Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Nokia Lumia 800

We compare Samsung's flagship Android Ice Cream Sandwich phone, the Galaxy Nexus, against Nokia's premier Windows Phone 'Mango' handset, the Lumia 800.

Form
Samsung Galaxy Nexus - 135.5x67.9x8.9mm,135g
Nokia Lumia 800 - 116.5x61.2x12.1mm,142g
Visually both devices are very impressive with some distinctive and unique design features which help them stand out from the competition.
The Nokia Lumia 800 is a very sharp and angular handset being bluntly rectangular in shape and topped by a gently curved glass screen.
Build quality feels very impressive indeed, the phone uses an aluminium unibody and it’s probably one of the most well put-together handsets we’ve seen this year.
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is the polar opposite in terms of aesthetics, it’s all curves but it isn’t over-the-top – being a larger phone overall the longer lines compliment the slight curvature at either end of the device quite nicely.
Sadly, the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t feel quite so solid construction-wise as its opponent.
We have to give this round to the Nokia Lumia 800.
Winner – Nokia Lumia 800
Display
Nokia’s Lumia 800 has a relatively small display at 3.7-inches but it makes up for this with incredibly sharp picture quality thanks to the use of a Samsung AMOLED screen and Nokia’s own ClearBlack technology.
It features multi-touch support and reinforced Gorilla Glass, while the 480x800 pixel resolution grants a pixel density clocking in at 252 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
It’s one of the best displays on a Windows Phone we’ve seen to date, the screen is bright and crystal clear with vivid colours which really pop out at you.
The Galaxy Nexus uses Samsung’s own Super AMOLED technology, which is slightly better than the Nokia’s ‘vanilla’ AMOLED and it’s a pretty big slate of glass at 4.65-inches.
Despite its large size, Samsung has managed to keep the pixel density very high indeed, a 720x1280 pixel resolution results in 316ppi.
Multi-touch is again supported and an oleophobic coating protects the screen from oily fingerprints.
Both displays are pretty amazing to behold and each manufacturer has clearly lavished a lot of effort and attention on these screens.
At the end of the day, however, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus goes that extra mile, not only is it a substantially sized display, making media easier and more satisfying to view, but it achieves this without compromising on picture quality and goes so far as to offer some of the best available. It’s very impressive stuff indeed.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Storage
Samsung’s flagship Android Ice Cream Sandwich phone has two options for storage, with choices of either 16GB or 32GB onboard. Processing power is supplemented by 1GB of RAM.
The Nokia Lumia 800 only has the 16GB option for internal capacity which, while ample, is half the top-end offered by Samsung’s device. It’s also slightly behind on the RAM side of things with around half the memory of the Galaxy Nexus at 512MB.
Neither smartphone is fitted with a card slot, meaning there’s no option to expand storage space with microSD.
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus wins this round by doubling up on the Lumia 800’s offerings.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Processor
Discussing the processors between Android and Windows Phones is a tricky thing, because you invariably run up against the issue of how the two platforms work in relation to optimisation.
However, the Galaxy Nexus is a little different from most other Android phones.
The problem with Android normally is it’s a one size fits all system which isn’t optimised very well, but this isn’t an issue on the Galaxy Nexus because, as it’s the Android Ice Cream Sandwich flagship device Samsung has worked closely with Google to get everything as finely tuned as possible.
The Galaxy Nexus uses a dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor clocked at 1.2GHz and running the Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 chipset alongside a PowerVR SGX540 graphics processing unit (GPU).
Performance on this setup is going to be something pretty special, especially with the extra optimisation and tuning.
Nokia’s Lumia 800 runs on single core hardware but again it’s been well optimised and offers really good performance from its 1.4GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor running the MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset and an Adreno 205 GPU.
Both offer excellent performance in terms of typical smartphone tasks and navigating their respective interfaces.
However, the Galaxy Nexus will handle high-end apps and games with demanding graphics much more capably and will remain the more competitive option looking ahead to the future.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus


Operating System
Microsoft’s Windows Phone ‘Mango’ platform, which the Nokia Lumia 800 runs, is a refreshing and innovative system to use.
It completely shuns the conventional ‘desktop’ style homescreens populated by app shortcuts found on Android, iOS and BlackBerry OS.
Instead, it opts for a continuous scrolling interface populated by ‘Live Tiles’ which push useful app information to the surface, rather like miniaturised widgets.
Social networking integration and the merging of communication methods (including email, text, instant messaging and calls) is excellent on Windows Phone, there is currently no other platform which gets you connected so easily.
It’s not perfect, however, for a start there is a severe lack of apps comparative to Android and iOS and many apps which are free on these other platforms come with a price tag on Windows Phone.
Windows Phone also doesn’t feature true multi-tasking but rather a substitute which, while better than nothing, can at times be frustrating.
Essentially, apps are put into hibernation in the background but do not continue to function.
Switching between them is commendably easy but unlike competing platforms you cannot, for example, put a social networking app to sleep and expect it to update.
This doesn’t affect the integrated feed from the People Hub, but sometimes you might want more direct control through an official app and it’s annoying that they cannot perform any background tasks.
Android’s multi-tasking remains unsurpassed, the system handles multiple running programs with ease and the intuitive quick-switching menu has made the jump from the tablet-only Honeycomb build. You can also swipe apps away with gestures, which is nice.
In many other ways Ice Cream Sandwich seems like it’s simply playing catch-up with its tablet-only predecessor, Honeycomb, and Apple’s iOS.
It’s a decent system but it’s not the exceptional revolution many were waiting for.
Everything has been given a facelift and the interface is reasonably intuitive – things are where you expect them to be.
While Windows Phone looks nice and feels different it could have been a much more customisable platform, generally speaking, while we loved the social networking integration for a heightened sense of being ‘plugged in’ to our social circles, most other areas left us wanting and, frankly, made us miss Android and iOS.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Camera
The Lumia 800 has an 8-megapixel primary camera at a 3264x2448 pixel resolution and capable of 720p video capture.
Regardless of the megapixel count and boasted Carl Zeiss designer optics something about this setup can’t be particularly good because, when reviewing the phone we found the results were not that impressive.
It features a dual LED flash, autofocus, touch focus, geo-tagging, digital zoom, exposure control and white balance.
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is equally disappointing with its lacklustre 5-megapixel primary camera at 2592x1936 pixels.
Video capture is 1080p but it’s unimpressive in practice – the Galaxy S2’s setup is much better.
Features-wise it has autofocus, LED flash, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, digital zoom, white balance, panoramic capture mode and a 1.3-megapixel secondary camera.
Neither device wins here, we’re calling it a draw but that doesn’t mean they’re equal, it just means they’ve both failed to deliver decent cameras as far as premium flagship phones are concerned.
Winner - Draw

