Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Apple iPhone 4S versus Nokia Lumia 800 @Globe






April 18, 2012 update: Globe Telecom has revised the Nokia Lumia 800 pricing. It is now free a Plan 1799.

Globe Telecom is now offering both the Apple iPhone 4S and the Nokia Lumia 800 to its subscribers. The iPhone 4S runs on iOS and comes with iCloud. The Lumia 800 runs on Windows Phone 7.5 with Sky Drive for cloud storage. These two phones are similar in terms of size catering to those wanting a mid-sized phone. Both phones are also offered free at Globe's Plan 2499. With similar sizes and pricing, the phones directly compete with each other. Which of these two mobile is best for you? 

Display.  The iPhone 4S has a 3.5-inch IPS display with a 640 x 960 pixel resolution. The Lumia 800 has a larger 3.7-inch screen with a lower 480 x 800 resolution. The Lumia 800 uses AMOLED technology to power its display.

Winner: Draw. While the higher of the iPhone 4S is great, the larger display of the Lumia 800 is actually more functional in my book.

Power. The iPhone 4S is powered by a dual core 800 MHz Cortex-A9 processor,  PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processing unit and 512 MB of RAM. The Lumia 800 has comes with a single core processor, though clocked at a higher 1.4 GHz, with Adreno 205 graphics an 512 MB of RAM.

Winner: iPhone 4S. While the faster single core may actually be faster than the lower clocked dual core in some tasks. The PowerVR graphics of the iPhone 4S is faster than the Adreno graphics of the Lumia 800. In the end it really does not matter, both phones and their software being optimized for their hardware. Still we would give the edge to the iPhone because it can do 1080p video recording and playback, while the Lumia 800 is limited to 720p.

Storage. The iPhone 4S comes in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB variants. The Lumia 800 is only offered with 16 GB. The storage of both phones is non expandable. 
Winner: iPhone 4S gives options for more storage. The Lumia 800 does not.

Camera. Both phones comes with 8 MP primary camera's. As mentioned earlier, only the iPhone 4S can do 1080p video recording, the Lumia 800 being limited to 720p.The Lumia 800 has a dual LED flash, while the iPhone 4S has a single LED flash. Only the iPhone 4S comes with a front camera. 

Winner: iPhone 4S. It can recorded higher quality video and does a better job on still too.

Connectivity. In this regard both phones disappoint a bit, since they support circa 2010 HSDPA 14.4 Mbps connectivity and not the faster HSPA+ 21,1 Mbps standard you see on the top Android phones. 

Winner: Draw.

Social Networking Integration. The iOS 5 on the iPhone 4S integrates Twitter into the OS. Windows 7.5 on the Lumia 800 integrated Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in its People Hub (i.e. Contacts). You can even create Facebook "Groups" in the People Hub to better manage your FaceBook updates/ FaceBook Messaging is even integrated into the Windows 7.5 SMS application.

Winner: Lumia 800. Windows Phone 7.5 leads all when it comes to Social Networking Integration. 

Navigation. For Navigation the iPhone 4S relies of Google Maps and Navigation. While this is great, it lacks two things. It does not work with 3G active and it does not offer voice guided turn-by-turn navigation in the Philippines. The Lumai 800 comes with NDrive which works just using GPS and is voice guided.

Winner: Lumia 800. NDrive works  better in the Philippines. 

App stores. There are over 425,000 apps for the iPhone. There are over 70,000 apps for Windows Phone 7.5. While 70,000 apps should have been enough, there are still some major titles missing. 
Winner: iPhone 4S. More is still better.

Pricing. Pricing varies with the Plan type.

Unli Surf Combo 2499

-Both free. 

Unli Surf Combo 1799 

- iPhone 4S: Php4,800
- The Lumia 800: Php7,420
 
Unli Surf Combo 999

- iPhone 4S: Php23,976
- The Lumia 800: Php12,000

My Super Plan  2499

- iPhone 4S: Php10,800
- The Lumia 800: Free

My Super Plan  1799

- iPhone 4S: Php17,499
- The Lumia 800: Php7,200

My Super Plan  999

- iPhone 4S: Php23,976
- The Lumia 800: Php12,000


Summary. Ultimately the iPhone 4S offers more better hardware and more apps, although it is really only in gaming where the more apps counts, The Lumia 800 offers better social networking and navigation . 

Globe seems to be positioning the iPhone 4S as a much better choice at the Unli Surf Combo 1799 and 2499 plans where it won't cost you more than a Lumia 800. On My Super Plan, or are at Unli Surf Combo Plan 999 the Lumia 800 comes in 10K+ cheaper and becomes a better value for money proposition.
    

1 comment:

  1. After having all of the iPhones from the beginning, got fed up with the price of upgrades. Had trialled Mango on HTC7 which was ok but on the Lumia it's fantastic.

    Very happy with the move, no looking back. Really like the Zune interface on PC. Beautiful build quality of phone.

    Nokia Lumia 800

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