Showing posts with label Budget Windows Phones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget Windows Phones. Show all posts

Nokia / Windows duo for great triumph




I have heard many saying that “My Nokia survived so many falls”, thanks to its rough and tough build; the main attribute the Finnish manufacturer was always known for. Other areas where the manufacturer has proved excellence are its camera and sound quality. But Nokia experienced failure in the past in creating a good combo of hardware and software, ever since Android phones came in to the market. When other mobile makers launched handsets on Android platform, which got great acceptance due to its simplicity and customization options, Nokia kept hold of the lousy Symbian variants, which was the reason for losing its hold in many markets.



A shift in platform was inevitable for Nokia to survive the competition. But its decision to embrace Windows was a shock for many and it gained a lot of criticism for turning down the open source OS giant Android. Though Nokia Lumia 800 launched in 2011 had a miserable journey, the subsequent Lumia launches saw increasing acceptance in the market. With the launch of Lumia 920, 820 and 720, a majority of customers was ready to break away from Android, and adopt the all new, fresh and sophisticated Windows operating system.


With improved hardware configurations, refreshing user interface, and growing app base of Market Place, Nokia / Windows 8 OS duo seems to be very promising. Let me put down a few points that I felt worth mentioning.




  • The unlimited free download from Nokia Music is bless for all music lowers.
  • The navigation app (Here Maps) is more visually appealing than the native Android navigation app, though the utility value of both remains the same.
  • I really liked the office apps; we can easily make an excel sheet or doc and share via email. To add, many apps such as Handyscan that scans a doc, coverts to pdf and allows to you to send via email have been made available on the Market Place.
  • Kids Corner acts as a “guest mode”, preventing un-intentional data modification, when given to children for using games and other apps. You don’t need to worry about accidental purchase, download or other changes in your phone by your kid.
  • The dynamic tiles and live update on the homescreen are refreshing, compared to the Android homescreens.
  • You can turn on the battery saver mode that switches off certain services while in standby to help extend battery life. Automatic brightness adjustment also helps save battery.
  • Access to X-Box Live games hub makes it an interesting gaming device
  • The growing app base on Market Place and Nokia Store offers a lot more to explore for entertainment and productivity. Many popular games like Temple Run that were available only on Google Play are now obtainable on Market Place as well. Small but annoying issues like lack of shortcuts for connectivity options including Wi-Fi and Data – which were a swipe and click away in Android – can be easily resolved by installing connectivity apps.

But I need to mention other shortcomings that bothered me as well in this post. We can’t turn on Bluetooth right from the media file, which was possible in latest versions of Android. Selection of multiple video files in Albums also is not happening. I hope such small issues would be addressed by the makers in the coming software updates! Not to worry Windows… these shortcomings are nothing in front of the efficacies…

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Samsung Omnia W Vs Nokia Lumia 610: Windows Phones in Comparison





In couple of my older posts, a few days back, I drew comparison between two budget Android handsets. And after the response that I got, I decided to write another comparison; this time the comparison is between two budget Windows phones: Samsung Omnia W and NokiaLumia 610.
Samsung handset has been around for a year or so whlile the Nokia handset has just been announced this year. Both the handsets are Windows Phone 7.5 Mango running handsets. And both are priced around the 15 K mark. So without further ado, let us divulge into a thorough head to head comparison.

CPU and RAM
As it is mentioned earlier in the post that they are Windows phones, the question about the number of cores is automatically answered as Windows handsets come only in single core till now. The Samsung Omnia W comes packed with 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor, which is well complimented by a 512 MB RAM, the other handset in comparison has 800 MHz ARM A-5 processor, which is seconded by a 256 MB RAM. No prize for guessing folks, Samsung Omnia W is the victor here.
Storage Capacity
In the storage capacity section both the handset are at the same level as both of them sport an internal storage capacity of 8 GB; neither of them have the potential to expand the storage via a microSD card. A tie.

Display
Samsung Omnia W has a 3.7 inch touch display which happens to be a Super AMOLED WVGA display with pixel resolution of 800x480. On the other hand the Nokia Lumia 610 sports a similarly sized screen and a same pixel resolution. But the presence of Super AMOLED stuffing makes the Omnia W a better handset. And Omnia W has an added advantage of Corning Gorilla Glass protection.  
Battery
The battery spec of a mobile phone is one of the most important specs as it is the means through which the user can avail everything that the phone has to offer. Omnia W offers you a standard Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery whereas the Lumia 610 has a 1300mAh battery. I would call this round a tie as Nokia tends to go beyond its battery capacity on paper.
Camera
The Samsung Omnia W comes with a 5MP primary camera with flash, it sports a VGA secondary camera. The other handset, the Lumia 610 too has a 5MP camera with flash on the posterior but it does not have a secondary camera. The presence of a camera on the front side of the body gives the Omnia W a winning edge.

Connectivity
Both the handsets are 3G enabled handsets, both of them have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless data transfer. And for wired connectivity they have USB 2.0 and 3.5mm jack for audio of video activities.  The Omnia can work as Wi-Fi hot spot when need be, so I would give it a slight advantage over the Lumia 610.
Social Networking
No need to emphasize the importance of social networking these days, everyone knows it. And in that section the Omnia W offers Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, Chat, SMS, and Groups and the Nokia handset has more or less the same features.
The Verdict
 After going through all the tech specs of either of the handsets, one would have to say that the Samsung Omnia W is the better phone and it has maintained its supremacy in the budget Windows handset section almost a year after its release. But one will have to accept that the Nokia Lumia 610 is not a bad phone either, especially when it is priced couple of thousand bucks less than the Omnia W.
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