Final Thoughts
By now it probably sounds as though we prefer the Galaxy Nexus over the Lumia 800, but this isn’t actually the case.
When it comes down to it, we feel the Lumia 800 is a much more complete and well-thought-out smartphone.
The Lumia 800 has lived up far more to our expectations of what a Nokia flagship Windows Phone should be, while the Galaxy Nexus has left us wanting more from Samsung.
The Galaxy S2 proves Samsung can create a much better Android phone than the Galaxy Nexus despite its extraordinary screen and all the perks of the ICS platform.
We really like Windows Phone ‘Mango’ but it has its limitations which made us want to go back to other platforms.
This isn’t a weakness of Nokia’s handset itself though and, so far at least, Microsoft has been exemplary at rolling out updates across the board.
In time the Lumia 800 will certainly change and likely for the better. It’s uncertain whether the same can be said for the Galaxy Nexus.

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Samsung, Huawei And Nokia Beat Apple In China Mobile Phone Manufacturing

Big news out of China as Huawei has beat out Apple as is now the third largest manufacturer of mobile phones in China.
Reuters reported the news Friday saying that Apple wasn’t as nimble or flexible as Samsung and Huawei. Despite just now breaking back into the U.S. market, Nokia still holds a huge position in Asian and European markets.
Apple has started a major expansion in China as far as their retail efforts go. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple has six retail stores with plans to open dozens more. They also have 200 mono branded stores and over 7,000 points of sale.
What’s hurting Apple in the iPhone department is the fact that they didn’t build a TD-SCDMA iPhone version for China Mobile. China Mobile is the world’s largest cell phone carrier with over 600 million users. To put that in perspective for US readers, China Mobile’s market is 3 times the size of Verizon Wireless and AT&T combined.
Aside from not having an iPhone on their countries largest carrier, Chinese customers are echoing the rest of the world when it comes to smartphones. Android is winning by a lot in China, even with Google’s rocky relationship with their government.
source: Fortune/CNN

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BlackBerry Curve 9360 vs Nokia Lumia 710

Nokia's Lumia 710 is the second device to emerge from the Finns coalition with CEO Stephen Elop's ex-employers Microsoft, and the device is looking a shoo-in to be as successful as its big-brother, the Lumia 800.

The Lumia 710's competition is the newly reinvigorated Curve 9360 from BlackBerry. A device which packs in plenty of features that RIM used to reserve for the top of the line Bold-class smartphones. But does this new Curve have what it takes to best a new, touchscreen only device?

Software

Straight out of the traps it's easy to see how the Nokia Lumia 710 benefits from the Windows Phone 7.5 OS. It's fast, slick, offers almost every feature imaginable and looks the part too.

The new iteration of the OS, version 7.5 (Mango), adds plenty to the foundations set down a year ago. There's now a new unified inbox, a new version of Internet Explorer, multi-tasking and an improved tile system which offers more information at a glance than previous versions.

The Windows Phone Marketplace offers an ever expanding range of apps for the OS, many of which are free of charge, and the support Microsoft has given developers is evident here.

Right now Windows Phone 7.5 is excellent, in a year's time it could be world-beating.

The Curve 9360 runs on version 7.0 of BlackBerry OS which, though billed as a 'new' version, is more an update to version 6.0.

The OS is still fast, simple to use and very efficient though. So it hasn't lost its virtues with age.

For all of its distinguishing qualities, and there are plenty, BlackBerry OS 7.0 seems very dated. The interface is still largely text-based, the number of apps available via the BlackBerry App World is minute compared to its competitors and with no widgets or live information functionality you may feel like you've stepped back to the early noughties should you pick one up.

Winner - Nokia Lumia 710

Screen

BlackBerry's Curve 9360 comes with a 2.45-inch HVGA+ screen with a very pleasing pixel density of 246PPI.

Despite its small size it's a dream to watch video clips on (or even full movies if you commute) and the overall performance is fantastic. The colours are warm and realistic and the viewing angles are second to none.

The Nokia Lumia 710 features a 3.7-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen which is every bit as decent as the myriad others on the market right now, with the added bonus of having a pixel density of 252PPI, giving it the edge over many of its competitors.

As with the Curve 9360, the Lumia 710's display offers crisp, vivid colours, responsive performance and reasonable sunlight legibility.

Winner - Draw

Power

Nokia opted to fit the Lumia 710 with a large single-core processor, and the 1.4GHz Scorpion CPU does its job superbly. In addition to the main chip the device benefits from an Adreno 2.5 GPU and 512MB RAM, giving it a predictably solid drive-train with which to keep the Windows Phone OS buzzing along.

