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Choosing a smartphone to carry for the next year or two is a difficult
task these days. There are tens of devices running on 7 operating
systems/platforms, at prices ranging from 100 to 600 Euro. To make that
choice a little bit easier we took a closer look at the flagships
representing 3 smartphone platforms, to see how will they fare against
each other.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus represented Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, iPhone 4S stood for Apple's iOS 5 and Nokia Lumia 800
for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.
In
the first part of this comparison/review we look we checked out the
device hardware and performance. In the second part tomorrow we will
look at
software and features.
The
Galaxy Nexus remains true to its Samsung roots as it is mainly based on different
kinds of
plastic. The build materials aren't necessarily cheap but rather very
uninspiring, especially for a high-end device. The design is also kept
very simple, where the only diversity comes from the textured battery
cover, while the front of the device is completely bare and button-less.
The phone sits quite nicely in palms thanks to the slight hump at the
back, but due to the enormous size of the screen – 4.65 inches – the
overall usability takes a hit.
Clearly ambitious in its
undertaking, Apple iPhone 4S takes the design to extreme heights. The
phone consists of two glass panels separated by a stainless steel frame
(thankfully the antenna problems
have been
resolved with 4S), which makes the phone pretty to look at, but also
quite impractical. The glossy glass surface can easily get smeared with
fingerprints, and getting it scratched isn't too hard either if you're
not careful. On top of all that, the phone is extremely slippery, and
we've already seen some vivid examples of what happens when the glass
structure of iPhone 4 meets its worst enemy: the gravity. These
undoubtedly premium materials also contribute towards making 4S the
heaviest phone in this test.
Nokia 800 Lumia seems to take the
golden middle ground both in terms of built materials and usability.
It's made from a solid block of polycarbonate plastic that is not only
eye-catching but also quite practical as it barely leaves any
fingerprints. The smooth surface and curved sides of the shell also
provide some extra grip in comparison to the other two phones in this
test. The screen is also decently sized – 3.7 inches – which makes 800
Lumia neither too small nor too big, so the phone fits nicely in hands
and pockets alike.
All three are standard candybar touchscreen
phones, and as a result, the quality of the display has an immense
impact on their look, feel and usability. Unsurprisingly, the first
phone to separate from the rest is the Galaxy Nexus with its sheer size of the screen that literally dwarfs the tiny in comparison screen on the iPhone 4S.
But there's far more to Galaxy Nexus than just the physical dimensions of the screen. Samsung has also equipped Galaxy
Nexus with an HD quality screen of 1280 x 720 pixels that can easily
rival and surpass Apple's retina display (960 x 640 pixels). Due to
smaller physical size, the 3.5 inch screen on iPhone 4S offers a
slightly higher pixel density than Galaxy Nexus (316 vs 330 ppi), but
both screens look incredibly sharp and detailed. On the other hand, the
WVGA resolution of 480 x 800 pixels doesn't look quite as impressive on
Nokia's 3.7 inch screen.
In terms of picture quality, Samsung Galaxy
Nexus with its AMOLED display (in the middle) also comes first,
followed closely by Nokia's own AMOLED display (top), and Apple,
unsurprisingly, taking up the rear with its LED-backlit IPS TFT screen.
All phones have exceptional viewing angles and great sunlight
legibility, but Nokia's screen comes off as noticeably darker for some
reason.
While the physical size could be an issue for some users, it's easy to recommend Galaxy Nexus HD screen that puts its rivals to shame with the combination of vibrant colors, great
contracts
and just the sheer amount detail. This especially applies to users who
find themselves frequently surfing the web or watching movies on a phone
– those particular kind of experiences are
head and shoulders above the
competition.
All
3 phones are considered high-end smartphones and are equipped
accordingly to run their environments. There are, of course, some
notable differences in the hardware amongst the three.
Android
has proven to be the more resource heavy OS, and the speedy 1.2 GHz
dual-core processor and a whopping 1 GB of RAM really comes into play on
Galaxy Nexus to ensure a very fluid and responsive user experience.
