Lumia 1020 as a package offers a great display, smoother OS experience, top of the line camera and fair battery run time.

Australian PC World | Ross Catanzariti

Provided you can live with a thick design and a limited app ecosystem, Nokia's Lumia 1020 will give you a truly superb camera that takes outstanding photos, offering the best imaging experience you'll ever get on a smartphone. This is the only Windows Phone you should consider buying.

Engadget | Brad Molen

The Lumia 1020 is the best Windows Phone we've used so far and offers the best camera in the industry, though it's a little difficult to hold comfortably.

phoneArena | John V

Let's cut to the chase here folks, this is hand down, without question, the absolute best camera phone on the market. It's undoubtedly a point and shoot replacement in every way imaginable, seeing that it delivers in its features set, quality, and precision control, to capture the utmost best photos.

PC Pro | Jonathan Bray

You can zoom without needing bulky optics, shoot successfully in low light, adjust settings manually and produce images of the highest quality. Combined with decent smartphone capabilities, it's an alluring proposition.

The Verge | David Pierce

I'd happily carry a big phone that gave me a perfect camera, but right now with the 1020 I'm carrying a big phone running a third-place OS just for the imaging prowess. For Nokia's sake, I hope Windows Phone 8 gets the apps it needs before HTC, Apple, or Samsung wakes up and builds a killer cameraphone to go with a killer ecosystem.

TechnoBuffalo | Todd Haselton

The Lumia 1020 actually fits in a pocket, looks awesome and works great. Call quality rocks, though the speakerphone isn't amazing, and the battery life is acceptable. All said and done, the Lumia 1020 is a fantastic device that's burdened by Windows Phone 8 and a super high price tag. If you can skirt around those two factors, then the Lumia 1020 belongs in your pocket.

Digital Versus | Florence Legrand Romain Thuret

Hailed by many as a compact camera in the shape of a smartphone, the Lumia 1020 isn't quite that. It's certainly the next great step in that direction but all in all, we prefer the Lumia 925.

Mobile Syrup | Daniel Bader

I have faith that Microsoft can make it right, but even in its current iteration the Lumia 1020 is a remarkably capable alternative to a dedicated camera. It doesn't do everything well - macro shots aren't great, and the phone takes too long to process images - but the list of pros is far longer than its cons.

The Guardian | Kate Bevan

The good news is that it's still spectacular, even more so now as it's on the latest handset in the Windows Phone Lumia range. It's not perfect, but it's a cameraphone that, while it doesn't make my trusty Nikon D80 redundant, does make me think twice about lugging it along to events.

Digital Trends | Jeffrey Van Camp

The Lumia 1020 has the best camera available on a smartphone, but AT&T subscribers will have to pay a hefty $300 premium to get it.

The Boxed (UK) | Editorial Team

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is a smartphone that only makes real sense as a buy if you care about camera quality above almost anything else in a phone. The phone's camera is able to capture excellent images which you would normally expect to see from a decent compact digital camera and easily outclasses the vast majority of phones.

ITProPortal | Jim Fisher

That said, the Lumia 1020 is a big step forward for camera phones, but the step isn't complete. Nokia's sensor and lens advances must be paired with a CPU and image processor fast enough to make shooting effortless, and Windows Phone's creative app gaps need to be filled in.

MSN Tech | David Phelan

Big and colourful, the Nokia Lumia 1020 is an unmatched camera phone. Some are faster, but none beats the 41-megapixel sensor here. It's also an accomplished Windows Phone 8 handset, with a lot going for it.

The Gadget Show

As a phone, or a camera, there's not much to fault the Lumia 1020 on. But Windows Phone 8 is its Achilles' heel.

V3 | Alastair Stevenson

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is the best camera-phone ever made.

Pocket-lint | Elyse Betters

The bottom line is that the 1020 is meant to rival the iPhone 5 and GS4, and it certainly can in some areas, but Windows Phone 8 and its app ecosystem are undoubtedly holding it back.

Wired UK | Dave Oliver

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is a high-powered, very capable smartphone with an outstanding camera.

CNET UK | Andrew Hoyle

If you're an enthusiastic photographer who values image quality above all else and would love to always have a good camera in your pocket then the Lumia is for you -- no other phone comes close. Otherwise, you might be better off looking at Android phones.

Ubergizmo | Daniel Perez

The bottom line is if you take your smartphone camera seriously, you should really consider the Lumia 1020 as you probably won't be able to take pictures this highly-detailed with any other smartphone on the market.

International Business Times | David Gilbert

I commend Nokia for its innovation and technical prowess, but somewhere along the way if forgot it was making a smartphone and not a camera.

The Inquirer | Carly Page

It's not just the camera that sells the Nokia Lumia 1020. The phone's design, while unlikely to appeal to everyone, makes a nice change from the endless stream of black slab phones, and the phone also boasts great battery life and plenty of onboard storage.

PC Advisor | Chris Martin

The Lumia 1020 has an amazing camera, the best in a smartphone, and will tempt most smartphone photographers. However, it's expensive for what is essentially a now out-of-date Lumia 920 with a better snapper. Poor battery life and a lack of good apps for the OS put us off significantly.

Know Your Mobile | Richard Goodwin

It is a great handset with lots to offer but there are several things that'd make me think twice about recommending it: size, app selection, Windows Phone 8's foibles, the price and the fact that it is about to be usurped by the upcoming Lumia 1520.

Trusted Reviews | Andrew Williams

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is not quite the perfect flagship, but for those who care about having a good on-the-road camera to whip out whenever needed it's a cracking phone.

AllThingsD | Lauren Goode

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is a well-built phone with a camera that bests most other smartphone cameras. I hope to see other smartphone makers adopt some of its high-end camera technology.

IT PRO | Richard Goodwin

Nokia aims to attract users with the 41-megapixel camera and it's great - but the price and lack of features in Windows Phone makes the Lumia 1020 hard to recommend.

T3 | Pete Dreyer

Fans of the Lumia series will probably like the 1020, it's a very solid phone in its own right. But it has been pushed into the elite end of the market on the back of a gimmick. If you've got this sort of money to spend on a phone, you're definitely better off looking elsewhere.