One area where the Lumia 710 is lacking is support for external memory cards as it doesn't offer any at all. But the device does come with 8GB of on-board storage, so that needn't be a big issue.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is powered by an 800MHz CPU and also offers 512MB RAM, which may seem small but is perfectly adequate to keep the little messenger moving along at a fair turn of pace.

The device supports MicroSD cards up to 32GB in size to make up for its less than impressive 512MB of storage out of the box.

Winner - Nokia Lumia 710

Camera

RIM doesn't have a particularly good track record for the photographic capabilities of its devices and we're sorry to say that this hasn't changed with the Curve 9360.

The device's 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilisation and VGA video capture is disappointing from top to bottom, with lacklustre video capture and an awful fixed focus system for capturing stills.

In ideal light conditions with a stationary subject you can capture a fairly decent image, but let's be honest, who has the time or inclination to wait and organise when they're taking a photo out and about?

The Nokia Lumia 710 has a 5-megapixel autofocus camera which is very much more the ticket. The camera benefits from an LED flash, face detection and geo-tagging, as well as 720P video capture, and the results are pleasing, though a little noisy in low-light conditions.

If you're looking for a device to snap photos on the move then the Lumia 710 should make your shortlist. The BlackBerry Curve 9360 most certainly should not.

Winner - Nokia Lumia 710

Form & Build

Nokia Lumia 710 - 119 x 62.4 x 12.5 mm, 125.5 g
BlackBerry Curve 9360 - 109 x 60 x 11 mm, 99 g

Both devices in this comparison are exceedingly well built.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is solid, comfortable in the hand and at the ear, and is light enough not to feel like an encumbrance in your pocket all day long.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is also a tremendously well assembled smartphone. It's small, well designed, offers an incredible hardware QWERTY keyboard which makes messaging and emailing a pleasure, and is comfortable to make a long call on.

If we had to choose and, well, we do, then we'd tip our hat at the Curve 9360. It's super small, offers excellent battery life and feels like you could kick it around a 5-a-side pitch for 90 minutes without breaking it (not that we'd advise it).

Winner - BlackBerry Curve 9360

Despite a late push, the Curve 9360 has come out second best today. It's a nice, compact smartphone which is available for an excellent price, but it's let down by a sub-par camera and lack of quality app support.

The Nokia Lumia 710 on the other hand, is a solid second entry into the Windows Phone 7 range and, as we've seen with the Lumia 800, with Nokia's hardware and Microsoft's software the only way is up.

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Motorola Razr vs Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia's Lumia 800 is the company's first Windows Phone powered smartphone, and the device looks to have it all in its toolbox. With Nokia's famed build quality, Microsoft's up and coming OS and some Carl Zeiss optics thrown in for good measure there's no doubt the Lumia 800 can hold its own in today's market.

Its adversary in this comparison is no chump though. Motorola's Razr XT910 takes all of the company's mobile nous, which has now been expanded through Google's acquisition, and adds a touch of dual-core magic, to create a device which has been generating plenty of positive press.

Which of these contenders will come out on top though?

Display
Motorola's Razr comes with some pretty impressive screen technology, in the form of a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen that operates at a resolution of 540 x 960 and offers-up a pixel density of 256PPI.

Nokia's Lumia 800 isn't terribly far behind though, with a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, running at 480 x 800 and boasting a pixel density of 252PPI.

By now we should all be well aware of the virtues of AMOLED displays, and these two devices are all the better for their inclusion. Power demands are low, blacks are pitch, colours are vivid and your media will look brilliant.

Motorola's Razr takes the tape in this round though, simply because its Super AMOLED is brighter, offers better sunlight legibility and demands less power than its AMOLED cousin.

Winner - Motorola Razr

Power
Nokia has imbued the Lumia 800 with more power than it's ever given a device before and the performance given by the single-core 1.4GHz Scorpion CPU is, as always, impressive and dependable.

The Snapdragon chipset also features a reliable performer in the Adreno 205 GPU, which will have your games and eye-candy running perfectly.

The device features a Windows Phone standard 512MB RAM, which is by no means a hindrance, but could hamstring the device's future development.

Motorola's Razr weighs-in heavy in the running-gear stakes though, and its 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU is more than a match for the Lumia 800's single-core processor.

On top of its dual-core CPU, the Razr offers PowerVR SGX540 graphics and 1GB RAM, making it the choice du jour if you're all about the power.

Winner - Motorola Razr

Camera
Nokia's long and productive relationship with Carl Zeiss continues with the Lumia 800 and the device's 8-megapixel camera, which also benefits from auto-focus, dual-LED flash, 720P movie capture and geo-tagging, takes impressive photographs in ideal conditions.

Unfortunately the Lumia 800 falls flat when you're trying to snap impromptu shots though. It can be slow to focus and is pernickety about what it considers to be 'ideal' conditions, meaning your subject may have popped off for a brew by the time your Lumia 800 snaps your picture

Motorola's Razr has an 8-megapixel camera too, and it's performance is solid overall. The camera features an LED-flash, touch-focus, geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilisation and 1080P video capture, and the end product greatly benefits from these additions.

On top of a decent primary camera, the Razr also offers a 1.3-megapixel secondary, so you can video chat on the go, a feature that is noticeably absent in the Lumia 800.

Winner - Motorola Razr

Software
The Nokia Lumia runs on Microsoft's newly updated Windows Phone 7.5 platform, and the OS has gone from strength to strength.

In addition to the solid foundation, users now have the benefit of multitasking, Internet Explorer 9, threaded message support and a universal inbox which brings all of your email accounts into one.

The tile system has been improved too, and they now contain more live information and keep you up to date better than before.