Unlike most other Android phones with their custom skins or launchers
that sip away extra processing power, the Galaxy Nexus additionally benefits from running a clean, unaltered version of the OS.
Apple,
and, more recently, Microsoft, has taken a different kind of approach
by strictly tailoring hardware to their OS. As a result,
Windows
Phone 7 runs nicely with the single core 1.4 GHz Scorpion CPU on board
the Lumia 800, and no noticeable hiccups were encountered while
performing tasks.
The dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor on the
iPhone 4S, on the other hand, feels more like a response to the market's
shift to dual-core smartphones. The most dramatic improvement over the
older generation iPhones is the increased performance in graphically
demanding 3D games, and as such, the 4S is well catered towards people
who are passionate about this form of
digital entertainment.
As
mentioned earlier, all phones in this test showed admirable performance
on their respective platforms, and opening & switching between apps
happened with no interruptions in most cases. If, however, we had to
nominate the winner solely judging by its raw computing power, then Galaxy Nexus would take this round.
By looking at the specs sheet, it appears like Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be not on equal footing in this part of the test. While its hardware in many ways derives from Samsung's flagship
Galaxy S2,
the camera has been reduced from 8 to 5 Mpix, which is exactly the same
amount as the last Google phone, the Nexus S. On the opposite side of
the ring, the other two contestants share a similarity for once as they
both are keen to show off their cameras in the same 8Mpix league.
Despite the inferior megapixel count, the underlying improvements in Galaxy
Nexus camera in comparison to its predecessor were enough to make the
end result look good. Even more so, the quality of the still shots is
fairly acceptable in comparison to the other 2 phones in this test.
Samsung Galaxy NexusApple iPhone 4SNokia 800 LumiaThe
biggest disappointment, and surprise, comes from Nokia Lumia 800 – the
Finns usually put a lot more effort in their smartphone cameras. On the
surface, the photos taken with Lumia 800 appear to be OK, but closer
inspection reveals that some finer detail is washed away. Could that
perhaps be noticeably improved with subsequent software updates? Only time will tell.
Samsung Galaxy NexusApple iPhone 4SNokia 800 LumiaThe
camera interface is pretty straightforward and easy to use on all 3
phones, but Nokia does earn a few points back with its more expansive
settings that allow tweaking things like white balance, contract,
saturation and ISO. In comparison, the Galaxy Nexus and especially iPhone 4S camera settings are very bland, but nothing some 3rd party apps couldn't fix.
Samsung Galaxy NexusApple iPhone 4SNokia 800 Lumia
Due to the very limiting dimensions of phones, the built-in cameras have
always been about having the right compromises. In that respect, the
iPhone 4S camera, even though far from showing flawless performance, did
manage to deliver the most consistent results throughout the tests.
More often than not, this 8Mpix shooter from Apple impressed me with its
rich colors and sharp detail, and the ability to take HDR pics right
from the start proved to be the icing on the cake.
Depending on
the user, the results here can vary drastically. The 1430 mAh Li-Po
battery took iPhone 4S to the top position in our tests, giving almost 2
full days of moderate usage. That feat was followed with solid 1.5 days
from Nokia Lumia 800 with its 1450 mAh battery. Despite having the
beefiest battery – 1750 mAh – Galaxy Nexus came in last with an up-time
of slightly above one day. It didn't do too bad – in fact, with its
massive screen, the Android could have fared much worse than it actually
did.
Also worth noting, Galaxy Nexus is the only phone in this
test with a replaceable battery. So, if you're used to prolonging your
phone's life with an extra battery pack or two, you should take that
into a serious consideration.
____________________________
That's about it for the hardware bit of our Galaxy Nexus vs Lumia 800 vs
iPhone 4S review. Check back tomorrow for the second part, where we
take a closer look into what makes these devices tick - the software and
features inside.
I hope the new article about Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S Comparison/Review. Part 1 - Hardware & Performance can increase your knowledge about the latest development in mobile phone. The price of the phone depending on the brand, model and specifications.