On top of these improvements you get access to the Windows Phone Marketplace for all your app needs, and it has to be acknowledged that Microsoft has done a sterling job growing the platform in this respect.

Motorola's Razr runs on Google's erstwhile Gingerbread platform, and features all of the positive elements that made version 2.3 of Android so popular.

The OS runs smoothly, offers the user plenty of scope for customisation and improvement and, of course, allows you to access the hundreds of thousands of apps available in the Android Market.

On top of the solid Android base, you have a few unique customisations from Motorola too, such as custom screen switching and transitions, neat on-screen QWERTY and tweaked media player, not to mention a few decent widgets.

Judging either of these devices purely on their OS is an impossible task, because what pleases us may not please you, and vice-versa. But what we can say, with a good degree of certainty, is that both of these devices are fast, reliable and very easy to use.

Winner - Draw

Form & Build
Nokia Lumia 800 - 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 142 g
Motorola Razr - 130.7 x 68.9 x 7.1 mm, 127 g

Both of our contenders come from manufacturers that know how to assemble a robust, long-lasting device.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is a fine example of Nokia's handiwork. It feels balanced and comfortable in the hand, and the polycarbonate chassis looks good and will protect the device if it's dropped or whacked.

The Razr is similarly durable and, we were also pleased to note, shared the Nokia's premium feel. The device feels comfortable in the hand, and at 7.1mm thick isn't going to be a burden in anyone's pocket, making it a great choice for any lover of high-end smartphones.

Both device's feature Corning's stellar Gorilla Glass™ too, so you won't have to worry about the odd bit of key or coin damage!

Winner - Draw

As good as Nokia's Lumia 800 is (and that is pretty damn good), it isn't quite on a par with Motorola's Razr, and the XT910 has taken the win today.

Motorola's device is slim, light and performs at lightening pace thanks to its dual-core running gear, and the dependable performance of Google's OS is a huge selling point.

In fact we couldn't find much to dislike about the XT910 at all, if truth be told, especially considering it now comes with an unlocked bootloader!

Nokia has upped its game with the Lumia 800 though and the phone is a worthy entry into the esteemed list of Windows Phone 7 devices.

If you're a devotee of Microsoft's OS, or a fan of the Finnish manufacturer then you could do far worse than choosing the device as your day-to-day smartphone, and its appeal gives us confidence that Nokia is now moving in the right direction.

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Samsung Galaxy Note vs Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia's first Windows Phone device has been under a lot of scrutiny since its inception and now it's finally here we have a chance to fairly judge the Lumia 800, rather than speculating, moaning and generally being doomsayers.
To run the nice looking device through its paces we've chosen the biggest Android handset out there – the Samsung Galaxy Note. But can the new Nokia/Microsoft joint hold its own?

We aim to find out!

Software

Nokia announced that it would be joining forces with Microsoft earlier in the year and the Lumia 800 is the first device to come to fruition from that union.
The Lumia 800 runs on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango and, as you'd expect, performs very well thanks to the rapidly maturing mobile platform.
You get plenty of upgrades over the launch version of Windows Phone in Mango, including support for (select third party) multi-tasking, social networking support, Internet Explorer 9 (which now supports HTML 5, which is a very important addition in light of Adobe's recent abandonment of Flash mobile).
Windows Phone 7.5 is a great choice for Nokia and makes the Lumia 800 a viable choice for any mobile fan.
Samsung's Galaxy Note runs on version 2.3 of Android and the Google software is a delight to use.
There's apps aplenty available via the Android Market, loads of customisation potential and, most importantly, the platform runs fast, safe and smooth.
Samsung has amended Google's vanilla software with its own TouchWiz UI 4.0, which means you get extra eye-candy, widgets, apps and the company's 'hub' system for downloading additional content and staying up-to-date with your social networks.

Winner - Draw

Display

Nokia has chosen to imbue the Lumia 800 with a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen that operates at a resolution of 480x800 and has a pixel density of 252PPI.
Choosing AMOLED was a great choice by Nokia and the Lumia 800 thoroughly lives up to its name thanks to the delightfully bright, vivid screen.
The Galaxy Note features AMOLED technology though too. But seeing as AMOLED is Samsung's baby the device gets a Super AMOLED screen, which operates at a resolution of 800x1280, features a pixel density of 285PPI and measures a whopping 5.3-inches!
The Galaxy Note's display is a great performer and the size adds so much to the device. If you're viewing photos or exploring the wonders of the World Wide Web then it's a fantasic device to choose.
Both AMOLED's benefit from the same level of responsiveness and low power demands, making them real rivals to Apple's Retina Display tech.
Put simply: the Nokia Lumia 800 is a very good mobile display, but the Samsung Galaxy Note is a brilliant one.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Note

Power

Nokia hasn't scrimped on the power for the Lumia 800. It runs on a single-core CPU clocked at 1.4GHz and also features an Adreno 205 GPU, giving the device plenty of grunt and the inclusion of 512MB RAM will help the device chew through even the most testing apps, games or other tasks.
Samsung's Galaxy Note offers more though, in the form of a 1.4Ghz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP GPU and 1GB RAM, which drives the device to perform with blistering pace.
In terms of storage space the Galaxy Note wins too, with 16 or 32GB available internally and a micro SD slot which supports up to 32GB cards. The Nokia can only offer 16GB internally, and doesn't support micro SD.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Note

Camera

Nokia's relationship with Carl Zeiss has produced some great camera-phones over the years and while the Lumia 800 is a good device, it's by no means great.
The 8-megapixel camera, which benefits from autofocus, dual-LED flash, geo-tagging and 720P movie capture, is a nice performer but doesn't live up to the standards we've come to expect from a company with Nokia's nous.
If you're willing to invest time in taking a picture with the device you'll be fine as it's fully capable of producing stunning results. Nonetheless, the device does struggle to focus and can seem laboured to start from cold, which is never a winner when you're trying to snap an impromptu photo
These minor gripes can be ironed-out with a software update though, so don't let this put you off the device entirely.
Samsung's Galaxy Note features an 8-megapixel camera too, which comes with an LED flash, autofocus, image stabilisation, geo-tagging, touch focus, face & smile detection and 1080P video capture!
The Galaxy Note's results are very much in keeping with the standard set by the Galaxy S2, which is by no means a bad comparison to make.
The camera interface could do with a smarten-up and maybe a hardware shutter key could be added as well. Aside from this the Galaxy Note is a solid performer.
The device also comes with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for all your video conferencing or humorous self-portrait needs.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Note

Form & Build

Samsung Galaxy Note - 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm, 178g
Nokia Lumia 800 - 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 142g
Samsung has stuck firmly to its tried and tested 'plastic über alles' approach for the Galaxy Note. The device is light, thin and doesn't really feel as if it should cost a fortune.
Sure, there are no creaks and the device is fairly robust, but the general feel and aesthetic isn't something we recommend.
The display benefits from a Gorilla Glass coating though and we can't fault the device for comfort (considering it's such a big-screened smartphone) so we'll take our minor gripes and stow them.
The Lumia 800 feels fantastic in the hand and exudes class. It's polycarbonate chassis feels strong and looks great and the device is thin enough to not feel like a brick in your pocket.
We really can't fault the device's design or build. Nokia is very much still Nokia.
Winner - Nokia Lumia 800

Despite a valiant effort by the Nokia Lumia 800, Samsung's Galaxy Note has won the day.
Its power is immense, its screen is delightful and it feels like you're using a sheet of cardboard to surf the Web. What's not to like about that?!
Nokia's Lumia 800 is a great stride forward for the company though. The device is solid as rock and performs well thanks to Microsoft's excellent operating system.
The Lumia 800 really is a contender for any new user looking to choose a mobile phone. But if you're looking for the most power and functionality on offer it isn't able to oblige.

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HTC Sensation XE v/s Nokia Lumia 800

Choosing between the Nokia Lumia 800 and HTC Sensation XE for your business is far from easy. Both are stunning smartphones, so let’s see how they compare.

The HTC Sensation XE is one of the Taiwanese brand’s latest powerful smartphones, built for pretty much any task – whether it be work or pleasure. The Nokia Lumia 800 is the phone Nokia that hopes will set a new standard in Nokia phones. And, it’s one of Nokia’s fastest yet. But can it cut it in the corporate world? Here’s a side-by-side look at both handsets.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: power
For getting things done, both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 are worth considering. The HTC Sensation XE sports a very quick 1.5GHz processor. This means that apps, documents and spreadsheets load quickly so that you spend less time waiting around, and more time doing the things that are most important. The Nokia Lumia 800 is just as capable. It has a 1.4GHz processor. Technically that makes it the slower of the pair, but most users will barely notice any difference between the two.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: screen
Screen size and quality is pretty important when it comes to using a phone for business. It’s likely you’ll spend a lot of time looking at it, so any screen will need to be large enough, and of high quality. Both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800’s screens tick all the boxes when it comes to quality. But for that extra bit of screen real estate, the HTC Sensation XE is superior for working on. Its 4.3-inch screen (compared with the 3.7-inches of the Nokia Lumia 800) is great for viewing spreadsheets without having to strain for a closer look.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: memory
You’re going to need a healthy amount of storage to get the most out of your handset. Out of the box the Nokia Lumia 800 looks the more attractive proposition. Its 16GB mass memory appears to dwarf the 4GB of the HTC Sensation XE. However, the Lumia 800’s absence of any micro-SD card slot means 16GB is the limit of its storage. The HTC Sensation on the other hand can be upgraded via microSD card to house 32GB of storage – twice that of the Nokia Lumia 800.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: camera
Both The HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 carry reputable 8-megapixel cameras. The downside to the Nokia Lumia 800 is that it does not feature a front-facing camera – so video conferencing is out of the question. But if video calls don’t matter to you, the Nokia Lumia 800, with its Carl Zeiss lens, takes the better photos.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: operating system
It’s the Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) operating system of the HTC Explorer XE versus the Windows 7.5 Mango system of the Nokia Lumia 800. Deciding upon a leader here is tricky. Android has been a mainstay of some of the very best smartphones in recent years. Both Android and Mango are slick, and easy to operate, and both have features and applications that let you work on the move and the ability to sync your calendar for meetings and planning ahead. The Nokia Lumia 800 has Microsoft Office, while the HTC Sensation XE gets Google Docs. Business features-wise, both are on a level playing field. Though it must be said, Windows 7.5 Mango is the more visually appealing operating system.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: dimensions
The HTC Explorer XE features a bigger screen, but this comes at the expense of portability, so it will take up more space in your pocket – bigger than the Nokia Lumia 800 in height, width and thickness. It is also the heavier phone – weighing 151 grams compared with the Nokia Lumia 800’s 142 grams.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: the winner
Overall, it is difficult to separate the two handsets on business use alone. Both are well powered and fully featured smartphones. However, the HTC Sensation XE comes out on top in nearly every category, besides size. If not being able to fit your phone in your top pocket doesn’t matter to you, the HTC Sensation XE is almost certainly the business phone for you.

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Nokia Lumia 800 review

You might hear it said that Nokia is on a knife-edge, and that this old king of mobiles will live or die based on the success of its latest flagship phone. We love melodrama as much as the next guy, but such talk is overplaying it. Sure, the great manufacturer has its troubles, and yes, the Lumia 800 bears a heavy burden of responsibility on its 3.7-inch shoulders. However, now that Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop has set his company on a new path, there will no doubt be a slew of new products -- both hardware and software -- over the next few years. In fact, the Lumia 800 was probably rushed to market, having been designed and built within the space of six months and intended as a placeholder for greater things to come. Nokia simply grabbed the overall design of its orphaned N9 handset, threw it together with Windows Phone Mango and then whatever the Finnish is for baddaboom, baddabing. So, does the Lumia feel rushed? Or is this the first stirring of something special? Read on and we'll tell you what we think.

Nokia Lumia 800 review

Hardware

Elop has gone on record claiming that the Lumia 800 is a "refinement" of the N9. That's not a good use of English and we can't let it slide, because every hardware difference between the two devices leaves the Lumia 800 worse off. There's no globetrotting pentaband 3G, which means no AWS support for T-Mo USA's network. The front-facing camera and notification LED have evaporated. The screen is slightly smaller due to the intrusion of the Windows Phone buttons. There's only 512MB of RAM instead of 1GB. Onboard storage maxes out at 16GB rather than 64GB with the N9. NFC is also inexplicably lacking, so the phone can't pair up with Nokia accessories and it probably won't be able to keep up future innovations that Nokia says its working on for Windows Phone 8 (aka Apollo).

On the other hand, many of the best features of the N9 have made it through. The machined polycarbonate shell radiates precisely the same industrial style, while simultaneously giggling in the face of scratches. The convex Gorilla Glass screen flaunts some of the best workmanship we've ever seen on a mobile device and it fits so perfectly that barely a speck of dust can get caught in its frame. The proximity and light sensors are neatly hidden behind the glass, leaving the front face of the phone almost entirely undisturbed, except for the earpiece, Nokia logo and Windows Phone symbols.

The left side of the device is a blank expanse, while the volume rocker, power / lock button and camera button are all on the right side -- and they're made of metal, not plastic. There's a neatly drilled speaker grill on the bottom, which also houses the mic. On top we find the 3.5mm jack and next to it a flap for the MicroUSB port, which you push on one side to open. Only when the flap is open can you slide and pop the micro SIM slot.

It's hard to contemplate the overall beauty of this device without getting emotional, and we already blubbered enough in our N9 review. Nevertheless, this design is not without its failings, and some of those make us want to cry too. Most importantly, the plastic flap over the microUSB port is too fragile. We managed to bend it trying to close it will the drawer was still slightly open -- and we didn't jam on it hard, mind you. Exactly the same thing happened with our N9, so it's no freak accident. If you buy this device, please be careful -- the flap is replaceable, luckily, but we envisage a long queue for spares.

The absence of a notification LED is annoying. The N9 had a faint 'always on' clock and notification area on the screen, but that's gone here. Aside from the fact that you have to switch the device on to see any notifications, there's another drawback: if the device is totally discharged, it doesn't even have enough energy to tell you whether it's charging when you plug it in. At that point it's pure guesswork as to when or if your device will be ready to use again.

We had a couple of random power-related incidents. The phone once died suddenly in the middle of a call and flashed the battery warning, but then it switched itself back on and revealed that the battery was still at 52 percent. On another occasion, the phone initially refused to charge with an official Nokia micro-USB charger -- albeit not the one that came in the package. Both issues were short-lived, but we're keeping an eye on the behavior of our review sample and will update if anything new arises.

One more thing: the sharp corners and relatively thick 12.1mm (0.48-inch) profile might not suit everyone's pocket. If we look at HTC's rival Windows Phone, the Titan, it has rounded corners and a mere 9.9mm waistline, so it manages to pack a 4.7-inch display without feeling much chunkier than the Lumia 800. As we said in our full review, the aluminum also has extremely high build quality, albeit with a completely different design.

Performance and battery life

The Lumia 800 packs a Qualcomm MSM8255 single-core processor -- exactly the same System-on-Chip that powers the Titan, except that Nokia has decided to clock the Lumia slightly slower at 1.4GHz instead of 1.5GHz. Does this make a difference? Not really. In everyday use, we sometimes experienced minor lags when opening up Nokia Drive or Nokia Music, and occasional judders when using a processor-intensive app like Local Scout, but the Titan was no better.

We don't expect to see any Lumia-owning geeks on the performance leaderboards.

Surprisingly, though, the benchmarks gave the Titan a clearer lead than we might have predicted. WPBench gave the Lumia 800 an overall score of around 86, versus the Titan's 96. Part of this difference was in proportion to the slower CPU clock speed, but a bigger cause of the disparity was actually the Lumia 800's tardiness in shifting large chunks of data between its memory and storage. Likewise, the Sun Spider Javascript benchmark gave the Lumia 800 a score of 7200ms for surfing on the Web Kit browser, versus 6,500ms for the Titan. Overall, we don't think there's anything to be too concerned about here, but we don't expect to see any Lumia-owning geeks on the performance leaderboards.

The battery is only 1450mAh, compared to the Titan's 1750mAh behemoth. However, the Lumia's smaller and more power efficient display cancels out this disparity and the two phones end up being roughly on a par. With heavy use, with a fair amount of photography, e-book reading and so on, the 800 will probably die by late evening. With more normal use, involving calls, push email and a bit of music, it could stretch to a day and a half. In the WPBench battery test, the phone lasted two hours and 40 minutes -- against three hours from the Titan.

Nokia knows how to build phones, so reception and call quality were both reliably average when using the Vodafone network in and around London. There's no HSPA+, but the phone was quick to establish a 3G or HSDPA connection when available. Importantly though, the Lumia doesn't do internet tethering, whether by WiFi or cable, whereas the Titan does.

Display

Mango, say "hello" to AMOLED. The Lumia might not be the first to make this happy pairing, but it's a powerful union here nonetheless -- and if you've never used an AMOLED phone before, then you're in for a big treat.

The key selling point is that any black areas on the screen are completely black. Deep, true, outer space black. Nokia has its own name for this effect -- ClearBlack -- but it's really just the same end result as Samsung's Super AMOLED technology, which is not a bad thing.

In comparison, LCD panels are just a very dark grey. What's more, when you bump up the brightness on an LCD, you can take a hit on contrast, because that background grey gets steadily lighter. But with AMOLED, the blacks remain implacably perfect no matter how high you push the brightness -- producing a level of contrast on the Lumia 800 that can make your eyes throb if you deliberately mess with the settings while indoors.

In practice, AMOLED gives the Lumia's display much better outdoors performance. The brightness pierces through smudges and reflections on the glass, while also delivering powerful color saturation. We wouldn't want use it for reading e-books in direct sunlight -- we've got e-ink for that -- but the bold live tiles of Windows Phone seem tailor-made for the Lumia 800's display and we'd certainly choose it over LCD for everyday use in the fresh air.

The strange pixelation can be distracting.

Go indoors, however, and it's a different story. Nokia is an extremely savvy player when it comes to building smartphones to a price point. With the Lumia 800 it's opted to use the slightly cheaper PenTile type of AMOLED display. Some phone users take issue with this technology, because it lowers the sub-pixel count and can impact on color rendition due to the excess of green sub-pixels. In the case of the Lumia 800, the green tinge isn't awful, but the strange pixelation can be often be distracting, like a multicolored mesh or grid sitting on top of an otherwise high-res display.

Photos generally look fine, but fuzziness is clearly visible to the naked eye when it comes to text -- in particular, characters in a thin font seem to 'hum' slightly at their edges, which is a shame because such fonts are a big part of the Windows Phone aesthetic. The picture above shows a snapshot of a single word displayed on the Kindle app, shown on the Lumia 800's PenTile AMOLED, then the iPhone 4's Retina Display, and then the Titan's SLCD at the bottom. Ultimately, whether this is a cause for concern depends on your eye-sight and how you tend to use your phone. If you enjoy reading e-books on your phone, then it's worth trying the Lumia 800 in-store before you commit.

Camera

The eight megapixel camera on the Lumia 800 is exactly the same unit that we reviewed on the N9. It's been around for a while and it suffers from a few foibles, but the underlying hardware is top-notch. The Carl Zeiss Tessar lens opens to f/2.2, which is up there with the best camera phones on the market and makes for relatively good low-light performance. Coupled with the Windows Phone OS, which has a fast and easy-to-use stock camera app, as well as the AMOLED screen which is great for framing and viewing pics, this Nokia is a capable stills shooter.

Nokia Lumia 800 sample stills

There are two ways to take a picture: you can either press down halfway on the two-stage dedicated camera button to set exposure and focus and then press fully to snap, or you can simply tap the screen on whichever subject you like and it will make all the necessary adjustments and take the shot all in one go. We found ourselves using the latter method more often, simply because it's so blazingly fast.

A tap on the 'cog' button provides ready access to flash control and a dream-like array of manual options, including ISO, exposure compensation, metering mode, white balance, contrast, saturation, focus mode and resolution. What's more, you can save your settings so they don't get lost when you exit the camera or switch to another scene mode. The only thing missing is a setting for how much compression you want. However, the camera software generally preserves a good level of information, with file sizes mostly ranging from 1MB to 1.3MB, but occasionally reaching 2.2MB for a shot with lots of detail. The same goes for video: 720p files generally came in at around 80MB to 100MB per minute, which is far in excess of many rivals and also slightly better than the HTC Titan.

Of course, the Titan also has a f/2.2 lens, the same maximum resolution and the same underlying camera software, so we took the two phones out for a spin in the British Museum in order to get a more detailed comparison. Our verdict? It was a close contest, and ultimately we'd be content with either camera in our pocket -- but there are a few differences worth mentioning.

The Lumia 800's auto white balance often struggled with the varied lighting at the museum, which has artificially lit displays underneath big tinted windows in the ceiling. We had to manually set white balance on a couple of occasions, whereas our Titan generally seemed to pick the right compromise. Below is a highly zoomed-in section from the Lumia shot, which shows a pink cast. Below that is the equivalent from the Titan, which is more accurate. In a our sample video below, we moved the camera from very blue light to very warm light and it actually coped quite well. It's the more the subtle stuff it struggles with.

Our sample video also shows that the Lumia's autofocus was occasionally slow during recording. It wasn't always that bad, but it was certainly inconsistent. Exactly the same can be said of the Titan, though. Neither camera handles autofocus very well during video, unless your subject is inorganic with lots of straight edges. Any fast motion or panning also destroyed the quality of our 720p video, largely because the compression couldn't keep up -- VGA mode handled motion a lot better, but who wants to shoot in that? But again, the Titan also suffers from this, and in fact the Lumia's compression system copes marginally better. Overall, we need better bit-rates and better autofocus on smartphones before we stop carrying our little video camera around with us.

Returning to still images briefly, we also found that the Titan's were generally sharper and had slightly higher contrast by default. The antelope eye below is from the Lumia, whereas the sharper one below that is from the Titan. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the Titan's pics were better, and in any case the Lumia could easily be re-configured to deliver the same results. However, the Titan also has useful Panorama and Burst Shots modes, which are missing on the Lumia 800. Factoring in the white balance issue, we'd have to give the Titan's camera a slight edge in this contest -- but phones on other platforms, like the iPhone 4S, Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note have all-round superior cameras.

Software

There's a good chance that the Lumia 800 will be your first Windows Phone, so it's worth checking out the quick overview in the software video above. If you want the full low-down, then please peruse our in-depth Mango preview, as well as our review that was updated when the OS update was finalized.

If you'd prefer a very quick summary, then take it from us that this OS is fast, fluid and nice on the eyes. Its visual design is a boon not only for ease-of-use -- particularly for people with poor eyesight -- but also in terms of its sheer sassiness, which will be appreciated by anyone who wants to stand out from the iOS and Android crowds.

This OS is fast, fluid and nice on the eyes.

The navigation system rarely throws too many options at you, and often cuts out more advanced options altogether. In particular, we miss USB mass storage -- a feature we rely on with our Android phones. It's also a shame that you can can't display multiple Google calendars -- the OS will only display the primary calendar for any account, which is out of keeping with this otherwise very productivity-focused OS.

The WP keyboard, as always, gets a special mention for being extremely easy to use. It works great on the Lumia 800's screen, but we found ourselves making slightly more mistakes compared to the Titan, whose keys are easier to hit simply because they're bigger.

Although Windows Phone is still lacking many of the apps that have become popular on other platforms, including Spotify, Dropbox and countless others, it handles core functions rather well, such that you don't necessarily need extra apps in order to handle basic social networking, photography, maps, search, music recognition and purchasing, cloud storage, folder syncing, and other daily tasks. These functions aren't perfect -- advanced Tweeters may struggle with the limitations of the integrated software, for example, which requires you to use SkyDrive for hosting your pictures. However, the Marketplace is growing daily and will offer more dedicated apps over time -- after all, it has the full weight of Microsoft behind it.

Nokia is going way beyond the call of duty in providing its own apps, which already help to distinguish the Lumia 800 from the competition and will certainly become more of a selling point over time -- particularly when Nokia's Pulse social networking platform emerges from beta testing. In the meantime, Nokia's proprietary offering amounts to three key apps.

First and foremost, Nokia Drive turns your handset into a fully featured sat nav, based on the Navteq platform that covers 90 countries and also works with offline maps. Need to get from A to B in Mozambique? Then download the 15MB file and off you go. The coverage puts Google Maps and TomTom to shame. You get full voice instructions too.

Nokia Music adds to the stock player by giving you access to Mix Radio. This is a neat little radio player with eclectically titled categories (e.g., "Golden Era Hip-hop"), which let you narrow down your genre while still leaving it open enough for some unexpected tunes -- so long as you have WiFi access or a cheap cell data plan. The audio quality is on a par with the free version of Spotify, for example, so it won't satisfy audiophiles, but it's fine for listening on the go or plugging into a small dock.

Finally, Nokia also supplies an app discovery tool called App Highlights, which suggests essential apps like Kindle, eBay and AccuWeather as well as promoting others you might not be aware of. It also has a little gimmick where you shake your phone to be shown a surprise app -- completely pointless, but it emphasizes the underlying purpose, which is simply to encourage to savor the generally high-quality offerings cherry-picked from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Wrap-up

Nokia's Lumia 800 is a sophisticated and capable smartphone that melds its hardware beautifully with the Windows Phone OS. Whether it's the best phone for you right now depends on certain factors.

First, you need to establish whether you're a Windows Phone type of person. If you're thrilled by dual-core processors, extremely high-res screens, large camera sensors, customizable widgets, expandable storage, USB mass storage and other such features, then you'll be better off with Android or -- to a slightly lesser extent -- iOS, because that cutting-edge stuff is currently absent on Redmond's OS. On the other other hand, if you want to be part of a carefully crafted, simple and generally happy emerging ecosystem, then look no further.

The next question is whether you'd choose the Lumia 800 over another Windows Phone, such as the Titan. The Titan's camera is slightly better, but not enough to be a deciding factor. Conversely, the Lumia 800's design is arguably superior, but not massively so. Instead, it's the display that's the more important issue. If you want a bright and colorful screen for media and general use, and you're not too fussed about the PenTile pixel issue (which you ought to see for yourself before buying), then the Lumia 800's AMOLED display wins hands-down. However, if you prefer a bigger screen that does a better job of displaying text, then go with the Titan.

Some people will notice that Nokia is building a special relationship with Microsoft, to the point where the manufacturer is able to deliver more exclusive features in its phones and push for things to be added in later revisions. If you're a WP fan, then there might be an argument for committing to Nokia in order to benefit from all those good things to come. However, we think that's premature. Drive is a nice exclusive feature, but there's not much else yet. If anything, the Lumia 800's hardware risks being left behind as Nokia develops apps and platforms based on NFC, front-facing cameras and other (unknown) features that are likely being prepared for Windows 8 Apollo. The Nokia-Microsoft relationship will certainly become more important, but that's not enough to sway a purchasing decision today.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	Announced	2011, October
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2011, November

SIZE	Dimensions	116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 76.1 cc
	Weight	142 g

DISPLAY	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density)
		- Gorilla Glass display - Nokia ClearBlack display - Multi-touch input method - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - Touch-sensitive controls

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Yes
	Internal	16 GB storage, 512 MB RAM
	Card slot	No

DATA	GPRS	Class 33
	EDGE	Class 33
	3G	HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual-LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	No

FEATURES	OS	Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
	CPU	1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset, 3D Graphics HW Acce
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML5, RSS feeds
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Yes + downloadable
	Colors	Black, Cyan, Magenta
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	No
		- MicroSIM card support only - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Digital compass - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Document viewer - Video/photo editor - Voice memo/command/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1450 mAh (BV-5JW)
	Stand-by	Up to 265 h (2G) / Up to 335 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 13 h (2G) / Up to 9 h 30 min (3G)

MISC	Price group

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